Leftist Terrorist

Has anyone in the lamestream media noticed the left-wing terrorists for outnumber right-wing terrorists?  This guy was sentenced today for burning down a Denver factory:  Animals are more important than people to him, I guess.  Veganism, not Islam this time.

By their tatoos ye shall know them.

Go Directly to Jail, Lynne Stewart

In United States v. Lynne Stewart, the United States Circuit Court of appeal has revoked disbarred lawyer Lynne Stewart's bail, ordered her to begin serving her shockingly light sentence and remanded the case for the trial judge to consider increasing her sentence due to her perjury.

What did Ms. Stewart do?

She was convicted of conspiring to provide and conceal material support for the murder of various persons by terrorist activity. she also knowingly made false statements to federal authorizes when she promised to abide by federal requirements with respect to terrorist prisoners.

What she actually did, of course was carry messages from a jailed terrorist enabling him to communicate on Jihadist activity from prison. For example, Ms. Stewart was recorded on tape approving of the taking of hostages in the Philipines.

Ms Stewart's behavior was reprehensible and deserving of a long sentence behind bars.

Click on the name above to read the decision for yourself.

Ms. Stewart has delusional friends who attempt to mount a public defense, e.g., rense.com and Democracy Now. If you read those defenses as compared to the Court of Appeals statement of facts, you can see how creepy those folks really are.

Obama Lifts Terrorist's Prison Restrictions

The Obama administration is making life easier for convicted terrorist Richard Reid, according to the Boston Herald:

Airplane shoe bomber Richard C. Reid no longer faces severe limits on his prison activities or communications after the Obama administration quietly ended years of hard-nosed curbs against the British-born al-Qaeda terrorist.

This summer the Justice Department halted six years of measures that kept Reid from associating or praying with fellow jailed Muslim terrorists, and limited his access to the news media and pen pals.

Security experts say that our collective safety needs terrorist conspirators cut off from one another, even in prison.

Obama Knew About Lockerbie Bomber Release

I tend to believe the Brits on this one:

Downing Street has hit back at Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton for attacking the decision to release the Lockerbie bomber.

President Obama and the US Secretary of State fuelled a fierce American backlash against Britain, claiming Abdelbaset Al Megrahi should have been forced to serve out his jail sentence in Scotland – but a senior Whitehall aide said their reaction was ‘disingenuous’.

British officials claim Mr Obama and Mrs Clinton were kept informed at all stages of discussions concerning Megrahi’s return.

The officials say the Americans spoke out because they were taken aback by the row over Megrahi’s release, not because they did not know it was about to happen.
‘The US was kept fully in touch about everything that was going on with regard to Britain’s discussions with Libya in recent years and about Megrahi,’ said the Whitehall aide.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1211495/No-10-turns-Obama-Clinton-criticising-decision-release-Lockerbie-bomber.html#ixzz0QRV0alRv

What Interrogation Is Too Harsh to Save Your Family?

I am not a fan of Eric Holder. No surprise there. Today, Dr. Zero on Hotair suggests that the administration announcement of criminal investigations into CIA interrogation techniques is a political deflection from the Obamacare fiasco. My favorite excerpt is:

If a group of people took your family hostage, and one of their associates fell into your hands, you would do anything to extract the location of your family from him. So would Barack Obama, and Eric Holder, and every Democrat who ever sullied the halls of Congress by referring to American soldiers as Nazis. President Obama would not dither about the finer points of a criminal’s hypothetical “rights” while the man’s accomplices were taking power tools to Michelle and the kids. Anyone who would is a lunatic… and I don’t want to leave the security of our country in the hands of lunatics. The moral justification for relying on professional military and law-enforcement personnel is the understanding that their training will allow them to do all the terrible things we would do to protect our family, more dispassionately, carefully, and efficiently than we could. Double-crossing them for political gain is using the families of other people as poker chips, in the smug certainty your own loved ones are in no immediate danger. If we don’t let the professionals do their jobs against a relentless enemy now, then one day, we will all be soldiers.

