Raymond Ibrahim: The New York Times Defends Al-Qaeda

The following by Raymond Ibrahim is reposted here with permission of Middle East Forum:

The New York Times Defends Al-Qaeda

by Raymond Ibrahim
Gatestone Institute
June 11, 2014

http://www.meforum.org/4722/the-new-york-times-defends-al-qaeda

Why are some of the biggest Western mainstream media outlets—especially the New York Times (NYT)—often apologetic, not only for radical Islamists, but for al-Qaeda, an organization responsible for, among other atrocities, killing nearly 3000 Americans on September 11, 2001?

A recent NYT report titled "Abduction of Girls an Act Not Even Al Qaeda Can Condone" tries to exonerate al-Qaeda of the actions of another jihadi organization, Nigeria's Boko Haram—when both groups are not only affiliated but remarkably similar in outlook and method. The report's opening sentence summarizes its thesis: "As word spread like wildfire on Twitter and Facebook that Nigerian militants were preparing to auction off more than 200 kidnapped schoolgirls in the name of Islam, a very different Internet network started quietly buzzing too," one which, according to the NYT, reflects "the dismay of fellow jihadists at the innocent targets of Boko Haram's violence":

What is Israel Doing to Respond To The Al Qaeda Threat From Syria?

The following by Jonathan Spyer is reposted here with permission of the Middle East Forum:

A Most Discreet Israeli Intervention in Syria

by Jonathan Spyer
The Jerusalem Post
May 29, 2014

http://www.meforum.org/3835/a-most-discreet-israeli-intervention-in-syria

Since the outbreak of the civil war in Syria in 2011, Israeli officials have observed events to the north with caution and concern. The concern has derived from the presence of anti-Israel paramilitary and terrorist elements on both sides of the fighting lines in Syria.

The caution, meanwhile, relates to the very deep aversion felt in the Israeli system toward the possibility of Israel's being sucked in to the morass of the Syrian war. Israel's Lebanon experience has left a deep institutional memory warning against overly ambitious incursions into the affairs of neighboring states.

Nevertheless, evidence is emerging of an increasing, though still modest Israeli involvement in events beyond the separation of forces line on the Golan Heights.

Are Obama's Muslim Brotherhood Buddies Allied With Al Qaeda?

The following by Raymond Ibrahim is reposted here with permission of Middle East Forum:

Exposed: The Muslim Brotherhood/Al-Qaeda Connection

by Raymond Ibrahim
CBN News
February 4, 2014

http://www.meforum.org/3739/muslim-brotherhood-al-qaeda-connection

Raymond Ibrahim

As former Egyptian President Muhammad Morsi's trials continue, it's enlightening to consider what is likely to be one of the centerpieces of the trial: longstanding accusations that Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood party worked with foreign terrorist organizations, including al-Qaeda, against the national security of Egypt.

Based on these accusations of high treason, Morsi and others could face the death penalty.

Muhammad Morsi and Ayman Zawahiri. Image source: European Union (Morsi) and al-Qaeda video screenshot (Zawahiri)

Concerning some of the more severe allegations, one of Egypt's most widely distributed and read newspapers, Al Watan, recently published what it said were recorded conversations between Morsi and Muhammad Zawahiri, al-Qaeda leader Ayman Zawahiri's brother.

In these reports, Watan repeatedly asserts that Egyptian security and intelligence agencies confirmed (or perhaps leaked out) the recordings.

Much of the substance of the alleged conversations is further corroborated by events that occurred during Morsi's one-year-rule, most of which were reported by a variety of Arabic media outlets, though not by Western media.

In what follows, I relay, summarize, and translate some of the more significant portions of the Watan reports (verbatim statements are in quotation marks). In between, I comment on various anecdotes and events—many of which were first broken on my website—that now, in light of these phone conversations, make perfect sense and independently help confirm the authenticity of the recordings.

