by Cinnamon Stillwell
American Thinker
November 15, 2009

Reposted from the Middle East Forum

In the wake of the horrific attack at the Fort Hood military base in Texas earlier this month, and the mounting evidence that the shooter, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, was motivated by Islamist beliefs, the media has turned to Middle East studies “experts” for enlightenment. Instead, what the media, and, by extension, the American public, has received is the moral relativism and obfuscation that too often meets any effort to address Islamism or jihadism in an intellectually honest manner.

Writing for the Washington Post’s “On Faith” blog, John Esposito, professor and founding director of the Saudi-funded Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University, extends his long tradition of issuing apologias for radical Islam by conflating Hasan’s actions with “extremists” of all religions. In the process, he professes ignorance as to why there might be suspicion directed towards Islam in the wake of 9/11, the worst Islamic terrorist attack in U.S. history:

Why this common tendency and double standard towards Islam and Muslims post-9/11? We judge the religion and majority of mainstream Muslims by the acts of an individual or an aberrant minority of extremists. Yet, when Jewish fundamentalists kill a prime minister or innocent Palestinians or Christian extremists blow up abortion clinics or assassinate their physicians, somehow the media is capable of sticking to all the facts and distinguishing between the use and abuse of a religion.

Having written this post while news of Hasan’s fanatical leanings and possible terrorist connections was still developing, Esposito warns against a “rush to judgment” that might, as he puts it, “negatively impact the American public’s perception of Islam.” Heaven forbid Americans start to suspect that Islam itself contains the seeds for Islamism. Contrary to popular belief, this awareness need not implicate all Muslims. Rather, it asks the faithful to address Islamist violence and aggression by implementing theological and cultural reform.

Esposito continues the moral equivalency and non sequiturs in a later “On Faith” post:

by Raymond Ibrahim
Pajamas Media
November 18, 2009

Posted in the Middle East Forum

One of the difficulties in discussing Islam’s more troubling doctrines is that they have an anachronistic, even otherworldly, feel to them; that is, unless actively and openly upheld by Muslims, non-Muslims, particularly of the Western variety, tend to see them as abstract theory, not standard practice for today. In fact, some Westerners have difficulties acknowledging even those problematic doctrines that are openly upheld by Muslims — such as jihad. How much more when the doctrines in question are subtle, or stealthy, in nature?

Enter Nidal Malik Hasan, the psychiatrist, U.S. Army major, and “observant Muslim who prayed daily,” who recently went on a shooting rampage at Fort Hood, killing thirteen Americans (including a pregnant woman). While the media wonders in exasperation why he did it, offering the same old tired and trite reasons — he was “picked on,” he was “mentally unbalanced” — the fact is his behavior comports well with certain Islamic doctrines. As such, it behooves Americans to take a moment and familiarize themselves with the esotericisms of Islam.

Note: Any number of ulema (Muslim scholars) have expounded the following doctrines. However, since jihadi icon and theoretician Ayman Zawahiri, al-Qaeda’s number two, has also addressed many of these doctrines in his treatises, including by quoting several authoritative ulema, I will primarily rely on excerpts from The Al Qaeda Reader (AQR), for those readers who wish to source, and read in context, the following quotes in one volume.

Wala’ wa Bara’

Perhaps best translated as “loyalty and enmity,” this doctrine requires Muslims to maintain absolute loyalty to Islam and one another, while disavowing, even hating (e.g., Koran 60:4), all things un-Islamic — including persons (a.k.a. “infidels”). This theme has ample support in the Koran, hadith, and rulings of the ulema, that is, usul al-fiqh (roots of Muslim jurisprudence). In fact, Zawahiri has written a fifty-page treatise entitled “Loyalty and Enmity” (AQR, p. 63-115).

One of the many Koranic verses on which he relies warns Muslims against “taking the Jews and Christians as friends and allies … whoever among you takes them for friends and allies, he is surely one of them” (Koran 5:51), i.e., he becomes an infidel. The plain meaning of this verse alone — other verses, such as 3:28, 4:144, and 6:40 follow this theme — and its implications for today can hardly be clearer. According to one of the most authoritative Muslim exegetes, al-Tabari (838-923), Koran 5:51 means that the Muslim who “allies with them [non-Muslims] and enables them against the believers, that same one is a member of their faith and community” (AQR, p. 71).

