Does Congressman Max Rose support terror and the Muslim Brotherhood?
By Karys Rhea
New York Congressman Max Rose criticized Ilhan Omar on twitter for “invoking hurtful stereotypes and caricatures of Jewish people to dismiss those who support Israel.” Omar had come under fire for, once again, using blatantly anti-Semitic tropes under the guise of merely “critiquing” Israel.
Yet just last month, Rose himself gave a speech at a fundraiser for the Muslim American Society (MAS) Youth Center in Brooklyn, an organization whose members have made anti-Semitic comments and praised jihadist groups such as Hezb’allah and Hamas.
At the fundraiser, Max Rose, who assumed office on January 3rd of this year as the Democratic representative for New York’s 11th Congressional District, referred to MAS as “an unbelievable organization.”
“In our office, you have a partner, you have a servant,” he declared.
Perhaps Rose is unaware of MAS’s ties to terrorist groups. MAS was the overseer of the Islamic Society of Boston (ISB), a mosque attended by radical Islamists, several of whom were later convicted on terrorism charges, including the Boston Marathon Bombers.
Speakers at MAS events and conferences often spout violent, anti-Semitic, and homophobic rhetoric. Many of these speakers are well-known extremist clerics, including Omar Suleiman, who called homosexuality a “disease” and a “sin” and Abdul Nasir Jangda, who referred to Jews as “the enemy” and advocated death to apostates and adulterers.
U.S. federal prosecutors refer to MAS as the “overt arm” of the Muslim Brotherhood. Abdurrahman Al Amoudi, a self-identified Muslim Brother, convicted financier of al-Qaeda, and ISB founder, went on the record as saying, “everyone knows MAS is the Muslim Brotherhood.”
The UAE designated MAS as a terrorist organization in 2014 due to their Muslim Brotherhood roots and continued support for the extremist group. The Brotherhood was also placed on the 2014 list of UAE designated terror organizations.
The Muslim Brotherhood, founded in 1928 in Egypt, remains the most significant Islamist network in the world today. It is responsible for reviving the militant ideology that has given rise to modern-day terrorist groups such as ISIS, al-Qaeda, al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya and Hamas. Many of these groups were founded by former or current Brotherhood members.
The Muslim Brotherhood is traditionally known for its endorsement of violent jihad, martyrdom, and shariah law, as well as its advocation for a global Islamic caliphate to replace Western societies. Its original motto professes “Allah is our goal; the Messenger is our model; the Koran is our constitution; jihad is our means; and martyrdom in the way of Allah is our aspiration.”
Though the Brotherhood now claims that it no longer condones violence, it continues to provide material support for violent organizations and many of its members still engage in terror operations. Its goal of restoring the caliphate has not changed. Nor has its internal bylaws, which include a mandatory oath of allegiance to violent jihad and martyrdom.
In the 1990s, the U.S. Branch of the Muslim brotherhood changed their name to the Muslim American Society (MAS) in order to gain legitimacy in the public sphere and not have to remain underground.
Like the Muslim Brotherhood, MAS claims that they have today moved away from their extremist foundation, yet they hold explicitly pro-Muslim Brotherhood rallies and still require their members to study the writings of Brotherhood founder Hassan al Banna and prominent MB ideologue Sayyid Qutb, both of whom describe western values as sinful and urge taking up arms as a means to replace western governments with Islamic states. One required book in the MAS curriculum is Qutb’s notorious Milestones, which served as the theological inspiration for Osama Bin Laden and argues that violence is justified in the context of spreading Islamic ideology. MAS also republishes material that supports suicide bombings and other forms of violence against the west.
MAS raised upwards of $100,000 at the event, $5000 of which was pledged from Islamic Relief, a Muslim Brotherhood-linked charity that has been accused of financing terrorist groups.
Sarah Sayeed, senior advisor to the Community Affairs Unit in Mayor de Blasio’s office, was also in attendance at the fundraiser. Just last year, the city of New York provided MAS and several other organizations linked to Islamic extremism with a charitable grant of $250,000.
“I cannot wait to work with each and every one of you,” Rose concluded.
Karys Rhea is the New York Associate of the Counter-Islamist Grid.
