The International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), a U.S. Muslim Brotherhood organization, continues its relationship with a Washington. D.C interfaith institute in a seminar to be held in January at the IIIT headquarters in late January. According to the IIIT website the seminar, titled Faith Based Reconciliationwill bring together twenty participants; half Muslim “community leaders” who are engaged in interfaith activities and the other half evangelical Christians with “an interest in Islam or Muslims.” The notice describes the vents as follows:
The main objective of the seminar is to introduce and impart the concept of the Abrahamic moral vision which embodies the sacred mission of faith based reconciliation. Specifically, the seminar teaches eight core values that constitute reconciliation as a moral vision: Pluralism, Inclusion, Peacemaking, Social Justice, Forgiveness, Healing, Sovereignty and Atonement. Beyond understanding reconciliation as a moral vision in Abrahamic terms, the seminar seeks to help participants develop the necessary skills to be agents for transformation. The choice of Muslim community leaders and evangelical Christians is meant to help build bridges based on common grounds of understanding of the Abrahamic moral vision.
The seminar will be led by Rev. Brian Cox, described as a California church rector and Senior Vice President for Dispute Resolution Training for the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy (ICRD). A previous post has noted that the Vice President for Islamic Programs at ICRD is Dr. Abubaker Y. Ahmed Al-Shingieti, a former Sudanese diplomat and IIIT leader with extensive ties to the US. Muslim Brotherhood. The post also noted that one of the purposes of the IIIT/ICRD relationship was to encourage “the American Muslim community and the U.S. Government to work mutually” and that the two organizations had held a prior conference in November 2006 that was co-sponsored by the Institute for Defense Analysis which according to its website is engaged with the Department of Defense in the study of national security issues. In June of last year, a new group known as Americans Muslims for Constructive Engagement (AMCE) was formed whose rationale was to promote “a constructive partnership between the U.S. Muslim Community and the U.S. Government.” The leadership of the AMCE represents virtually the entire U.S Muslim Brotherhood and both Al-Shingieti and Doug Johnston, the head of the ICRD, are represented.
It should also be noted that the relationship between major U.S. Jewish organizations and the evangelical Christian community has been a source of support for Israel in the past years. It is likely that this effort by the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood to develop better relations with that community is an effort to make inroads into that relationship. The entire global Muslim Brotherhood actively support Hamas, itself an outgrowth of the Brotherhood.