Posted tagged ‘Islamic indoctrination’

IPT EXCLUSIVE: DHS Hires CAIR to Train French Officials

December 15, 2016

IPT EXCLUSIVE: DHS Hires CAIR to Train French Officials, Investigative Project on Terrorism, Steven Emerson, December 14, 2016

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The Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) facilitated a training session last week for a French police delegation, in conjunction with the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)’s Community Engagement Office in Tampa, the Investigative Project on Terrorism has confirmed with DHS officials and other agencies.

This session stands in contrast with the FBI’s 2009 policy not to engage with CAIR outside of criminal investigations due to questions about the Hamas ties of its top executives. An FBI official wrote that “until we can resolve whether there continues to be a connection between CAIR or its executives and HAMAS, the FBI does not view CAIR as an appropriate liaison partner.” That FBI policy toward CAIR remains in effect, and was publicly reaffirmed in 2013.

CAIR-Florida issued a press release Dec. 8 giving details of the event, and posted numerous photos of the French delegation on its Facebook page. The training session was devoted to showing the French officials “how to effectively challenge violent extremist individuals of all backgrounds and prevent hate crimes, while protecting civil rights and challenging profiling and discrimination,” the release said.

Several French counter-terror officials received this training, including a representative of France’s Ministry of the Interior and many police chiefs.

They presented Nezar Hamze, CAIR-Florida’s regional operations director, with a medallion bearing the French national colors and inscribed: “Public Safety Departmental Directorate at Bouches-du-Rhone / Discipline – Valor – Devotion.”

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“We appreciated the opportunity to communicate how restricting liberty encourages hate crimes and violence and that preserving liberty and civil rights is key to preserving peace and security,” CAIR-Florida Executive Director Hassan Shibly said in the release.

This indicates that the thrust of this training was devoted to discouraging counter-terror activities within Muslim communities, which CAIR often has falsely represented as infringing upon the civil liberties of Muslims. CAIR officials repeatedly urge Muslim Americans not to cooperate with the FBI.

DHS and the State Department participated in this CAIR training of French officials despite the well-documented record of CAIR’s ties to terrorists. Internal Muslim Brotherhood records obtained by the FBI place CAIR and its founders at the core of a Brotherhood-created Hamas support network in the United States known as the Palestine Committee.

CAIR’s Powerful Ties

CAIR officials enjoyed close relations with the Obama administration despite the FBI’s evidence linking it to the Muslim Brotherhood and to Hamas. DHS/State Department coordination with CAIR is nothing new. The State Department sent CAIR officials abroad to conduct foreign outreach.

The State Department hosted CAIR officials in October 2015 to discuss Syria and “the need … to challenge [alleged] aggressive Israeli actions targeting the Al Aqsa mosque compound, one of the holiest sites in Islam.”

Top CAIR officials repeatedly received White House invitations and participated in White House conference calls. DHS collaborates with CAIR on numerous non-public projects, and funnels anti-terrorism funds allocated by Congress.

CAIR received a sub-grant of $70, 324 from DHS in 2015, records show.

Hassan Shibly: Terrorist Apologist

Considering Shibly’s statements that Islamist ideology has nothing to do with terrorism and the rash of jihadist attacks that have rocked France since January 2015, his involvement in the training should be cause for alarm.

In an April 21, 2013 interview with OnIslam, Shibly said that, “American political scientists have made it very clear that those who commit acts of terrorism have nothing to do with religion and are often motivated by political, not religious, reasons. Actually, such attacks can never be justified and truly are nothing more than the result of having a twisted and sick mind.”

In a June 2014 blog post, Shibly argued that the purported “FBI entrapment program targeting the Muslim community” was an example of tyranny that strayed away from the “great ideals of liberty, equality and justice.”

In his view, the FBI manufactures terrorists through sting operations such as that against Sami Osmakac, convicted in 2014 on charges of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and possession of a fully automatic firearm.

“I’m concerned that the government’s own tactics turned him into a greater threat than he could have been on his own,” Shibly told the Tampa Tribune in a June 3, 2014 article. “There’s no need to enable a Hollywood-style plot … Would Osmakac have had the ideas and the means to do this crime but for the government informant?”

Shibly also is helping a family sue the FBI, alleging an agent unjustly shot and killed a friend of Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev after hours of questioning in his Orlando home in 2013.

Independent investigations, requested by CAIR, completed by the Justice Department and a Florida state attorney found that Ibragim Todashev, a “skilled mixed-martial arts fighter,” attacked the agent shortly after acknowledging involvement in a separate triple-murder case in Massachusetts. Todashev continued charging after being shot, prompting the agent to fire more.

Shibly rejected the findings, saying only Todashev could “contradict the government’s narrative,” but he was dead.

Kareem Shora: CAIR’s Ally at DHS

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According to a source, Kareem Shora played a key role in organizing the French delegation’s CAIR training. Shora serves with the Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC) and a Community Liaison Council with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

He has a long record of denying the nature and magnitude of the jihad threat. Last July, for example, Shora claimed that it was an “unfortunate reality” that Muslims were portrayed as “more vulnerable” to “potential recruitment to terrorist activities…including those represented by Daesh.” Instead of devising ways to counter this “unfortunate reality,” Shora said that the DHS was trying to “promote the notion” that Muslims were no more likely than anyone else to be recruited into terror organizations:

“It’s not because they’re Muslims. They represent nothing of Islam. Daesh represents nothing of Islam or a state for that matter, quote unquote. So I think our position, as U.S. government, is to advocate that point every opportunity we get. And from a Homeland Security perspective, in order to build a society that’s resilient to all threats, regardless of the nature of that threat, our job is to make sure that these communities don’t end up being categorized as being vulnerable, because they are in fact the ones most suffering as a result of those attacks.”

Shora helped leading Islamist figures attend DHS meetings, including Salam al-Marayati of the Muslim Public Affairs Council and, Ingrid Mattson of the Islamic Society of North America, records obtained by the IPT through the Freedom of Information Act show.

