McCain: Its Radical Islamic Extremism, Stupid

Well this wasn’t the precise quote… but it sums it quite well. To quote then in the spirit of completeness:

“the absolute gravest threat is the struggle that we’re in against radical Islamic extremism, which can affect, if they prevail, our very existence. Another successful attack on the United States of America could have devastating consequences.” [Read about this and more at “Perils of Honesty in Politics”-LA Times]

We already know that McCain and team are secretly hoping for another terrorist attack occur in USA. If we needed a reminder, then it happened in the Freudian slip by McCain’s senior adviser, Charlie Black, who after agreeing that Benazir’s assassination probably helped McCain capture the Republican candidacy (proud moment for Pakistan; Pakistanis can actually affect US politics, boohoo… payback?):

As would, Black concedes with startling candor after we raise the issue, another terrorist attack on U.S. soil. “Certainly it would be a big advantage to him,” [Fortune]

So, I was wondering what more can McCain blame Radical Islamists, Islamic Radicals, Extremist Radical Islamists, Radical Extremist Islamists, Islamic terrorists, or as favored by McCain, “Radical Islamic Extremists”. The following are few more things that McCain can blame a variation of “Islamists” and “Moslems” on: (more…)

Jon Stewart, himself a Jew, can take on Obama’s pandering without being labeled antisemitic (”self-hating Jew” anyone??). The following statement by Jon Stewart says so much in so little (see rest of video below):

“Oh, I forgot, you can’t say anything remotely critical about Israel and still get elected President. Which is funny, because you know where you can criticize Israel? Uh, Israel”

How despicable the state of politics and media in America, that you can be more critical of Israel in Israel and not in America! A progressive Jewish blogger wrote: (more…)

Mr. Wolf [DHS lawyer] also cited excerpts of sermons Mr. Qatanani had given calling Israelis “transgressors,” and questioned whether Mr. Qatanani or the mosque had donated money to various Islamic organizations.

What I find mind-boggling, but not that surprising, is how even calling Israelis “transgressors” is somehow evidence of terrorism-ties! I mean the prosecutor, shame on him, is a willing Israeli propaganda foot-soldier, who is making the case that Qatanani deserves to be deported because he doesn’t like Israelis and because he or his mosque (!) may have donated to some of the Islamic charities that the Feds witch-hunted.

Everyday we are seeing evidence of how the Lobby is stifling debate on the Israel issue, making anyone who doesn’t support this terrorist regime, a terrorist-sympathizers by default. We saw this with the Dunkin-Donuts-Rachel-Ray ad, and now with this. There is an attempt to make support of Palestinian freedom from Israeli terror a crime, and the Lobby’s foot-soldiers are slowly tightening the noose on anyone who dares call Israelis transgressors. In fact, many of Israeli government policies are not mere transgressions. They are cases of terrorism! And many, many fair-minded Israelis would agree with me. There you go, lobby boys. Sue me! Sue me for calling your governments’ policies transgressions of the worst kind, and terrorism in all shades of its meaning. Like this:

“Judge, you cannot imagine,” Mr. Qatanani said, his voice breaking. “They say, ‘We will kill your family.’ They say: ‘You know what your family is doing now? We will go to them, we will burn them.’”

Related Posts:

• Join Fight Against Deportation of Imam Mohammad Qatanani

How would you caption this?

Whoever leaves off obedience and separates from the Jam’ah and dies, (then) he dies a death of jahiliyyah (i.e. pre-Islamic ignorance). And whoever fights under the banner of the blind, becoming angry for nationalism or calling to nationalism or assisting nationalism and dies, (then) he dies a death of jahiliyyah [Muslim]

There has been a recent uptick in phenomenon, which for lack of better terminology, I will refer to as “Internet Tribalism”.

This tribalism is pitting black brothers, who I will refer to as BAMs*, against immigrants and their progeny, who we will simply abbreviate as IMMs.

To begin, we must recognize the real divisions that exist between these communities. As a matter of reality, BAM communities are often less affluent and more likely to be in inner cities than their immigrant Muslim counterparts (the gap is not dissimilar to the national black-white wealth gap and see here). Some BAM communities have also suffered from cult-like deen that Tariq has described as a “movement mentality“. Not that IMMs haven’t had their own share of this mentality, but generally speaking, the impact has been less destructive. This mentality has also taken BAM brothers and sisters away from social integration (doesn’t equal assimilation), in addition to suppressing the desire for education and social programs. Further compounding this bad situation, many BAMs have experienced real pain and heartbreak due to the racism in immigrant communities, which is often swept under the rug. Likewise, IMM masjids can often feel more like “Back Home Cultural Centers” rather than the “Islamic Centers” they claim to be.

However, whatever problems exist, we must recognize that (more…)

Here’s the video on LiveLeak.

What about Islam and Jihad?

The term jihad is a loaded term with multiple and conflicting meanings. It was used for the Afghan resistance, and since then for every struggle involving Muslims fighting resistance and liberation as well as extremism and terrorism (Bosnia, Kosovo, Chechnya, Kashmir, Bali, Gaza, etc.). The Bin Ladens, along with many non-Muslims ironically, conflate jihad with a Muslim holy war against unbelievers. But many observant Muslims will deny that link, but point to the Crusades as the origin of “holy wars.”

To most Muslims, jihad implies honor and sacrifice for others, even when interpreted military, it comes with many conditions, including the writ against targeting civilians. Using jihad and terrorism as synonyms is wrong and counterproductive, and the meaning of Jihad to Muslims is much more nuanced than what many Western commentators invoke.

