Founded in 1976 and based in Chicago, American Trust Publications (ATP) is a division of the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT), which itself is a subsidiary of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA). ATP is a publishing house dedicated to producing “high-quality, accurate literature about Islam” for people of all ages. As of mid-2010, it had published more than 100 books.

Through its books, ATP aims “to educate and instruct the Muslims in North America [about] the dynamic role of Islam in its encounter with the modern world”; to “prepare [Muslims] to play their destined role as a great cultural and spiritual force in the Western hemisphere”; to imbue readers with a “desire for the Islamic way of life, the knowledge of Islamic teachings, and a will to practice them”; and to help Muslims develop an “appreciation for Islamic history and the universal brotherhood in Islam,” as well as “consciousness of their distinct and unique Islamic identity.”

ATP’s “Cultural Orientation” program produces both fiction and nonfiction books geared for young audiences; their purpose is “to make the Muslim child feel good about himself within an Islamic culture.” Featured in this series are books on the Prophet Mohammad and his companions, biographies of “notable and heroic Muslims past and present,” and books showing “the beauty and philosophy of Islamic art and architecture.”

ATP’s adult-oriented books fall into three categories:

• Basic Knowledge: These books focus on “exposition of the fundamentals of Islam;… [Islamic] articles of faith and practice;… dimensions of Islamic behavior in a Muslim’s individual life and in the collective life of the Ummah [Islamic community]; everyday Fiqh [interpretation of, and proper adherence to, Islamic law; Islamic etiquette and manners; social laws and ethics; Islamic culture; [and] the history of Islam and Muslim peoples and their common problems.”
• Contemporary Issues: These books examine “the needs of Muslims in North America; America and Muslims’ future role as a civilizing force; contemporary moral and social issues; the relationship of the North American Muslim community with the rest of the Muslim world and its concerns and problems; Islam and the challenge of modernity; and Islamic ethics and culture.”
• General Books on Islam: These books seek to “introduce Islam to non-Muslims by … addressing their questions and misconceptions; underlining the common ground between various religions; and showing the uniqueness of the Islamic message as a restatement of truth and exposition of the true religion.”

One particularly noteworthy ATP publication is Milestones, authored by the late Sayyid Qutb, a pro-jihad leader of the Muslim Brotherhood. In this book, Qutb makes such assertions as:

• “Jihad in Islam is simply a name for striving to make this system of life dominant in the world. Wherever an Islamic community exists which is a concrete example of the Divinely ordained system of life, it has a God-given right to step forward and take control of the political authority so that it may establish the Divine system on earth.”
• “Bringing about the enforcement of the Divine Law [Sharia] and the abolition of man-made laws cannot be achieved only through preaching. When obstacles and practical difficulties are put in its way, it [Islam] has no recourse but to remove them by force.”
• “Islam has the right to take the initiative. It has the right to destroy all obstacles in the form of institutions and traditions. It is the duty of Islam to annihilate all such systems.”

Other significant ATP titles include Gender Equity in Islam; A Glimpse into the Glorious Qur’an; Muslim Contribution to Civilization; Islam and Universal Peace; Stories of Great Muslims; and Jihad: A Commitment to Universal Peace. Among the more prominent authors of ATP books are Yusuf al-Qaradawi and Jamal Badawi. Many of ATP’s publications are sold through the Islamic Book Service.

ATP was named in a May 1991 Muslim Brotherhood document — titled “An Explanatory Memorandum on the General Strategic Goal for the Group in North America” — as one of the Brotherhood’s 29 likeminded “organizations of our friends” that shared the common goal of destroying America and turning it into a Muslim nation. These “friends” were identified by the Brotherhood as groups that could help teach Muslims “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 … so that … God’s religion [Islam] is made victorious over all other religions.”

Also named in the Muslim Brotherhood document were:

• Association of Muslim Scientists and Engineers
• Association of Muslim Social Scientists (of North America)
• Audio-Visual Center
• Baitul Mal Inc.
• Foundation for International Development
• International Institute of Islamic Thought
• Islamic Association for Palestine
• Islamic Book Service
• Islamic Centers Division
• Islamic Circle of North America
• Islamic Education Department
• Islamic Housing Cooperative
• Islamic Information Center (of America)
• Islamic Medical Association (of North America)
• Islamic Society of North America (ISNA)
• Islamic Teaching Center
• ISNA Fiqh Committee (now known as the Fiqh Council of North America)
• ISNA Political Awareness Committee
• Malaysian Islamic Study Group
• Mercy International Association
• Muslim Arab Youth Association
• Muslim Businessmen Association
• Muslim Communities Association
• Muslim Students Association of the U.S. and Canada
• Muslim Youth of North America
• North American Islamic Trust
• Occupied Land Fund (later known as the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development)
• United Association for Studies and Research