A 1991 document authored by senior Muslim Brotherhood official Mohamed Akram laid out a strategic vision for the organization’s activities in North America, describing its mission as 'eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within.' Titled “An Explanatory Memorandum: On the General Strategic Goal for the Group in North America,” the internal text emphasized a long-term objective to influence, infiltrate, and eventually transform Western societies.

The memorandum, recovered by the FBI during a 2004 investigation, became key evidence in the 2007 Holy Land Foundation terrorism financing case. The Texas-based charity was found guilty in 2008 of channeling funds to Hamas. U.S. federal prosecutors used the Brotherhood memo to demonstrate ideological alignment between the foundation and the goals of the Brotherhood.

One of the most cited sections of the document states: “The Ikhwan [Muslim Brotherhood] must understand that their work in America is a kind of grand jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and ‘sabotaging’ its miserable house by their hands and the hands of the believers so that it is eliminated and God’s religion is made victorious over all other religions.”

The memo’s annex listed 29 organizations operating in the U.S. that the Brotherhood considered part of its “settlement process.” These included prominent Islamic groups such as the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), the Muslim Students Association (MSA), and the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT). None of these organizations were criminally charged in connection with the Holy Land Foundation case.

The memo framed this effort as part of a 100-year strategy to build an Islamic system globally, starting with gradual societal influence. While defense attorneys in the trial downplayed the document as one person’s ideological writing, the court accepted it as evidence of intent.

The Muslim Brotherhood, founded in Egypt in 1928, has been designated a terrorist organization in several countries, including Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia. In the United States, it is not officially designated as a terrorist organization, but its ideological impact and links to Hamas remain subjects of national security scrutiny.

The document continues to be cited in political and counterterrorism debates as an example of long-term ideological infiltration strategies targeting Western institutions.