Self-proclaimed Caliph of the Islamic State / ISIS / ISIL / Da’ish Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has been making things difficult for stealth Muslim Brotherhood groups and leaders. Attempts by Barack Obama to insist that a group with “Islamic State” in its name is “not Islamic” and the PhD in Islamic studies hanging on al-Baghdadi’s wall only amplify the “if it walks like a duck” metaphors. In fact, the preponderance of evidence that the Islamic State is Islamic makes those who say otherwise look incredibly foolish with each additional utterance.

Islamic State Caliph: PhD in Islamic Studies.

The so-called ‘moderate’ Muslim leaders who desperately need to create more and more distance between themselves and ISIS are actually highlighting the similarities between what they and ISIS believe. A recent letter addressed to al-Baghdadi was signed by several of those leaders but seems to be having the effect of making al-Baghdadi’s case. Meira Svirsky writes:

Although 126 contemporary Islamist leaders and scholars recently signed a letter denouncing the actions of the Islamic State, the letter unfortunately endorses the Islamic State’s goals of rebuilding the caliphate, establishing sharia law and instituting the brutal hudud [punishments for the most severe crimes].

The letter, which was addressed to the self-declared caliph of the Islamic State, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was signed and presented in Washington by Nihad Awad, executive director and founder of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR).

The criticism of the Islamic State by the scholars that signed the letter is that the terrorist group is not “following the correct procedures that ensure justice and mercy.”

However, endorsing sharia law, point 5 of the letter states, “What is meant by ‘practical jurisprudence’ is the process of applying Shari’ah rulings and dealing with them according to the realities and circumstances that people are living under.”

The letter continues, “Practical jurisprudence [fiqh al-waq’i] considers the texts that are applicable to peoples realities at a particular time, and the obligations that can be postponed until they are able to be met or delayed based on their capabilities.”

Far from distancing themselves from the implementation of sharia law by the Islamic State, the above statements are an endorsement of the Islamist doctrine of “gradualism.” This is an incremental strategy for establishing sharia governance, supporting jihad and advancing the Islamist cause.

One of the signatories to the letter is Sheikh Abdallah bin Bayyah, the deputy of the Muslim Brotherhood’s spiritual leader Yusuf al-Qaradawi. Al-Qaradawi has made no bones about wanting a Caliphate but insists that it should be established in Turkey. He traveled there recently and made that very case, as Shoebat.com reported.

Here is the relevant excerpt from the letter to al-Baghdadi about the Caliphate (h/t Ryan Mauro):

22. The Caliphate: There is agreement (ittifaq) among scholars that a caliphate is an obligation upon the Ummah. The Ummah has lacked a caliphate since 1924 CE. However, a new caliphate requires consensus from Muslims and not just from those in some small corner of the world. Omar ibn Al-Khattab said: ‘Whosoever pledges allegiance to a man without due consultation with Muslims has fooled himself; and neither he nor the man to whom he pledged allegiance should be followed for he has risked both their lives.’ Announcing a caliphate without consensus is sedition (fitnah) because it renders the majority of Muslims who do not approve it outside of the caliphate. It will also lead to many rival caliphates emerging, thereby sowing sedition and discord (fitnah) among Muslims. The beginnings of this discord reared its head when the Sunni imams of Mosul did not pledge allegiance to you and you killed them.

This admission, when viewed in the context of the opposing assertions made by Israeli PM Benjamin Nethanyahu and U.S. State Department spokesman Jen Psaki serve as yet another torpedo to Psaki’s credibility. As Shoebat.com reported, Netanyahu declared that the goal of groups like the Muslim Brotherhood is a global Caliphate. When Psaki was asked to respond to Netanyahu’s claim, she disagreed.

Psaki: Disagrees with Muslim Brotherhood that it wants a Caliphate.

It is not known if Psaki is familiar with item 22 in the letter to al-Baghdadi.

Of course, bin Bayyah’s signature on that letter shows he is in agreement with al-Qaradawi on the Caliphate issue. It can also be concluded that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan prefers the seat of that kind of power in his own country. After all, he received al-Qaradawi as the latter was suggesting it. Besides, as Shoebat.com has reported, Erdogan is from the Naqshbandi order and had a front row seat at a 1994 speech given by Naqshbandi Sheikh Nazeem Kibrisi in which Kibrisi called for the return of such an Ottoman Caliphate.

Erdogan and al-Qaradawi

Al-Qaradawi’s deputy bin Bayyah has had a surprisingly high level of access to Obama administration officials. In 2011, bin Bayyah was in Washington, DC for the U.S.-Islamic World Forum (US-IWF), an annual event co-sponsored by the Brookings Institute and the government of Qatar, which has been harboring al-Qaradawi for years. Also in attendance at that year’s US-IWF was U.S. Senator John McCain, then U.S. Senator John Kerry, and then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as Shoebat.com reported.

Sheik Abdullah Bin Bayyah at 2011 US-IWF. ISNA President Mohamed Magid seated next to him (far left).

That same month, McCain was in Benghazi and praised the rebels there as being his “heroes”.

One year later, the US-IWF was back in Doha, Qatar – its usual location. On hand to give a speech was then Deputy National Security advisor and current Chief of Staff to Barack Obama Denis McDonough, as Shoebat.com reported. Also in attendance was bin Bayyah, as were two other individuals who signed the letter to al-Baghdadi – former ISNA President Mohamed Magid and CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad. In his speech, McDonough praised both Magid and Rashad Hussain, Obama’s envoy to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

Denis McDonough shakes hands with Sheikh Abdallah bin Bayyah (Magid behind McDonough).

The Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT) has identified Magid and Hussain as being Muslim Brotherhood infiltrators of the Obama administration.

In 2013, bin Bayyah made another trip to Washington, DC. This time, it included a visit to the White House. In the photo below, Rashad Hussain can be seen a few seats away from bin Bayyah:

Abdullah Bin Bayyah at the White House with Hussain (second from right).

Then, last month, as the finishing touches were likely being put on the letter bin Bayyah would sign, Barack Obama spoke at the U.N. as well. During his speech, he gave a shout out to bin Bayyah:

“The ideology of ISIL or al Qaeda or Boko Haram will wilt and die if it is consistently exposed, confronted, and refuted in the light of day. Look at the new Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies – Sheikh bin Bayyah described its purpose: ‘We must declare war on war, so the outcome will be peace upon peace.’ Look at the young British Muslims, who responded to terrorist propaganda by starting the ‘notinmyname’ campaign, declaring – ‘ISIS is hiding behind a false Islam.'”

Obama didn’t just drop this bin Bayyah bombshell; the mainstreaming of this terrorist-supporting deputy of al-Qaradawi has been taking place for years, to include appearances at the US-IWF with top western dignitaries and politicians. As the New York Times recently reported, Qatar is donating $14.8 million to Brookings over four years. It’s not a stretch to conclude that money is helping enemies of the U.S. gain elevated status among western leaders.

To recap, bin Bayyah – in both his capacity as a deputy to al-Qaradawi and as a signatory to the letter to al-Baghdadi – wants a Caliphate; Obama praised him on an international stage; Netanyahu identified movements like the Brotherhood as wanting a Caliphate; Obama’s State Department spokesman dismissed that claim.

It’s clear she took her cue from the President, who appeared to take his cue from one of the signatories on the letter to al-Baghdadi: