From Isalarm Exposed
Founded nearly a century ago, the Muslim Brotherhood has evolved from a grassroots religious movement into a complex, transnational organization that has been responsible for countless deaths, as it has evolved to become a dangerous political force influencing nations wherever there are concentrations of islamists.
This investigative report traces the Brotherhood’s origins, its growth across borders, its alleged ties to terrorist attacks, its funding mechanisms—including the controversial halal certification industry—and its ultimate aims, which remain a subject of heated debate.
The Foundation: A Call for Islamic Revival
Founded nearly a century ago, the Muslim Brotherhood has evolved from a grassroots religious movement into a complex, transnational organization fostering extremism and terrorism around the world.
In 1928, Hassan al-Banna, a 22-year-old Egyptian schoolteacher, established the Muslim Brotherhood in Ismailia, Egypt, driven by a vision to revive Islamic values in a society he viewed as corrupted by Western influence, secularism, and colonialism.
The collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the abolition of the caliphate in 1924 had left a void in Muslim unity, prompting al-Banna to advocate for a return to Islamic governance, rooted in the Qur’an and Hadith. His philosophy blended religious piety, social welfare, and political activism, appealing to a broad base of Egyptians disillusioned with British colonial rule.
The Brotherhood began as a grassroots movement, focusing on education, charity, and moral reform, setting up schools, hospitals, and mosques to serve the poor, while promoting a comprehensive Islamic way of life. By the 1930s, it had grown into a political force, opposing Egypt’s ruling Wafd party, criticizing government corruption, and demanding independence from British control. Al-Banna’s slogan, “Islam is the solution,” became a rallying cry, resonating with those seeking cultural and spiritual renewal.
Growth: From Egypt to the Global Stage
The Brotherhood’s influence spread rapidly, fueled by its organizational structure, which combined disciplined hierarchies with local autonomy. By the late 1940s, it reportedly had up to 500,000 members in Egypt alone, with branches in Sudan, Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, and North Africa. Its model of blending charity with political activism inspired Islamist movements worldwide, from Jordan’s Islamic Action Front to Tunisia’s Ennahda party.
Despite its early success, the Brotherhood faced repression. It was banned in Egypt in 1948 after being linked to various violent acts, including the assassination of Prime Minister Mahmoud Fahmi al-Nuqrashi. Al-Banna himself was killed in 1949, likely by government agents, yet the group persisted, operating underground, its members imprisoned or exiled.
In the 1950s and 1960s, figures like Sayyid Qutb, whose writings on jihad and Islamic governance influenced later extremists, kept the Brotherhood’s ideology alive, even as Egypt’s government cracked down on it and executing Qutb in 1966.
The 1980s marked a resurgence, as the Brotherhood participated in elections in Egypt and Jordan, presenting itself as a moderate alternative to secular regimes. The Arab Spring of 2011 catapulted it to power in Egypt, with Mohamed Morsi, a Brotherhood leader, becoming president in 2012, only to be ousted by a military coup in 2013, triggering a brutal crackdown, with thousands arrested, and hundreds killed.
Today, the Brotherhood operates in exile, with branches in Qatar, Turkey, and Europe, its influence fragmented but persistent, adapting to local contexts while maintaining its core ideology.
Terrorist Attacks: A Contested Record
The Brotherhood’s relationship with violence is contentious, officially renouncing it in the 1970s, yet accused by critics of inspiring or supporting terrorism, either directly or through ideological influence. Below are four attacks where the Brotherhood or its affiliates have been implicated, though evidence of direct involvement varies.