Sheikh al-Islam, Ibn Taymiyya (1263-1328), takes the concept of loyalty one step further when he tells Muslims that they are “obligated to befriend a believer — even if he is oppressive and violent towards you and must be hostile to the infidel, even if he is liberal and kind to you” (AQR, p. 84).

In ways, Hasan’s life was a testimony to loyalty and enmity. According to his colleague, Dr. Finnell, Hasan “was very vocal about the war, very upfront about being a Muslim first and an American second.” If his being “vocal about the war” is not enough to demonstrate unwavering loyalty to Islam, his insistence that he is first and foremost a Muslim is. Other evidence indicates that the primary factor that threw him “over the edge” was that he was being deployed to a Muslim country (Afghanistan) — his “worst nightmare.”

According to a fellow Muslim convenience store owner who often spoke with Hasan, the thought that he might injure or kill Muslims “weighed heavily on him.” Hasan also counseled a fellow Muslim not to join the U.S. Army, since “Muslims shouldn’t kill Muslims,” again, showing where his loyalty lies. Tabari’s exegesis comes to mind: the Muslim who “allies with them [non-Muslims] and enables them against the believers, that same one is a member of their faith and community,” i.e., he too becomes an infidel (AQR, p. 71).

Another source who spoke with Hasan notes that “in the Koran, you’re not supposed to have alliances with Jews or Christian or others, and if you are killed in the military fighting against Muslims, you will go to hell.”

At any rate, surely none of this should come as a surprise. In April 2005, another Muslim serving in the U.S. Army, Hasan Akbar, was convicted of murder for killing two American soldiers and wounding fourteen in a grenade attack in Kuwait. According to the AP, “he launched the attack because he was concerned U.S. troops would kill fellow Muslims in Iraq.”

Taqiyya

This doctrine, which revolves around deceiving the infidel, is pivotal to upholding loyalty and enmity wherever and whenever Muslim minorities live among non-Muslim majorities.

In an article in the December 5, 2009 issue of World Magazine, author Lynn Vincent hits the nail on the head: U.S. analysts, constrained by politics, are loath to conclude and publicize what the facts already show: that jihadist Muslims who state that they kill non-Muslims because their religious ideology demands it are in fact doing so. They have successfully infiltrated the United States from foreign countries, have won and radicalized Muslim converts among U.S. citizens, and—if the uptick in busted plots is any indication—are planning violence at an increasing rate.”

The article mentions five separate “lone wolf” incidents of Islamist-style jihadist attacks that were discovered this year and halted in time, before anyone actually lost their lives. Then, almost as if it was an oversight, one slipped through the cracks: Major Nidal Malik Hasan opened fire at Fort Hood, Texas, in what some are calling the worst case since 9-11 of domestic terrorism. But our government and military leaders are not so quick to draw such a conclusion.

It is only through continuing willful ignorance that we will see more and more of these acts perpetrated on our soil. Until our leaders recognize these events for what they are, they will be unable to form a strategy to counter them.

Robert Spencer of Jihad Watch is interviewed by an acquaintance of mine, Nabeel Qureshi who, along with David Wood, comprise the Acts17 Apologetics Ministry. I was with David and Nabeel this past summer in Dearborn when the now infamous Shari’a in America video was made, which now has over 1.6 million hits on YouTube.

Note at about 4:30 into the interview, Nabeel asks Robert if there is any hope or if there is any light at the end of the tunnel. Spencer says there is no solving this problem; there is only managing it. I have to disagree. The problem will be solved when Muslims worldwide meet the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ himself and yield to Him as Lord and Savior. Being the good Catholic man he is, Robert Spencer should know this.

