Thursday, March 10, 2011
via ATLAS SHRUGS
The figures confirm that there is a disproportionate problem of Islamic militancy and terrorism among the American Muslim population.
This is not to say that, on a percentage basis, American Muslims tend to be violent or extremist. To the contrary. Those involved in terrorism are a tiny sliver of the overall Muslim American population.
But one ought to be able to focus on a very real problem - homegrown terrorism fueled by Muslim extremism - without being accused of painting the entire U.S. Muslim population with a broad brush.
The real underlying story here is how the self-anointed leadership of the Muslim community - groups like the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the Islamic Society of North America and the Muslim American Society - are the ones responsible for instilling panic into the Muslim community by suggesting that these hearings will lead to "hate crimes" against Muslims.
That canard has been used by these groups for years in their attempts to intimidate the media, commentators and critics of radical Islam from truly analyzing the role of these groups and others in radicalizing their constituents in the American Muslim community. The documents showing the creation of these groups with the assistance of the Muslim Brotherhood were introduced into evidence in the trial of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development several years ago. At the trial, the Council on American-Islamic Relations was described by an FBI expert as a front for Hamas, and was also listed, together with the Islamic Society of North America, as an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation indictments.
Groups such as these routinely play the "Islamophobia" card, and get attention for doing so in the mainstream media, in order to silence criticism of Islamic radicalism. In fact, these very same groups, just like the Obama administration, categorically refuse to even use the term "radical Islam" in order to excise the term from the American vernacular.
Critics have taken issue with King's focus on one religious minority. But, in fact, in previous years, Congress has held numerous hearings into various ethnic subcultures that have spawned illegalities - including the Italian mob, Hispanic drug cartels, black and white prison gangs, white racists and neo-Nazis.
Headlines about King producing "panic" in the rank-and-file Muslim community are nonsense. The only panic is that being strategically fomented by groups with an interest in spreading fear. They, together with their mainstream media friends, have falsely alleged that: one, there is a war against Islam by the United States, and two, the FBI is secretly instigating Islamic terrorism by use of informants.
These are dangerous fictions.
via ATLAS SHRUGS
Pamela Geller
It beguns. Live video feed here.
Pete King's hearings are very revealing. I have been critical of Rep King's caving to Islamic supremacist demands in dropping Steve Emerson, Ayaaan Hirsi Ali, Walid Phares from the witness list etc but even so, Pete King's hearings are shedding much needed light despite the 'sobbing' Muslim Brotherhood-tied, Hamas supporting Keith Ellison's crocodile tears ...........
For example, the idea that these hearings are somehow a witch-hunt or a waste of time when the rise of Islamic jihad is the greatest threat tothe Western world flies in the face of reality. The Democrats have held hearings on
Katrina/Rita FEMA Trailers: Are They Safe or Environmental Time Bombs?” “Pandemic Influenza Preparedness and the Federal Workforce.” “Online Privacy, Social Networking, and Crime Victimization.” “The State of U.S. Coins and Currency.” “Diversity and the Department of Homeland Security: Continuing Challenges and New Opportunities.” “Civil Rights Services and Diversity Initiatives in the Coast Guard.” “Protecting Animal and Public Health: Homeland Security and the Federal Veterinarian Workforce.” “The Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing Enforcement Act of 2009.” “Tribal Police Recruitment, Hiring, Training, and Retention at the Bureau of Indian Affairs.” “Organized Retail Crime”
so this resistance to these hearings is illogical and essentially a front in the war on America. The war is in the information battlespace. And the Democrats are very much aligned with the enemy as evidenced by their nonsensical, chest beating and avoidance of the issue they are supposed to be addressing at these hearings. Do your jobs! Instead they chest pound, hand wring, and falsely characterize the mission of these national security hearings.
House Democrats Doing Bidding Of Islamists - Alleging American, "Anti-Muslim Sentiment"
From my perspective the most compelling witness is Marvin Bledsoe. He best illustates the essential struggle. Melvin Bledsoe the heartbroken father of Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad [aka, Carlos Leon Bledsoe] - responsible for the 2009 jihadist attack on the Little Rock Army Recruiting Center, killing one and wounding another. Bledsoe is a patriot and a truth teller. An excellent witness. Good on King for that.
