Doc's Talk: American Muslims’ honeymoon with Obama

Friday, September 25, 2009

American Muslims’ honeymoon with Obama

Eight years after 9/11 Muslims believe a new chapter opens
http://www.lefigaro.fr/international/2009/09/21/01003-20090921ARTFIG00371-la-lune-de-miel-d-obama-et-des-musulmans-d-amerique-.php

On September 25, from 4 AM to 7 PM, some 50,000 Muslims are expected to converge on Capitol Hill to “pray for America.” It’s a first. This unprecedented initiative conceived by a group of imams in July was launched by the Dar ul Islam Mosque in New Jersey. “The Islamic community never before prayed for America’s soul at the Capitol. We are Americans. We want to change the face of Islam so that people will stop thinking that every Muslim sees America as the Big Satan. Because we love America,” explains Dar-ul-Islam president Hassen Abdellah. Obama’s famous Cairo address to the Muslim world gave this imam the idea of praying on Capitol Hill. “For the first time in my life I heard someone of his stature speak of Muslims as full-fledged citizens, not adversaries,” says Abdellah. “He said he offered the Islamic world an outstretched hand. The Islamic world wants to take it.”

Abdellah’s enthusiasm marks the beginning of a honeymoon between Barack Obama and American Muslims. Eight years after the tragedy of 9/11, which made them potential suspects or pariahs, Muslims believe that a new chapter is finally opening. Aly Aziz, of the Islamic Society of New Jersey, exclaims with delight, “Yesterday I was seen as a terrorist and today I am authorized to pray in the Capitol.” At the White House Iftar dinner -- organized during Ramadan by Barack Obama following in the footsteps of his predecessors—the president reiterated: “Islam is an integral part of America ….We celebrate the sacred month of Ramadan and so doing we honor the extraordinarily dynamic Muslim community that has enriched America and its culture.” Many intellectuals, athletes, artists and entrepreneurs attended the banquet, living proof of the success of the American model of integration. The president paid a deeply significant tribute to the sacrifice of Kareem Khan, a young Muslim American killed in combat in Iraq. “A crescent is sculpted on his tomb that stands side by side with Christian crosses and Jewish stars. These brave Americans are united in death as they were in life. By the same commitment to their country, » said Obama.

Public opinion polls show that American Muslims are generally satisfied with their situation. It is true that, unlike Muslim immigrants in Europe, they are mainly middle class. Most American observers attribute their success to “American style secularism.” Contrary to French secularism, which is meant to protect the State from religious influence, American secularism seeks to guarantee religious freedom and protection from an invasive State. “The nation is presumably wired to be more tolerant and able to handle differences,” adds Vaïsse [something must have been edited out…there is no previous reference to Vaisse, a favorite source in France].

Incidents like the French banlieue riots in 2005 and the murder of Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh in 2004 necessarily reinforce this conviction that the European way of handling Muslim minorities seems like a brush-off. This was underlined by the sharp reaction to Obama’s defense of headscarves on a recent visit to France. Americans don’t understand why the French won’t allow girls to wear headscarves in schools and now want to outlaw the burqa. Americans, convinced they have the right approach, regularly organize study tours tailored to European Muslim elites.

Sleeper Cells

Some, however, argue that Obama’s idyllic image of American Islam masks a reality as complex as the numerous communities of which it is composed. While many groups seem to be well integrated, others are prone to radicalization, such as the Somali communities of Minnesota that harbor “jihadist sleeper cells” prepared to export combatants to the Horn of Africa. The radical ideology of converts also poses problems similar to those in Europe.

The pessimistic current, which is far more prevalent among Republicans than Democrats, criticizes Obama’s “naïveté” and appeals for reflection on the European example and warns against underestimating the dangers of a multiculturalism that will ultimately infringe on American values of freedom.

The Obama administration replies that it has never dropped its guard in confrontations with radicals, but knows only one way to fight radicalism politically: give American Muslims such a strong feeling of liberty and belonging that they wouldn’t think of destroying the American model but would want to defend it.

[followed by this distribution of Muslim communities in the US, giving a total of 1.5 million, and not mentioning Obama’s inflated 7 million in the Cairo speech]

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Monday, September 21, 2009

HOMELAND INSECURITY
WorldNetDaily
Islamic rally on Capitol clouded by organizer's terror ties
As 50,000 Muslims prepare for D.C. event, leader's history questioned

Posted: September 21, 2009
9:24 pm Eastern

By Drew Zahn

WorldNetDaily

Hassen Abdellah

As an anticipated 50,000 Muslims prepare to descend on Capitol Hill for "A Day of Islamic Unity" this Friday, several blogs and online news sources have spotlighted the history of the movement's leader and his ties to terrorists in the U.S.