A few weeks ago, Eric Holder saw nothing wrong with Black Panthers using billy clubs to intimidate voters. Today, he thinks intimidating terrorists with cigars is a crime. Holder is the one who should be answering tough questions under oath.

Bozos in Congress Demean 9/11

We need always to remember the vicious attacks on America on 9/11/2001 that everyone knows as simply "9/11." We need to keep that memory alive, so we never forget who we are as a country and never forget who is looking to sucker-punch us. We must remember, so we can remain ever vigilant. We should remember all such dates, like December 7, 1941, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.

We are in an ongoing struggle against aggressive forces who want us dead. It is ongoing and subversive. We need to remember. We need to keep 9/11 as a national day of mourning.

So, why would Congress trivialize 9/11 by making that day a "National Day of Service" (meaning, service to the government, of course. Why can't they see that it should --it must-- remain a national day of mourning and remembrance? This abomination was slipped into a massive spending bill (which we can't afford) by the community organizer types (who by the way seem to be writing all the legislation coming out of Washington, these days). "Service." It is a loony liberal concept that sounds oh, so good, but is really enslavement. Usurping 9/11 for that goofy national day serves the purposes of our nation's enemies. Is anyone really surprised?

And to their everlasting shame, a bunch of Republicans voted for it, I guess because it sounded soooooooo good. More likely, they just didn't read the bill. That is a true Washington epidemic.

In the Soviet Union, the government substituted nice-sounding government holidays to wean children away from religious holidays as part of the concerted effort to destroy the churches. Isn't that the sort of thing that is happening here? Of the 350 plus days available, why pick 9/11? To destroy its significance, of course.

On 9/11, forget the trivial National Day of Service. Remember the attacks. Go to church. Pray for our country and the families of the 2996 innocent people lost. Remember the images of the airliners smashing into the majestic but helpless buildings. Remember the images of people forced to leap to their deaths to escape the incineration. Remember the buildings collapsing, spreading concrete dust for miles. Remember the images of the celebrations in the community of the attackers.

Remember. Mourn. And never forget.

And, if you want to do more, join the Project 2996.

Update. I guess it is not just me. I stumbled onto this at the American Spectator:

The Obama White House is behind a cynical, coldly calculated political effort to erase the meaning of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks from the American psyche and convert Sept. 11 into a day of leftist celebration and statist idolatry.

Read it all.

Update. The more I think about this the angrier I get. How many of those bozos in Congress bothered to read this bill? I want to know.

ACLU Outs CIA Agents to Jihadis

Unbelievable. The ACLU took surreptitious photos of CIA personnel at the homes and Gitmo detainees charged with complicity in the 9/11 attacks were shown the photos.

Washington Post news report here.

Michelle Malkin commentary here.

Lockerbie Terrorist Hailed as Hero in Libya Updated

Yesterday we reported on how foolish it was for the UK government to release the convicted Lockerbie terrorist merely because he is (allegedly) dying of cancer. Today, to no one's surprise except the UK government's, the terrorist is receiving a hero's welcome on his return to Tripoli.

Of course, from the public reports, the UK government does not handle its health care system with any greater skill.

"Put not your trust in princes...." Psalm 146:3

Update:

Lockerbie Terrorist Freed

This guy kills 270 people. It was not a youthful indiscretion. It was a planned and deliberate act of terrorism. He fully understood the nature and consequences of his act. He was sentenced to life in prison. His life is not yet over.

So, why would anyone think Al-Megrahi should gent any "compassionate leave" to get out of prison to die, just because he is diagnosed with terminal cancer? What message that send to other terrorists? Wouldn't it be better to let the other terrorists in the world wonder if he will be buried with pigs (and thus not attain paradise for his martyrdom)?

My grandmother lived about 35 years after her diagnosis predicting 3 to 6 months to live. That could happen here, couldn't it?

Homergrown Jihad Arrest in North Carolina

Here is a report of the arrest of accused homegrown terrorists planning jihad attacks somewhere abroad. Interesting. The words "Muslim" and "Islam" are never mentioned. However, note how the report managed to communicate that the arrestees were in fact Muslim. Watch.

