A U.K. think tank and local media are reporting on what appears to be the launch of a new Muslim Brotherhood organization in Scotland known as the Scottish Islamic Foundation (SIF). According to a report posted an online Scottish news magazine:
A new organisation run by Scottish Muslims that aims to promote the tenets of good citizenship will be launched by First Minister Alex Salmond this week. The Scottish-Islamic Foundation will be led by second and third generation Scottish Muslims and will focus on teaching Muslims that their faith demands they be good citizens. The launch of the foundation will take place in Edinburgh and will feature an address from First Minister Alex Salmond. The date of the launch has been consciously chosen to coincide with the first anniversary of the Glasgow airport terrorist attack. Key figures from the foundation have already been running residential retreats for young people aimed at building community cohesion and reducing the possibility of radicalisation.
The Center for Social Cohesion (CSC), a U.K. think thank, has issued a report on the SIF to be headed by Osama Saeed, a long time figure in the Scottish branch of the Muslim Association of Britain, an important U.K. Muslim Brotherhood group. The CSC report details Mr. Saeed’s support for the the concept of a “global Caliphate” as well as his defense of global Muslim Brotherhood leader Youssef Qaradawi.
The CSC report also notes that although the official launch of the organization is tomorrow, the SIF has been active for several months and discusses a number of events held by the organization illustrating its clear ties to the global Muslim Brotherhood. Further links to the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood are suggested on he SIF website which says that the training division of the SIF was launched at a conference featuring U.S. Muslim Brotherhood leader Jamal Badawi. Previous posts have discussed Mr. Saeed’s relationship with the Scottish National Party and his seeming support for Scottish independence. In an even more ominous development, the CSC report states:
…in February 2008, the Scottish government set up a working group to examine whether or not to replace the Trident nuclear weapons system. The 13-member group, which first met for the first time on 10 April, includes Osama Saeed on behalf of the Scottish Islamic Foundation.
Discussion
SIF Director Osama Saeed responds to the report here. Notice he doesn’t actually take up any of the allegations but rather attacks the source. This is consistent with most responses by Muslim Brotherhood organizations to critical analysis.