DHS could have turned to any number of organizations and people to work with the French delegation. Choosing an Islamist group whose ties to a terrorist group rendered it persona non grata with the FBI is either a sign of dangerous incompetence or institutional arrogance.

Islamist Organization Threatens Violence against the Trump Administration

November 28, 2016

Islamist Organization Threatens Violence against the Trump Administration, Dan Miller’s Blog, November 28, 2016

(This article is based in part on a Clarion Project article posted here earlier today. The views expressed here are mine, and do not necessarily reflect those of Warsclerotic or its other editors. — DM)

An article posted today by The Clarion Project — which supports the reformation of Islam and opposes Sharia law and Islamic jihad — states that an Islamist organization named “Muslims of America” is planning violent confrontations with the Trump administration.

Khalifa Hussain Abdallah, (foreground) known as ‘K1’ within the group for his top ranking as an original founder, is said to be a key supervisor of these preparations for armed conflict.

Khalifa Hussain Abdallah, (foreground) known as ‘K1’ within the group for his top ranking as an original founder, is said to be a key supervisor of these preparations for armed conflict.

Here’s an interview by Bill O’Reilly with Clarion Project National Security Analyst Ryan Mauro.  Presented on January 15, 2015, it deals with Muslims of America and other Islamist groups active in Obama’s America:

The Clarion Project article published today states that,

Multiple confidential sources inside of a powerful jihadist group within the United States have informed the Christian Action Network and the Clarion Project that members have been told to arm themselves in anticipation of raids by the Trump Administration.

It seems odd that sources inside the organization would give advance warning of its intentions, but they appear to have done so. The organization seems well motivated, equipped and trained to carry out its threats.

The members believe that President-elect Trump is part of a satanic-Zionist conspiracy to destroy Islam, and that he is fulfilling apocalyptic End Times prophecies. Any action taken against MOA is seen as part of a war on Islam, a situation that permits violent jihad.

The preparations for armed confrontation are described as “self-defense measures,” but one source cautioned that the group could decide to take “offensive” action if it believes armed conflict is imminent. [Emphasis added.]

. . . .

The Pakistan-based spiritual leader of Muslims of America (MOA), Sheikh Gilani, told top MOA officials (known as “khalifas”) to order all unarmed members to obtain firearms, licenses and hunting permits in order to resist raids on the group’s approximately 22 compounds that they expect to happen under the Trump Administration. Additional “security” was also called up and assault rifles have been mentioned as desirable.

The group now expects the FBI “to reopen its cases against them as a homegrown terrorist organization,” one of the confidential sources told Martin Mawyer of the Christian Action Network and Ryan Mauro of the Clarion Project.

The sources independently stated that members across the country were told of instructions from Sheikh Gilani to “be prepared to fight.” The message reportedly relayed to members was to “hear and obey,” using language identical to the oath of allegiance members sign when they join the group. He predicted, “You will be tested.” [Emphasis added.]

. . . .

MOA members have a long history of terrorism, extremism and criminal activity including weapons trafficking. A 2007 FBI report obtained by Ryan Mauro of the Clarion Project states:

“The documented propensity for violence by this organization supports the belief the leadership of the MOA extols membership to pursue a policy of jihad or holy war against individuals or groups it considers enemies of Islam, which includes the US Government.” [Emphasis added.]

It warned that MOA “possesses an infrastructure capable of planning and mounting terrorist campaigns within the U.S. and overseas.”

According to an article posted by The Clarion Project in 2013,

A secret Canadian intelligence report described al-Fuqra as a “militant Sufi sect” that believes “there is a Satanic Zionist conspiracy to destroy Islam and that the Fuqra is God’s chosen instrument to defeat the enemies of Islam.” Among those they say are complicit in the conspiracy are Jews, Hindus, other Muslims and the governments of the U.S. and Canada.[5] Gilani has said, “We are fighting to destroy the enemy. We are dealing with evil at its roots and its roots are America.”[6] He says that the “U.S. has become a pawn of hidden hands that use America’s wealth and the innocent blood of their sons and daughters to wage their wars against Muslims.[7] [Emphasisadded.]

MOA says it has 22 settlements across the United States.[8] A 2006 report for law enforcement put the number at above 35 and estimated that the organization has 3,000 members. It said that the organization is set up like “classically structured terrorist cells” and that Gilani is “now known as an international terrorist.” It said that at least seven of the communes are used for paramilitary training and that members are also sent to Pakistan for further instruction. [9]There are unconfirmed reports of members being trained in Sudan.[10]

A former high-level MOA operative that was a NYPD informant says that MOA also has set up operations in Trinidad, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Venezuela. He said that the paramilitary training is now only given to a select group. He describes MOA as being cult-like and said that most of the children are taught privately on its premises and are illiterate. He says he witnessed vicious punishments, including the beating of a 50-year old woman, for violating the strict moral code set by Gilani.[11] Two former female MOA members were interviewed by a filmmaker in 2011 and told stories of abuse, polygamy, forced marriages, brainwashing and terrorist activity.[12]

MOA believes that Gilani is a miracle-making representative of Allah. He claimed he exited his body to meet Jesus and the forthcoming Mahdi in 2009. Khalid Khawaja, a former pilot for Osama Bin Laden and a close friend of Gilani’s, says that “One white American [follower of Gilani’s] told me that there are thousands of people in America, who, if they are asked to cut off one limb so that they can stay with him, they are ready to do that.”