Eric Holder Supports ... Unindicted Co-Conspirator

Eric Holder's Department of Justice will sponsor a booth at an event run by the Islamic Society of North America, an unindicted co-conspirator on terrorist funding in the Holy Land Foundation criminal prosecution, according to hotair.com.

It was the Department of Justice that named them as an unindicted co-conspirator. Is he out of his mind? Is it now DoJ policy to support suspected criminals?

Carter Visits Hamas

I am posting the article below at the request of Mahmoud El-yousseph  I although I disagree with it strongly, I hope the article will encourage a debate.  My comments appear below the article.

Carter is Right: US Must Engage Hamas

By Mahmoud El-Yousseph

Newsflash: Carter denied permission into Gaza by Israel! The former U.S. president is currently on a peace mission in the Middle East as the head of Carter Center for Peace and not as a U.S. official.

His mission were to include various countries in the region to discuss: truce, prisoners exchange, the siege of Gaza, and reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas. Other high-profile international figures including the prime minister of New Zealand, former South African president Nelson Mendela, and the former U.N. secretary-general Kofi Anan were to join Mr. Carter on his mission. 

Carter’s mission could have created unprecedented opportunity for peace which must not be lost if this generation and future generations are to be spared the tragedies of war.

The former president cares more about Israel than all 43 U.S. presidents. Thanks for his effort, Israel has signed peace treaty with Egypt in 1979 at Camp David. It was the first peace treaty with an Arab country. And that is how Israel shows its gratitude! It is an outrage that our former president has been shunned by the country that we handout 3 billion dollars in aid every year, which comes from my and your tax dollars.

To me, as American tax payer, that is an affront and slap on the face. Carter was allowed however by Israel to only tour the towns of Sderot and Ashkelon and visit a local hospital. 

It is amazing how the former president came under attack once the news of the trip was made public. Our Department of State and few members of our Israeli controlled Congress attacked Mr. Carter and mocked his mission and the prime minister of Israel refused to meet with him. 

But the brave Carter refused to budge, even as the other members of the delegation canceled under outside pressures. With rising tension in the Middle East, and our current president is a sitting duck unable to accomplish nothing, Jimmy Carter wanted to give peace a chance.

Telling Carter to "butt off" is undignified and disgracefull. Those who attacked the former president have nothing better to offer, except write fancy speeches and  look for photo ops and get free trips. Attempting to appease Israel and its powerfull lobby in the U.S. will only prolong conflict. 

Even Mahmoud Abbas, the subservient Palestinian president did not bother to meet our former president. Abbas has off course to obey the wishes of his Israeli benefactors and those of other donor-countries.

So what is the big deal about Carter meeting Hamas leaders- the truly elected representative of the Palestinian people?

Cater who himself monitored the Jan. 2006 Palestinian election in which Hamas scored a land slide victory, has certified the election as, fair, clean, and transparent.

America was able to end the Vietnam war only after it sat down at the table in  Paris Peace conference face to face with Vietnamese officials. Neither country at that time recognized the other. What grinds my gears is: President Bush has directed Egypt to negotiate a truce between Hamas and Israel, but when our former president did the very same thing, everyone started jumping up and down! Please, can someone explain this to me?

Let’s face it, in the last 8 years, 15 Israelis were killed to due to the rockets attack from Gaza. By contrast Israel has killed during the same time frame thousands Palestinian, mostly in Gaza. Israel's history of violating the human rights of Palestinians long predates these rockets attacks. Here is a short list of these violations which all constitutes war crimes by Israel:

* The strangling and inhumane siege of 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza.
* The continued detention of 11,000 Palestinians with no charges, no trial.
* Subjecting West Bank Palestinians to daily humiliation at 580 Check points.
* Land theft to be used for new settlement or building the "Separation wall."
* Using Palestinian men and children as a human-shield
* Targeted assassination, where Israel acts as a judge, jury, and prosecutor. 
* Uprooting 700,000 olive trees by Israeli army and extremist settlers.  
* kidnapping detainee relatives and threatening to rape, their mothers, wives, sisters, and daughters by interrogator in order to obtain a confession.