Religion & Politics: Yesterday and Today

While people find linking of religion and politics in Islam as being peculiar, it belies history throughout which politics and religion have been linked. Judaism’s King David and King Solomon conquered and settled at the behest of God, Christianity’s kings and emperors were crowned by the Pope and fought crusades for expansion. Hinduism’s kings upheld “divine order” and used the doctrine of dharma to support the caste system.

In recent decades, religion has been used in wars of liberation and for terrorism throughout the world: Muslim Bosnians, Christian Serbs, Catholic/Protestants Irish, Muslims and Jewish fundamentalists in Israel/Palestine, etc.

Religion and Suicide Terrorism (more…)

More updates: I have adjusted the post a bit to give credit where credit’s due, and because it is being wrongly perceived by some.

Important Update via Tariq (a message from Philly mayor Mike Nutter– he deserves our props for this, you can send a thank you on his MySpace account):

Dear Muslim Faith Leaders,

As you know, a Philadelphia Police Officer has been shot in the line of duty. It has been widely reported that the assailants were wearing “muslim garb” as a disguise during the attack.

I want to make it clear that I do not think that this crime was an act of violence directed from or against the Muslim community. The assailants merely chose Muslim-like dress as a way to alter their appearances.

I hope the Muslim community, and all other communities across Philadelphia, can work together as we deal with this horrible act of violence. This City needs every one of all faiths, races, and ethnicities to come together in peace. I am calling on the religious community to recognize tomorrow as a day of peace and to pray for Sergeant Liczbinski and his family..

Sincerely,

Michael A. Nutter

————-

This story is not new anymore. I have been hearing about it on NPR for the whole week. Tariq talked about it here. Fortunately, NPR hasn’t made it a point to tell us about the “Muslim connection” in the story. I don’t doubt that other news stations are making the point. Two of the thugs, at least one of whom was a Muslim, dressed up in jilbaabs, abaya, niqaab, gloves– the whole 9-yards, and used this sacred Muslim ensemble to rob a bank, and later killed a police officer, Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski. Sgt. Liczbinski’s funeral is today in Philadelphia. A young Sgt. Liczbinski (age 40) leaves behind a wife and three children, as well as an extended family of nine siblings.

The story sickens me. It sickens me for all the sisters that have to go through such great pains in order to dress up in a way that they believe pleases Allah. This is not a question about the fiqh of niqaab. Those who wear it are not doing it to make a statement. They are doing it to please Allah, in what they believe is the correct Sunnah. And regardless of our views on niqaab, we have to be fully supportive of their RIGHT to wear what they feel pleases Allah. And I am going off in this tangent to preempt any comments that delve into this fiqhi issue. The actions of these individuals puts all our niqaabi sisters in a perilous situation. We cannot blame the average Joe on the street about being jumpy when he sees one or more of these niqaabi sisters entering shops or malls. We can only blame these thugs for the harm they have and will cause.

I remember before coming to this part of America (just over 2 years ago), a BAM (black American Muslim) brother who said he “fled” from (more…)

The mere complaint is an unjust detainment by the Israelis in 1993 during a visit to his family in Palestine. Many other Palestinians like him were unjustly detained for no crime because this was a common practice by the Israelis whenever political turmoil arose in the area. Soon, he was released without any charges or any court summons.

Here are specific action items that we can all take:

1. First and foremost, MAKE DUAA’! There is no success in any cause without Allah!
2. Forward this message and cross-link/cross-post to this entry as much as possible.
3. Sign the online petition — http://www.petitiononline.com/qat5871/petition.html
4. If you have a Facebook account then join the following two groups:
   

   • Peaceful Support for Qatanani (hundreds of members and counting)
   • Friends of Qatanani (hundreds of members and counting)
     AND advertise the following Facebook event:
     “RALLY TO SUPPORT IMAM QATANANI”

5. Attend the rallies and encourage your family and friends to attend the rallies. Rally details and an image of the flyer can be found here: http://www.americans4qatanani.org/site/content/view/39/54/
6. 6. Last, and most important: MAKE DUAA’! I can’t stress this enough. Constantly and consistently pray to Allah to help us through this test, and all tests that we face every day! Duaa’ is our best resource, and it never runs out! For some duaa’ recorded in authentic narrations of the Prophet (S), you can visit — www.makedua.com

*Amad is taking over for Chapter 3 and 4. Cross-posted on Dailykos & Streetprophets

See important notes on survey methodology at the bottom of this post.

The so-called “war against terrorism” has been raging for more than six years, yet the author argue that Muslim extremism and violence continues to spread and grow all over the world.

The Osama bin Ladens of the world have turned a once-popular jihad – a struggle in Afghanistan against Soviet occupation supported by the Muslim world and the West – into an unholy war of suicide bombings, hostage taking, and broad-based terror.

In parallel, Islamophobia has increased sharply, while anti-Americanism sentiments surge on the Arab and Muslim streets. The West is galvanized by terrorist attacks and suicide bombings in Iraq, Israel, etc. while the Muslim world is galvanized by invasion of its lands, abuses at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo, and images of civilian deaths and destruction caused by Israel, in Gaza and Lebanon

Against the backdrop of this bleak world situation, the West desires stable, secular democracies in the Muslim countries it deems as “supporting terrorism”, believing this to be the ultimate measure of victory in the “war against terrorism”. But a number of challenges exist in this battle of hearts and minds, and data is ever-important to understand the people we wish to move.

[What] doomed the United States during the Vietnam War was that it knew almost nothing about its enemy [Former Secretary of Defense McNamara in an interview]

The Vietnam War was believed to be part of the “domino theory” in preventing monolithic communism, similar (more…)