“If you push him to that stage, that he has no option but to declare jihad on America… it will blow like a volcano,” he said.[13]

He also said, “I am sure of one thing, Osama does not have even one of his followers as committed as Sheik Mubarak Gilani. Osama does not have even one as committed as the least of his people.”[14]

Gilani says that Jews are “an example of human Satans”[15] and that “I have never seen, in the whole of my life or even in the past thousand years, a Jew who will tell the truth.”[16] In making that case for Muslim-Christian relations, Gilani says, “the Jews tried to murder Jesus, son of Mary.”[17]

MOA believes that the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks were part of a Satanic-Zionist conspiracy to wage war on Islam and stop Muslim-Christian unity. Gilani has referred to Osama Bin Laden as a “Saudi activist.”[18] MOA’s newspaper, the Islamic Post, praised Iranian President Ahmadinejad when he called for an independent investigation into 9/11 at the United Nations.[19]

The MOA also believes that evil “jinn beings” possess human beings. It says that the movies Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, Avatar, The Exorcist and Harry Potter were part of “jinn” plots to corrupt minds and spread Satanic influence.[20]

Jamaat ul-Fuqra has a history of terrorist and criminal activity. At least a dozen members have been convicted and its members have been accused of involvement in at least 10 assassinations and 17 firebombings since 1980.[21]

A 2004 report funded by the Justice Department said that “members of the Fuqra group have raised money by taking advantage of a variety of social service programs, including worker’s compensation, public health care, welfare, and food stamps programs. Other crimes committed by Fuqra members include the creation and use of false identification cards, birth certificates, and other forged documents.”[22] The group recruits heavily from those with criminal backgrounds.[23] The group is also known to use security companies as fronts. [Emphasis added.]

A secret tape made by Gilani’s followers in Pakistan in the 1980s proves that the purpose of the camps in the U.S. is to facilitate paramilitary training. In the video, Gilani boasts of having “one of the most advanced training courses in Islamic military warfare” and invites interested Muslims to contact MOA offices in Pakistan or in several states in the U.S.

The film shows Gilani followers receiving the training and practicing the hijacking of vehicles, use of firearms, hand-to-hand combat, setting off explosives and other violent acts. In one scene, an instructor says, “Act like you are a friend, then kill him.”[24]

In 1989, the FBI raided a storage locker in Colorado Springs used by a Fuqra member and discovered weapons, explosives and plans for terrorist attacks, including the murder of Imam Rasad Khalifa in Arizona. He was a Muslim that was branded an apostate for his interpretations of the religion.[25] He was killed in 1990 exactly as the plans described.

The FBI discovered that the Fuqra members had to pledge, “I shall always hear and obey, and whenever given the command, I shall readily fight for Allah’s sake.”

The biggest Fuqra terror plot was attempted in 1991 and it aimed to kill 4,500 people. Five operatives tried to bomb a Hindu temple and an Indian cinema in the Toronto area during the Hindu Festival of Lights. The terrorists possessed a book authored by Gilani that says, “The mission of this Jamaat ul-Fuqra is to lead Muslims to their final victory over Communists, Zionists, Hindus and deviators.”[26]

In October 1992, law enforcement authorities shut down Fuqra’s 101-acre commune at Buena Vista and discovered that it was essentially a terrorist training camp financed through crime. A poem was found that reads, “Come join my troops and army/Says our Sheikh Gilani/Prepare to sacrifice your head/A true believer is never dead/Say ‘Victory is in the Air’/The kafir’s blood will not be spared.”[27]

One terrorist involved in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, Clement Rodney Hampton, was a Fuqra member and had been trained by the group near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He was convicted for his role in another campaign to bomb several New York City targets.

In December 1993, Sheikh Gilani reportedly attended a terrorist conference in Khartoum, Sudan. Among the groups represented were Hamas, Hezbollah, Egyptian Islamic Jihad and others. [28] Some reports say that Osama Bin Laden was present, a believable claim as he lived in the country at the time.[29]

In 2001, Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl was kidnapped and executed in Pakistan when he was on his way to interview Gilani. He has never been charged and denies involvement but says that Pearl was sent to assassinate him.

In 2009, Clarion Project National Security Analyst Ryan Mauro obtained two MOA tapes. One showed women training at its Islamberg headquarters in military fatigue. Only the first two digits in the on-screen date could be seen, indicating it was made in 2000 or afterwards. The trainees were seen marching in formation, practicing hand-to-hand combat, learning to use knives and swords and firing guns into a lake.

A second video showed MOA leaders declaring that the U.S. is a Muslim-majority country and vowing to defend it from foreign and domestic enemies. The speakers said they would never declare jihad on their country but “will not sit idly by and let our country be destroyed by this hidden hand.”[30]

In February 2010, Pakistan refused entry to two high-level MOA members.[31] It was reported in early 2010 by multiple sources that a large number of MOA members had suddenly moved out of their communes.

The current threat by Muslims of America must be taken seriously. Although many of their notions are loony, that makes them more, not less, dangerous.

Obama Justice Dept. sues NJ township for rejecting mosque

November 23, 2016

Obama Justice Dept. sues NJ township for rejecting mosque, Jihad Watch

(If the Westboro Baptist Church had been denied permission to build a church in the township, would the Department of Justice have sued the township? — DM)

People have legitimate concerns about mosques going up in their neighborhood. Four separate studies since 1999 all found that 80% of U.S. mosques were teaching jihad, Islamic supremacism, and hatred and contempt for Jews and Christians. There are no countervailing studies that challenge these results. In 1998, Sheikh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani, a Sufi leader, visited 114 mosques in the United States. Then he gave testimony before a State Department Open Forum in January 1999, and asserted that 80% of American mosques taught the “extremist ideology.” Then there was the Center for Religious Freedom’s 2005 study, and the Mapping Sharia Project’s 2008 study. Each independently showed that upwards of 80% of mosques in America were preaching hatred of Jews and Christians and the necessity ultimately to impose Islamic rule.

In the summer of 2011 came another study showing that only 19% of mosques in U.S. don’t teach jihad violence and/or Islamic supremacism. Specifically: “A random survey of 100 representative mosques in the U.S. was conducted to measure the correlation between Sharia adherence and dogma calling for violence against non-believers. Of the 100 mosques surveyed, 51% had texts on site rated as severely advocating violence; 30% had texts rated as moderately advocating violence; and 19% had no violent texts at all. Mosques that presented as Sharia adherent were more likely to feature violence-positive texts on site than were their non-Sharia-adherent counterparts. In 84.5% of the mosques, the imam recommended studying violence-positive texts. The leadership at Sharia-adherent mosques was more likely to recommend that a worshiper study violence-positive texts than leadership at non-Sharia-adherent mosques. Fifty-eight percent of the mosques invited guest imams known to promote violent jihad. The leadership of mosques that featured violence-positive literature was more likely to invite guest imams who were known to promote violent jihad than was the leadership of mosques that did not feature violence-positive literature on mosque premises.” That means that around 1,700 mosques in the U.S. are preaching hatred of infidels and justifying violence against them.

