WE'RE TALKING SCARY HERE, REALLY SCARY – AT 10:33 A.M. ET:  Youssef al-Qaradawi, the guy considered the spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt has a regular show on Al Jazeera, a deceptive "news" network that actually promotes radical Islam, while dressing it up a bit.

This guy is the subject of a detailed investigative report in the German magazine Der Spiegel.  It's the kind of reporting we're not getting here, and the result scares the heck out of me.  Consider this:

Qaradawi advocates establishing a "United Muslim Nations" as a contemporary form of the caliphate and the only alternative to the hegemony of the West. He hates Israel and would love to take up arms himself. In one of his sermons, he asked God "to kill the Jewish Zionists, every last one of them."

In January 2009, he said: "Throughout history, Allah has imposed upon the [Jews] people who would punish them for their corruption. The last punishment was carried out by [Adolf] Hitler."

Will this man encourage his brothers in Cairo to uphold the peace treaty with Israel, should the Muslim Brotherhood become part of a government now that Mubarak has resigned?

And yet there are those in the U.S. who are promoting the Brotherhood as "moderate," even secular.

It doesn't get any better:

The imam has also developed a reputation for himself as a moderate. Many see him as a symbol of an enlightened Islam. When speaking to the Western media, in particular, Qaradawi likes to point to Muslims' tolerance of non-Muslims and condemns the attacks of al-Qaida.

He also speaks out against the systematic castigation of wives. He calls the practice unwise, saying: "Blows are not effective with every woman, but they are helpful with some." In other cases, the sheikh insists on equal rights. For example, he says, a woman does not have to ask her husband's permission to blow herself up in an Israeli café.

Moderate, thoughtful religious leader.  Not like the others.  Geez.

...many feel that the TV imam is more dangerous than those like the Taliban who teach the Koran to the letter. Qaradawi does not demand anything impossible from his contemporaries. Instead, he stresses that his followers can be devout and modern at the same time.

Critics see Qaradawi's caution as nothing but a ruse. In the German blog "Die Achse des Guten" ("The Axis of Good"), Christoph Spielberger writes about the "Islamic principle of Taqiyya, or misrepresentation to achieve a higher goal." According to Islamic tradition, concealing one's faith is permissible, but only in the face of a massive threat.

Finally...

Now everyone wants to know who the Muslim Brothers really are. The question is as pointless as asking whether Yusuf al-Qaradawi is moderate or not. He is both himself and the opposite of himself, depending on one's perspective -- and the circumstances.

But what is acceptable in quantum physics can be extremely dangerous in the business of politics.

COMMENT:  I think we're getting the idea.  Like the fascists of the 1930s, the Brotherhood will have a fifth column operating in the United States, through the universities, part of the press, and lobbyists.  And, like the fascists of the 1930s, the Brotherwood will convince some, and lull others to sleep.

February 16, 2011