—–

Arlene Kushner: More On Israel's Treatment of African "Refugees"

From Arlene Kushner:
January 26, 2014

Legal Grounds

These are the legal grounds Israel has in Judea and Samaria – charges by the international community not withstanding.  It is what I - and my co-chair on this effort, Jeff Daube, head of the Israel office of ZOA – are working on ever diligently with regard to the Levy Report and associated documentation.

I am eager to share the URL for our website (which is up, looking splendid, but still a work in progress): We Have Legal Grounds!.  Please, see it and share it!

~~~~~~~~~~

The Signs of Al Qaeda in Benghazi That Are Being Ignored

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Mideast Media Sampler 12/12/13: Dear Obama: Al Qaeda Is Alive and Well

by David Gerstman, contributing blogger at Legal Insurrection

The Al Qaeda Surge

Al Qaeda Rally  Credit: Legal Insurrection, Truth Syria / YouTube

One of President Obama’s pitches for re-election was “Osama bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive.”

Do US Embassy Closings Unwittingly Give Al Qaeda Victory Over The Muslim Brotherhood?

The following by Raymond Ibrahim is reposted here with permission of MiddleEast Forum

The Return of Al Qaeda and Jihad

by Raymond Ibrahim
FrontPageMagazine.com
August 8, 2013
http://www.meforum.org/3575/al-qaeda-return

Raymond Ibrahim

With the ousting of Muhammad Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, al-Qaeda has been vindicated and the terror-jihad exonerated, in the opinion of many Islamists, that is.

According to the Associated Press, in a new video, al-Qaeda leader Ayman Zawahiri "said the military coup that ousted Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi provides proof that Islamic rule cannot be established through democracy and urged the Islamist leader's followers to abandon the ballot box in favor of armed resistance [i.e., jihad]."

In fact, in the Arabic video, Zawahiri gloats over two points that he has championed for decades despite widespread opposition: that the Brotherhood was foolish to engage in democracy and elections in the first place, and that the triumph of Islam can only be achieved through jihad.

Raymond Ibrahim: Al Qaeda Flag Flies High Above Christian Churches

The following by Raymond Ibrahim is reposted here with permission of Middle East Forum:

Al Qaeda Flag Flies High Above Christian Churches

by Raymond Ibrahim
Gatestone Institute
August 7, 2013
http://www.meforum.org/3572/al-qaeda-christian-churches

Raymond Ibrahim

Days ago, al-Qaeda's Egyptian leader, Ayman Zawahiri, portrayed the overthrow of Muhammad Morsi and the Brotherhood as a "Crusader" campaign led by Coptic Pope Tawadros II who, according to Zawahiri and other terrorists, is trying to create a Coptic state in Egypt.

Since then, not only are Egypt's Christians and churches now being attacked in ways unprecedented in the modern era, but new reports indicate that al-Qaeda's black flag has been raised on some of them, specifically St. George Church in Sohag. Considering that it was al-Qaeda linked terrorists who initiated one of the bloodiest church attacks in recent history, the 2010 Baghdad church attack where nearly 60 Christians were slaughtered (click here for graphic images), that al-Qaeda is singling out Egypt's Christians bodes ill.

Daniel Pipes on the Wimpy Closing of US Embassies in Response to Al-Qaeda Threats

The following by Daniel Pipes is reposted here with permission:

On Closed Embassies, the Worldwide Travel Alert,
and Wimpitude

by Daniel Pipes
August 3, 2013
Cross-posted from National Review Online, The Corner

http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/2013/08/on-closed-embassies-the-worldwide-travel-alert

In April, the city of Boston was effectively under military curfew because two terrorists were on the loose. Now, fears of al-Qaeda attacking has led the U.S. government to close 21 U.S. embassies in Muslim-majority countries and then issue aworldwide travel alert announcing that "Terrorists may elect to use a variety of means and weapons and target both official and private interests. U.S. citizens are reminded of the potential for terrorists to attack public transportation systems and other tourist infrastructure."

Raymond Ibrahim: Al-Qaeda's Jihad on Anti-Morsi Egyptians

The following by Raymond Ibrahim is reposted here with permission:

Al-Qaeda's Jihad on Anti-Morsi Egyptians

by Raymond Ibrahim
Gatestone Institute
July 4, 2013

Now that the Egyptian military appears to have granted the nation's wish—to be rid of Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood, as millions have been chanting, "Irhal" ["Leave office"]—al-Qaeda appears to have stepped in.