But none of this is allowed to be a consideration when a mosque is proposed for a particular area. It must be assumed by all parties that the mosque will be entirely benign and peaceful, and no different from a synagogue or church. So community leaders try to find other ways to keep mosques out — only to find themselves facing the full weight of Barack Obama’s Justice Department. And then it becomes a matter of having one’s career ruined and life destroyed, or approving the mosque.

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“Justice Dept. sues NJ township for rejecting mosque,” by Kelly Cohen, Washington Examiner, November 22, 2016:

The Justice Department announced on Tuesday it is suing Bernards Township, N.J., because it denied zoning approval for the Islamic Society of Basking Ridge to build a mosque on land it owns.

The township in December unanimously voted down the Islamic Society’s application to build a mosque, which the Justice Department says violates the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act.

In the complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, the department said the denial was discriminatory based on the Islamic Society’s members’ religion. The denial imposed a substantial burden on the Islamic Society’s religious exercise, according to the complaint, it said.

The complaint also alleged that the township violated the law “by amending its zoning ordinance in a manner that imposes unreasonable limitations on all religious assemblies.”

According to Justice Department officials, the land where the Islamic Society wanted to build the mosque is located in a zone that permitted construction of places of worship as a matter of right at the time of the zoning request.

“As alleged in the complaint, Bernards Township has treated the Islamic Society of Basking Ridge differently than other houses of worship,” said U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Paul Fishman in a statement. “RLUIPA ensures that municipalities must treat religious land use applications like any other land use application. But here, township officials kept moving the goalposts by using ever-changing local requirements to effectively deny this religious community the same access as other faiths.”…

Muslim Appreciation Month and “Islamapalooza” Come to the University of Florida

October 27, 2016

Muslim Appreciation Month and “Islamapalooza” Come to the University of Florida, Counter JihadBruce Cornibe, October 27, 2016

There’s no doubt Islam enjoys a favored status in much of the West. Because of this Islamists can penetrate ‘educational’ and ‘cultural’ events with the message of Islam in attempts to push their political agenda as well as dawah (evangelism). This seems to be the underlying objective of a group named Islam on Campus-UF (University of Florida), who are commencing Muslim Appreciation Month by sponsoring a two-day event called “Islamapalooza[.]” The Alligator describes the event by stating:

The monthlong celebration is starting with Islamapalooza, formerly named Islam Fair, on the Plaza of the Americas today from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m., and it will continue Wednesday from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. The event will feature booths where students can get henna tattoos, play trivia about Islam and eat falafels, pita and samosas.

The festivities seem harmless as the event is under the guise of education (“learn about Islam”) and cultural experience. For the president of Islam On Campus, Maria Ilyas, the event was more of a way for people to better understand Muslims and their beliefs saying, “We’re trying to bring an awareness and appreciation to who Muslims are and what Islam is really about[.]” Okay, so we’re just talking about some misperceptions that lead to miscommunication between Muslims and non-Muslims right? Despite the deceptive language, Islam on Campus’ website reveals a mission that includes more than just education. An excerpt from the website’s “About Us” page reads:

Islam on Campus is an organization devoted to strengthening the Muslim community through service and activism as well as to educating Muslims and non-Muslims alike about the religion of Islam. We also seek to be a source of unity for Muslim students here at the University of Florida. We contribute to the development of the Muslim community here in America and try to remove any barriers to the growth of Islam and the lasting prosperity of Muslims. We struggle for positive social change in all aspects of life and try to provide an atmosphere conducive to the development of future Muslim leaders. All so that we may be of those who are in a constant struggle to perfect their submission to the will of Allah.

It sounds like the organization wants to also spread the message of Islam and Sharia campus wide. Their duplicity shouldn’t come as a surprise considering how they invite speakers from Muslim Brotherhood front organizations to promote their message of ‘understanding’ and ‘dialogue’ better. One such speaker is Zahra Billoo, the executive director of the Hamas-linked Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) – California, the San Francisco Chapter. Billoo spoke at an event part of Islam Appreciation Month called Coexisting in Faith with Zahra Billoo – which she apparently discussed “the different issues faced by people of different faiths in the United States.” Of course, the language used such as “coexisting” captures the attention of liberals, but Billoo’s ideology represents nothing of the sort. Billoo praises terrorist sympathizers and supporters like “the HLF convicts and Al-Arian” (tweet below). Billoo also is an unashamed anti-American that frequently bashes our U.S. military and law enforcement – comparing them to ISIS (tweets below). That kind of equivalence is not only radical but it is essentially inciting revolutionary actions against our government, which is probably the reason why she supports anti-government groups like Black Lives Matter.

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Islam on Campus also appears to have connections with other Muslim Brotherhood front groups such as the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and Muslim Students Association (MSA) National – snippets from Islam on Campus’ Facebook posts are below.

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If the University of Florida wants to truly get into the multiculturalist spirit maybe they should host Christianity and Judaism appreciation months. Yet, even though multiculturalists should give different cultures and religions equal treatment, in reality that is rarely the case – in fact, Muslims oftentimes receive preferential treatment. For example, “a Dirty Dozen jihadists” have been linked to the Islamic Society of Boston. Instead of the mosque being shut down for good, “the Islamic Society of Boston, was singled out by President Obama as an example of how his Countering Violent Extremism program is keeping us all safe.” Could one imagine the kind a treatment a church would receive if just one of its congregants was involved in terrorism? Let’s just say that church wouldn’t be in operation too long.