This has been documented by Israeli and Palestinian human right groups, admitted by Israeli security service, and reported by Israeli daily Haaretz. You will not be able to read this in main stream news media, because once the siege of Gaza began and Israel turned off the light, US media started the news blackout.

Why put all the blame and the pressure on the Palestinian and bend backward to protect and shield Israel? Who articulates our foreign policy in the Middle East? Is it drafted in Tel Aviv or in Washington? It does not take a rocket scientist to figure it out, our Middle East policy is held hostage by the powerful pro Israeli lobby in the U.S.

That is the sad truth. No wonder why America's image abroad has been tarnished. Our policy need to be re-examined, and it is time for new and fresh approach. If America wanted to be an honest broker between Israel and the Palestinians, it should talk to both sides and not favor one over the other. With such a policy and an attitude by our government, a genuine peace will never see the day light. 

A lasting peace will only be reached when the occupation ends and the settlements dismantled, the siege of Gaza lifted, and targeted assassination stopped, Palestinian prisoners free, showering rockets at Sderot and Ashkelon quit, and yes, captive Israeli soldier free.

All of this could only be accomplished through negotiation, to which courageous Carter is an expert at. Once again, Israel blew another chance for peace. And yes, the US needs to talk to Hamas.

-Mahmoud El-Yousseph is USAF Retired Veteran. He contributed this article to PalestineChronicle.com. Contact him at:elyousseph6@yahoo.com

Hamas is a terrorist organization.  You don't negotiate with terrorists.  It just encourages them.  Even the far left Barack Obama sees that. 

Mr. El-Yousseph bases much of his impassioned arguments on disinformation emanating from Arab sources.  I believe the Arabic word is taqyya, sometimes rendered taqquiya.  If you begin from bad premises, you will most assuredly reach wrong conclusions.  But the article and the actions of Mr. Carter show how effective a disinformation campaign can be.  Mahmoud is well-meaning, but deceived.

Fourteen Carter Institute staffers felt they had to resign over the lunacy in  Peace Not Apartheid, Mr. Carter's anti-Israel book.  I sometimes wonder if Mr. Carter isn't suffering from some form of mental illness. 

Challenge to Mahmoud:   Do you acknowledge that Hamas an organization that uses terrorism as a weapon?  If not, how can you rationalize the suicide bombings and the other murders of innocents (e.g., the recent Jewish seminary massacre)?  If you concede that Hamas uses terrorism as a weapon, then you must also address the rationale for why America should dignify that tactics by negotiating with terrorists.  

I don't see it.  And neither do any of the current crop off presidential candidates.

Update:  Carter called a "useful idiot" after Hamas twice disputed Carter's purported agreements.  Video available.

Obama: Hamas is a Terrorist Organization

From the April 16, 2008, Democratic presidential candidates debate Senator Barack Obama said:

“That’s why I have a fundamental difference with President Carter and disagree with his decision to meet with Hamas,” Obama said. “We must not negotiate with a terrorist group intent on Israel’s destruction. We should only sit down with Hamas if they renounce terrorism, recognize Israel’s right to exist and abide by past agreements.”

“Hamas is not a state. Hamas is a terrorist organization,” he said.

I believe that makes all three major presidential candidates unanimous in describing Hamas aa a terrorist organization.  Of course, it is stating the obvious, but there remain some Americans (especially American muslims) who remain blind to the facts.

Of course, Hamas will never meet Sen. Obama's preconditions for talks.  Not unless they amend their charter.

Update:  This blog has not gotten many commenters, but be sure to read the comment of Mahmoud El-Yousseph who is a USAF veteran, a Muslim, and an outspoken opponent of US support for Israel.  Mahmoud and I disagree on much, but he is passionate in his views and deserves a reasoned response to his arguments, whether agreeing or disagreeing.