Hours before Egyptian President Muhammad Morsi was sidelined by the military council, Muhammad al-Zawahiri, Egypt's al-Qaeda leader, declared that the terrorist organization would wage a jihad to save Morsi and his Islamist agenda for Egypt. (They would not be the first Islamic terrorists to come to his aid; Hamas members were earlier arrested from inside Muslim Brotherhood headquarters, where they opened fire on protesters.)

According to a July 2 Veto Gate report, "al-Qaeda, under the leadership of Muhammad Zawahiri, is currently planning reprisal operations by which to attack the army and the Morsi-opposition all around the Republic [of Egypt]."

The following by Peter Al Olsson is reposted here with permission of Middle East Forum:

Homegrown Terrorists, Rebels in Search of a Cause

by Peter A. Olsson
Middle East Quarterly
Summer 2013, pp. 3-10 (view PDF)

http://www.meforum.org/3539/homegrown-terrorists

The Boston bombing has refocused public attention on a steadily growing phenomenon the Obama administration has been trying to sweep under the carpet: domestic Islamist terrorists whose familiarity with American culture makes them more difficult to detect prior to their acts of terror. By way of preventing similar attacks, therefore, it is necessary not only to monitor terror networks but also to understand the psychodynamics of the creation of "homegrown terrorists" in general, and the appeal of radical Islam to "In-betweeners"—young persons in a transitional phase in one or more key aspects of their lives—in particular.

ABC Interview With Osama bin Laden in 1998 -- 3 Years Before 9/11

Our battle with the Americans is larger than our battle with the Russians.
Osama bin Laden, 1998

Osama bin Laden making a video at his compound
 in Pakistan. Credit: Wiki Commons

The following 1998 interview with Osama bin Laden, 3 years before 9/11, is reposted here with permission of Middle East Forum

Usama bin Ladin: "American Soldiers Are Paper Tigers"

Middle East Quarterly
December 1998, pp. 73-79

In perhaps his most explicit and detailed statement about the United States, Usama bin Ladin spoke on May 28, 1998, in Arabic, to John Miller of ABC News in his hideaway deep in the mountains of southern Afghanistan.¹ A Saudi who became active against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan, bin Ladin uses his great wealth to advance Islamist causes, primarily through his organization Al-Qa'ida. Although his expressions are stilted and the references sometimes obscure, bin Ladin makes many candid and startling observations in the following interview about the United States that go far to explain his many terrorist assaults on Americans. The interview is reprinted (with minor stylistic alterations) by permission of ABC News.

How The Obama Administration Aids The Spread of Al Qaeda Cells

The following by Raymond Ibrahim is reposted here with permission of Middle East Forum:

The Calm Before the Jihadi Storm

by Raymond Ibrahim
The Blaze
May 23, 2013

http://www.meforum.org/3518/jihadi-storm

On this Memorial Day, it's important to remember that the very same U.S. policies that created al-Qaeda in Afghanistan in the 1980s—leading to the horrific attacks of 9/11—are today allowing al-Qaeda to metastasize all around the Muslim world. As in the 80s, these new terrorist cells are quietly gathering strength now, and are sure to deliver future terror strikes that will make 9/11 seem like child's play.

To understand this dire prediction, we must first examine the United States' history of empowering Islamic jihadis—only to be attacked by those same jihadis many years later—and the chronic shortsightedness of American policymakers, whose policies are based on their brief tenure, not America's long-term wellbeing.

Mideast Media Sampler 4/25/13: In Canada, More Simplistic Explanations To Deny Terrorism

by David Gerstman, contributing blogger at Legal Insurrection

1) Shia is Shia and Sunni is Sunni and never the twain shall meet 

A couple of Al Qaeda terrorists were arrested in Canada. So of course, expect the LA Times to start its account with this: 

Police in Canada said Monday that two men suspected of plotting to derail a passenger train were guided by Al Qaeda elements in Iran, but the statement surprised many experts who study terrorism in the Middle East and Iran. “It frankly doesn’t compute for me,” said Barbara Slavin, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. "If there is any link, I would think it was extremely tangential." 

The Assumptions Beneath Obama's Disastrous Middle East Policy