As WND reported, one of the key organizers is Hassen Abdellah, an attorney from Elizabeth, N.J. Abdellah formed part of the legal team that defended four men in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, including Mahmud Abouhalim, who was convicted and sentenced to prison.

During the trial, the New York Times described Abdellah as "by far the most aggressively combative of the lawyers in the case."

The case, as well as Abdellah's other legal associations, has raised eyebrows online.

"Who's behind 'Islam on Capitol Hill?'" asked popular blogger and frequent TV talk show guest, Michelle Malkin.

Malkin then quoted Andrew Walden of FrontPageMagazine.com, who published an extensive look at the Muslim rally's organizers, including a reminder that Abdellah also defended Numan Maflahi, a man who in 2004 was accused by prosecutors of being tied to al-Qaida and sentenced to five years for lying to investigators during an investigation of terrorism financing.

"Of course, everyone is entitled to legal representation," commented Robert Spencer of Jihad Watch, "but Abdellah's choice of clients is … interesting."

Spencer also pointed out Abdellah represented Mahmud Faruq Brent, a Muslim cabdriver in Baltimore who pled guilty in April 2007 to attending a jihad terrorist training camp in Pakistan and conspiring to provide material support to the Lashkar-e-Taiba foreign terrorist organization.

(Story continues below)

Building on the Islamic interest in Obama's inauguration, when Muslims claimed in a magazine that "It's our time," the event planners are calling for 50,000 Muslims to attend the event on the National Mall on Friday.

Repeated on each page of the rally's website is the phrase "Our time has come."

According to New Jersey's Star-Ledger, Abdellah confirmed the idea of the event germinated after Obama's inaugural speech, then was reinforced by the president's address in Cairo, Egypt, months later.

In Cairo, Obama carried a greeting from "Muslim communities" in America, complained how Muslims had been "denied rights and opportunities," and stated, "I also know civilization's debt to Islam. It was Islam at places like Al-Azhar that carried the light of learning through so many centuries, paving the way for Europe's renaissance and enlightenment."

Besides crediting Islam with significant responsibility for the development of civilization in Europe, Obama also said Muslims have served similarly in America.

"And since our founding, American Muslims have enriched the United States," Obama said. "They have fought in our wars. They have served in our government. They have stood for civil rights. They have started businesses. They have taught at our universities. They've excelled in our sports arenas. They've won Nobel Prizes, built our tallest building and lit the Olympic torch. And when the first Muslim American was recently elected to Congress, he took the oath to defend our Constitution using the same holy Quran that one of our founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson, kept in his personal library."

"For the first time in my lifetime," Abdellah told the Star-Ledger. "I heard someone of his stature speaking about Islam and Muslims not in an adversarial sense, but in the sense of being welcome and acknowledging we are integral citizens in the society – that we're gainfully employed, we're educated.

"He said he had his hand open to the Islamic world," Abdellah said. "The Islamic world wants to open their hand and shake it."

Now, the D.C. rally's website proclaims its objective is to "invite the Muslim communities and friends of Islam to express and illustrate the wonderful diversity of Islam. We intend to manifest Islam's majestic spiritual principals as revealed by Allah to our beloved prophet Muhammad (PEACE BE UPON HIM) of Arabia. Likewise, we intend to inspire a new generation of Muslim to work for the greater good of all people. We shall serve all people, regardless of race, religion or national origin."

Scheduled events during the rally include offering Muslim youth tours of the Library of Congress and the Supreme Court and chanting the Athan on Capitol Hill.

The Athan, a Muslim call to prayer, contains several repeated refrains such as (loosely translated) "Allah is the greatest," "I bear witness that there is no deity except Allah" and "I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah."

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Nidra Poller
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The IDF’s Minorities in Numbers and Pictures

In honor of IDF Diversity Week, we present diversity through numbers and pictures. Each year, more and more Muslims, Christians, Druze, Bedouin and immigrants from around the world take on the responsibility of defending Israel.

MUSLIMS:

Muslim Arab Israelis are not required to draft in the IDF, but there are many who volunteer. In 2013, there were over 200 Muslims serving in the IDF and over 300 in the reserves.

Bedouins:

Bedouins are nomadic Muslims who were in Israel when modern borders were set in place and are now considered Israeli citizens. They are not required to draft but a growing number choose to enlist. In 2012, there were over 1,400 Bedouin Muslim soldiers doing regular IDF service and almost 1,500 in the reserves.

Read more:http://www.idfblog.com/2014/02/27/truth-idf-numbers-pictures/#more-34027

Are you aware that in 2013, Middle class taxes go up-significantly?