There’s no doubt Islam on Campus is using its religious minority status to subtlety advocate for Islam and Sharia at these ‘educational’ and ‘cultural’ type events. This activism is going to continue to occur and get even worse unless if our public officials and the media call these groups out. Our government leaders must also decide to break off all ties with Islamist mosques and other entities as well as shut down organizations with terrorism ties. The prevalence of events like “Islamapalooza” throughout the West reveals how are leaders are willing to sacrifice the minds of our kids in order for political expedience. Sharia doesn’t respect freedom and dignity for all human life so why should we respect it?

Maryland imam openly endorses the Islamic State, finances jihad terror plots, calls concerns about him “McCarthyism”

October 3, 2016

Maryland imam openly endorses the Islamic State, finances jihad terror plots, calls concerns about him “McCarthyism” Jihad Watch

The idea that the relentlessly clueless, willfully ignorant Obamoid FBI would be persecuting this man out of “Islamophobia” is ludicrous. We can only hope that the feds don’t decide that it is too “Islamophobic” to continue watching him closely.

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“Extremist Imam Tests F.B.I. and the Limits of the Law,” by Scott Shane and Adam Goldman, New York Times, September 30, 2016 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

WASHINGTON — For more than a decade, Suleiman Anwar Bengharsa has served as a Muslim cleric in Maryland, working as a prison chaplain and as an imam at mosques in Annapolis and outside Baltimore. He gave a two-week course in 2011 on Islamic teachings on marriage at the Islamic Society of Baltimore, where President Obama made a much-publicized visit this year.

But in the last two years, Imam Bengharsa’s public pronouncements have taken a dark turn. On Facebook, he has openly endorsed the Islamic State, posted gruesome videos showing ISIS fighters beheading and burning alive their enemies and praised terrorist attacks overseas. The “Islamic Jurisprudence Center” website he set up last year has condemned American mosques as un-Islamic and declared that homosexual acts should be punished by death.

That is not all. An affidavit filed in federal court by the F.B.I. says that Imam Bengharsa, 59, supplied $1,300 in June 2015 to a Detroit man who used it to expand his arsenal of firearms and grenades. The man, Sebastian Gregerson, 29, a Muslim convert who sometimes calls himself Abdurrahaman Bin Mikaayl, was arrested in late July and indicted on explosives charges.

Nearly a year ago, in fact, the F.B.I. said in a court filing — accidentally and temporarily made public in an online database — that agents suspected the two men were plotting terrorism. “Based on the totality of the aforementioned information and evidence, there is reason to believe that Bengharsa and Gregerson are engaged in discussions and preparations for some violent act on behalf of” the Islamic State, an agent wrote.

Yet Imam Bengharsa has not been arrested or charged. It appears that the authorities do not have clear evidence that he has broken the law. His inflammatory statements are protected by the First Amendment, and agents appear to have no proof that he knew Mr. Gregerson planned to buy illegal explosives. In his checkbook, next to the notation for the $1,300 check, Imam Bengharsa wrote “zakat,” or charity, the documents show.

The case poses in a striking way the dilemma for the F.B.I. in deciding when constitutionally protected speech crosses into inciting violence or conspiring to commit a terrorist act.

The bureau was sharply criticized for not acting more aggressively on prior warnings about the men who carried out attacks in Orlando, Fla., in June and in New York and New Jersey last month. And in early August, the F.B.I. arrested a transit police officer from Fairfax, Va., after watching him for six years before charging him with providing support to the Islamic State. It was another case that raised questions — even among agents — about why the F.B.I. and federal prosecutors waited so long to act, potentially putting the public at risk.

In testimony before Congress this week, the F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, said the challenge for F.B.I. agents was determining when someone has crossed the line from speech to criminal activity. “It’s even protected speech to say I’m a fan of the Islamic State so-called,” Mr. Comey said.

When the suspect is a cleric, like Imam Bengharsa, the matter is especially delicate.

“It’s very possible that he’s never crossed the legal threshold,” said Seamus Hughes, deputy director of the Program on Extremism at George Washington University, who has closely followed the imam’s story. But Mr. Hughes called the situation “perplexing and concerning.” The imam “can take his supporters right up to the line. It’s like a making a cake and not putting in the final ingredient. It’s winks and nods all the way.”

Imam Bengharsa appears to have plenty of money. Court records say he received $902,710 in wire transfers in 2014 and 2015, possibly an inheritance. He told The Detroit News that he often helped needy people like Mr. Gregerson. “If that individual turns around and wants to use that money for something else that’s illegal, the person who gave the money cannot be held responsible,” Imam Bengharsa said. “It’s pathetic if they are making those connections. If that’s what this country has become, I’d rather be in jail.”

The documents say he transferred money three times to an unnamed person in Yemen.

Investigators are also exploring contacts between Imam Bengharsa and other people suspected of extremism or terrorism. One is Yusuf Wehelie, 25, a Virginia man arrested in July and charged with weapons possession, which would be illegal because he has a previous felony conviction for burglary.

Mr. Wehelie first came to public attention in 2010, when he and his brother, Yahya Wehelie, both American citizens, were temporarily detained in Cairo and prevented by the F.B.I. from flying home. American officials said such delays were sometimes necessary to assess whether a person posed a security threat. The American Civil Liberties Union and the Council on American-Islamic Relations protested that the rights of such travelers were being violated.

At Yusuf Wehelie’s detention hearing in July, the authorities said he had told undercover agents that he supported the Islamic State and that if he couldn’t join it overseas, he would attack a military recruiting center, possibly using explosives. (Mr. Wehelie’s lawyer, Nina Ginsberg, said that in later recorded conversations, he disavowed those statements and later stopped replying to the undercover agents.)

In Baltimore, another young man named Maalik Alim Jones was arrested late last year and charged with joining a terrorist group in Africa. Imam Bengharsa had preached on occasion at a Baltimore mosque Mr. Jones attended, but it is not clear that they knew each other.

The F.B.I. has been closely watching the imam for months, law enforcement officials say. A spokesman for the bureau declined to comment.