Barry Rubin writes that we are in luck: At Long Last! An Explicit Admission of What Obama Middle East Policy Believes, noting the basic assumptions upon which both the Obama administration and the media operate:

• Only al-Qaida is a real threat because only al-Qaida wants to attack the United States directly right now.
  
  
• Al-Qaida has been defeated due to the great policies of the Obama Administration.
  
  
• The remaining revolutionary Islamist groups are potential friends. After all, [sarcasm warning] they only want to seize state power, overthrow all existing relatively moderate regimes, create Sharia dictatorships, suppress women’s rights, persecute Christians, wipe Israel off the map, and drive U.S. influence out of the region.

The key to understanding what the Obama administration believes is reassuringly provided by one Robert F. Worth who writes about Al Qaeda-Inspired Groups, Minus Goal of Striking U.S..

Rubin notes:

A List of CAIR's Achievements

Powerline has been extensively covering Minnesota Democratic Fifth District congressional candidate Keith Ellison, a Moslem with ties to CAIR and Nation of Islam among others. Over the weekend, they had a post featuring a copy of a speech Joe Kaufman gave in protest of the meeting of Keith Ellison and Florida gubernatorial candidate Jim Davis with CAIR. The speech had the following useful summary of CAIR achievements:

The Council on American-Islamic Relations or CAIR was founded by three leaders of a front for the terrorist organization Hamas, in June of 1994. Since its creation:

*Four of CAIR’s officials have been charged with terrorist activities, in relation to Hamas and Al-Qaeda. Two of those officials are behind bars in the United States; the other two have been deported. One of them, Ghassan Elashi, was just sentenced, this past Thursday, to seven years in prison. Another CAIR official was listed by the U.S. Attorney’s office as a potential co-conspirator to the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center.

*CAIR has solicited money for two terrorist “charities” which were shut down shortly after the attacks on 9/11 for raising millions of dollars for Hamas and Al-Qaeda. Leaders of both these organizations were representatives of CAIR.

*CAIR has been named as a defendant in a lawsuit put forward by the family of the former Chief of the FBI’s Counter-Terrorism Section, John P. O’Neill, for his murder during the 9/11 attacks.

*CAIR’s parent organization, the Islamic Association for Palestine, in 2005, was shut down after it was found liable for the murder of an American boy, David Boim, during a Hamas terror operation in Israel.

After hearing all of this, one could easily ask the question, “Why would this organization still exist?” It’s a good question – one that I have no real answer for.

It's a question worth asking the government.

Technorati Tag: CAIR.

Will CAIR Defend Ramadan Against Sacrilege

...by Moslem Extremists?

When it came to a car ad that referred to Jihad, CAIR went on the offensive. On CAIR's website from September 23:

Some Columbus radio stations have rejected as insensitive an advertisement for a car dealership that invokes Islamic references.

...In the spot, Keith Dennis of Dennis Mitsubishi talks about "launching a jihad on the automotive market."

Sales representatives "will be wearing burqas all weekend long," the ad says. One of the vehicles on sale "can comfortably seat up to 12 jihadists in the back."

...The president of the Columbus chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, doesn't think terrorism is to be taken lightly.

"Using that as a promotional pitch when so many are dying from the criminal activity of suicide bombers, that's not funny," Mobin-Uddin said. "I don't think it's appropriate when it causes real pain. It exploits or promotes misunderstanding in terms already misunderstood or misused. That type of ad does nothing but promote discord in a very difficult time. The timing is just amazing. Maybe that's part of the shock value."

Now Fox News reports about Abu Hamza al-Muhajir — also known as Abu Ayyub al-Masri — the new leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq:

"The field of jihad (holy war) can satisfy your scientific ambitions, and the large American bases (in Iraq) are good places to test your unconventional weapons, whether biological or dirty, as they call them," said al-Muhajir. The voice could not be independently identified.

Al-Muhajir also calls on jihadists to take foreigners hostage during Ramadan so they can be used as bargaining tools to get the release of Egyptian cleric Omar Abdel Rahman, who is jailed in the United States on charges linked to the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center in New York City. [emphasis added]