In January of next year, the federal income tax rate for middle-class taxpayers is scheduled to rise from 25 percent to 28 percent, and the payroll tax is scheduled to rise from 13.3 percent to 15.3 percent… This drives the marginal tax rate based on the aforementioned three taxes to 48.12 percent. Add in state and local property, corporate, excise, and other state and local taxes, and the percentage of each additional dollar that is taxed hovers around 50 percent… When half of each additional dollar earned is taxed away, taxpayers experience a disincentive to start businesses or expand existing ones. This leads to fewer jobs being created.

Why is HAMAS Inside Tampa Schools?

Clare Lopez

Kelly Miliziano, who teaches history classes at Steinbrenner High School in the Tampa, Florida area apparently thinks it’s perfectly OK to invite a senior official of a HAMAS-affiliated organization into her classroom to discuss Islam with her students. According to local media reports, not only has this been going on for years, but in spite of the civil and criminal proceedings that could result from such reckless negligence, the Hillsborough County school superintendent, Mary Ellen Elia, and the chairman of the school board, Candy Olson, also expressed approval for students under their responsibility to be exposed repeatedly to guest speaker, Hassan Shibly, who is the Executive Director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in the Tampa area.
More...

Did You Know... Ignoring the Call to Islam will Bring Jihad

‘Conquest through Da’wa [proselytizing] that is what we hope for. We will conquer Europe, we will conquer America! Not through sword but through Da’wa.’
-- Yousef al-Qaradawi , Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader The Arabic word ‘Da’wa’ means the “call to Islam.” But do not think that Da’wa is the same thing as an invitation to an optional holiday event. The classical Islamic doctrine of jihad mandates that enemies must be given the opportunity to convert to Islam or pay the jizya tax before it is permissible to attack them.
Clare M. Lopez

Who is being discriminated-facts tell the truth

Religious bias

Hate crimes motivated by religious bias accounted for 1,409 offenses reported by law enforcement. A breakdown of the bias motivation of religious-bias offenses showed:

65.4 percent were anti-Jewish.
13.2 percent were anti-Islamic.
9.5 percent were anti-other religion, i.e., those not specified.
4.3 percent were anti-Catholic.
3.8 percent were anti-multiple religions, group.
3.3 percent were anti-Protestant.
0.5 percent were anti-Atheism/Agnosticism/etc.

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/hate-crime/2010/narratives/hate-crime-2010-incidents-and-offenses.

On March 31, 1977, the Dutch newspaper Trouw published an interview

with PLO executive committee member Zahir Muhsein. Here's what he said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct "Palestinian people" to oppose Zionism.

For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

In March 1977, Zahir Muhsein, a PLO executive, said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct Palestinian people to oppose Zionism."

"For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

The Arab Apartheid

Ben-Dror Yemini
In 1948, the Arab countries refused to accept the UN partition proposal and they launched a war of annihilation against the State of Israel which had barely been established. All precedents in this matter showed that the party that starts the war - and with a declaration of annihilation, yet - pays a price for it. Between 550,000 and 710,000 Arabs fled because of the war and a larger number of 850,000 Jews were expelled or fled from Arab countries (the "Jewish nakba").
Population exchanges and expulsions were the norm at that time, occurring in dozens of other conflict points and affecting about 52 million people. In all the population exchange precedents that occurred during or at the end of an armed conflict, there was no return of refugees to the previous region, which had turned into a new national state.
Only the Arab states acted completely differently from the rest of the world. Instead of assimilating the refugees, they crushed them despite the fact that they were their coreligionists and members of the Arab nation - instituting a regime of apartheid. So the "nakba" was not caused by the actual dispossession, which had also been experienced by tens of millions of others. The "nakba" is the story of the apartheid, oppression, abuse and denial of rights suffered by the Arab refugees at the hands of the Arab countries. (Maariv)

International Law and Military Operations in Practice - Col. Richard Kemp

"Islamist fighting groups study the international laws of armed conflict carefully and they understand it well. They know that a British or Israeli commander and his men are bound by international law and the rules of engagement that flow from it. They then do their utmost to exploit what they view as one of their enemy's main weaknesses. Their very modus operandi is built on the correct assumption that Western armies will normally abide by the rules, while these insurgents employ a deliberate policy of operating consistently outside international law. "

Lost Historical Moments

What Rabin’s last Knesset speech really said:repudiation of a Palestinian state

Rabin ruled out a fully sovereign Palestinian state :

“We view the permanent solution in the framework of State of Israel which will include most of the area of the Land of Israel as it was under the rule of the British Mandate, and alongside it a Palestinian entity which will be a home to most of the Palestinian residents living in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. We would like this to be an entity which is less than a state, and which will independently run the lives of the Palestinians under its authority.”