Celebrating Barbarism

Islam, at least the way Palestinian Arabs practice it, is a religion of Jew-hatred. After the horrible mass murder of Jewish seminary students, did the Palestinian Arabs mourn? No, they celebrated.

To his credit, Palestinian President Abbas condemned all attacks on civilians. But the Palestinian people celebrated.

Gaza Conflict Explained

What is the difference between the Israeli attacks on Gaza which killed innocent civilians and the HAMAS massacre of seminary students?

Simple.

Israel's intended targets were the terrorists themselves. After all, terrorists had been sending shrapnel-filled rockets onto civilian populations. If your neighborhood were the target of rockets, what would you expect your government to do?

HAMAS's intended targets were innocent seminary students.

The bad folks at the ironically named "Cross Cultural Understanding" web site calls HAMAS's mass murder of innocent students a "counter-attack." Evil.

Gaza Conflict

In the course of researching the horrible mass murders approved by HAMAS within a Jewish seminary, I ran across references to the killing of 120 including many civilians by the Israelis in a raid in North Gaza that I had not previously heard about. I will continue looking for credible reports on what that is about, but so far it sounds pretty terrible and has been underreported by the Western press. Updates to come when I have reliable information on this.

Update from from the AP reported March 2:

Early today, Israeli aircraft destroyed the office building in Gaza City used by Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, witnesses said. Five people were lightly wounded in the raid.

At least two dozen Palestinian civilians, including a baby, were among those killed Saturday, and militants said 25 fighters died. Health officials said about 200 people were wounded, 14 of them critically.

The overall death toll was the highest in a single day since the current round of violence erupted in September 2000. The highest previous death toll was 38 on March 8, 2002.

The intense fighting pushed the Palestinian death toll to more than 80 since fighting flared Wednesday. About half of those were civilians.

While expressing regret for civilian casualties, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak blamed "Hamas and those firing rockets at Israel," his office said in a statement, pledging to continue the offensive to protect Israeli towns and cities.

On Friday, Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai renewed a threat to invade Gaza to crush militant rocket squads that attack southern Israel daily.

Palestinian fighters kept up a steady stream of rocket and mortar attacks on Israeli targets, firing around 50 on Saturday alone in defiance of the Israeli assault. Six Israelis were injured by rockets that reached as far as Ashkelon, a coastal city 11 miles north of Gaza.

The Israeli military said one of its airstrikes on northern Gaza targeted a parked truck loaded with 160 rockets.

On Thursday, militants raised the stakes by firing Iranian-made rockets into Ashkelon, striking closer to Israel's heartland than ever before and putting more Israelis at risk. Palestinian rocket fire earlier in the week also killed an Israeli man.

Here is a follow up from AFP on March 4:

GAZA CITY (AFP) — Israeli warplanes early Tuesday carried out raids on the north of the Gaza Strip, killing two Palestinians and wounding two others, a Palestinian medical source said.

Israel had vowed on Monday to keep hitting Gaza even as troops pulled out of the Hamas-run territory after clashes that killed more than 120 Palestinians and dealt a major blow to Middle East peace talks.

A first raid against Gaza City killed one person while the second further north killed one and wounded two. The victims were not immediately identified.

A military spokesman in Tel Aviv told AFP that the Israeli air force had "attacked a group of terrorists who were preparing to fire rockets at Israel."

An Israeli military source said a rocket fired from the Beit Hanoun district north of Gaza City on Tuesday had smashed into a house in the southern Israeli town of Sderot, but nobody was hurt.

"We are not prepared to show any tolerance, period. And we will respond. Our reaction is not limited to a specific operation or day," Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told a meeting of his Kadima party in Jerusalem on Monday.

"The operation will not end before we achieve our goals and our first goal is a significant reduction of Qassam and Grad rocket fire against Israeli civilians," he said, referring to rockets used by Gaza militants.

It is tragic when civilians get killed in fighting between militants. It is hard to assess this situation though, knowing that Palestinian Islamic militants have been known to use innocent Muslim women and children as shields.