A rally for Rifqa Bary took place as scheduled in Columbus, Ohio on Monday November 16, but the court hearing for Rifqa did not take place as scheduled. Instead, her next hearing has been postponed until December 22. No explanation has been given by the court system for the delay. In fact, no information of Rifqa has been provided at all. Nobody knows if she is even still in the country. Her contact with the outside world has been cut off: no phone, no internet, nothing. She is being held a prisoner in her foster home, for the crime of embracing Christianity.

You have to love how the media is spinning the rally held on Nov. 16. As the headline of the following article notes, this was sponsored by “Christian Activists.” Pamela Geller, who spearheaded the rally, is Jewish! Once again, the media is reporting on an event for which they know nothing and have failed to do their homework. But to put the spin that this was only “Christian activists” sets the tone that this is a fringe group worthy of only being ignored.

Christian Activists Draw Attention To Rifqa Bary Case At Public Rally

Here are video clips of the rally.

Part 1

Muslim Mafia

If you have not yet purchased this book, you should do so. A six month undercover operation that penetrated deep into the heart of the Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) discovered that this organization, which bills itself as a civil rights group for all Muslims, is anything but. The thousands of documents smuggled out of CAIR show it to be another front group for the Muslim Brotherhood and a money funnel for radical Islamist groups worldwide.

Since the release of the book, Congresswoman Sue Myrick, who wrote the forward for the book, has issued an official call for a full congressional investigation of CAIR. But the rest of congress does not seem to be listening. So Brigitte Gabries of ACT for America has started a petition drive to collect enough signatures to get the attention of congress and kick start the investigation.

Meanwhile, a judge has ordered the return of the documents obtained from CAIR offices. If CAIR successfully sues to suppress the evidence against them, this book could become forbidden and removed from store shelves. It would not be the first time a Muslim group has applied pressure to have certain books censored. Try looking for a book called Alms for Jihad, published by Cambridge University Press. You won’t find it. Cambridge pulled it for essentially the same reason, fearing backlash against them from radical Muslims.

Major Nadal Malik Hasan

None dare call what happened in Texas by its real name: Sudden Jihad Syndrome.

by Ebrahim Ashabi

Rifqa Bary

Today is the scheduled hearing in Ohio for young Rifqa Bary to determine her final status: if she will be returned to her parents, allowed to remain with foster parents until she turns 18, or possibly another arrangement.

If you have not been following her story, here is a quick recap. Four years ago, Rifqa became a Christian as a girl of 13 years of age. She successfully hid her religious conviction from her Muslim family until earlier this year, when her father discovered she had been reading the Bible. According to Rifqa’s testimony, her father threatened to kill her. She then fled to Florida to seek protection with a Christian minister she had been conversing with online. The family attorney successfully argued for her return to Ohio based on jurisdictional grounds and won.

Meanwhile, CAIR even got involved. When the Florida Department of Law Enforcement interviewed Rifqa’s parents, a representative of CAIR was present. Why? For intimidation? To pressure the FDLE for a favorable report? We will really never know. Nor will we really never have a complete understanding of what Rifqa’s parents may have said had CAIR not been present.

But the bottom line is that this young woman’s life is in danger. She has been threatened with death by her father, who is fully capable of carrying out that threat. Yet our law enforcement and media continue to downplay the threat, in spite of many similar stories that have surfaced over the past few years: Amina and Sarah Said, Aqsa Parvez, Sandeela Kanwal, Assiya Hassan, the Shafii family.

In a recent post on WorldNetDaily, author David Kupelian asked a very pointed and timely question: What is behind Americans politically correct love of Islam? The opinion piece is very well written and deserves to be reposted, so here is a portion. Follow the link at the bottom to read the entire article.

WHAT’S BEHIND AMERICA’S POLITICALLY CORRECT LOVE OF ISLAM

The second they heard about the Fort Hood massacre, millions of thinking Americans wondered in their gut: “Oh God, is this another crazy Muslim terrorist carrying out a one-man jihad, as has happened so many times before?”

Then, when the alleged perpetrator’s name and religion were made public (Nidal Malik Hasan, a lifelong Muslim) along with eyewitness reports he had shouted the obligatory pre-terror-attack proclamation, “Allahu akbar” (”Allah is greatest”) before commencing his orgy of slaughter, their suspicions were confirmed: This was surely a major attack on the American homeland by a Muslim terrorist.

