We begin with Attorney General Holder testifying before the Judiciary Committee. The context of Rep. Smith’s question is Maj. Nidal Hassan of the Fort Hood shootings, the Christmas and Times Square bombers.
Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Tex.): Do you feel that these individuals might have been incited to take the actions that they did because of radical Islam?
Attorney General Eric Holder: There are a variety of reasons why I think people have taken these actions. . . .
Smith: Okay, but radical Islam could have been one of the reasons?
Holder: There are a variety of reasons why people –
Smith: But was radical Islam one of them?
Holder: There are a variety of reasons why people do these things. Some of them are potentially religious-based.
Compare that little waltz what the Times Square bomber had to say.
In U.S. District Court when Faisal Shahzad, the Times Square attacker, pleaded guilty; “One has to understand where I’m coming from . . . I consider myself a mujahid, a Muslim soldier.”
The reluctance of Mr. Holder combined with the straightforwardness of Mr. Shahzad is a victory for soft Jihad. The refusal to face to face facts is the necessary basis for “soft” Jihad in America.
Terrorism forms top of mind perception when considering Islamists; however, the true danger lies in the insistence that the foundations of Islamist thinking be ignored in favor of a more comfortable, politically correct perception resulting in an inability to honestly evaluate Islamic theology as interpreted and applied by Islamists. “Moderates” should be judged, not in relation to other Muslims but in relation to our history, mores and culture. “Moderates” will become much more difficult to find under this standard. Change the definition and you change the numbers.
It is critically important for Islamists to foment terror, not as a primary strategy but as a point of comparison to justify ongoing soft Jihad. This context provides the framework whereby “moderate” can be loosely defined as anyone not directly engaged in terrorism. This definition ignores the underlying doctrine in support of terrorist goals and the overall strategic imperatives. Many “experts” well ensconced as advisers to the intelligence community, military and State Department, John Esposito chief among them, depend on the “moderate” definition. Mr. Esposito’s chair at Georgetown is funded by the Saudi’s. Follow the money. Saudi support for Whhabism and its expansionist goals is well known and not in dispute. Mr. Esposito, among other things has been caught red handed, in public, manipulating research data in support of pre existing opinions. Yet, Mr. Esposito is still one of the ‘go to” guys; softer than soft.
Islamist goals are clear, as is the road map; no guessing required, Islamists have defined those goals by way of their own documents and rhetoric. They have also shown us; historian Bat Ye’or in; Eurabia: The Euro-Arab Axis lays out the decade’s long incursion of Islamist influences in Europe. Ms. Ye’or provides documentary evidence of the agreements, the supportive bureaucracy, and the institutional acceptance of a culture diametrically opposed to traditional European cultural values. That history leads to the perception that what occurred in the early stages of soft Jihad in Europe is happening here. Moammar Kadafi opines that Europe will fall without a shot being fired, he is, so far, unfortunately correct.
Steve Emerson of the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT), the pre-eminent authority on domestic Islamist organizations, authored an extensively sourced book, JihadIncorporated. Mr. Emerson lays out the complex web of Islamist infrastructure and funding in excruciating detail. Mr. Emerson has been on the case long before it was a case. In Willful Blindness and Grand Jihad Andrew McCarthy attacks our refusal to see things as they are and the dangers inherent in that refusal. In Muslim Mafia David Gaubatz and Paul Sperry tell the story of an undercover operative planted at CAIR (Council for American Islamic Relations), exposing CAIR’s agenda and methods. CAIR’s defense was that the documents were taken illegally, which a court agreed they were. No defense of ideology and methods only outrage at the procurement. These works are just the very tip of the available documentary iceberg.
The Holy Land Foundation trial in Dallas was the largest terror funding prosecution in U.S. history and exposed the networks, personalities and money at play in the American Islamist world. That trial is rarely discussed, however, the fact remains that un-indicted co-conspirators in that trial remain primary resources for U.S. government agencies to insure that the proper ‘sensitivities’ are in place. It is also a fact that every significant Islamist organization in America has suffered convictions related to their support for the global terror infrastructure.
Don’t believe soft Jihad is at work in high levels of government? Stephen Coughlin a lawyer and military intelligence officer was fired by the Pentagon. Mr. Coughlin’s crime? He authored a definitive evaluation of Islamic doctrine and history post 9/11 under the assumption that the traditional charge to ‘know your enemy’ would be the case in terms of Islamic terrorism. He was wrong. The firing was precipitated by Hesham Islam, a top aid to Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England. England, according to McCarthy, was known at the Pentagon as ‘Gullible Gordon’. He positioned Mr. Islam as his point man for outreach to Islamic groups. Claudia Rosset provides a variety of reporting regarding Islam’s outreach efforts including to the ISNA (Islamic Society of North America) and MAS (Muslim American Society). The ISNA and the MSA are the mother ships for the Brotherhood’s organizations in America. Steve Emerson further reported that Islam arranged meetings for Gullible Gordon with Husam al-Dairi a senior member of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood until nixed by higher authorities.