It is terrible when innocents lose their lives as "collateral damage." It does not appear that Israel is targeting innocents, but is instead targeting terrorists, killing innocents in the process. The level of civilians killed must be condemned.

It is evil, even Satanic, to deliberately target innocents as HAMAS did in the Jewish seminar, and then laud the action.

Further Update: As bad as the Israeli actions appear to be in terms of the loss of innocent life, it is as if HAMAS want to prove that HAMAS is worse.

Why "Gun Free" School Zones Endanger Children

Lifted from Christian Action Network's news site:

Counselor’s personal firearm foils terror attack

If guns kill people, then a high school counselor’s personal firearm foiled a terror attack at an Israeli kibbutz Thursday

Israel Insider staff reported Friday, Jan. 25, on a two-man Islamic jihad death squad taken out by armed counselors at a kibbutz high school library in Gush Etzion, southeast of Jerusalem.

The men were dressed to appear like Israeli Defense Force security protectors, and succeeded in infiltrating the yeshiva high school with guns and knives - one gun was found to be a fake after the take-down.

Credit the gun? Or credit the heroic counselor? It all depends on your philosophy of gun rights - and wrongs. Either way, credit Israeli preparedness against terrorism targeting schools.

Wielding guns and knives, they lightly injured two Israeli counselors before being shot dead.

The terrorists infiltrated Makor Haim, a kibbutz [Israeli community], sneaking into the main building of its high school seminary, run by world-renowned Talmudist, Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz.

The terrorists entered a library room where seven of the boarding school's counselors were meeting…[and] ordered the seven to line up on one side of the room.

A counselor, realizing they were terrorists, drew his personal firearm and opened fire.
Another grabbed the fake gun from the other terrorist, wrestled him to the floor, while the first counselor shot him. The terrorists managed to stab two of the counselors before falling dead.

At the same time, the Beit Medrash (study hall) -- adjacent to the library -- was packed with students taking part in the weekly Thursday night "mishmar" all-night Torah study session, Israel National News reported.

An army official praised the quick response of the students and their counselors. "This could have ended much worse," a source in the Central Command said.

Note to school board: if we care about our kids, we will be likewise prepared - one day we will care, one day we will prepare this way; it’s just a matter of if terrorist attacks in America will precede our rising to the occasion.

The Ohio legislature and various school administrator (think Virginia Tech) do not intentionally endanger our children, but the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. That facts are that the defensive use of guns is what gun free zones really prohibit.

M. Zhudi Jasser Speaks Out

In an interesting article in the Middle East Quarterly, M. Zhudi Jasser, a Muslim activist against radial Islamists, describes his contacts with teh Flying Imams. At the end of the article, Mr. Jasser echoes my own thinking on what needs to be done by Muslims and non-Muslims:

Countering Islamism and combating Islamist terrorism should be a greater public responsibility for the organized American Muslim community than the obsession with civil rights and victimization in which current Islamist organizations engage. Americans living in fear for their security are looking to moderate, traditional Muslims to lead this fight. The credibility of the Muslim community suffers because groups such as CAIR, ISNA, and the North American Imams Federation deny the interplay between Islamism and terrorism.

Non-Muslims also have a role. Both the U.S. government and mainstream media often give Islamists and their organizations exclusive voice to speak on behalf of American Muslims, which creates a cycle of apparent, if not real, empowerment. Seldom do they turn to non-Islamists and anti-Islamists who may represent far more American Muslims. The recent refusal of PBS to air the ABG Films, Inc. documentary Islam v. Islamists is a prime example of the manner in which media producers and executives shield Islamists from criticism.

Islamofascist Awareness Week Opposition

There has been much misinformation about the recent Islamopfascist Awareness Week. I ran across this twisted lecture at Emory University. It is extraordinarily wrong-headed.

A Lecture By Dr. Hassan Ali El-Najjar at Emory University, October 23, 2007, about Islamofascist Awareness Week.

Greetings and Introduction:
It gives me great pleasure to be here tonight to participate in an educational event that I hope to increase our understanding of our world, to contribute to the world peace, and prosperity of all nations, particularly our country, the United States of America.