According to Wikipedia, Ramadan

is considered the most venerated, blessed and holiest month. Prayers, fasting, self-accountability and charity have special association with Ramadan.

Just how does CAIR feel about Jihad being encouraged during Ramadan, and about the murder of Americans being promoted during "the most venerated, blessed and holiest month".

If they oppose an ad as inappropriate "when it causes real pain. It exploits or promotes misunderstanding," what will CAIR do when there is a call for jihad during Ramadan that causes death and explicitly exploits and promotes hate?

What will CAIR do to defend the honor of Islam and Moslems?

Hello?

Technorati Tag: CAIR and Jihad and Ramadan.

Is The Pope On A Crusade Against Islam?

That is the impression you would get if you listen to the Moslem outcry against Pope Benedict XVI's address this week at the University of Regensburg.

Near the beginning of his talk, the Pope said:

In this lecture I would like to discuss only one point -- itself rather marginal to the dialogue itself -- which, in the context of the issue of "faith and reason," I found interesting and which can serve as the starting point for my reflections on this issue.

In the seventh conversation ("diálesis" -- controversy) edited by professor Khoury, the emperor touches on the theme of the jihad (holy war). The emperor must have known that sura 2:256 reads: "There is no compulsion in religion." It is one of the suras of the early period, when Mohammed was still powerless and under [threat]. But naturally the emperor also knew the instructions, developed later and recorded in the Koran, concerning holy war.

Without descending to details, such as the difference in treatment accorded to those who have the "Book" and the "infidels," he turns to his interlocutor somewhat brusquely with the central question on the relationship between religion and violence in general, in these words: "Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."

The emperor goes on to explain in detail the reasons why spreading the faith through violence is something unreasonable. Violence is incompatible with the nature of God and the nature of the soul. "God is not pleased by blood, and not acting reasonably ("syn logo") is contrary to God's nature. Faith is born of the soul, not the body. Whoever would lead someone to faith needs the ability to speak well and to reason properly, without violence and threats.... To convince a reasonable soul, one does not need a strong arm, or weapons of any kind, or any other means of threatening a person with death...."

That one sentence apparently has the Moslem world in an uproar, asking for an apology and comparing Pope Benedict with Hitler and Mussolini.

Maybe the Moslem world has a short memory. Powerline doesn't. From 2002:

Al-Qaeda planned to assassinate Pope John Paul II on two occasions during visits made or planned by the Pontiff to the Philippines in 1995 and 1999, The Times of London reported today.

Masterminding the assassination attempts was Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, also accused of plotting the September 11 attacks on the US, who was in the Philippines during both papal visits, the newspaper reported.

Also, as has been noted at The Corner, 2 Christian reporters were forced to convert to Islam at gunpoint.

Apparently the Moslem world missed the last line of the address:

It is to this great logos, to this breadth of reason, that we invite our partners in the dialogue of cultures. To rediscover it constantly is the great task of the university.

Some of the reaction has been a little less heated. From the Guardian:

...if you cannot, as part of a lengthy and profound academic lecture, cite a 600 year-old text for fear of stirring the aggravation of noisy politicians half way around the world, what CAN you do? We might as well all retreat into obscurantism. And keep our mouths shut, for otherwise, who knows who we might offend. And if, as a result of the outrage, some Catholics get killed or their churches burned down by offended scholars and textual exegesists it might be thought that Manuel's original point had rather been made.

But all the analysis and defense of what the Pope said are worthless now:

Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday apologised for causing any offence to Muslims amid growing fury across the Islamic world over a speech he made implicitly linking Islam and violence.

