Ryan Mauro
To the outrage of some in the media,
the NYPD secretly kept watch on Sheikh Reda Shata, the former imam of
Brooklyn's Islamic Center of Bay Ridge, even though he condemned
terrorism, dined with Mayor Bloomberg and, he thought, had a friendly
relationship with law enforcement. On the surface, this sounds like the
NYPD unfairly targeted a Muslim it should uphold. Left out of this story
is an important fact: Sheikh Shata supports Hamas.
Shata was the subject of a glowing Pulitzer-winning New York Times series in 2010. In one article,
the reporter describes him as viewing the Hamas terrorist group as a
"powerful symbol of resistance." He condemns terrorism and violence but
in 2004, he spoke at a funeral service honoring the founder and
spiritual leader of Hamas, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, who was killed by an
Israeli airstrike. He told the crowd that the "lion of Palestine had
been martyred." In another lecture, Shata bestowed the coveted title of
"martyr" upon a mother who suicide bombed a border post in the Gaza
Strip, killing four Israelis.
The Islamic Center of Bay Ridge (ICBR), where he served as imam from
2002 to 2006, has a "long history of association with radical Islamic
organizations, such as the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, and Palestinian
Islamic Jihad, going back almost 20 years," said Patrick Dunleavy, a
former Deputy Inspector General for the New York State Department of
Corrections and author of The Fertile Soil of Jihad.
A 2006 NYPD document
explains, "NYPD source reporting indicates that individuals believed to
be supporters/members of Hamas may have links to the Bronx Muslim
Center and the Islamic Society of Bay Ridge, noting that in 2003,
Mohammed El-Mazin, the suspected North American leader of Hamas, was a
guest speaker at the Islamic Society of Bay Ridge. In addition, in June
2003, the FBI arrested four individuals who were seen in of the Islamic
Society of Bay Ridge and who allegedly had links to Hamas."
Is it any wonder why the NYPD conducted surveillance on Sheikh Shata,
when he is a vocal supporter of Hamas and the leader of a Hamas-tied
mosque that brings in suspected Hamas leaders as guest speakers?
The NYPD designated Shata as a Tier One Person
of Interest. Those who qualify for this designation have a "threat
potential based on their position at a particular location, links to an
organization, overseas links and/or criminal history." It is very
possible that the NYPD has even more concerning information about Shata
and his mosque than is available to the public.
The ICBR first came under the microscope in 1994 when a Lebanese-Palestinian immigrant named Rashad Baz fired upon
a van full of Hasidic Jews on the Brooklyn Bridge, killing a 16-year
old, in retaliation for a massacre on Muslims in Hebron, Israel.
According to two witnesses, the attack came shortly after Baz attended a
service at the ICBR where the speaker said, "This takes the mask off
the Jews" and "It shows them to be racist and fascist, as bad as the
Nazis. Palestinians are suffering from the occupation, and it's time to
end it." A witness said that he left the service in a rage. Two of Baz's
family members helped him hide his weapons and were in contact with a
member of Hamas. Two terrorist groups, Hamas and Hezbollah, praised him.
In 1998, a speaker at ICBR reportedly
said that Jews murdered Mohammed, Islam's Prophet, and will forever
wage war against Muslims. He vocally support jihad against Israel and
distributed Hamas propaganda. Though these incidents happened before
Sheikh Shata's arrival in 2002, it is important because it tells us
about the leadership that chose him.
The NYPD also had good reason to keep a close eye on things in Bay Ridge, as there were several expressions
of extremism. In August 2004, Shahawar Matin Siraj and James Elshafay
were arrested for planning to bomb a New York City subway station. Siraj
worked at the bookstore adjacent to ICBR, where the two met. During
Siraj's trial, his attorney said
the "entire Muslim community in Bay Ridge, the thought that the
American government was responsible for bringing down the towers on 9/11
was common."
On Memorial Day in 2006, graffiti praising the Palestinian Liberation
Organization was sprayed on cars, trees and homes. Notably, only houses
that displayed the American flag were victimized. A 12-year old boy was
arrested.
In May 2006, hundreds of Palestinians and anti-Israel activists held a rally in Bay Ridge and chanted,
"From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free." For that to
happen, that means Israel must be destroyed. In January 2009, a hacker struck
the Bay Ridge Jewish Center's website and had it display the words,
"Death to Israel" and "For Palestine For Gazza [sic] For Hamas."
Sheikh Shata left the ICBR in 2006 and now is the imam of the Islamic Society of Monmouth County in New Jersey. His website states that he is known for his "moderate" interpretation of Sharia Law, but "moderate" compared to what? He told the Times
that he is a moderate because he opposes suicide bombings of civilians,
but approves of violence against Israeli soldiers in defense. He said
that when he taught Sharia Law in Saudi Arabia from 1990 to 1995, he
found them to be overly strict. In other words, he is a moderate because
there's worse out there.
Shata won't shake a woman's hand and supports banning music that "encourages sexual desire." Shata's website doesn't have many sermons
by him, but one is titled, "Why They Hate Islam." The sermon goes
through five reasons why "we [Muslims] are prey for many predators" and
why Muslims are targeted by "these animals" even in their own homes.
The first reason is because Islam was created by Allah and Islam's
enemies are controlled by Satan. He explains that Allah created good and
evil, with the good being created in the East, and the struggle never
ended. Obviously, that means that the West is where Satan/evil was
created.
The second reason is "widespread ignorance." The third reason is that
there are people in "high, influential positions" that get rich off of
destroying the lives of Muslims and promoting segregation. The fourth is
"overwhelming fear," particularly of "Islamic politics." Sheikh Shata
criticizes the notion that "if a nation is ruled by Islam," it will be
war-like. In other words, the creation of an Islamic State (which is the
goal of Hamas and its parent organization, Muslim Brotherhood) is a
good thing. The final reason is "cursed, strict ideals and
stubbornness."
Shata's website indicates he is also a frequent guest lecturer at the Islamic Society of Passaic County in Paterson, N.J., another mosque with strong ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas, led by Imam Mohammed Qatanani.
The case of Shata is part of an overall lesson. Participating in
interfaith events, friendly engagements with public officials and
meetings with government agencies doesn't automatically make someone a
moderate. In fact, Islamist extremist groups usually do these kinds of
things.
The real story here is that the NYPD decided it would be prudent to
conduct surveillance on a mosque with a history of ties with Islamic
extremism and its leader, who supports Hamas. If the NYPD declined to do
that, that would be the real scandal.
Ryan
Mauro is RadicalIslam.org's National Security analyst and a fellow with
the Clarion Fund. He is the founder of WorldThreats.com and a frequent
security analyst for Fox News.
3 comments:
so nice articla, i like it
Thank
Heena
(islam in gaza strip)
Lets now ask ourselves ...... Have we forgotten 9/11?..........Now lets answer shake the sheks and islam EXTREMISTS to the bone .......NYPD had every right to protect its citizens and surrounding states!!!!!!!
I agree and this is symptomatic of the times we live in-PC is killing people and America better elect people willing to defend ourselves!
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