New report presented at Washington DC policy event warns that the Brotherhood’s 50-year infiltration of U.S. institutions is at a critical midpoint
‘Designation is not enough’: Report recommends designating Brotherhood as a Foreign Terrorist Organization as the first step in confronting its ideological network
WASHINGTON, D.C. – November 19, 2025 — The Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP) today released its landmark report, The Muslim Brotherhood’s Strategic Entryism into Western Society: A Systematic Analysis, at a high-level policy event in Washington, D.C., featuring members of Congress, senior diplomats, policy experts, and leading researchers. The report represents the first of its kind comprehensive strategic assessment of the Muslim Brotherhood’s 100-year plan at its halfway point, mapping its ideological, institutional, and financial penetration into North America.
The 200-page analysis provides a detailed account of how the Brotherhood has spent five decades embedding itself within Western institutions while maintaining ideological opposition to democracy and pluralism. Drawing on authenticated internal documents, verified network mapping, and extensive case studies, the research reveals a coordinated, multi-generational project designed to influence policy, education, and civil society from within.
Dr. Charles Asher Small, Founding Director of ISGAP and co-author of the report, said: “We are now fifty years into the Brotherhood’s 100-year plan to entrench themselves into key institutions in the United States and other western societies to undermine and destroy our democracy. This is not simply a political movement but a transnational ideological project that adapts itself to Western systems while working to undermine them. The Brotherhood has learned to use the very freedoms of democracy as tools to erode it from within, exploiting the tolerance and openness of liberal societies as strategic vulnerabilities. This report lays out how, and what must now be done to defend our democracy. Designation as a terror organization is essential to safeguard our freedom and way of life and we must deal with the entryist damage that has already been done.”
Among its findings, the report documents how Brotherhood-linked organizations have gained access to government agencies, advised on civil rights policy, and influenced educational institutions, while cultivating extensive media and digital networks that shape public discourse. It exposes the Brotherhood’s “civilization jihad” strategy, a long-term campaign to subvert democratic societies by exploiting freedoms of religion and speech and forming tactical alliances with progressive and minority groups. The study also tracks direct lines between the Brotherhood’s ideological infrastructure and designated terrorist entities, including Hamas, and presents verified internal documents such as The Project (1982) and The Explanatory Memorandum (1991), which outline the movement’s century-long plan for the West.
Dalia Ziada, ISGAP Washington Coordinator, Research Fellow, and co-author of the report, said: “As someone who has studied and witnessed the Brotherhood’s operations firsthand, I can say with confidence that this is not a theoretical threat. It is an organized, multi-generational project to manipulate Western democracies and silence moderate Muslim voices, often powered by the ideological and financial backing of Qatar. The Brotherhood’s networks are not self-sustaining; they are nourished by a state that exports its worldview through funding, education, and media influence. The United States must act now, with clarity and courage, to protect both its values and its Muslim citizens from this ideological hijacking. Designation is a key step, but it’s not enough. It must be the beginning of a process.”
The report urges the U.S. government to formally designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, describing this as the first and foundational step toward countering its ideological and institutional influence. It concludes that such recognition would provide the legal and strategic framework to constrain Brotherhood-aligned networks, prevent misuse of civil-rights protections, and safeguard U.S. democratic institutions from ideological capture.
ISGAP’s analysis shows that the Brotherhood meets statutory criteria for FTO designation through its ideological and financial continuity with Hamas and other terrorist entities. The report presents documented links between Brotherhood-affiliated charities and the financing of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, along with overlap with Al Qaeda–linked networks in North Africa and the Gulf. It also identifies Qatar as a principal ideological and financial patron, funding Brotherhood-aligned organizations, Al Jazeera, and educational initiatives that promote Islamist narratives under the guise of cultural exchange.
Today’s event launching the report was attended by congressmen and senators including Senator Ted Budd (R-NC), Congressman Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN-03), Congressman Greg Landsman (D-OH-01), Congressman Don Bacon (R-NE-02), and Congressman Brad Schneider (D-IL-10), as well as a diverse group of policymakers, scholars, ambassadors, and Muslim and non-Muslim experts. ISGAP will now continue briefing policymakers and national security officials in Washington, D.C., and allied capitals about the report’s findings and recommendations.
The report forms part of ISGAP’s ongoing “Follow the Money” initiative, a global research program tracking extremist financing, ideological indoctrination, and foreign influence operations within Western institutions.
About ISGAP
The Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP) is a leading international research institute dedicated to the scholarly study of antisemitism, extremism, and ideological movements that threaten democratic societies. Through rigorous research and policy engagement, ISGAP provides governments and institutions with analytical tools to counter hatred and defend democratic values.