Father says FBI dropped the ball on his son (FOX):
The father of the man charged with shooting two soldiers in Little Rock is speaking out. He says his son, Abdulhakim Muhammad, was manipulated by Islamic extremists overseas and the FBI knew it but didn't step in before it was too late.
Melvin Bledsoe of Memphis looks at what his son is accused of doing at the Army Recruiter Station in Little Rock last June the same way he looks at foiled terror plots in Dallas, and the Fort Hood shootings earlier this month. He sees them all as acts of terrorism that could have been prevented.
"I want to say how sorry I am for the family of the soldier and we know what they're going through," Bledsoe says. "They're grieving and we're very sorry for their grieving."
Nearly six months after police say his son, Abdulhakim Muhammad, 24, gunned down two soldiers, Bledsoe wants answers from the federal government. "I don't understand why the federal government has not taken this case which it is,” Bledsoe says. “This involves a United States soldier."
Bledsoe says the FBI tracked his son for two years after he traveled to Yemen and knew of his growing extremist views but didn't do anything to stop it. As an example, he cites his son's purchase of an assault rifle shortly before the shooting.
"I think they could have asked some questions [like,] 'What are you doing with this weapon? What are you going to do with this weapon?'" When asked how he thought his son would have responded to such a question Bledsoe responded, "I think something would have changed a lot." (more here at FOX)
I expect if the FBI had questioned his son before the attack on US soldiers in Arkansas, CAIR would have sued the FBI for civil rights violations and "islamophobia."
Below from the letters of Bledoe's son, Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad:
"...how I became Muslim. I don't believe in the word "convert." What I use "revert" because we Muslims believe that all mankind are born into Islam...I went to Yemen to learn, meaning more about Islam...Yemen is quoted from our beloved Prophet...as a place of faith and wisdom...it is one of the few places left in the Islamic world where people are actually still Muslims...[speaking of his source of income in Yemen]...I felt uncomfortable teaching the language of the Enemy to my brothers and sisters...my wife's [he was married in Yemen] family is from Abyan...which was bombed by American drones...by O'l Uncle Sam...they claimed they targeted a meeting of the Mujahedeen...I read a statement from our Shaykh "Anwar Al Awlaki," and he said that they killed 17 women and 23 kids...We want revenge...They kill our soldiers, we kill theirs, but if they bomb our women, children and elders Guess what? We'll bomb theirs..the apostates of Yemeni government are true dogs. I wish I had some of their blood on my hands..."
Melvin Bledsoe, whose son allegedly attacked an Army recruiting center in Arkansas, said Americans are ignoring the issue. He described how his son, Carlos, was radicalized when he went off to college in Nashville, Tenn. He described how his son's personality changed and how, when he returned home for the holidays in 2005, he told his family he converted to Islam. Bledsoe also said he noticed something was wrong when his son took his picture of Martin Luther King Jr. down.
From that point, Carlos changed his name and eventually traveled to Yemen.
"Some Muslim leaders had taken advantage of my son. But he's not the only one being taken advantage of. This is an ongoing thing in Nashville and many other cities in America," Bledsoe said. (more here)
Read Emerson in today's NY Daily News:
"Muslim American groups, not Rep. Pete King, are the ones fomenting hysteria with hearings on tap," by Steven Emerson for theNew York Daily News, March 10:
Never in my entire career in Washington have I encountered the hype and scare tactics of those opposing the hearings into Islamic radicalization by Rep. Pete King. A classic example was a headline on MSNBC.com: "Inquiry by congressional committee looks like inquisition to many Muslims."
"Witch hunt" and "McCarthyism" have also popped up.
The line of attack is now familiar: If King (R-L.I.) were truly interested in violent extremism, his hearings would focus on a wide range of groups that wreak havoc on America, including neo-Nazis and others; by focusing solely on Muslim extremism, the argument goes, he is betraying his bias.
