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A new ISGAP report argues the Muslim Brotherhood has spent decades quietly shaping Western institutions through influence, not violence, using a long-term strategy most people overlook.

Most people hear “Muslim Brotherhood” and think of something distant—old political battles in the Middle East, not something unfolding quietly in Western institutions. But the report titled The Muslim Brotherhood’s Strategic Entryism into Western Society: A Systematic Analysis put out by the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP), argues the opposite.

It paints a picture of a movement that’s been working slowly, steadily, and mostly under the radar inside the United States and Europe for decades. Not through violence, but through influence, shaping conversations, building organisations, and positioning itself inside the places where ideas, policies, and public narratives take shape. Whether someone ends up agreeing with all of this or not, the report’s core message is that the Brotherhood’s long game is far more ambitious than most Americans realise.

 

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The following is only a summary of that report. It’s not the full story. I summarise the introduction, which frames the argument, but the rest of the report goes far deeper. If you want to understand the scale of what the authors claim is happening inside Western institutions, I’d strongly encourage you to read the report yourself. What I’m giving you here is simply the main outline.

Reshaping Public Discourse

The introduction makes a straightforward claim: the Muslim Brotherhood has spent decades working its way into Western institutions—not through violence, but through slow, deliberate influence. According to the authors, this is not scattered or improvised.

It’s a long-term strategy that uses the openness of Western democracies to reshape how officials talk, how institutions think, and how the public understands certain issues. Whether someone agrees with every conclusion or not, the introduction makes it clear that the authors see a coordinated project, not random activism.

A key idea in the report is tamkeen—the Brotherhood’s concept of gradually building power. The authors trace how that idea developed under different leaders. Al-Banna focused on personal reform and community-building. Qutb sharpened the ideology and rejected secular society outright. Qaradawi added a more practical layer for Muslims living in the West. Over time, the report says, these ideas grew into a wide-ranging strategy that works across social, political, legal, and cultural arenas at once.

The introduction leans heavily on two internal Brotherhood documents, one from 1982 and one from 1991. The 1991 memo is the well-known “civilisational jihad” document, which describes influence, not violence. The authors treat these documents as evidence that the Brotherhood mapped out a long-term plan for engaging Western institutions. They argue this explains why similar patterns appear in different countries. Whether someone fully accepts that argument or not, these documents are central to understanding the introduction.

 

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Subtle Subversion

The authors say the strategy shows up in four main areas: (1) policy, (2) law, (3) institutions, and (4) public narratives. In policy circles, Brotherhood-aligned groups are described as gaining advisory access and shaping the language governments use on extremism. In the legal realm, the report argues that the term “Islamophobia” is often used to shut down ideological criticism.

Institutionally, it describes a network of mosques, charities, advocacy groups, student organisations, and academic programmes that reinforce one another over time. And on the narrative side, the authors point to media appearances, campus activism, and messaging around Israel and Palestine.

The introduction highlights certain moments where the authors believe the strategy becomes easier to see—after 9/11, the rise of BDS on Western campuses, and in the recent waves of activism connected to Middle East conflicts. They claim these moments expose networks that have been built slowly and quietly over decades.

The broader point the introduction makes is that this is a form of non-violent extremism. It stays inside the law. It uses the protections of democratic societies to advance ideas that aren’t especially democratic in return. That’s why, the authors argue, governments struggle to engage with it. Institutions like universities, NGOs, and media outlets often lack transparency about funding, ideological partnerships, or outside influence. In that environment, ideas can take root long before anyone notices.

This is only the introduction. The rest of the report goes further into the mechanics of influence, the networks involved, and the long-term implications for Western society. Whether you end up agreeing with the report or not, it deserves to be read closely. At the very least, it forces us to ask whether our own institutions are paying attention—or whether they’ve already been shaped by forces operating quietly in the background.

 

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