So explains Claire Berlinski in an eye-opening post at Riccochet on why the Muslim Brotherhood should matter to us. As Claire puts it:

I’ve made the case that the spiritual leader of the Brotherhood, Qaradawi, is a particularly vile figure. What I’ve noted about him should be well-known by every American of voting age, just as it is well-known by every American that Osama bin Laden is a vile figure. Qaradawi is not the whole of the story, but he’s enough of the story that his name should be politically radioactive. His name and face should be instantly recognizable–part of our pop-culture discourse, synonymous with “something creepy, dangerous and repulsive.” He should be the subject of jokes on late-night comedy shows. If photos turn up in the news showing one of our allies or political advisors with his arm around Qaradawi, it should have the psychological effect of seeing the subject of that photo in full Nazi regalia. Yet how many Americans would even recognize his face? Not many, I suspect.

Not many is right. And she’s right to be worried about that.