I recently realized a truth hiding in plain sight: the true source of Islamist power in America is NAIT’s real estate.
Respect Thy Enemy’s Skills
Readers of this blog know I wholeheartedly reject the ideology, politics, and corruption of Islamist groups in America. this feeling doesn’t stop me from admiring their dedication and accomplishments. they have spent half a century building a monopoly that dominates our community. While their movement represents only a small fraction of Muslim Americans, they speak in our name and determine our agenda.
And their secret weapon, as I now understand, is real estate.
All Began in the 60’s
The process began in the early 1960s. A group of young Muslim Brotherhood and Jaamat Islami supporters from Iraq, Egypt and Pakistan met while studying at American universities. With start-up funds solicited from a Saudi, they founded the Muslim Students Association (MSA). MSA still exists today as the monopoly representing Muslim on campuses.
Planting The Seeds
After MSA founders graduated, they decided to stay in the US. then they began looking into ways to plant the seeds of a long-term presence. Their genius idea was to create a “Waqf” – an Islamic trust. These traditional Islamic philanthropic trusts thrived in the heyday of Muslim empires, stretching from China to Spain. It is said that people could travel the empire from end to end, receiving lodging, food, medical care, and sending mail all free of charge. All this was possible thanks to an international network of Waqfs.
The First US Waqf
The first American Waqf emerged in 1973 when MSA alumni spun-off the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT) in Plainfield, Indiana. It was incoproporated as a non-profit organization. With seed funding again coming from overseas, NAIT’s function was to hold mosque deeds and help finance new mosques. it paid mortgages and provided loans to those who registered their Islamic centers under NAIT’s corporate umbrella.
To be more blunt, NAIT offered Islamists a philanthropic way to literally own and thus control physical community assets all over the US. 45 years since its founding, NAIT’s ontrol extends over 300 mosques, Islamic schools, and cultural centers across North America. Yes, that includes Canada too. Today, you can travel America from end to end and find NAIT institutions all along the journey. It has become the Islamists’ North American empire.
Hostile Take-Overs
NAIT brilliantly allows Islamists to infiltrate existing mosque boards and gain control over assets without spending a dime. Under the cover of NAIT’s massive resources, Islamists displace original mosque founders who don’t share their ideology. they then take over institutions others spent years building. This Chicago Tribune feature story “Hard-liners Won Battle for Bridgeview Mosque” is a vivid example of this tactic. This story of hostile take-over repeated itself all over the country.
Islamist Power Comes From Real-Estate Not People
The few brave voices in our community challenging Islamist civic groups mistakenly took them on without understanding why they’re so powerful. They didn’t grasp Islamist’s true formula to gain clout with American political and civic leaders. ISNA and ICNA aren’t strong because they bring thousands of Muslims to their conventions. Rather they are powerful because the control the bulk of American mosques. They have physical assets everywhere, a place on the map from which their leaders can spread their message.
NAIT’s Secret Formula
NAIT is the McDonald’s of the Muslim American scene. McDonald’s is hardly the best burger joint (in fact it’s product is known to be cheap and inferior) nor the only one that knows how to make burgers. But it is dominant because it has real-estate EVERYWHERE.
NAIT IS A Monopoly
NAIT’s focus on monopolizing community assets isn’t limited to real estate and even strays into unusual areas for a nonprofit. It runs its own subsidiary “halal” investment fund (publicly traded under the stock market symbol IMANX). They also run as business ventures like American Trust Publications producing books to spread the movement’s ideology. NAIT is the financial powerhouse of American Islamism. it is the movement’s arm for controlling its physical assets thus maintaining its monopoly.
In other words, we are up against a behemoth. As long as NAIT keeps its tentacles wrapped around the majority of our community institutions, Islamists will dominate us.
Antitrust Case
Monopolies don’t have to last forever. McDonald’s isn’t the dominant player it once was. Authentic burger joints have sprung up across the country with healthier, locally-sourced food. Bear in mind also that the medieval Waqf network was never controlled by one empire. If Muslim Americans can get our act together and build locally-controlled start-up charitable institutions and community centers, then NAIT’s monopoly underpinning Islamist supremacy can finally be broken.