I'd like first to thank Cleave Pierce and the Outspoken Allies who through their efforts and courageous initiative made this event possible. They have lit tonight's candle instead of joining a long line of others who have been content with cursing darkness, in a whispering and whining tone.

I'd like also to thank the administration of the Emory University which allowed the event to happen as a contribution to increasing understanding of the University community about the this important issue.

I'd like to thank everyone here tonight promising to do my best to make this evening as educational and as enjoyable as possible.

Finally, for those who organized the "Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week" in Emory, if anyone of them is here tonight, I'd like to tell them that I came in peace to educate them about the consequences of this campaign on their Muslim American colleagues here in Emory, and on Muslim Americans in general. I hope that I'll contribute to their education of other world views than their own.

I hope and pray that an atmosphere of respect, love, and desire for peace prevails in this night. I'm not here for anything else.

Note that only the leftists deviated from respectful communications during Islamofascist Awareness Week. But that is what it means to be a leftist, I guess.

I learned that a week-long program has been organized in Emory and other campuses nationwide under the title of "Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week."
Before I start, I'd like just to tell everybody here that the mere association of Islam and fascism is painful enough for me and for Muslims to the extent of religious persecution.

It is unfortunate that radical Islamists have created in our public arena that association of Islam with fascism. It is up to Muslims to take the necessary steps to rid their ranks of the fascist elements. So far, I see no progress or even any meaningful attempt at progress.

It is an attempt to instigate Christian and Jewish students against their Muslim friends, colleagues, and professors. Just imagine if somebody organizes an event to smear Judaism or Christianity associating them with fascism. I don't accept that as a Muslim and I don't expect Jews and Christians to accept it.

I hope this complete misstatement of the situation is not intentional. Nothing about Islamofascist Awareness Week smears Islam in general. It was about those who do evil who brag that they are acting in the name of Islam – not all Muslims. The organizers were careful to make that absolutely clear to anyone who would listen.

In brief, why is the religion of Islam being smeared and attacked, when the conflict is not religious?

Wars have never been launched for religious purposes.

Osama bin Laden and his crew announce again and again that the conflict is religious. It was in all the papers. What universe does Mr. El-Najjar inhabit?

World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, Iran-Iraq War, Gulf War, Current Iraq War, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have all started for resources and secular geo-strategic goals.
Then, how can we explain such attempts to blame Islam and smear it?

Good question: why does Osama bin Laden smear Islam the way that he does and why do Muslims fail to point that out?

Why is this attempt to harass Muslim Americans, even innocent students and professors in their campuses?

It is of course no such thing. Muslims are asked to join the Week's activities, but instead oppose them, thus supporting bin Laden and sending the message to America that they will not renounce him and his activities.

Is it an attempt to distract the American people, including students, from the real problems facing the United States?

Is it an attempt to prepare Americans for another devastating war, on Iran this time?

Why not organizing "Awareness Weeks" about our major problems:

- The US national debt, which exceeded $9 trillion?

The US national debt never flew airliners in the the World Trade Center.

- The influence of oil companies on foreign policy?

The oil companies never flew airliners in the the World Trade Center.

- The influence of the Israel Lobby on the legislative and executive branches of our government?

The Israel lobby never flew airliners in the the World Trade Center.

- Our health care system that leaves millions of Americans without coverage?

The health care system never flew airliners in the the World Trade Center.

- The half million Americans who are killed annually by the tobacco industry? (Olson & Defrane, 2000: 32).

The tobacco industry never flew airliners in the the World Trade Center.

- The one hundred thousand Americans who are killed annually by the alcoholic beverage industry? (Olson & Defrane, 2000: 32).

The alcohol beverage industry never flew airliners in the the World Trade Center.

- Why do we have the highest rates of imprisonment, abortion, and teenage pregnancy in the world.

None of these ever flew airliners in the the World Trade Center.

- Why are all these essential problems ignored?

They are not being ignored, but guess what they never did to us!