Rabin ruled out a total withdrawal from Judea and Samaria and thus a return to the pre-June 1967 borders :

“The borders of the State of Israel, during the permanent solution, will be beyond the lines which existed before the Six Day War. We will not return to the 4 June 1967 lines.”

Rabin ruled out withdrawing form the Jordan Valley:

“The security border of the State of Israel will be located in the Jordan Valley, in the broadest meaning of that term.”

Rabin ruled out uprooting settlement blocs, like the Gush Katif bloc in Gaza (which was subsequently uprooted by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon):

“The establishment of blocs of settlements in Judea and Samaria, like the one in Gush Katif.

AND

Rabin ruled out removing any settlement before coming to a full peace agreement with the Palestinians:

“I want to remind you: we committed ourselves, that is, we came to an agreement, and committed ourselves before the Knesset, not to uproot a single settlement in the framework of the interim agreement, and not to hinder building for natural growth.”

Rabin insisted on Israel retaining full security control of the borders with Egypt and Jordan, contrary to Israel’s relinquishment of the Philadelphia Corridor on the border with Egypt:

“The responsibility for external security along the borders with Egypt and Jordan, as well as control over the airspace above all of the territories and Gaza Strip maritime zone, remains in our hands.”

Correcting Oslo Myths-Part 2

3) Kuttab laments that the post-1993 Oslo process resulted in a Palestinian Authority "whose ministers and legislators are not guaranteed passage between Gaza and the West Bank ...."

Before free passage or other perquisites, PA leaders were obligated, among other things, to eliminate the terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, end anti-Israeli, antisemitic incitement in schools, mosques, and communications media, and resolve all outstanding issues through peaceful negotiations. They met none of these commitments, sometimes bolstering terrorism and greatly increasing incitement.

4) Kuttab complains that under Oslo the PA got "lightly armed police ---- but no real sovereignty over the land or contiguity between our communities in Gaza and the West Bank."

Oslo agreements repeatedly were revised, regardless of Palestinian non-compliance, until the authorized number of police grew from 8,000 to 40,000. Though they were to be the only armed forces in the territories, Israeli estimates early in the second intifada put the number of gunmen - police, "security services," terrorists, and armed gangs - at 85,000. Their armament reportedly included not only heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, but also anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.

Sovereignty was to be negotiated in the envisioned 1998 "final status" talks - after a five-year period of confidence-building. Palestinian leadership chronically undermined the process. Palestinian terrorism made the 1993 - 1998 Oslo period more deadly for Israelis than the 15 years preceding it.

The United States doesn't have contiguity between the lower 48 states and Alaska and Hawaii; territorial contiguity between the West Bank and Gaza Strip - that is, through the 20 miles of Israeli territory between them - was never promised and would destroy Israeli contiguity.

5) "Palestinians have been made to endure hundreds of checkpoints in the West Bank, an eight-foot wall deep in our territories, and tight Israeli control over borders."

The security barrier is not "deep in Palestinian territories," but rather encompasses less than 8 percent of Judea and Samaria, and is mostly a fence, rarely a wall; the land in question is not "our [Palestinian] territories" but disputed territory to which, according to the authors of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, Jews as well as Arabs have claims; and there are no international borders, only the 1949 armistice lines with Jordan. Under 242, borders remain to be negotiated. As for checkpoints - like the security barrier and "tight Israeli control" - Palestinian Arabs precipitated these measures themselves. No terrorism and there would be no fence or tight Israeli control and few checkpoints - like before the first intifada.

Correcting Some Oslo Myths

1) In Oslo "Israeli, Palestinian and other world leaders promised that ... Palestinian sovereignty would be solidified."

No, they didn't. The 1993 Declaration of Principles and subsequent Oslo agreements outlined a process by which final status negotiations about the West Bank and Gaza Strip would be reached. The process required an end to anti-Israel terrorism and incitement and a commitment to peaceful negotiations. The PA, Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and other terrorist groups, sabotaged the process from the start.

2) "The reality is that, in defiance of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, which states that it is inadmissible to occupy land by force, Palestinian territories are still under foreign military occupation."
Wrong again. Resolution 242 (1967) does note "the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war." It also affirms the right of every state in the area "to live in peace with secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force." There were no "Palestinian territories." Jordan occupied the West Bank, Egypt controlled Gaza. Israel did not have "secure and recognized boundaries," so retention of some of those territories was possible under 242. Israel is not a "foreign" military occupier in the West Bank but, pending final negotiations, the lawful military administrator as a result of a successful war of self-defense.

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