The authorities are concerned that Imam Bengharsa, who claims an impressive list of scholarly credentials, may be spreading the Islamic State message that violence can be justified against perceived enemies of the faith. In view of the payment to Mr. Gregerson, they also fear he may be financing other supporters of the Islamic State. The F.B.I. has said in court that he is under investigation for conspiring and providing material support to the Islamic State….

Brennan: Comments That ‘Taint’ Islam ‘Tremendously Detrimental’ to Counterterrorism

October 1, 2016

Brennan: Comments That ‘Taint’ Islam ‘Tremendously Detrimental’ to Counterterrorism, PJ Media, Bridget Johnson, September 30, 2016

(The fantasy religion of peace. — DM)

isishalab-sized-770x415xcISIS video screenshot

WASHINGTON — CIA Director John Brennan said comments that “taint” Islam “as being the source of the problem” are “tremendously detrimental to our interests and to a better understanding of this phenomenon” of terrorism.

Speaking at the Washington Ideas Forum this week, Brennan said he’s met with “princes or presidents and prime ministers throughout the Middle East” who are “outraged that their community — their Muslim community — has been infected by this cancer, individuals who have this distorted and very perverted interpretation of Islam that pursue these psychopathic agendas of horrific violence, and they recognize that they have a very important role — the leading role to help purge their communities of these influences.”

“These individuals who are fanatics — extremists and terrorists — they are driven by this ideology that is not rooted in Islam,” Brennan said. “It’s a psychopathic ideology that is very absolutist, that either you are with us or against us.”

“And that’s why the establishment of the caliphate — the so-called caliphate by ISIL, as well as al-Qaeda’s agenda, really, are trying to cause this …clash of civilizations. They want to drive this wedge between the West and the Muslim world.”

Brennan said he has not spoken with Donald Trump, but “anybody who promotes that type of characterization of the problem, and mischaracterization, in my mind, I would try to describe how those comments are being interpreted and how they are feeding this narrative that the terrorist organizations are propagating, that it does not help to arrest this cancer that has taken over so many of the communities because of a lot of the underlying conditions that exist within Middle East and Africa, South Asia, the areas, because of economic deprivation, political disenfranchisements, lack of opportunity.”

“These terrorist organizations and this perverted version of religion preys upon their sense of hopelessness,” the CIA director continued. “And by making comments that are incendiary and are viewed as attacking a religion or a people or a community only further drive those individuals to grasp onto those extremist views because they interpret a lot of the comments that are made as the Western United States are out against them. And so, when those comments come forward, the comments of a Bin Laden or others resonate with them.”

“And they say, yes, you’re right. You know, the West is determined to exterminate us.”

Brennan was asked how he can separate terrorism from Islam when terrorists are quoting the Quran and enjoy support from some Muslims, particularly in certain parts of the world.

“People can take any faith — the Jewish faith, the Christian faith — and distort it and use it for violent agendas. And we’ve seen through the course of history that individuals who think that they are the vanguard of the effort of Christianity or Judaism or even Hinduism or other religions, really have this distorted interpretation of their faith,” Brennan replied.

“And the overwhelming majority, the 99.9 percent of Muslims do not support that type of violent agenda. Yes, there may be some individuals who are considered to be radical within their Islamic faith or even extremist,” he added.

“But the use of this horrific violence, the type of violence that’s being perpetrated by ISIL is something that we have not seen, I think, previously… their philosophy is, well, even if the innocents are killed, God will sort them out and they’ll go to heaven even earlier.”

Ontario Imam Tells Muslims Not to Apologize for Foiled ISIS Suicide Attack

August 24, 2016

Ontario Imam Tells Muslims Not to Apologize for Foiled ISIS Suicide Attack, Counter JihadBruce Cornibe, August 24, 2016

Islamists often blame the foreign policies of Western governments in attempt to mask the despicable acts of terrorism committed by jihadists. This type of scapegoating switches the fault from radical Islam to the West, and finds traction with Westerners that succumb to the white privilege/collective guilt mindset furthered by leftist academics.

An Ontario imam named Mazin AbdulAdhim, who is connected with the radical Hizb ut-Tahrir movement, continues to condemn the West  after the stymied terror attack by ISIS supporter Aaron Driver on August 10. Take a look at AbdulAdhim’s Facebook post, allegedly posted the day after the thwarted attack:

Aaron Driver, a Muslim convert from my city, was killed in a confrontation with the RCMP yesterday. They allege that he detonated a device inside a taxi, hurting himself and someone else, and was shot when he tried to detonate another one.

It is important to not jump to conclusions about this information until details are made clear. The media clearly has a campaign against Islam and Muslims, and so we should be careful how we respond to news like this.

Even if the information is true, we must not allow these sorts of events to cause us to be pressured to apologize for actions that we are not responsible for, nor should this cause us to become afraid of speaking the truth. The governments of the West kill and help kill dozens of innocent civilians every day, and the crimes they have committed against humanity through their foreign policies are orders of magnitude worse than anything these individuals have committed or tried to commit…

It’s funny how Islamists like AbdulAdhim say the media is out to get Muslims, when many media outlets push the contrived ‘Islamophobia’ narrative. For example, the BBC recently ran a story that implied that opposition to Sharia law is ‘Islamophobia’ – apparently interrupting an interview by stating, “There’s no Sharia law here.”

AbdulAdhim also flips morality on its head and thinks that alleged crimes resulting from the foreign policies of Western governments are a much greater evil than Islamic terrorism. This is another leftist tactic of using moral relativism to justify the most absurd of viewpoints – for example, drone strikes that seek to minimize collateral damage are apparently more evil than a suicide bomber aiming to murder innocent people. This is the reasoning behind actual terrorist groups like Hamas who blame Israel for terrorism when Israel’s military inadvertently kills or injures civilians because the leaders of Hamas purposely hide their militants in schools and hospitals to ensure collateral damage.

AbdulAdhim also provides a Facebook posting that’s indicative of how anti-Western the Sharia mindset is at its core. Purportedly posted after the Orlando massacre, the anti-democratic/anti-capitalist post states:

…It’s amazing that Muslims still have not absorbed the fact that this is not our system, these are not our laws, and these are not our governments. This system does not represent us, and it will not protect us if those behind it decide that we are no longer worth protecting.