“The Holy Father is extremely sorry that certain passages of his speech appeared offensive to Muslim believers and were interpreted in a way that does not correspond in any way to his intentions,” said the Vatican’s new secretary of state, Tarcisio Bertone.

If someone is going to criticize Islam, they should first be sure they are able to stand up to the fierce rhetoric--and more--that the Moslem world will dish out.

Update: Arutz Sheva points out that Pope Doesn´t Quite Apologize to Muslims.

If so, then whatever will come of Pope Benedict's words has not yet run its course.

The Anchoress puts it this way:

Whether he is “media savvy” or not, Benedict has managed - in his very scholarly fashion - to apply a very hot drawing poultice to the enormous and festering boils of both radical Islamism and rampant secularism.

All the more reason to hope that the Pope has thought this thing through
The Anchoress has all kinds of links on the subject and in a subsequent post here.

If the JBlogosphere is looking for an opportunity to help focus attention on the threat of Islamism, here it is.

Technorati Tag: Pope Benedict XVI and Islam.

Will Mearsheimer and Walt Come Out With A Paper On This?

From Reuters:

Muslims urged to buy influence in world media

RIYADH (Reuters) - Muslim tycoons should buy stakes in global media outlets to help change anti-Muslim attitudes around the world, ministers from Islamic countries heard at a conference in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.

Information ministers and officials meeting under the auspices of the 57-nation Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), the world's largest Islamic body, said Islam faced vilification after the September 11 attacks, when 19 Arabs killed nearly 3,000 people in U.S. cities in 2001.

"Muslim investors must invest in the large media institutions of the world, which generally make considerable profits, so that they have the ability to affect their policies via their administrative boards," OIC chief Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu told the gathering in the Saudi city of Jeddah.

"This would benefit in terms of correcting the image of Islam worldwide," he said, calling on Muslim countries to set up more channels in widely-spoken foreign languages.

Muslim stakes in Western media are minimal. Billionaire Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal owns 5.46 percent of media conglomerate News Corp., the Rupert Murdoch-run group behind the Fox News Channel. The U.S. channel is generally seen as right-wing and no friend of Arab or Muslim interests.

Washington's response to September 11, invading Afghanistan and Iraq and tightening civil freedoms at home as part of a wider "war on terror", has created a widespread feeling among Muslims worldwide that their religion is under attack.

A row earlier this year over Danish cartoons that depicted the Prophet Mohammed deepened the sense of a divide between Islamic culture and the West.

"The fierce attack on Islam in the five years since the September 11 attacks has forced us into a defensive position on our faith and understanding of our tolerant religion," Egyptian Information Minister Anas el-Feki said in a speech.

"Now more than ever we need a new Islamic media message that reaches all parts of the world," Feki said, citing Israel's recent 34-day war in Lebanon as one issue where Muslims needed to make their views and influence felt. [emphasis added]

Let's put aside the current pro-Arab slant of the media that brought us ReutersGate has consistently bent to the will of Moslem pressure and threats.

The story on its face is misleading. Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal's stake in Fox News is hardly minimal. From December of last year:

Al-Walid also criticised US media which he described as "in general ... pro-Israel." But he also accused Arabs of not being pro-active in fighting the allegedly slanted media.

He said that during last month's street protests in France, the US television network Fox -- owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation in which Al-Walid himself has shares -- ran a banner saying: "Muslim riots."

"I picked up the phone and called Murdoch... (and told him) these are not Muslim riots, these are riots out of poverty," he said.

"Within 30 minutes, the title was changed from Muslim riots to civil riots."

Only 30 minutes?

Maybe Reuters should make that:

Muslims urged to buy even more influence in world media

Another issue is the potetial election of the first Muslim to the US Congress--Keith Ellison of Minnesota. Nothing wrong with that, except for the groups he is accepting help--and money--from.

Joel Mowbray notes that Ellison has received help from CAIR:

