The International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), a part of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood, has announced that it has purchased land in Northern Lebanon in order to establish a University. According to the IIIT website:
In its mission to promote quality education, IIIT has purchased land in the Northern Province of Lebanon to establish a much needed university. Last month, Dr. Jamal Barzinji, Vice-President of IIIT, met with his Excellency Mr. Fouad al Sinyora, the Prime Minister of Lebanon, who strongly supports this project. The university, Al Shark University, will be established in the Northern Province. This area was chosen after his Excellency advised that it needs development and a lot of help in forming the moderate personality, as well as enhancing women’s active role in building modern society. Dr. Barzinji was informed by the Minister of Higher Education, Dr. Kabbani that the files for the university project have been successfully advanced to the technical committees and once they have reviewed them, implementation of the project will begin.
IIIT itself is associated with the now defunct SAAR Foundation, a network of Islamic organizations located in Northern Virginia that was raided by the Federal government in 2003 and is still under investigation by the U.S. Justice Department in connection with the financing of terrorism. IIIT was founded in 1980 by important members of the Global Muslim Brotherhood who wished to promote the “Islamization of Knowledge” and Youssef Qaradawi, now the leader of the global Muslim Brotherhood, played an important role in the European meeting which gave birth to the organization. An earlier post also reported that Youssef Qaradawi, the most important leader of the global Muslim Brotherhood, was identified by the South African IIIT affiliate as an IIIT “executive member.”
Another previous post reported that the Lebanese Muslim Brotherhood, known as al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya (the Islamic Association), was founded and led by Faisal Mawlawi, an important leader of the global Muslim Brotherhood and a close associate of Youssef Qaradawi. As that posted noted, in August 2005, Mideast news sources reported that “combatants” from the Islamic Group were fighting alongside Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon and that the group’s support of Hezbollah dated back to the 1980’s. It would appear then that IIIT is closely linked to the Lebanese Muslim Brotherhood through its association with Youssef Qaradawi which raises the question of why the Lebanese Prime Minister is supporting the IIIT initiative given the close relationship between Hezbollah and the Brotherhood in Lebanon.