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While the US military hunts down Osama Bin Laden and the other errorists in the Middle East, similar terrorists have been sneaking past enemy lines for years into America’s backyard virtually undetected. Instead of attacking America with suicide bombs and improvised explosive devices, they re using America’s own laws and culture, sabotaging its way of life from within and converting peaceful, moderate Muslims to the hateful, violent version of Islam known as radical Islam. The radical Islam message to the western world, the West, is chilling; Islam will dominate!
Radical Islam is a religious ideology that stretches beyond a person practicing his beliefs longside others of different religious beliefs. It stretches beyond spreading the word to others that will listen in an effort to convey their deep belief in their religion’s truthfulness. It stretches beyond voting for a representative that will politically fight to defend the moral doctrines of their religion. It stretches beyond all forms of co-existence With anyone who is not Muslim and even fellow moderate Muslims that will not adhere to its interpretation of Islam.
Radical Islamist Americans will not be content until Islamic law, Shari ‘a, as stated in the Quran replaces the Bible, the Torah, and the Constitution. If violence must be used to achieve this, violence is used, and believed to be condoned by Allah. I have not seen radical Islamic violence such as Hasan’s attack firsthand, nor have I secretly attended an anti-West Muslim meeting or been to a mosque where the imam is openly spreading Jewish hatred, but have had extensive contact with Muslims while I was a Mormon Missionary in England.
My experience with Muslims through religious debates illustrated their extreme passion for Islam. On many occasions they were loud and angry throughout the debates. For this reason many of the missionaries tayed away from Muslim areas to avoid unpleasant confrontation. However, not all of the Muslims I encountered were overly passionate. I remember speaking with a Muslim in a shopping area, the result being a lengthy, courteous, two-sided religious conversation that was highly educational and rewarding.
On another occasion a Muslim invited us to his home to discuss Islam. He graciously served us traditional Arabian dishes that we ate with him and his family. Afterwards we sat in their living room and spoke about Islam and Christianity peacefully for the rest of the evening. These two encounters nd a lot of the more passionate encounters were with Muslims that are considered to be moderate Muslims. It is these moderate Muslims, which are the majority in the world of Islam, that are satisfied with living Islam peacefully in the West.
The radical Islamists want to convert these moderate Muslims into radicals. The part that is scary and unrealized by Americans is the numbers of Muslims that desire radical Islam’s domination are far greater than the government or the media portray, and many are highly educated with decent incomes. Daniel Pipes, author of Militant Islam Reaches America, oard member of the IJS Institute of Peace, former Professor of History at Harvard, the University of Chicago, and Pepperdine, says in The Third Jihad that 10-15% of Muslims support militant Islam.
That is at least 150 million Muslims in the world that support militant Islam, half the population of the United States, and that number is growing rapidly alongside Islam as the fastest growing religion world-wide. The Pew Research Center found 1 in 4 American Muslims aged 18-29 believe suicide bombing is sometimes an acceptable means to defend Islam (Muslim Americans). In addition, 47% Of Muslim Americans think of themselves as a Muslim first and an American second. In the UK, Germany, and Spain that percentage is even higher, ranging from 66% in Germany all the way up to 81% in the LJK.
These strong Islamic loyalties among the moderate Muslim youths living in the the West are breeding grounds for conversion to radical Islam by the already established radical Islamists living alongside them. The biggest reason Americans are unaware there are many Islamic radicals living amongst them (not just a few terrorist sleeper cells living in hiding) is due to radicals disguising themselves as peaceful, moderate Muslims. These radicals are fully aware they can not conquer the West through military force, so they have adopted a new strategy: domination from within.
In order to accomplish this, they need a Trojan horse. Their Trojan horse is using our own laws and culture against us as internal sabotage while rallying support of impressionable moderate Muslims, all done behind the scenes. The most prevalent venue for internal sabotage is through organizations which appear to be moderate, but underneath are radical. They put up a faqade of creating an understanding of Islam and justice for human rights, regardless of religion, ut instead they desire the opposite of what they preach.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAR) is America’s largest Islamic civil liberties group and is a perfect example of this sabotage. On their website they state “CAIR’s mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding” (Council). CAIR was co-founded in 1 994 by Nihad Awad and Omar Ahmad (Islamic Association For Palestine). Nihad Awad is a former president of the Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP) nd Omar Ahmad is a former public relations director for the IAP (Islamic Association For Palestine).
In addition to the past connection with the IAP concerning Ahmad and Awad, CAIR was labeled a front organization for the IAP by two former FBI counter-terrorism chiefs, Steve Pomerantz and Oliver Revell (Islamic Association For Palestine, Farah, Joseph). The IAP was founded by Mousa Mohammed Abu Marzook in 1981 in Richardson, Texas and terminated in 2005 (Islamic Association of Palestine). Marzook was a political leader for Hamas and was designated a terrorist by the US Department of the Treasury (Key Issues).
