The Association of Muslim Social Scientists U.K has awarded its 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award to two U.S. supporters of the global Muslim Brotherhood. According to the AMSSUK announcement:
The AMSS UK is pleased to announce that its prestigious 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award has been presented to two recipients at the A Common Word Between Us and You: A Global Agenda for Change Conference, 6-8 October 2009 at the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Centre for Muslim-Christian Understanding, Georgetown University, USA. The Award was presented by Dr. Ibrahim Kalin, Chief Advisor to the Prime Minister of Turkey, and Shaikh Amr Khaled on behalf of Dr. Anas S. Al-Shaikh-Ali, Chair, AMSS UK. Professor John L. Esposito, Founding Director, Prince Alwaleed Centre for Muslim-Christian Understanding, USA, in recognition of his outstanding academic contributions and pioneering work in developing the academic study and understanding of Faiths and their relations. Professor Charles E. Butterworth, Emeritus Professor, University of Maryland, USA, in recognition of outstanding scholarly service to the study of Islamic political philosophy and medieval Arabic giving academic prominence to advanced Islamic philosophical discourse and its relevance for the current era.
AMSSUK is the U.K. partner of the American organization by the same name which is headquartered at the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), a part of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood. The AMSS was founded in 1972 as an outgrowth of the Muslim Student Association by important members of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood including Jamal Barzinji, currently a leader of IIIT, and the late Ismail Faruqi, a pivotal figure in the “Islamization of Knowledge” project. The AMSSUK Advisory Board includes other individuals tied to the global Brotherhood including:
- Mustafa Ceric (Grand Mufti of Bosnia)
- Charles Butterworth (University of Maryland)
- Khurshid Ahmed Pakistani (Jamaat-d-Islami)
- Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens)
- Lord Ahmed of Rotherham
Dr. Esposito has espoused views consistent with Brotherhood doctrine and during the 1990’s was known for his claims that Islamic fundamentalism was, in fact, democratic and posed no threat to the U.S. Dr. Esposito has at least a dozen past or present affiliations with global Muslim Brotherhood/Hamas organizations including having served on the advisory board of the Institute of Islamic Political Thought in the U.K. headed by Azzam Tamimi, a leader in the U.K. Muslim Brotherhood and often described as a Hamas spokesman. Dr. Esposito has also served with global Muslim Brotherhood leader Youssef Qaradawi on the Steering Committee of the Circle of Tradition and Progress and enjoyed a close relationship with the United Association For Studies and Research (USAR), part of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood’s Palestine Committee and part of the Hamas support infrastructure. . In 2005, Saudi prince Alaweed bin Talal, a financial supporter of the global Muslim Brotherhood donated $20 million to the Center for Muslim Christian Understanding at Georgetown, headed by Dr. Esposito.
Dr. Butterworth is currently Professor of Government and Politics at the University of Maryland, College Park. He is has been a consulting Editor for the journal of the United Studies and Research, a part of the Hamas infrastructure in the U.S. He has also been a member of the Advisory Boards of the American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences, Minaret of Freedom, and the School for Islamic and Social Sciences, all tied to the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood.
As discussed in a previous post, last year the AMSSUK presented an award to the Common Word project.
Click here for full press release (PDF).