- Are such campaigns to smear the great religion of Al-Islam an attempt to distract the American people from thinking about these problems and expecting their government to address them instead?

The Islamofascism Awareness Week is not a campaign to smear Islam, unless ..... the only logical way that Islamofascism Awareness Week could be interpreted to smear Islam is if Islam really is what bin Laden says it is. If Islam and Islamofascism are two different things, there is no way that anyone can logically say that Islamofascism Awareness Week smears Islam.

I hope, accordingly, that Mr. el-Najjar is wrong and Islamofascism Awareness Week does not smear Islam, because I would like to believe that Islam is better than the religion that bin Laden says it is.

I will quote and respond to no more of Mr. el-Najjar's lecture. The lecture is simply more of the same drivel. It is sad that Mr. el-Najjar chose to be divisive and to make false accusations rather than to bring people together in the common cause of fighting terrorism with the peaceful religion most of us would like Islam to be and to be perceived as.

Unfortunately, Mr. el-Najjar perpetuates the worst of perceptions about Islam. It is a shame that he chose that path.

Hobnobbing with Terrorists

On October 15, 2007, CAIR-Ohio and the Muslim Student Association at Ohio State University invited Dr. Jamal Badawi to speak. The usual left-wing suspects (such as the National Organization for Women "NOW") failed to protest. What's wrong with Dr. Badwai speaking?

As Patrick Poole points out, Dr. Badari hobnobs with Hamas and terrorists. He is also a participant (board member) of terrorist-founded organizations. I have detailed in previous posts the problems with Hamas. The Hamas charter sets Hamas up as an enemy not only of the United States, but our entire way of life. Hamas institutionalizes violent Jihad.

Should a man be known by the company he keeps? Well, yes. That is not "guilt by association." No one is accusing Dr. Badawi of guilt by personally participating in terrorism. Hobnobbing with terrorists does not make anyone a terrorirst directly. But it makes him a suspicious person and apparently a terrorist sympathizer. A person whose views are suspect. A person whose loyaties are suspect.

Dr. Badawi's views are far outside the mainstream of our American and Canadian culture. Still based upon the links in Patrick's article, I don't think Patrick was quite fair on some issues. For example, the links do not support the charge that Dr. Badawi advocates wife beating. The reference to striking one's wife reads:

As defined by hadith, it is NOT PERMISSIBLE TO STRIKE ANYONE'S FACE, CAUSE ANY BODILY HARM OR EVEN BE HARSH. What the hadith qualified as dharban ghayra mubarrih, or light striking, was interpreted by early jurists as a (symbolic) use of miswak (a small natural toothbrush)! They further qualified permissible "striking" as that which leaves no mark on the body. It is interesting that this latter fourteen-centuries-old qualifier is the criterion used in contemporary American law to separate a light and harmless tap or strike from "abuse" in the legal sense.

Now this Islamically permissible symbolic striking is hardly wife-beating. It is male supremacist and misogynist. Where was NOW on this one?

Dr. Badawi approves of polygamy. While antithetical to our American traditions (unless you are a fundamentalist Morman, I suppose), it is hardly subversive, just anti-American culture. Again, NOW is absent.

The links to articles on on suicide bombing and death to apostates yield ambiguous opinions at best. Does approval of suicide bombings apply to taking out non-combatant women and children? Does the treason rational for apostate executions include treason by insulting Islam for having left Islam? We certainly know from examining rhetoric from the violent Jihadists, that Dr. Badawi's stated views would be interpreted by them as consistent with their radical Islam. The statements are sufficiently ambiguous, though, that Dr. Badawi and his supporters could argue the quotes are harmless.

What makes the quotes suspicious is the hobnobbing problem. If Dr. Badawi is going to attend functions that celebrate terrorists and serve on organizations founded by terrorists, we can't be faulted for understanding the ambiguous as intending to support his apparent friends.

The thinking behind Dr. Badawi's invitation to speak at Ohio State is baffling. Are there no Islamic scholars to invite who do not have associations with terrorists or terrorist organizations?