Cauldron of Terror - Hamas, Israel and the Word - Profile One - Jonathan Brown of Georgetown

Welcome to an excerpt of Cauldron Of Terror Gaza, Hamas, Israel, and the World, written by Mark Silinsky and published by Pen and Sword. This is presented by Kensington Security Consulting, which brings education to national security. This is one of many individuals connected to Hamas or Israel who are profiled in Cauldron. In this profile, we focus on Jonathan Andrew Cleveland Brown, a man in his forties and a professor of Islamic Civilization at Georgetown University. He holds the Alwaleed bin Talal Chair of Islamic Civilization at Georgetown University. Brown is an advisor to the Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research, where he previously served as Director of Research. He certainly has an academic background, having graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown and earned a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. He has published over six books on Islam and speaks and reads Arabic. He is a passionate convert to Islam who defends his adopted faith. He openly boosts Islamic doctrine. Regarding slavery, which is permitted in Islam, he states, “I don’t think it’s morally evil to own somebody.” In 2023, he clarified his support for Islamic slavery, saying: “I’m not going to say that the Quran allows something evil” or that Muhammad, who owned slaves, “did something morally evil.” He certainly has an eclectic identity. He claims to be a descendant of President Grover Cleveland, as his name suggests. He has also married into a prominent Palestinian activist family. His father-in-law is Sami Al-Arian, who was indicted on 17 counts under the Patriot Act. The jury was deadlocked, and Al-Arian was deported in April 2007. Brown married his daughter, Laila, a journalist for Al Jazeera. Jonathan Brown, like the family he married into, is a vocal critic of Israel. He repeatedly accused Israel of “indiscriminate bombing” of civilians in Gaza. On December 15, 2024, during Israel’s war against Hamas terrorists, Brown posted on X: “Israel is engaged in genocide, and everyone knows it. This will be that state’s legacy.” He has often repeated that theme on social media. About the 1,200 Israelis, Brown wrote: “Israel has been engaged in a genocidal project for decades. I’m a full professor.” In March 2024, he followed that up with “Israeli security forces are lunatics. Israel is insanely racist.” In fact, he is very active on X, which has led to problems. One of the recent conflicts that brought him unwanted attention was his casual attitude toward the victims of the Muslim rape gangs. British politician Rupert Lowe stated: “There is a link between the rape gangs and one particular religion — we have seen it again and again and again at our inquiry. That religion is Islam. As a country, we must have the courage to face up to that fact.” On X, Brown told the politician to “Get over it.” Brown stood his ground and did not withdraw his advice. Readers responded with a flood of insults against the professor. Here are some from X: Be the smart one wrote:  “Calling yourself an Islam expert but telling raped British girls to 'get over it' isn't smart. It's sick. White leftists like you protect rapists, not victims.” MAGA member from NY wrote, “We went from "Believe Women" on every accusation, no matter if it was true or false, to "get over it" when talking about roaming gangs of Muslim men in the UK raping teens and young women so fast my head is spinning.” Brigitte Gabriel wrote, “He needs to be fired. This is disgusting.” Cilantro wrote, “Easy fix: The Federal government should ban hiring graduates from that school. It will purge itself or go away. (Prediction: it will not purge itself) Other observers highlighted the influx of Middle Eastern money into Georgetown. Since 2005, Georgetown University has received over $1 billion from Qatar and at least $20 million from Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal. Brown holds the Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Chair of Islamic Civilization at Georgetown’s Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding. One cynic remarked, “While the Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding purports to build bridges of understanding between Muslims and Christians, it is actually a center for Islamic apologetics and the defamation and destruction of foes of jihad violence and Sharia oppression of women. Brown’s own public stances are an abundant illustration of this.” His perceived sniffing away of the rape of British girls was poorly timed. Brown faced scrutiny for a 2017 lecture, which was criticized for defending slavery and non-consensual sex with slaves in Islam. He apologized and said his lecture was not intended to endorse such practices. Then came his professed hope that Iran would strike a military base after U.S. bombings. Brown certainly has his defenders. What do his students think about him? According to Rate My Professor, he has a 3.8 rating on a five-point scale. Of 52 ratings, nearly half, 25, gave him a rating of 5, which is the rating of “awesome. Only three respondents gave him a 1 for “awful.” He is also supported by The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which bills itself as the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization. When Georgetown disciplined Dr. Brown for wishing that Iranian bombs land on American targets, CAIR came to his rescue by pleading to the Georgetown president that he reverse his decision to discipline him. Finally, Brown explained, “I deleted my previous tweet because a lot of people were interpreting it as a call for violence. That’s not what I intended. I have two immediate family members in the US military who’ve served abroad and wouldn’t want any harm to befall American soldiers… or anyone!” This concludes the reading of the biography "Cauldron of Terror - Gaza, Hamas, Israel, and the World" by Mark Silinsky, published by Pen and Sword. If you enjoyed listening, please consider subscribing. The book will be available online or at major bookstores worldwide in summer 2026. This reading does not represent the official position of any agency or individual within the United States government. On behalf of Kensington Security Consulting, thank you for listening.