CIVILIZATION AND TRADITIONAL JIHAD 1
Civilization and Traditional Jihad
The Helms School of Government, Liberty University
Author Note
Elliott J. Clemente
I have no known conflict of interest to disclose.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to
Elliott J. Clemente. Email: ejclemente@libertyuniversity.edu
CIVILIZATION AND TRADITIONAL JIHAD 3
What is Civilization/Cultural Jihad
The Muslim Brotherhood is one of the world's largest and most influential Islamic
organizations. It has created and, to some extent, begun implementing a plan in which they
[followers] start slowly incorporating Islamic-centric activities and gradually moving the needle
to advance their causes’. They start using American freedoms and institutions against their
benefits and interests. Using the school system traditionally welcomes diversity and
inclusiveness to accept and promote Islamic beliefs to the youth of America. By injecting such
concepts early, indoctrination is not done with the hammer but rather with the father,
unnoticeable until it is too late.
The legal system, one of the country’s foundations, will be infiltrated by those with the
core belief that the current legal system should be replaced by a medieval set of inscriptions that,
by its true nature, is incompatible with life in the United States. Again, the changes are small,
with lawsuits that allow for differences in how Muslims are treated at work. Legal reprisal for
making statements to change the work environment to suit their grander plan. Changing laws
reflects a more sympathy for Islamic life and causes, thus, modifying the nation's fabric and
placing individuals in offices and positions of influence to further and ensure the implementation
of the plan.
The Muslim Brotherhood refers to the plan as Civilized Jihad. According to Imani
(2020), soft jihad is practiced where the sword of jihad is not advisable, where Muslims are not
strong enough to unsheathe their sword, where the true nature of Islam is exposed, and when the
public would likely stamp them out (p. 1).
The members of the Muslim Brotherhood made their way to America to protect
themselves from prosecution by the Egyptian government for numerous crimes committed,
CIVILIZATION AND TRADITIONAL JIHAD 4
including the attempted assassination of Egyptian President Nasser, which implicated numerous
of its members, including Sayyid Qutb, the ideological leader of the organization. According to
Jevtic and Vekovic (2021), aware they could not pursue their operations outside Egypt using
lesser or armed jihad, the Brotherhood members replicated practices from European and Middle
Eastern countries. They established various organizations to Islamize host societies (p. 50).
The Civilized jihad doctrine was or is one that lays out the goal of the brotherhood. To
create a global caliphate through non-violent means. The warriors of the jihad style wear suits
and ties, not swords, and use bombs. Stylistically, they differ from the brothers that use more
violent means; however, the result is still the same. Civilization jihad allows an organization like
the Muslim brotherhood to recruit others who see a violent government overthrow as acceptable.
This serves as a call to arms for the more moderate-leaning Muslims to join the movement
without the guilt associated with such a group. According to Spencer (2008), those advancing
this agenda are striving for nothing less than the Islamic conquest of North America, after which
not only will the government be Islamic, but so will society (p. 11).
What is the background/history of Civilization/Cultural Jihad?
The term and ideology behind the time came from the book Stealth Jihad. How Radical
Islam is Subverting America Without Guns or Bombs written and blog Jihad Watch by Robert
Spencer published in 2008.
What Constitutes Violent Jihad?
How do Civilization Jihad and Violent Jihad interplay, and what role do either play within
the context of the global war on terror prosecuted by the United States?
What comprises the Intelligence community?
Intelligence gathering information for the furtherance of one or group requires knowledge
and analysis to survive. Pre-World War II, the application of information gathering, or raw
intelligence, fell within each military branch's purview. Each service had its intelligence and
CIVILIZATION AND TRADITIONAL JIHAD 5
counterintelligence structure for collecting and analyzing raw data. This data, after verification,
was disseminated as intelligence to those needing to know.
With the second world war looming, President Franklyn D. Roosevelt the summer of
1942, created the Office of Strategic Services. This agency was tasked with conducting
asymmetrical operations, intelligence collection, disinformation, and counterintelligence
throughout the globe. This agency and its tactics laid the foundation for the soon-to-be-
established Central Intelligence Agency. Many specially trained operators found a home within
the newly minted agency. They were established officially in 1947 following the end of the
Second World War; the Central Intelligence Agency became the preeminent Intelligence element
leading the way for the other intelligence elements within the Intelligence Community (IC).
Eighteen elements comprise the Intelligence Community in the United States is currently
comprised in and out of the military structure. Within the Department of Defense, ten features
make up its organizational structure. According to Devine (2021), the Intelligence Community
(IC), comprised of 18 statutory elements, are responsible for providing insight into actual or
potential threats to the U.S. homeland and the American people and through the production of
timely and apolitical products and services (p. 1). This organizational structure allows for the
integrated application of governmental and non-governmental resources. The Department of
Defense element structure includes Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), National Geospatial-
Intelligence Agency (NGA), National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), National Security Agency
(NSA), U.S. Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (AF/A2), U.S. Space Force
Intelligence (S-2), U.S. Army Intelligence (G2), U.S. Marine Corps Intelligence, Surveillance
and Reconnaissance Enterprise (MCISR-E), U.S. Naval Intelligence (N2). Each Department of
Defense element utilizes its specialized organizational skill set for the increased probability of
mission success.
What role does the intelligence community play in the context of Civilization Jihad and
Violent?
What threats are posed by both Civilization Jihad and Violent Jihad for the West?
What can or should be done to address the potential threats of Civilization Jihad and
Violent Jihad?
What are the central themes and arguments in current literature?
What is missing from the current literature?
CIVILIZATION AND TRADITIONAL JIHAD 7
References
Devine, M. E. (2021). Defense Primer: National and Defense Intelligence.
www.crsreports.congress.gov
https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/lF/lF10525
Spencer, R. (2008). Stealth Jihad. How Radical Islam is Subverting America Without Guns or
Bombs.
Regnery Publishing, Inc
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