While Israel is locked in a visible, kinetic battle with Hamas, an equally insidious struggle is unfolding in the corridors of Western power.
The Muslim Brotherhood, the ideological architect of Hamas, is executing a “quiet march through the institutions” of Europe, aimed at hollowing out the foundations of democracy from within – an invisible strategy that seeks to transform Western civilization without firing a single shot.
In countries like Switzerland, usually seen as a quaint bastion of neutrality and calm, the Muslim Brotherhood does not seek a sudden uprising. Instead, it pursues a long-term strategy aimed at the fundamental transformation of Western society.
While Hamas provides the “armed resistance” that some European-based “experts” still refuse to condemn, its parent organization provides the intellectual and logistical foundation for a global theocratic objective.
The playbook of infiltration
According to European intelligence, Hamas’s ambitions are no longer confined to the Middle East.
As early as 2019, cells in Germany were instructed to establish weapons caches for large-scale attacks, targeting sites like the American military base in Ramstein and the Israeli embassy in Berlin.
However, the Brotherhood’s primary weapon in the West is not bombs, but tamkeen – the doctrine of “institutional entrenchment.”
This strategy was laid bare in 2001 when Swiss authorities raided the home of Youssef Nada, then the director of Al-Taqwa Bank in Lugano.
They discovered a 1982 document titled The Project, a 100-year plan to transform Western civilization from within by “sabotaging” its own institutions.
This “legalistic Islamism” operates within the framework of Western law to undermine its foundations.
A subsequent 1991 document, the Explanatory Memorandum, described the mission as a “grand jihad in destroying Western civilization,” to be carried out by the “unbelievers” themselves.
By hollowing out the timber of democracy from the inside, the Brotherhood waits for the building to collapse under its own weight.
The intellectual roots of hate
The Brotherhood’s claim to power is rooted in the fundamentalist interpretations of its founder, Hassan al-Banna, and its chief ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, who legitimized physical warfare as offensive jihad.
Yusuf al-Qaradawi later globalized this ideology. Through his Al Jazeera program reaching 60 million viewers, al-Qaradawi advocated the death penalty for homosexuality and the “rebellion” of wives.
Most chillingly, he described Adolf Hitler as “divine punishment” for the Jews and made no secret of his ambition to “convert Europe to Islam.”
Despite these radical roots, the Brotherhood excels at appearing as a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Behind the facade of “moderate Islam” – a misnomer, at least according to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who said publicly that “The term ‘Moderate Islam’ is ugly and offensive; there is no moderate Islam; Islam is Islam” – is a “network of networks” that co-opts progressive terminology like “diversity, equity, and inclusion” to shield itself from scrutiny.
Switzerland as a strategic hub
Ever since the arrival of Saïd Ramadan, al-Banna’s son-in-law, in 1961, Switzerland has served as a central refuge and logistical hub for the movement.
Today, security experts consider Switzerland the second most important hub – after England – for the Brotherhood in Europe.
The movement is characterized by powerful dynastic clans: the Ramadans in Geneva, the Kermous in Neuchatel, and the Nada and Himmat families in Ticino and Zurich.
These families operate an opaque web of organizations where members of one clan often sit on the boards of another. For example, the Kermous clan has founded over a dozen associations devoted to pro-Qatar lobbying.
The Brotherhood has also been successful in entrenching itself as a key interlocutor for Western governments and law enforcement.
For example, Khaldoun Dia-Eddine, a lecturer at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences, has served on the boards of organizations led by convicted Brotherhood leaders, and headed a branch of the IICO, an organization linked by several intelligence services to Hamas.
Yet he remains a regular interlocutor for Swiss federal authorities, even training police officers.
The Qatari connection and the ‘Islamophobia’ weapon
This quiet siege is fueled by virtually unlimited resources. The Qatar Papers revealed that Doha has invested millions into Swiss projects, including the Islamic Museum and various foundations.
This is part of a multi-billion-dollar global effort to create a favorable environment for Islamist currents.
To shield these activities, the Brotherhood employs marhaliyyah (adaptation by phases), adjusting its language to suit Western discourse.
Any substantive criticism is systematically branded as “Islamophobia” – a rhetorical weapon used to stifle debate, secure funding, and create a cultural blindness where tactical restraint is mistaken for successful integration.
Meanwhile, Brotherhood-affiliated bodies in Europe not only play a key role in turning public opinion against Israel and promoting boycotts against the Jewish state, but they also often provide critical public, legal, and even financial support to Hamas.
Necessary self-defense
The Brotherhood does not think in quarters; it thinks in centuries.
While nations like Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates have long recognized the threat and banned the Brotherhood as a terrorist organization, the West remains largely paralyzed by naïveté.
Western governments and institutions must abandon this laissez-faire approach.
Transparency in funding, a consistent ban on front organizations, and rigorous scrutiny of appointments in sensitive areas like the military and police are necessary acts of self-defense.
A state that closes its eyes to the networks hollowing out its foundations ultimately loses the ability to protect its citizens.
Israel and its supporters must sound the alarm bell for the entire West. And Israel in particular must play a leading role in highlighting the threat for Western decision-makers and providing actionable intelligence to Western governments and security agencies.
The Muslim Brotherhood siege on the West may be invisible, but the consequences of ignoring it will be all too real.
The writer is a strategy and leadership consultant, chairman of Misgav Institute’s Center for Peace Through Strength, founding chairman of the KH Impact Fund, and author of 10 books including Strategy-In-Action and The Rabbi and the CEO. Follow him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasdzweifel/)
