Author: Muslim Brotherhood takes pragmatic, flexible approach to West

Even though Muslim Brotherhood organizations around the world are comprised of like-minded individuals acting through informal networks, the Muslim Brotherhood is not monolithic, Lorenzo Vidino said at an April 27 Newsmaker.

Vidino, author of "The New Muslim Brotherhood in the West," spoke about the Muslim Brotherhood globally, focusing mostly on Europe and North America.

The first Muslim Brotherhood organizations in the United States were created in the mid-1960s by elites, who came to the West to further their studies, and militants, Vidino said. However, he added, these first arrivals were not the vanguard of Islam.

"Pragmatic" or "flexible" are words that would describe the Muslim Brotherhood in the West, Vidino said. The role of the international Muslim Brotherhood in relation to these Western organizations is marginal, he noted.

Muslim Brotherhood organizations in the West have grown exponentially over the years, and their visibility is high compared to competing organizations, Vidino told the audience.

Members of the Muslim Brotherhood in the West share the idea of turning Mideast countries to Sharia law, but their first goal is to preserve the Muslim identity in the West, Vidino said.

Their second goal, he added, is to become the designated representatives of western Muslim communities. For example, he said, they would appoint imans in European public institutions.

Western countries trying to deal with the Muslim Brotherhood in the West have developed what Vidino called "schizoid policies."

One example is the relationship between the FBI and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). Sometimes their relationship is friendly, sometimes it's antagonistic, according to Vidino.

Two schools of thought exist on how to deal with the Muslim Brotherhood in the West, Vidino said. The optimists believe the Brotherhood is a socially conservative movement with which the West should cooperate, while the pessimists believe the Brotherhood is a Trojan Horse trying to gain allegiance with the Muslim community.

The pessimists' view is the one adopted by most intelligence agencies, particularly in Continental Europe, he noted, adding that neither school's view is completely correct.

There is a demographic shift underway inside the Muslim Brotherhood in the West, Vidino said. While the second generation is more moderate sounding, he said, the question is whether they have embraced Western values.