The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars has announced that it is jointly sponsoring an upcoming event together with the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT). According to the announcement, the event is titled “Reform of Higher Education in Muslim Societies” and will feature the following individuals:
- ‘Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Malaysia
- Rosnani Hashim Institute of Education, International Islamic University, Malaysia
- Heidi Hadsell President, Hartford Seminary, United States
Anwar Ibrahim, a leader in the Global Muslim Brotherhood, helped to found IIIT and currently serves as one of its directors.
The International Islamic University-Malaysia (IIUM Malaysia) has long been part of the Global Muslim Brotherhood network. In 2008, we reported that Dr. AbdulHamid AbuSulayman, one of the most important figures in the history of the global Muslim Brotherhood, was a guest of honor at the 25th anniversary celebration of the International Islamic University Malaysia where he was rector from 1989-1999. The GMBDW reportedyesterday that Hamas political leader Khaled Meshaal was scheduled to speak this week at the IIUM Malaysia.
As we reported , the Hartford Seminary has had a long-standing relationship with IIIT.
The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars has been described as follows:
The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (or Wilson Center), located in Washington, D.C., is a United States Presidential Memorial that was established as part of the Smithsonian Institution by an act of Congress in 1968. It is also a highly recognised think tank, ranked among the top fifteen in the world. Named in honor of President Woodrow Wilson (the only President of the United States with a Ph.D.), its mission is: “to commemorate the ideals and concerns of Woodrow Wilson by: providing a link between the world of ideas and the world of policy; and fostering research, study, discussion, and collaboration among a full spectrum of individuals concerned with policy and scholarship in national and world affairs.”
Our predecessor publication reported in 2008 that IIIT financially supported conferences sponsored by the Wilson Center which involved a number of individuals associated with the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood.
The International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) describes itself as “a private, non-profit, academic, cultural and educational institution, concerned with general issues of Islamic thought and education” and using the slogan “Towards Islamization of Knowledge and Reform of Islamic Thought.” The concept for IIIT was developed at a meeting held in Lugano, Switzerland that was attended by many luminaries of the Global Muslim Brotherhood including Youssef Qaradawi. IIIIT was founded in the U.S. in 1980 by U.S. Muslim Brotherhood leaders including Iraqi-born Jamal Barzinji and Hisham Altalib who wished to promote the Islamization of Knowledge as conceived by Ismail Al-Faruqi and who were also early leaders of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA). A1991 internal document of the US Muslim Brotherhood, introduced as evidence in the holy Land Foundation trial, included IIIT in “a list of our organizations and organizations of our friends.” IIIT was associated with the now defunct SAAR Foundation, a network of Islamic organizations located in Northern Virginia that was raided by the Federal government in March 2002 in connection with the financing of terrorism and both organizations had been under investigation at that time by the U.S. Justice Department until at least mid 2007. The organization appeared to have withdrawn from public view following the 2002 raids but seems to be enjoying a renaissance of late. The IIIT Council of Scholars includes a number of important individuals from the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood such as Ingrid Mattson, the former President of ISNA. IIIT has a network of affiliates located in Europe, Africa, the MIddle East, and Asia and is heavily involved with publishing and promoting publications by Global Muslim Brotherhood leaders including Youssef Qaradawi who, according to one source, serves as an IIIT trustee.
The GMBDW reported in October that US Naval Academy instructor Ermin Sinanovic had been appointed as the Research Director at IIIT.