Two of its officials have been convicted on terrorism charges, and as an organization, while CAIR forcefully attacks critics of radical Islam, it has yet to condemn by name any Islamic terror organization other than al Qaeda—which it denounced only reluctantly several months after 9/11.

CAIR’s former communications and civil rights coordinator was convicted in 2004 on terror-related charges of plotting to wage violent jihad against the U.S., and the founder of its Texas branch last year was convicted of terror-related charges.

Mowbray points out that Ellison has also received aid from other questionable sources:

Also of concern are other contributors to Ellison’s campaign.

* Shahzeb Gaziani gave $500 on July 22. He is an official with the Peace and Justice Foundation, whose president was a featured speaker at a December 2004 event titled, “A tribute to the great Islamic visionary Ayatollah Khomenei.” Khomenei, of course, called America the “Great Satan,” was responsible for the kidnappings of Americans at the Embassy in Tehran, and his regime helped create Hezbollah.

* Esam Omeish, who gave $500, is president of the Muslim American Society, which authorities believe is the political front in the U.S. for the Muslim Brotherhood, which is the ideological forerunner of al Qaeda and many other Islamic terrorist organizations.

* Samir Abo Issa gave $500 on July 22. In 2003, he helped post bail for Abdelhaleem Ashqar, who is now facing trial on terror-related money laundering charges.

Mowbray also did a five part piece on Ellison at Powerline. In the last part, Mowbray writes that

A Minnesotan who does not support Keith Ellison e-mailed me his contention that I needed "something more damning than a list of checks." The problem with Keith Ellison winning the Democratic primary tomorrow in the very blue MN-05 district is much more than just the people from whom he's received
checks.

Ellison has tried to downplay his history with the Nation of Islam and its ugly penchant for racism and anti-Semitism. His willing association currently with people who are self-identified Hamas supporters, such as Awad, or any of his ilk undercuts any claim that Ellison has genuinely evolved. Anyone truly outraged by hatemongering or anti-Semitism would never accept money donated or collected by the likes of Awad, let alone stand next to him as he headlines a fundraiser.

But beyond that, we need to recognize on this 5th anniversary of 9/11 that our war is not just a military struggle or even one against supporters of terrorism. People like Nihad Awad, Shahzeb Gaziani, and Esam Omeish cannot be allowed into legitimate circles.

It's not enough to oppose "terrorism." One must also be vocal in opposing the root cause of most terrorism today: radical Islamic theology which demonizes Jews, Christians, and Americans, and holds that any non-Islamic government is inherently illegitimate.

Awad, CAIR, and Muslim-American Society, among others, are extremely vocal in their opposition, but never against radical Islam, only against its critics. They serve as the intimidation industry, doing their best to stifle even legitimate debate. They have successfully instilled fear in the media and government, which is precisely why Ellison's past with the Nation of Islam received such scant attention in the local mainstream media. Had it not been for Minnesota Democrats Exposed or Power Line, local MSM likely would have ignored it altogether.

Make no mistake about it: CAIR is an enemy of free speech, and thus an obstacle in our struggle to preserve freedom. A genuine Muslim civil rights organization could have been beneficial not just to Muslims, but the public at large. But that's not the path chosen by CAIR, who instead primarily savages critics of radical Islam, while maintaining silence on Islamic terrorism and its root cause.

CAIR already enjoys far too much legitimacy for an organization founded by two men who have both expressed explicit support for Islamic terrorism. Imagine what would happen if CAIR's executive director can claim credit for helping elect the first-ever Muslim Congressman.

It is not about denying the right to fight anti-Moslem sterotypes.
It is not about denying a Muslim the opportunity to be elected to Congress.

It is about recognizing the existence of radical Islamism, both around the world and here in the United States--and combatting it even as we acknowledge that radical Islamism does not speak on behalf of all Moslems.

CAIR is part of the problem, not the solution.
Keith Ellison has shown signs of ignoring the existence of the problem.

The issue is not Moslem influence; it is what they are doing with it.

