Where is Ibrahim El-Houdaiby?

Posted by gary fouse in October 12th, 2008

Where is Ibrahim El-Houdaiby?

A few days ago, I posted a report on the appearance of Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Ibrahim El Houdaiby at UC-Irvine. (This report has also been posted on Ikhwan-the Muslim Brotherhood’s English-language website.)

That night, I got the below response from Mr El-Houdaiby, which appears in the comments section of this blog.

“I am Ibrahim El Houdaiby and my answer is rather simple, and straightforward.
I have already read the entire holyland foundation thing, and there is no proof whatsoever, neither legal nor rational, that this group is associated with the MB, plus a US government has rejected these documents

At any case, even if it did not reject them, the most important point which I made, and you mentioned but kept very low here, is that the Muslim Brotherhood is not in any way associated with that foundation, we do not have presence in North America to start with, and this goes against our ideology and what we stand for
if you want to read (again) about the objectives of shariah I have spoken about during my talk you could find them in a book entitled: How to Deal with Holy Quran by Qaradawy, but I’m not sure thats translated to English

Anyway I hope your mum is fine and that there was nothing serious.”

October 8, 2008 10:21 PM

Below is my response (also in the comments section).

Gary Fouse said…

“Mr El Houdaiby,

First of all, I thank you for your good wishes about my mother. She is fine.

As for the document I gave you, I would appreciate any information you could provide that shows that this document is not authentic and has been proven to be false.

I wanted to ask you yesterday if that was the first time you had seen this document, I did not have unlimited time to ask questions. In that forum, a person really should ask only one question.

As for the Muslim Brotherhood not being in the US, that may be true, but the document, if authentic, would indicate that the Brotherhood has contact with US groups, such as the Muslim Student Associations (MSA). It has been reported that the Brotherhood is associated with the MSA as a sponsor or founder. Perhaps, you could enlighten me on that.

As for the current philosophy and aims of the Brotherhood, I want to believe that they are as you say. As for the government in Egypt, which you oppose, I take no sides in that issue. I too would like to see Democracy come to the Middle East, but I don’t see how Sharia law and democracy come together, at least our idea of democracy.

Let me take this opportunity to tell you why I have spoken out against the UCI-MSU (which I am sure you are now aware.) As a Christian, I have very strong feelings about anti-Semitism (Jewish). I have spent years in Germany, and am very-well versed in the Third Reich and Holocaust. The MSU at UCI regularly brings in virulent speakers who are not only anti-Semitic but anti-American as well)Amir Abdel Malik Ali, Alim Musa, Mohammed Al-Asi-Dr Levine can tell you who they are). These speakers also glorify suicide bombings in Israel. It is my position that this had led to an atmosphere of anti-Semitism on this campus whenever these people appear here. I have and will continue to speak out against this, as well as the unwillingness of the university administration to confront it.

I would be remiss if I didn’t tell you that while our nation has a tradition of freedom of religion (which has included Islam), we would never submit to having a religion imposed on us. The Europeans might, but not Americans. We have fought too hard to win our freedoms to ever allow that to happen.

I have one last question and one last comment.

Question: Could you explain the connection between the Brotherhood and the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, who spent the years of the 2nd World War in Berlin as an ally of Adolf Hitler?

Comment: I have said this before and will say it again. I have no problem with Muslims defending their religion. Muslims should, indeed, defend Islam. However, they don’t need to defend it from non-Muslims. In my view, they need to defend it from those other Muslims who engage in terror in the name of Islam and thus, bring discredit to the religion all over the world.

I thank you for your response.”

October 9, 2008 9:31 AM

To date, there has been no further word from Mr El-Houdaibi. My last questions remain unanswered. I assume he is no longer in Irvine. Perhaps he is touring other American universities trying to convince listeners that the Brotherhood is a peaceful reform organization. Perhaps, he is back in Egypt. Since Ikhwan apparently reads this blog, perhaps they can get a message to Mr El-Houdaiby that I am still awaiting his response.

gary fouse

fousesquawk

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