Very little of Mr. Islam’s resume stands up to scrutiny, great story but only a story in too many cases. His efforts to bring Islamist influences into high levels of an ever more politically correct Pentagon worked well. Islam’s efforts to minimize the presence of objective expertise were also highly successful evidenced by the removal of Mr. Coughlin. Mr. Coughlin’s departure resulted in the Pentagon’s only expert on Islamic jurisprudence being cashiered opening the way for yet more Muslim ‘moderates’ to define the appropriate view of Islam as a religion of peace. As Mr. Islam came under increasing scrutiny, who rushed in to defend him? ISNA Executive Director Louay Safi! Mr. Safi is tied to ongoing DOJ investigations of the SAAR Group based in Herndon Va. which was established to ‘coordinate’ Muslim charitable organizations and is suspected of funneling millions of dollars to terror organizations.
Marine Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Myers called the Coughlin firing “an act of intellectual cowardice”. His context was, in fact, the “know your enemy” fundamental. LTC Myers goes on; “Islam as a religion of peace is fine for public policy statements but is not and cannot be the point of departure for competent military or intelligence analysis… it is in fact a logical flaw under any professional research methodology….. You have stated the conclusion before you have done the analysis.” Perhaps LTC Myers is also familiar with Mr. Esposito’s methodology!
Need a bit more; at least nine senior Department of Justice officials were key figures in the defense of Gitmo held terrorists, all Pro Bono.
This is just a taste of soft Jihad in America. But perhaps the proposed Mosque near Ground Zero is the very embodiment of soft Jihad.
Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf is the public face of the project although funding sources remain, at best, murky. Imam Rauf subscribes to a mainstream “moderate” position of refusing to see Hamas as a terrorist organization. Imam Rauf had a role in the Turkish Flotilla that baited the Israeli’s a few weeks ago.
This is a consistent pattern of behavior that London has seen for years as mega Mosques are next to or near traditional English cathedrals. By the way, the State Department has sent Imam Rauf on outreach efforts internationally. Another “moderate”! One more thing, it’s not a Mosque anymore, it’s a community center. I can almost hear Saturday Night Lives’ John Lovitz now; yea, a community center, that’s it, a community center!
Need a bit more; what follows is a brief recap of just two weeks worth of Jihad reporting.
Paul Rockwood and Zachary Chesser of King Salmon Alaska and Fairfax VA respectively are in custody for terror charges, both converts to Islam. Rockwood pleaded guilty in Federal Court last week. Chesser is the individual that threatened the creators of South Park for “insults” to Mohammed. Rockwood and his wife were also accused of constructing a hit list of 15 individuals deemed to have insulted Islam. Both were followers of Anwar al-Awlaki. As each week passes U.S. officials become more concerned about Awlaki’s impact and reach. Awlaki’s message is not ‘moderate’.
Al Qaeda had introduced its first English language magazine called ‘Inspire’. U.S. officials are of the opinion that it is authentic. Messages from Ayman Al-Zawarari and Osama Bin Laden are, of course, included as are quotes from Anwar Al-Awlaki. My favorite article; ‘how to make a bomb in the kitchen of your mom’. Could this be a double game, yes it could always be a double game, however, the progression of Islamist thinking and goals argue for the likelihood of authenticity.
Mohammad Alkaramia a 26 year old Chicagoan was convicted of mailing a bomb threat to a Jewish school in Chicago.
From ‘The Nation’ writer Robert Dreyfuss concludes that it is more likely that “the Times Square bomber was a lone wolf or a member of some squirrely branch of the Tea Party.” Really? Don’t recall Mr. Shahzad defending Constitutional freedoms
Lynn Steward, attorney for the Blind Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman was sentenced to 20 years last week for providing material support to terrorism. Ms. Steward was shocked at the sentence and fears “losing her personhood” as she expected a much lighter sentence; hard to accept that bit of whining in light of her support for and facilitation of terror activities and ideologies.
In New Jersey a court found that a Muslim man did, in fact, subject his wife to sexual assault, however no restraining order was issued because of; ‘the man’s understanding of Islamic law’. While the court did not use the word Sharia, this is how Sharia begins its creep.
Hizb ut Tahrir is a Muslim organization with a presence in 40 countries including, the U.S., and which is committed to restoration of the global Muslim caliphate. The organization has long been suspected of ties to global terror organizations. An interview with former Hizb ut Tahrir member Ghaffar Hussain exposes their three stage plan:
- Propaganda and recruitment
- Engagement with the larger Muslim ‘community’
- Seizure of power
Two Chicago men pled guilty to providing material support to terrorists. Zubair and Khaleel Ahmed wanted to wage Jihad against American forces in Afghanistan and traveled to Egypt in the attempt to make that happen. They were recruited by Marwan El-Hindi who was sentenced to 13 years in prison in 2009 for conspiracy to kill or maim, again U.S. troops the target. Yes, they are all Muslims.
Warnings of Hiz’bAllah incursions into the U.S have been persistent for years. Last week Mexican authorities rolled up a Hiz’bAllah network in Tijuana a stones throw from the border. Reporting related to illegal entry into the U.S. of Islamist groups has been ongoing since 2006.
Yes that’s correct; just a small sampling of the past two weeks.
