The website of the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), a part of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood, has reported that a group of 86 Malaysian and Indonesian college students with U.S. citizenship paid an afternoon visit to IIIT on December 27. The report indicates that IIIT has been “training and mentoring” Malaysian and Indonesian students in the past through its department of human development and that IIIT played an important role in the founding and early growth of the Malaysian Islamic Study Group (MISG) which has merged with its Indonesian counterpart. According to the report:
The visiting students were welcomed by IIIT vice president Dr. Jamal Barzinji, who later addressed them on the subject of the role of IIIT vis a vis the identity of American Muslims and the significance of their American citizenship. Dr. Hisham Altalib recounted the establishment and development of the MISG idea within the context of the Muslim Students Association of the U.S. and Canada (MSA). Dr. Iqbal Unus referred to the students’ role as future leaders and shapers of their societies and spoke about the teaching and education function of IIIT through its division The Fairfax Institute. Dr. Abubaker Al-Shingieti talked about IIIT’s research agenda and introduced the 2008 summer internships for college students.Visiting students asked a number of questions related to early history as well as how they could benefit from the approach and perspective that IIIT offered.
IIIT has long been active in Malaysia and Indonesia and has branch offices in both countries. IIIT co-founder and leader Jamal Barzinji is also a former director of two Islamic Banks in Malaysia, representing Jami Company Sdn, an investment holding, property development and rental company. Barzinji was also one of the main inidviduals involved in the now defunct SAAR Foundation, an extensive network of charities and companies in Northern VIrginia suspected by the US government of involvement in terrorism financing. He and other SAAR officers were involved in establishing earliest organizations of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood.
(additional Source: “Corporate: More light shed on Bank Islam woes” The Edge Malaysia October 23, 2006