- Assassination of Mahmoud Fahmi al-Nuqrashi (1948)
In December 1948, Egypt’s Prime Minister Mahmoud Fahmi al-Nuqrashi was assassinated by a Brotherhood member, Abdel Meguid Ahmed Hassan, in retaliation for his role in dissolving the group, which he accused of plotting against the state. The attack took place in Cairo’s Interior Ministry, where Hassan, a veterinary student, shot Nuqrashi twice, killing him instantly, before being apprehended. The Brotherhood denied ordering the act, claiming it was an individual’s decision, but the government responded by banning the group, arresting thousands, and intensifying its crackdown. This incident marked a turning point, cementing the Brotherhood’s reputation for militancy, though supporters argue it was a defensive act against state oppression. - Hama Massacre Response (1982)
In Syria, the Brotherhood’s armed wing waged an insurgency against Hafez al-Assad’s regime, culminating in the 1982 Hama uprising, which critics link to Brotherhood-led violence, though the group frames it as resistance to tyranny. After years of clashes, including a 1979 attack killing 83 Alawite cadets in Aleppo, the Brotherhood called for jihad, leading to an assault on Hama, a Sunni stronghold. The regime’s response was devastating, leveling parts of the city, killing an estimated 10,000–40,000 civilians, mostly non-combatants, in a slaughter that included shelling, executions, and mass graves. The Brotherhood was decimated in Syria, its leaders exiled, but it denied orchestrating the uprising’s violence, blaming Assad’s brutality for escalating the conflict. Critics argue the Brotherhood’s rhetoric fueled the unrest, indirectly contributing to the carnage. - 2015 Assassination of Hisham Barakat
In June 2015, Egypt’s Prosecutor General Hisham Barakat was killed in a car bomb attack in Cairo, an act attributed to Brotherhood affiliates, though the group officially distanced itself. The explosion, targeting Barakat’s convoy, killed him and injured nine others, shattering nearby buildings, leaving a crater in the street, and sowing fear of escalating violence. Egyptian authorities accused the Brotherhood of orchestrating the attack through its militant wing, citing Barakat’s role in prosecuting Morsi and other leaders post-2013. Mahmoud Ezzat, a Brotherhood figure arrested in 2020, was later linked to the plot, with documents allegedly showing his coordination. The Brotherhood condemned the attack, claiming it was framed to justify repression, but courts convicted several members, sentencing them to death, fueling debates over the group’s non-violent stance. - October 7, 2023 Massacre of Israelis at a Music Festival
Hamas, an Islamist militant group and offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, launched a surprise attack on Israel, targeting the Supernova music festival near Kibbutz Re’im, among other sites. Hamas fighters, arriving by paragliders, trucks, and motorcycles, massacred at least 364 civilians, including 17 police officers, and kidnapped 40 festival-goers, with some subjected to sexual attacks and violent beatings, starvation, and other violence. The attackers fired assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades, shooting fleeing attendees, burning cars, and taking hostages to Gaza, marking the deadliest civilian massacre in Israeli history.
The Muslim Brotherhood has long been a polarizing force, with its early years marked by fervent anti-colonialism and Islamic revivalism. Among the more controversial accusations leveled against al-Banna and the Brotherhood is their collaboration with Nazi Germany during the 1930s and 1940s.
Historical Context: A Convergence of Interests
In the 1930s, Egypt was under British occupation, a source of deep resentment for al-Banna and the Muslim Brotherhood, who viewed Western imperialism as a moral and cultural assault on Islam. Simultaneously, Nazi Germany, under Adolf Hitler, sought to undermine British and French colonial empires in the Middle East, seeing the region as a strategic theater to weaken Allied powers.
The Nazis’ anti-Semitic propaganda also resonated with growing anti-Zionist sentiments in the Arab world, fueled by Jewish immigration to Palestine and the Balfour Declaration of 1917, which promised a Jewish homeland.
Al-Banna’s Brotherhood, with its anti-colonial and anti-Zionist rhetoric, emerged as a potential ally for Nazi Germany, which cultivated relationships with Arab nationalist and Islamist groups to destabilize British rule. This convergence of interests—opposition to Britain and Zionism—forms the backdrop for allegations of collaboration, though the extent and nature of any ties remain contentious.
Nazi Collaboration
The Brotherhood, led by al-Banna, actively collaborated with Nazi Germany, receiving funding, propaganda support, and ideological inspiration.