It’s amazing that Muslims continuously ignore the fact that our Creator gave us our own system and obligated it upon us, and He will never allow us to solve these countless problems we face today until we return to His system that He ordained for us in His final message…

…We are the ones who have turned away from the systems revealed by Allah (swt), and look at this most miserable life we live, constantly apologizing, lacking in dignity, and never having proper representation of the proper implementation of Islam.

And we are the ones who have caused the spread of corruption throughout the land and the sea, since we abandoned our positions in implementing Islam on the political level, and left those positions for the worst of humanity to occupy…

Unlike the Islamists of the Hamas-affiliated Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) organizations like Hizb ut-Tahrir are more forthright about their political goals and what Sharia law entails. As suggested from AbdulAdhim’s previous statement, political Islam is not compatible with democracy and a capitalist system.

We know in Sharia “that only Allah can righteously create laws that are binding on human beings[;]” therefore, laws conceived by humans are invalid. From this perspective there’s no reason to have a democracy since the laws that likely come out of the democratic process are inherently wrong, and there’s no reason to have a free-enterprise system when Allah has already stipulated what is permissible (halal) and what is forbidden (haram) – for example, usury (riba) is prohibited (Quran 2:275-280). Also, the elevation and promotion of Islam and Muslims is another key element of Sharia. How is a government governed by Sharia supposed to give equal rights to Muslims and non-Muslims (Kafirs) alike if non-Muslims are systematically discriminated against in Islamic texts that make up Sharia like the Quran (2:221)? It can’t, and AbdulAdhim knows that.

The use of violence is one of the few differences between Islamists and jihadists (even though some Islamists subscribe to violence). As we have already seen Islamists oftentimes downplay Islamic terrorism or blame it on supposed Western aggression, thus helping to advance their Sharia agenda. Furthermore, Islamists like AbdulAdhim are enemies to Western civilization and the Western countries they inhabit. Leaders like Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau cannot identify the threat stemming from radical Islam because they are too steeped in political correctness. The threat of Sharia won’t go away on its own – the West must confront its enemy.

New Study: Extremist Literature Common in Canadian Mosques

August 24, 2016

New Study: Extremist Literature Common in Canadian Mosques, Clarion Project, Elliot Friedland, August 24, 2016

Islamic-State-Fighter-1-HP_1Illustrative picture. (Photo: © Screenshot from video)

Extremist literature is widely available in mosques and Islamic schools in Canada, according to a new study, reported by the National Post.

The study was conducted by Thomas Quiggin a former intelligence analyst with the Privy Council Office and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and Saied Shoaaib, a journalist originally from Egypt.

The study found that not only was the material available, but in some places it was the majority of the literature available.

The co-authors argued that politicians have reacted insufficiently to the threat, and that extremists were gaining the upper hand ideologically.

“Further research is required to determine the depth and breadth of this problem,” the study concluded.

The findings are especially troubling in the light of another study, published earlier in August, which interviewed Canadian citizens who had travelled to Syria or Iraq to fight for jihadist organizations such as the Islamic State (ISIS, ISIL), as reported by Macleans.

In this study, titled Talking to Foreign Fighters: Socio-Economic Push versus Existential Pull Factors, researchers questioned 40 foreign fighters, 60 family members, friends and associates, and 30 online supporters from December 2015 to February 2016.

They have so far they have published findings from an initial sample of 20 jihadists. Their findings indicate that ideology was a primary motivating factor in the radicalization journeys by of those to whom they spoke.

“None of our sample indicated coming from familial situations of poverty or marginality,” they said. “On the contrary, many indicated they had fairly happy and privileged, or at least comfortable, childhoods. In general, there was almost no discussion of the economic situation of their families.”

Those interviewed “run the gamut from troubled youth with personal problems to accomplished young men and women from stable backgrounds,” the authors wrote.

“Anger and frustration have their role to play in the process, but it is the positive investment in an alternate world-saving role that matters most, no matter how strange it may appear to outsiders.”

They also saw that many seemed to radicalize and travel in “clusters,” as opposed to lone wolves.

Furthermore, they added that mentoring from someone seen as a religious figure was necessary for many to complete the process of radicalization. “In most cases, we would say the help and encouragement of some other outside mentors is required to complete the process of radicalization, to turn wannabe terrorists into deployable agents or independent martyrs for the cause. The process of self-radicalization needs to be legitimated to be complete.”

With the presence of extremist literature available in mosques, the ability of Canadians to be drawn into such an ideology seems clear.

Robert Spencer on Black Lives Matter and the Leftist/Islamic Alliance

August 23, 2016

Robert Spencer on Black Lives Matter and the Leftist/Islamic Alliance, Jihad Watch via YouTube, August 23, 2016

 

UK: Clerics Who Threaten Reformers and Praise Murderers

August 22, 2016

UK: Clerics Who Threaten Reformers and Praise Murderers, Gatestone InstituteDouglas Murray, August 22, 2016

♦ Anjem Choudary has gone to jail. He was the most visible part of the problem. But he was not the greatest or deepest problem in this area. That problem is shown when two extremist clerics with pre-medieval views come to Britain they are welcomed by an ignorant British establishment.

♦ “These people teach murder and hate. For me personally I find it sad that a country like England would allow cowards like these men in. Why are they allowing people [in] that give fuel to the fire they are fighting against?” — Shahbaz Taseer, the son of Punjab Governor Salman Taseer, who was murdered for opposing Pakistan’s blasphemy laws.

♦ “They have got hundreds of thousands of followers in the UK,” the imam of the Madina Mosque and Islamic Centre in Oldham, Zahoor Chishti, said of the two clerics.

The conviction of radical Islamic preacher Anjem Choudary — the most prominent extremist in Britain — has been widely welcomed in the UK. For years his followers and he have infuriated the vast majority of the British public (including most British Muslims) with their inflammatory and hate-filled rhetoric. They have also provided a constant stream of people willing to follow through the words with actions. More people around Choudary have been convicted of terrorism offences in the UK than any other Islamist group — including al-Qaeda.

