A member of President Obama's Homeland Security Advisory Council known for controversial Twitter posts that seem to support the Muslim Brotherhood wrote Friday that it is "inevitable that 'Caliphate' returns."
Mohamed Elibiary has been controversial since he was first appointed to the taskforce in 2010. He was closely associated with Shukri abu Baker, former executive director of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development - one of five people convicted for illegal Hamas support in 2008. Elibiary argued that there was a "lack of evidence" in the HLF case and suggested that it was a political prosecution.
He previously praised the late Muslim Brotherhood ideologue Sayyid Qutb, whose ideas have undergirded the modern jihadist movement – especially his call for violent jihad and for the purification of Islam from the forces of unbelief – on Twitter.
Qutb believed that if the Caliphate – abolished in 1924 – ever were to be re-established, that a vanguard would need to replace the regime of one country with an Islamic state, much as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) aims to do in Iraq and Syria.
Baghdad served as the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate from 762 A.D. until the city was sacked by the Mongols in 1258 A.D.
"#Silly. As I've said b4 inevitable that 'Caliphate' returns. Choice only whether we support #EU like Muslim Union vision or not," Elibiary wrote in response to question from David Reaboi, who formerly worked for the Center for Security Policy in Washington, D.C., about the ISIS rampage through Iraq last week.
Elibiary responded to a question from Reaboi asking if there was a need to be "outraged" about CNN reports about religious restrictions ISIS was imposing in Iraq.
"#CNN just broadcast list of #ISIS hudod rules [acceptable behavior]. Reminds me of how we were outraged pre 9/11 by #Taliban banning white socks 4 women. #Iraq," Elibiary wrote.
Reaboi then asked Elibiary if he supported restoring the caliphate, but Elibiary declined to give him a direct answer. Instead, he suggested that conservatives, including the Investigative Project on Terrorism, had misread the lessons of 9/11.
"Y'all in the #NatSec ubber hawks camp misread 9/11 & should reassess ur belligerence. #CSP #IPT #Blaze," Elibiary tweeted.
Elibiary earned the ire of the Coptic community last fall after he sent out a series of offensive tweets. He also drew criticism in November for describing America as an "Islamic country" with an "Islamically compliant constitution."
Considering Elibiary's history, this exchange about a return of the Islamic Caliphate is unlikely to be his last controversial Twitter post.