Pete King's hearings are very revealing. I have been critical of Rep King's caving to Islamic supremacist demands in dropping Steve Emerson, Ayaaan Hirsi Ali, Walid Phares from the witness list etc but even so, Pete King's hearings are shedding much needed light despite the 'sobbing' Muslim Brotherhood-tied, Hamas supporting Keith Ellison's crocodile tears ...........
For example, the idea that these hearings are somehow a witch-hunt or a waste of time when the rise of Islamic jihad is the greatest threat tothe Western world flies in the face of reality. The Democrats have held hearings on
Katrina/Rita FEMA Trailers: Are They Safe or Environmental Time Bombs?” “Pandemic Influenza Preparedness and the Federal Workforce.” “Online Privacy, Social Networking, and Crime Victimization.” “The State of U.S. Coins and Currency.” “Diversity and the Department of Homeland Security: Continuing Challenges and New Opportunities.” “Civil Rights Services and Diversity Initiatives in the Coast Guard.” “Protecting Animal and Public Health: Homeland Security and the Federal Veterinarian Workforce.” “The Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing Enforcement Act of 2009.” “Tribal Police Recruitment, Hiring, Training, and Retention at the Bureau of Indian Affairs.” “Organized Retail Crime”
so this resistance to these hearings is illogical and essentially a front in the war on America. The war is in the information battlespace. And the Democrats are very much aligned with the enemy as evidenced by their nonsensical, chest beating and avoidance of the issue they are supposed to be addressing at these hearings. Do your jobs! Instead they chest pound, hand wring, and falsely characterize the mission of these national security hearings.
House Democrats Doing Bidding Of Islamists - Alleging American, "Anti-Muslim Sentiment"
From my perspective the most compelling witness is Marvin Bledsoe. He best illustates the essential struggle. Melvin Bledsoe the heartbroken father of Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad [aka, Carlos Leon Bledsoe] - responsible for the 2009 jihadist attack on the Little Rock Army Recruiting Center, killing one and wounding another. Bledsoe is a patriot and a truth teller. An excellent witness. Good on King for that.
Father says FBI dropped the ball on his son (FOX):
The father of the man charged with shooting two soldiers in Little Rock is speaking out. He says his son, Abdulhakim Muhammad, was manipulated by Islamic extremists overseas and the FBI knew it but didn't step in before it was too late.
Melvin Bledsoe of Memphis looks at what his son is accused of doing at the Army Recruiter Station in Little Rock last June the same way he looks at foiled terror plots in Dallas, and the Fort Hood shootings earlier this month. He sees them all as acts of terrorism that could have been prevented.
"I want to say how sorry I am for the family of the soldier and we know what they're going through," Bledsoe says. "They're grieving and we're very sorry for their grieving."
Nearly six months after police say his son, Abdulhakim Muhammad, 24, gunned down two soldiers, Bledsoe wants answers from the federal government. "I don't understand why the federal government has not taken this case which it is,” Bledsoe says. “This involves a United States soldier."
Bledsoe says the FBI tracked his son for two years after he traveled to Yemen and knew of his growing extremist views but didn't do anything to stop it. As an example, he cites his son's purchase of an assault rifle shortly before the shooting.
"I think they could have asked some questions [like,] 'What are you doing with this weapon? What are you going to do with this weapon?'" When asked how he thought his son would have responded to such a question Bledsoe responded, "I think something would have changed a lot." (more here at FOX)
I expect if the FBI had questioned his son before the attack on US soldiers in Arkansas, CAIR would have sued the FBI for civil rights violations and "islamophobia."
Below from the letters of Bledoe's son, Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad:
"...how I became Muslim. I don't believe in the word "convert." What I use "revert" because we Muslims believe that all mankind are born into Islam...I went to Yemen to learn, meaning more about Islam...Yemen is quoted from our beloved Prophet...as a place of faith and wisdom...it is one of the few places left in the Islamic world where people are actually still Muslims...[speaking of his source of income in Yemen]...I felt uncomfortable teaching the language of the Enemy to my brothers and sisters...my wife's [he was married in Yemen] family is from Abyan...which was bombed by American drones...by O'l Uncle Sam...they claimed they targeted a meeting of the Mujahedeen...I read a statement from our Shaykh "Anwar Al Awlaki," and he said that they killed 17 women and 23 kids...We want revenge...They kill our soldiers, we kill theirs, but if they bomb our women, children and elders Guess what? We'll bomb theirs..the apostates of Yemeni government are true dogs. I wish I had some of their blood on my hands..."