Further evidence quickly rolled in: Hasan had reportedly refused to fight fellow Muslims, called the war on terror a “war on Islam,” told a co-worker Muslims had a right to rise up and attack Americans, and reportedly had posted online his astoundingly twisted belief that an Islamic suicide bomber was morally equivalent to a soldier throwing himself on a grenade to save the lives of his comrades.

In other words, although the Army had many warnings Hasan was a certifiable, America-hating, jihadist “ticking time bomb” waiting to go off, it did nothing to avert last week’s terror attack. Why?

And why, after the truth about Hasan became undeniable following his mass slaughter, does the government, as well as its mouthpiece the establishment press, agonize in their usual pathetic manner over what could possibly have motivated the Army psychiatrist to coldly, methodically murder 13 and wound 38 others?

• Shortly after the attack, right on schedule, the FBI announced it wasn’t terror-related.
• Time magazine moronically blamed posttraumatic stress disorder – even though Hasan has never been deployed in a war zone.
• The shooter’s relatives insisted he had been the victim of religious harassment because of his faith, which must have made him snap.
• According to the Washington Post, the problem was that Hasan was lonely. That’s right, the newspaper’s report, titled “The lonely life of alleged Fort Hood shooter,” was subtitled: “‘He was mistreated. He didn’t have nobody. He was all alone,’ says neighbor.”
• Meanwhile, President Obama warned Americans against “jumping to conclusions” about what might have motivated the shooter.

Why, after a Muslim commits a terrorist act, do authorities always announce almost instantaneously – before they could possibly know – that the attack was not terror-related?

Why do the news media always torture themselves and their readers with the most wildly improbable explanations in their attempts to avoid the obvious truth?

Read the rest of the article here.

Islamist Perfidy and Western Naivety
Which Is More Lethal?

by Raymond Ibrahim
Pajamas Media
November 9, 2009
http://www.meforum.org/2496/islamist-perfidy-western-naivety

In a blog entry for Islamist Watch, David J. Rusin shows how the word “jihad” continues to be euphemized in the West. Despite Islamic law’s unequivocal portrayal of it as a military endeavor to empower Islam, jihad is still being peddled as “nothing more than a student laboring to pass algebra, a mom driving her kids to soccer practice, or, in the words of the Cambridge study, a civic-minded person engaged in ‘lobbying, activism, and writing’ — a community organizer of sorts.” Rusin concludes by observing: “Why Islamists peddle such specious definitions should be clear. More baffling and disturbing is why they gain traction among so many Westerners.”

Indeed, therein lies the irony: Islamist perfidy is only to be expected; Western naivety, on the other hand, which, if anything, should have begun to dissipate in our post-9/11 world, has burgeoned to the point of nearly making the former unnecessary. For while there is no doubt that Islamists (and their misguided Western cronies) distort the meaning of jihad, increasingly, even when the true meaning is in plain sight, America’s leaders and media still fail to discern it. In other words, apathy — or willful blindness — regarding jihad has become so deep-seated in the West that Islamists need no longer actively dissemble.

Consider: When President Barack Hussein Obama addressed the Islamic world from Cairo on June 4, 2009, he said: “As the Holy Koran tells us, ‘Be conscious of God and speak always the truth’ [Sura 9:119]. That is what I will try to do — to speak the truth as best I can, humbled by the task before us.” Let us for the moment put aside the fact that Sura 9, from whence Obama quotes, contains the most violent and intolerant exhortations in all the Koran (which is saying something). The problem here is that the original Arabic text of Sura 9:119 says absolutely nothing about “speaking the truth.” The word “speaking” is nowhere in the text, and “truth,” as an abstract, is a wrong translation for sadiqin, which refers to people. The verse most literally translates as “fear Allah and be with the truthful.” In other words, Muslims should stand firm with fellow Muslims (”truthful” serving as a Koranic epithet for “Muslims” the same way “believers” often does). It is, as ever, a call for divisiveness — of Muslims (the “truthful”) versus infidels (the “false”).