The North American Association of Islamic and Muslim Studies, formerly the Association of Muslim Social Scientists, is a left-of-center academic organization focused on Islamic studies. The organization holds conferences co-sponsored by universities across the United States. ¹

The North American Association of Islamic and Muslim Studies was listed under “organizations and the organizations of our friends” in a 1991 Muslim Brotherhood memorandum titled “An Explanatory Memorandum on the General Strategic Goal for the Group in North America.” ²

Background

The North American Association of Islamic and Muslim Studies (NAAIMS) is a membership-based academic organization that focuses on Islamic studies. The organization, which is based in Virginia, was founded as the Association of Muslim Social Scientists of North America (AMSS) in 1972 but changed its name to the North American Association of Islamic and Muslim Studies in 2013. ³

The organization was created to provide an “intellectual forum” for North American Muslim scholars to “debate social issues from an Islamic perspective. NAAIMS held its first conference in 1972 at Indiana Central University, now known as the University of Indianapolis. According to its website, the organization’s conferences are co-sponsored only by universities across America including the American University, Boston University, Harvard Divinity School, Columbia University, and Brown University. NAAIMS also holds an annual conference and sponsors the publication of a semi-annual peer-reviewed multidisciplinary academic journal on Islamic studies called the Journal of Islamic and Muslim Studies. ^{4 5 6}

Financials

The North American Association of Islamic and Muslim Studies, filing with the IRS as the Association of Muslim Social Scientists, receives most of its revenue from contributions, grants, and gifts.

The organization’s total revenue was approximately $4,000 in 2016, $11,400 in 2017, $14,200 in 2018, $15,500 in 2019, and $6,400 in 2020. The organization also had assets with a total value of $23,000 in 2020. ⁷

Its total functional expenses amounted to approximately $17,900 in 2016, $15,700 in 2017, $14,400 in 2018, $8,300 in 2019, and $11,000 in 2020. ⁸

Alleged Muslim Brotherhood Associations

The North American Association of Islamic and Muslim Studies has been linked with the Muslim Brotherhood, a radical Islamist movement that seeks to subject world policies to Islamic religious law. ⁹

NAAIMS was part of a list of Muslim Brotherhood “organizations and the organizations of our friends” in a 1991 Muslim Brotherhood memorandum titled “An Explanatory Memorandum on the General Strategic Goal for the Group in North America.” ¹⁰

The memorandum stated that the “general strategic goal” of the Muslim Brotherhood in America was “establishing an effective and a stable Islamic Movement led by the Muslim Brotherhood which adopts Muslims’ causes domestically and globally,” as well as presenting “Islam as a civilization alternative, and supports the global Islamic State wherever it is.” The memo also mentioned that the “work” of a “Muslim brother in North America” “is a kind of grand Jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within,” and that sabotaging “its miserable house” so Western civilization would be “eliminated and God’s religion is made victorious over all other religions.” ¹¹

Other organizations listed in the memo include the Islamic Society of North America, which has been scrutinized due to its founders allegedly being members of the Muslim Brotherhood; the Islamic Medical Association of North America, one of the largest faith-based medical groups in the world and the largest Muslim medical organization in North America; and the Association of Muslim Scientists and Engineers. ^{12 13}

One of the founders of Association of Muslim Social Scientists is Jamal Barzinji. ¹⁴ He was identified as a member of the Muslim Brotherhood during an FBI investigation in 1988. ¹⁵ In 2003, his home was searched as part of a counter-terrorism investigation. The search affidavit stated that Barzinji “is not only closely associated with PIJ [Palestinian Islamic Jihad]…but also with Hamas.” ¹⁶ The Justice Department reportedly dropped plans to indict Barzinji in 2011. ¹⁷

1. “Introduction.” North American Association of Islamic and Muslim Studies. Accessed September 12, 2022. https://naaims.org/introduction/#AMSS-Legacy.
2. “An Explanatory Memorandum On the General Strategic Goal for the Group In North America.” Investigative Project on Terrorism. May 22, 1991. Accessed September 12, 2022. https://www.investigativeproject.org/documents/misc/20.pdf.
3. “Introduction.” North American Association of Islamic and Muslim Studies. Accessed September 12, 2022. https://naaims.org/introduction/#AMSS-Legacy.
4. “Introduction.” North American Association of Islamic and Muslim Studies. Accessed September 12, 2022. https://naaims.org/introduction/#AMSS-Legacy.
5. “Home.” North American Association of Islamic and Muslim Studies. Accessed September 12, 2022. https://naaims.org/.
6. Cornell, Vincent J. “Journal of Islamic and Muslim Studies.” Indiana University Press. Accessed September 12, 2022. iupress.org/journals/jims/.
7. Schwencke, Ken. “Association Of Muslim Social Scientists – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. Accessed September 12, 2022. projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/541984467.
8. Schwencke, Ken. “Association Of Muslim Social Scientists – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. Accessed September 12, 2022. projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/541984467.
9. “Islamic Society of North America.” Investigative Project on Terrorism. Accessed September 12, 2022. https://www.investigativeproject.org/documents/misc/275.pdf.
10. “An Explanatory Memorandum On the General Strategic Goal for the Group In North America.” Investigative Project on Terrorism. May 22, 1991. Accessed September 12, 2022. https://www.investigativeproject.org/documents/misc/20.pdf.
11. “An Explanatory Memorandum On the General Strategic Goal for the Group In North America.” Investigative Project on Terrorism. May 22, 1991. Accessed September 12, 2022. https://www.investigativeproject.org/documents/misc/20.pdf.
12. “An Explanatory Memorandum On the General Strategic Goal for the Group In North America.” Investigative Project on Terrorism. May 22, 1991. Accessed September 12, 2022. https://www.investigativeproject.org/documents/misc/20.pdf.
13. “Islamic Society of North America.” Investigative Project on Terrorism. Accessed September 12, 2022. https://www.investigativeproject.org/documents/misc/275.pdf.
14. ^[1]“ICNA Mourns the Passing of Dr. Jamal Al-Barzinji.” Islamic Circle of North America ICNA. Accessed November 15, 2023. https://icna.org/icna-mourns-the-passing-of-dr-jamal-al-barzinji/
15. “Forgotten Investigation, Emails Offer Insight into IIIT Probe.” The Investigative Project on Terrorism. Accessed November 15, 2023. http://www.investigativeproject.org/737/forgotten-investigation-emails-offer-insight-into-iiit-probe.
16. In the United States District Court for the … – investigative project. Accessed November 15, 2023. https://www.investigativeproject.org/documents/case_docs/891.pdf.
17. Poole, Patrick. “Holder’s DOJ Scuttled More Terror-Related Prosecutions,” PJ Media, April 28, 2011. Poole, Patrick. “(PJM Exclusive) Holder’s DOJ Scuttled More Terror-Related Prosecutions.” pjmedia.com, April 28, 2011. https://pjmedia.com/blog/patrick-poole/2011/04/28/pjm-exclusive-holders-doj-scuttled-more-terror-related-prosecutions-n11527.