But Choudary’s conviction for encouraging people to join ISIS should not be greeted as though that is the end of a matter.

1203The conviction of radical Islamic preacher Anjem Choudary (centre) — the most prominent extremist in Britain — has been widely welcomed in the UK.

Last week we noted here how, after the murder of an Ahmadiyya Muslim in the UK at the hands of another Muslim, some Muslims are “more Muslim than others” and that those outside a particular theological group can be killed is not an idea held only by the murderer. It is an idea with a significant following in the UK Muslim community, as well as among Muslims worldwide. A recent test of this issue was the execution in January this year in Pakistan of Mumtaz Qadri. This was the man who murdered Salman Taseer, the governor of Punjab province in Pakistan. Taseer had opposed the strict blasphemy laws which operate in his country. In Qadri’s eyes, Taseer was an apostate for even thinking of watering down the blasphemy laws that jihadists and Islamists such as the Taliban wish to preserve. And so Qadri killed the governor.

Of course one would like to think that everyone could unite in condemning the actions of a man such as Mumtaz Qadri. What is striking is how many people fail to do so, and how many Muslim clerics and religious leaders — even in the West — not only fail to do so but have been open in their praise of Qadri and their condemnation of Pakistan for putting him to death. Prominent among the latter group is the imam of the largest mosque in Scotland — the Glasgow central mosque.

This past month, however, an even more significant event occurred. In July, two Pakistani clerics started a tour of the UK. Their seven-week expedition, called “Sacred Journey,” goes on until September 4, and includes appearances in Oldham, Rochdale, Rotherham and the Prime Minister’s own constituency of Maidenhead. One of the first things that Muhammad Naqib ur Rehman and Hassan Haseeb ur Rehman did when they arrived in the UK was to meet with the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Archbishop welcomed them in Lambeth Palace and claimed that the meeting would strengthen “interfaith relations,” as well as address “the narrative of extremism and terrorism.” One wonders how far the Archbishop got in this task?

If there is a “narrative of extremism and terrorism,” Muhammad Naqib ur Rehman and Hassan Haseeb ur Rehman can take some serious credit for the fact. Both men took an enthusiastic stand in Pakistan in support of Mumtaz Qadri. That is, they supported the murderer of a progressive Pakistani official. Listen here, for instance, to Hassan Haseeb ur Rehman delivering a hysterical speech in support of Mumtaz Qadri while his fellow cleric, Muhammad Naqib ur Rehman, looks on approvingly from the platform.

Here is Hassan Haseeb ur Rehman whipping up the vast crowd of mourners after the funeral of Mumtaz Qadri in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. During his speech he repeatedly refers to Qadri as ashaheed [martyr]. Tens of thousands of people attended the funeral, and afterwards rioted, chanting slogans such as “Qadri, your blood will bring the revolution” and “the punishment for a blasphemer is beheading.”

After Qadri’s execution, Haseeb ur Rehman said on social media “Every person who loves Islam and Prophet is in grief for the martyrdom of Mumtaz Qadri.”

So what are two clerics who approve of murdering reformers and mourn the death of fanatics and assassins doing touring the UK? Shahbaz Taseer, the son of the Salman Taseer, is among those who has criticised the UK authorities for allowing the two men into the country. “These people teach murder and hate,” he has said.

“For me personally I find it sad that a country like England would allow cowards like these men in. It’s countries like the UK and the US that claim they are leading the way in the war against terror [and] setting a standard. Why are they allowing people [in] that give fuel to the fire they are fighting against?”

“They have got hundreds of thousands of followers in the UK,” the imam of the Madina Mosque and Islamic Centre in Oldham, Zahoor Chishti, said of the two clerics. Chishti denied that the event was organised by his mosque and said that he was not aware of the views of the speakers. “When I found out I was upset. I think it was really upsetting and wrong. They come to the UK every year and give messages of love, so that’s why they’re booked on that basis.’

Elsewhere, the “Sacred Journey” tour has already thrown up another interesting connection. Mohammed Shafiq runs a one-man outfit called the “Ramadan Foundation” in the UK, and is regularly called upon by the British media. He appears to be viewed as a “moderate” Muslim because he has been outspoken in opposition to the mass rape of children by gangs of Muslim men. Despite this heroism, his own liberal credentials (not least as a member of the Liberal Democrat party) have often come into question. Several years ago, for instance, when the Liberal Democrat candidate and genuine anti-extremism campaigner Maajid Nawaz re-Tweeted an innocuous cartoon from the “Jesus and Mo” series, Shafiq was among those who tried to get up a lynch-mob against Nawaz. Shafiq wrote on social media that Nawaz was a “Ghustaki Rasool,” Urdu for “defamer of the prophet.” He warned that he would “notify Islamic countries.” Shafiq angrily denied that these and other messages constituted incitement against Nawaz.

But now, on the visit of two clerics to the UK who applaud and mourn Mumtaz Qadri, where is Mohammed Shafiq to be found? Why, warmly greeting the cleric who praises the murderers of reformers and glad-handing with the terrorist-apologists and blasphemy lynch-mob, of course.

Almost everyone in Britain is pleased that the loudmouth Anjem Choudary has gone to jail. Like the hook-handed cleric Abu Hamza before him, Choudary was — as a case — almost too easy. He was the most visible part of the problem. But he was not the greatest or deepest problem in this area. That problem is shown when two extremist clerics with pre-medieval views come to Britain, they are welcomed by an ignorant British establishment. The problem is shown when they tour mosques, they do so to packed houses because they have “hundreds of thousands” of followers of Pakistani origin in the UK. The problem is shown when you scratch the surface of one of the self-proclaimed “moderates” like Mohammed Shafiq and discover that he is happy to pal around with the people who threaten reformers and praise murderers.

That is the problem for British Islam in a nutshell. And that is a problem we still remain woefully unable to confront.