Melvin Bledsoe, whose son allegedly attacked an Army recruiting center in Arkansas, said Americans are ignoring the issue. He described how his son, Carlos, was radicalized when he went off to college in Nashville, Tenn. He described how his son's personality changed and how, when he returned home for the holidays in 2005, he told his family he converted to Islam. Bledsoe also said he noticed something was wrong when his son took his picture of Martin Luther King Jr. down.
From that point, Carlos changed his name and eventually traveled to Yemen.
"Some Muslim leaders had taken advantage of my son. But he's not the only one being taken advantage of. This is an ongoing thing in Nashville and many other cities in America," Bledsoe said. (more here)
Read Emerson in today's NY Daily News:
"Muslim American groups, not Rep. Pete King, are the ones fomenting hysteria with hearings on tap," by Steven Emerson for theNew York Daily News, March 10:
Never in my entire career in Washington have I encountered the hype and scare tactics of those opposing the hearings into Islamic radicalization by Rep. Pete King. A classic example was a headline on MSNBC.com: "Inquiry by congressional committee looks like inquisition to many Muslims."
"Witch hunt" and "McCarthyism" have also popped up.
The line of attack is now familiar: If King (R-L.I.) were truly interested in violent extremism, his hearings would focus on a wide range of groups that wreak havoc on America, including neo-Nazis and others; by focusing solely on Muslim extremism, the argument goes, he is betraying his bias.
This is utterly ridiculous. Our organization, the Investigative Project on Terrorism, recently did an analysis of all terrorism convictions based on statistics released by the Justice Department. These stats show that more than 80% of all convictions tied to international terrorist groups and homegrown terrorism since 9/11 involve defendants driven by a radical Islamist agenda. Though Muslims represent less than 1% of the American population, they constitute defendants in 186 of the 228 cases the Justice Department lists.
The figures confirm that there is a disproportionate problem of Islamic militancy and terrorism among the American Muslim population.
This is not to say that, on a percentage basis, American Muslims tend to be violent or extremist. To the contrary. Those involved in terrorism are a tiny sliver of the overall Muslim American population.
But one ought to be able to focus on a very real problem - homegrown terrorism fueled by Muslim extremism - without being accused of painting the entire U.S. Muslim population with a broad brush.
The real underlying story here is how the self-anointed leadership of the Muslim community - groups like the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the Islamic Society of North America and the Muslim American Society - are the ones responsible for instilling panic into the Muslim community by suggesting that these hearings will lead to "hate crimes" against Muslims.
That canard has been used by these groups for years in their attempts to intimidate the media, commentators and critics of radical Islam from truly analyzing the role of these groups and others in radicalizing their constituents in the American Muslim community. The documents showing the creation of these groups with the assistance of the Muslim Brotherhood were introduced into evidence in the trial of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development several years ago. At the trial, the Council on American-Islamic Relations was described by an FBI expert as a front for Hamas, and was also listed, together with the Islamic Society of North America, as an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation indictments.
Groups such as these routinely play the "Islamophobia" card, and get attention for doing so in the mainstream media, in order to silence criticism of Islamic radicalism. In fact, these very same groups, just like the Obama administration, categorically refuse to even use the term "radical Islam" in order to excise the term from the American vernacular.
Critics have taken issue with King's focus on one religious minority. But, in fact, in previous years, Congress has held numerous hearings into various ethnic subcultures that have spawned illegalities - including the Italian mob, Hispanic drug cartels, black and white prison gangs, white racists and neo-Nazis.
Headlines about King producing "panic" in the rank-and-file Muslim community are nonsense. The only panic is that being strategically fomented by groups with an interest in spreading fear. They, together with their mainstream media friends, have falsely alleged that: one, there is a war against Islam by the United States, and two, the FBI is secretly instigating Islamic terrorism by use of informants.
These are dangerous fictions.
Posted by Pamela Geller on Thursday, March 10, 2011 at 12:50 PM
