By N. Richard Greenfield, Publisher ~

No need to look too far a-field for signs of the Muslim Brotherhood in the world. We hear everyday of its activism and violence in Mahgreb, Egypt and Syria, and we constantly hear how it threatens Israel in the Middle East. Look no further than Hartford in May to see a Muslim Brother.
The Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) and Muslim American Society (MAS) will be holding their annual convention at the Hartford Convention Center, May 26 to 28. Both ICNA and the MAS are fundamentalist Muslim organizations whose origins lie in the Muslim Brotherhood. The Brotherhood is a prolific creator of fundamentalist organizations that has spawned no fewer than 70 other groups worldwide — groups that promote the hegemony of Islam over the rest of the world and advocate doing so by various means, depending on the organization involved.
It’s likely that Hartford, which has hosted gatherings like this before, was chosen because of the nearby presence of the Hartford Seminary. The Seminary’s immediate past president is Ingrid Mattson, who was also past-president of the Islamic Society of North America, another organization intertwined with Muslim Brotherhood affiliates and offshoots.

The Jewish Ledger last brought these affiliations to light when writing several weeks ago about the student exchange program between the Hartford Seminary and the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS), the Conservative movement’s flagship educational institution. Our editorial noted that only the Hartford Seminary released a statement about this activity while JTS had not.  Since then we have heard from a number JTS alumni who are also surprised by the JTS’s lack of forthrightness and of clarity on this association  .

The Anti Defamation League has, in the past, commented on the inclusion of anti-Israel speakers at previous ICNA conclaves. We wonder if that will be true this May as well and if the JTS, under the umbrella of its association with the Hartford Seminary will be there to hear them.

~ nrg