Propaganda Exchanges: Nazi Germany broadcast Arabic-language radio propaganda from Berlin, targeting the Middle East with anti-British and anti-Jewish messages. At the same time the Brotherhood distributed Nazi leaflets and translated Hitler’s Mein Kampf and The Protocols of the Elders of Zion into Arabic, amplifying anti-Semitic narratives. A 2010 book, Nazi Propaganda for the Arab World by Jeffrey Herf, argues that German broadcasts reached Egyptian audiences, with Brotherhood publications like Al-Nadhir echoing similar themes.
Hamas Sources of Funding – Are you buying halal products?
Hamas, an Islamist militant group with roots in the Muslim Brotherhood, relies heavily on a complex network of Islamic charitable fronts to funnel funds for its operations, including its social welfare programs and military activities.
Organizations such as the Holy Land Foundation (HLF) in the United States, shut down in 2001, were documented in court records as transferring millions to Hamas under the guise of humanitarian aid. The 2008 HLF trial revealed that over $12 million was sent to Hamas-controlled entities in Gaza and the West Bank, with funds collected through zakat (Islamic charity) appeals at mosques and Islamic centers.
Similarly, the Al-Aqsa Foundation in Germany, with branches in Belgium and Holland, was identified in a 2003 Dutch intelligence report as a Hamas fundraising arm, channeling donations from Muslim communities in Europe to Hamas-affiliated groups in Palestine.
These fronts exploit the religious obligation of zakat, diverting a portion of donations—often solicited for orphans or refugees—to Hamas operatives, families of martyrs, and weapons procurement, blurring the line between charity and terrorism financing.
In addition to charitable fronts, Hamas leverages sham charities to expand its financial base, particularly in Europe and the Middle East. The Charity Association of Solidarity with the Palestinian People (ABSPP) in Italy, led by Hamas member Mohammad Hannoun, was exposed in a 2024 Middle East Forum investigation as a front that funneled at least $4 million to Hamas’s military wing over a decade, despite claiming to support humanitarian causes.
Likewise, the Sanabil Association for Relief and Development in Lebanon, linked to Hamas since 2001, has been documented in a 2003 U.S. Treasury designation as distributing funds to Hamas operatives under the pretext of aiding Palestinian refugee camps.
These sham charities often operate within a web of interconnected organizations, moving funds through multiple accounts to obscure their destination, as noted in a 2017 Australian Institute of Criminology report on terror financing.
This layered structure allows Hamas to exploit lax regulatory oversight in countries with significant Muslim populations, ensuring a steady flow of funds while maintaining a veneer of legitimacy.
Halal Funding
The halal certification industry, a multi-billion-dollar global market, serves as another covert funding stream for Hamas through certifiers with ties to Islamist networks.
The Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America (IFANCA), a leading U.S.-based halal certifier, was reported by the Middle East Forum in 2021 to have donated over $200,000 between 2012 and 2019 to radical groups linked to Hamas, including the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) and its proselytization arm, GainPeace. ICNA, in turn, partners with Pakistan’s Al Khidmat Foundation, which Jamaat-e-Islami’s own website admits finances Hamas.
IFANCA’s tax filings show payments to these groups, which use halal certification fees—charged to food, beverage, and pharmaceutical companies—to fund Islamist causes, with a portion reaching Hamas through intermediaries like the Zakat Foundation of America, previously tied to al-Qaeda financing. These connections, detailed in IRS Form 990s, reveal how halal certification profits are siphoned into a broader network of terror-linked charities.
Hamas’s funding through these channels is sustained by exploiting religious and cultural practices, ensuring both scale and secrecy.
The halal certification scam, as described in a 2015 Cairns News report, generates millions by imposing fees on non-Muslim companies, with funds funneled through certifiers like the Islamic Council of Western Australia, which admitted in its annual report to donating to Syria via Al Imdaad, a charity linked to Hamas support networks.
This system thrives on the global demand for halal products, with certifiers leveraging their authority to extract fees that ultimately support Hamas’s dual agenda of governance and militancy. By embedding itself within legitimate Islamic institutions, Hamas ensures that its financial lifelines remain difficult to trace, relying on the trust of Muslim donors and the opacity of international financial systems to perpetuate its operations.