Technorati Tag: Media Bias and Israel and Moslems.

Psssst: Israel Has A Quiet Victory--Pass It On...

I am on an email list with the New York Israeli Consulate, and received today a copy of an article appearing in Haaretz by Amir Reshef-Gissin, the head of the Foreign Ministry's Public Affairs Department.

Take a look.

Israel's quiet victory

Radical Islam increasingly perceived as strategic threat to West

The second Lebanon war is an up-to-date and clear example of the doctrine that modern war is decided not only on the battlefield. As gaps in the military power of the warring sides grow, the decision moves to the arena of media and consciousness.

The point is that apparently Israel fully appreciated the importance of hasbarah and the media, made every effort to win in this vital area--and yet still fell short.

An example of this is the Israeli spokespeople during the war. One of the myths associated with Israeli public relations efforts for generations is the centrality of the speakers: If only we find someone like Abba Eben or Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel would be able to win the battle over media coverage and public opinion.

Contending with images of Beirut

During the month of war, this myth fully collapsed: The State of Israel deployed coherent men and women featuring clear messages and boosted by the Israeli consensus who submitted to hundreds of interviews on dozens of TV channels.

In CNN alone, Israeli government spokespeople submitted to 400 minutes of interviews in the first two weeks of the war, constituting about 10 percent of the total airtime dedicated to the war.

On the other hand, Arab spokespeople were only interviewed for 30 minutes. Did the fact that Israeli spokespeople received so much more airtime than their opponents decide the outcome of the media war? The answer is negative. After all, the Israelis were not required to contend with their Arab colleagues, but rather, with the images of destruction and victims from Beirut.

And where were images of the suffering, hurting Israeli home front taken by dozens of foreign media crews operating from media centers set up by the Foreign Ministry in Haifa and the upper Galilee? They were cut due to editing considerations because they failed to match the narrative presented.

Yet despite this loss on the media battlefield, Reshef-Gissin claims there is still a fundamental victory that Israel has achieved:

All of the above is in plain view of the Israeli news consumer, but the most important things are hidden from view. The dust left behind by the military campaign along with the heavy price of those killed and kidnapped, the media fog and the waves of criticism, all combine to hide a fundamental Israeli achievement:

The decline of the narrative that argues that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and particularly the equation of Goliath (us) against David (them), are the exclusive reason for Middle Eastern instability.

To support this claim, he cites:

Public opinion surveys commissioned by the Foreign Ministry in recent weeks in the United States and leading European countries showed the maturity of the public's understanding of our new regional reality.

Indeed, the surveys showed wide identification of the two coalitions – the moderate one, which includes Egypt, Jordan, Palestinian leader Abbas and Lebanese PM Siniora, vis-à-vis the radical coalition of Iran, Syria, Hizbullah, Hamas, and al-Qaeda too.

In the wake of the war, radical Islam is increasingly perceived as a strategic threat on the West that is not merely a reaction to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This is a new reality that is comfortable for Israel.

First of all, if in fact the narrative is changing and there is a perception that the issue is not just the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but rather the threat of radical Islamism--is this new perception really the result of a "fundamental Israeli achievement," or merely the result of the fact that radical Islamists keep trying to blow up people?

Second, if the Israeli government really believes that Egypt and Abbas fall into the moderate camp, perhaps it is time for those clever Israeli PR people to perhaps define for us just what is a Moslem moderate.

Thirdly, if in fact "radical Islam is increasingly perceived as a strategic threat on the West that is not merely a reaction to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," why are incidents of Anti-semitism also on the rise?

How quiet can a victory be--and still be a victory?

Technorati Tag: Israel and Islamism and Media.