For decades, Western policymakers comforted themselves with the illusion that Islamist extremism could only be imported through porous borders or foreign-funded mosques. A groundbreaking new report by the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP) now shatters that complacency: the Muslim Brotherhood - one of the world’s most influential Islamist movements - has already embedded itself deep within America’s academic, political, and civic institutions. Its project is not improvisational but calculated, methodical, and half a century in the making: the transformation of the United States from within through ideological subversion, institutional capture, and the systematic manipulation of campus activism.

In a recently published report, the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP) has revealed alarming evidence of a decades-long strategy by the Muslim Brotherhood to infiltrate Western institutions with the ultimate goal of reshaping global governance in line with Sharia principles. According to the report, the Brotherhood is already halfway through its long-term plan to “transform Western society from within” by embedding its ideology in universities, civil society, and policymaking structures.

ISGAP is a leading international research institute dedicated to studying antisemitism, extremism, and ideological movements that threaten democratic societies. Through rigorous research and policy engagement, ISGAP equips governments with the analytical tools required to counter extremist networks.

The institute’s 200-page analysis details how the Muslim Brotherhood has spent more than fifty years quietly entrenching itself in Western institutions while maintaining its ideological hostility toward democracy, secular governance, and pluralism.

The Ideological Blueprint

Describing how the Brotherhood positions its doctrine within American academic spaces, ISGAP explains: “Islamism is not Islam. It is a political ideology that reframes Islam not primarily as a faith but as a totalizing political program… Its advocates insist that Islam is not merely a spiritual religion but an all-encompassing system governing politics, law, and society”.

The report identifies the Muslim Brotherhood - founded in Egypt in 1928 by Hassan al-Banna - as the most significant promoter of Islamism. Al-Banna’s movement fused religious devotion with organized political activism, asserting that Islam must govern every sphere of life. This ideology was further radicalized by Sayyid Qutb, whose 1964 manifesto Milestones claimed that Muslim societies had regressed into jahiliyyah, or pre-Islamic ignorance, and argued that only a revolutionary vanguard could restore divine sovereignty through struggle.

Parallel ideologues such as Abul A’la Maududi in South Asia and Yusuf al-Qaradawi in the Middle East expanded and globalized these doctrines. Maududi - founder of Jamaat-e-Islami, the Brotherhood’s South Asian counterpart - was especially influential in spreading political Islam across the region.

Tamkeen: The Brotherhood’s strategy of slow capture

A central doctrine shared by the Brotherhood and Jamaat-e-Islami is tamkeen, a deliberate strategy of institutional embedding. Unlike violent revolutionary movements, tamkeen prioritizes slow, methodical entrenchment within civil society, academia, media, and policymaking. The aim is to normalize Islamist discourse, marginalize alternative Muslim voices, and assert ideological dominance over Muslim communities.

In the United States, Brotherhood-aligned organizations have used tamkeen to portray themselves as the sole legitimate representatives of American Muslims. This positioning has granted them influence in government consultations, law enforcement outreach, academic partnerships, and public debates.

Following the September 11 attacks, these groups shifted discourse from the doctrinal roots of Islamist violence toward accusations of “Islamophobia”, a framing that increased their political leverage at a time of heightened national scrutiny.

Campus Capture And Mobilisation 

Between 2007 and 2017, the Brotherhood’s influence grew rapidly on university campuses, where the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement became a key vehicle for mobilizing anti-Israel sentiment. Coalition-building with progressive groups expanded their reach far beyond Muslim student constituencies, creating enduring infrastructures for activism.

Recent geopolitical developments have further exposed the scale of this network. During the 2024 wave of campus protests - dubbed the “student intifada” - coordinated messaging framed Israel as a genocidal aggressor while downplaying or justifying Hamas terrorism. Over 3,100 protesters were arrested across more than 60 campuses in the United States, with similar movements erupting across Europe, Canada, and Australia.

American intelligence assessments revealed that Iran covertly amplified the protests through online influence operations and selective funding, while Qatar had previously injected more than US$4.7 billion into US academic institutions - funding that many critics argue has shaped administrative decisions and muted disciplinary responses.

Jewish students across multiple campuses reported intimidation, threats, and open antisemitism. Hillel’s survey found that the majority felt unsafe, while US federal investigations concluded that several universities failed to prevent the creation of hostile learning environments.

The Islamist Playbook: From The US To South Asia

The Brotherhood’s strategy is global. In India, pro-Palestinian protests have been weaponized by groups including Jamaat-e-Islami, Jaish-e-Muhammad, Lashkar-e-Taiba, ISIS-linked entities, and Pakistan’s ISI to stoke communal hostility and recruit young Muslims into political Islam. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been funneled toward campus radicalization, media manipulation, and political influence campaigns that demonize Hindus and normalize Islamist narratives.

Bangladesh has also witnessed a surge of Islamist mobilization. Between 2022 and 2024, Jamaat-e-Islami and Hizb-ut-Tahrir orchestrated nationwide boycotts of Western brands by falsely labeling them “Jewish products”, intimidating shopkeepers, and inciting anti-Western sentiment. After the 2024 jihadist coup in Bangladesh, Islamist mobs vandalized outlets of KFC, Pizza Hut, and other Western chains.

A Growing Global Threat 

The steady infiltration of the Muslim Brotherhood and its ideological offshoots is not simply a domestic American concern. It represents a transnational challenge that threatens the security, stability, and sovereignty of democratic nations - including India, Bangladesh, and countries across Europe.

If democratic societies continue treating the Muslim Brotherhood merely as a socio-religious movement instead of a long-term ideological insurgency, they will cede their institutions to an adversary that thrives on deception, patience, and calibrated subversion. Islamists do not need to win elections or seize power through force; they only need universities, civil society, and political discourse to collapse under the weight of their intimidation. The West is now confronting the consequences of ignoring this threat for decades. Unless governments decisively outlaw Islamist fronts - especially those masquerading as “pro-Palestine” groups - the Brotherhood’s project of ideological colonization will advance unchecked. 

The battle for the future of open societies will be decided not in foreign battlefields but in American classrooms, Indian streets, and the public squares of every nation that still believes in freedom.

(The author is a journalist, writer, and editor-publisher of the Weekly Blitz. He specializes in counterterrorism and regional geopolitics. He can be contacted at salahuddinshoaibchoudhury@yahoo.com, follow him on X: @Salah_Shoaib )