In addition, the US government stated that the IAP was a front for Hamas (McCormick, Evan). Hamas is a Palestinian group that is on the US State Department List of Foreign Terrorist Organizations, and has been labeled a terrorist group by the European Union, Canada, Israel, and Japan (Hamas). In 2006 Hamas won almost two-thirds of the seats in the Palestinian Authority parliamentary elections, giving it control of the Palestinian region (Hamas). CAIR denies any connection to Hamas, and when asked to condemn Hamas publicly, CAIR representatives refuse to do so Shore, Raphael).
Moreover, in 2006, CAIR representative Joe Badran stated to the F-ort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel “Hamas and Hezbollah are committing acts of defense against the acts of the Israelis. The only weapons that we have are to strap bombs on our bodies and do whatever damage and destruction we can” (Kaufman, Joe). Unfortunately, CAIR is not the only Muslim American organization with ties to radical Islam. In 1991 a memorandum of the Muslim Brotherhood was obtained by the US government entitled “An Explanatory Memorandum on the General Strategic Goal for the Group in North America” Farah, Douglas).
In the memorandum the brotherhood states “The Ikhwan [Arabic for brothers] must understand that their work in America is a kind of grand Jihad [holy war] in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and sabotaging its miserable house by their hands…. ” At the end Of the memorandum there is an attachment that is “a list Of our organizations and the organizations of our friends. ” There are 29 Muslim American organizations on the list. These organizations go to a lot of trouble to disguise their intentions as being honorable which fools most Americans, ven the truly moderate Muslims.
Major Hasan was a moderate Muslim until his conversion to radical Islam by Anwar al Awlaki, a radical Islamic religious leader. Rep. Peter Hoekstra, the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee confirmed the U. S. government knew of 10 to 20 e-mails between Hasan and Awlaki (Rotella, Sebastian, and Josh Meyer). Former FBI agent Brad Garrett stated “Awlaki is known as a senior recruiter for al Qaeda” (Chuchmach, Megan, and Brian Ross). Although the investigation into Hasan’s attack is still underway, the contact with Awlaki is the first indication that
Hasan was in direct communication with radical Muslims, suggesting that prior to this Hasan was moderate in his religious beliefs. Awlaki is an American Muslim born in New Mexico that served as an imam, an Islamic religious leader, in Denver, San Diego, and Falls Church, Virginia. Awlaki, like CAIR, is an example of radical Muslims portraying themselves as moderate Muslims when under the peaceful surface they desire the destruction of the West. After 9/1 1 Awlaki expressed disapproval of the violence displayed that day, but after leaving America for Yemen he posted content on his website hich tells a different story.
The blog on his website states “Nidal Hassan is a hero. He is a man of conscience who could not bear the contradiction of being a Muslim and fighting against his own people. No scholar with a grain of Islamic knowledge can deny the clear cut proofs that Muslims today have the right rather the duty ” to fight against American tyranny” (Clouthier, Melissa). Clouthier says Hasan “complained to commanders about being sent to an unjust war,” making it clear his loyalties towards America’s war against radical Islam were questionable. Furthermore, Hasan gave a presentation on
Islam in a class that called for a presentation on a medical topic. According to Dana Priest of the Washington post the doctors that attended Hasan’s presentation “looked really upset” when he was done presenting, and that his conclusion contained a slide that read “Fighting to establish an Islamic State to please God, even by force, is condoned by Islam. ” Hasan was not scrutinized about his loyalties when it was clear that he was a threat. Hasan’s commanders were worried their concerns about Hasan’s loyalties would be considered insensitive or politically incorrect (Warraq, Ibn).
Hasan’s commanders’ concerns present a problem and a solution to radical Islam’s slow boiling of America. The weapon being used by radical Islam against America today is its culture which bends whenever something is said or done that has the remote chance of offending a sub-culture that is highly sensitive, no matter how outrageous the claim may be. Two Muslim American women are currently suing McDonalds for not hiring them because they refused to work without their hijabs (Muslim head scarves) (Warikoo, Niraj).
One wonders if a lawsuit like this would be filed if two Amish women were not ired by McDonalds for a similar reason. The radical Islamist organizations push this attitude of changing America to fit Islam’s ways, crossing the line from peaceful religious observance into religious dominance. An example of this is when CAIR stepped into a sensitive issue concerning Dell Inc. and some of its temporary Muslim American workers. The workers complained that they were not being allowed paid breaks throughout the day for their Islamic prayers.
Dell’s initial reaction was denial of the request (Auchard, Eric). CAIR immediately stepped in, put social and legal pressure on Dell, and demanded hat Dell change its policies to accommodate the workers. Dell bent over in every direction to comply. If Christian or Jewish organizations had demanded similar concessions for their religious desires, would Dell have caved in? One of the ways becoming less politically correct can be implemented is through immigration. The immigration laws as they stand today are not as effective as they could be (Pipes, Daniel 253).
Political correctness implies that targeting certain groups is considered insensitive and unfair to that group, but if the outcome of that ‘insensitivity prevents Shari’a being enforced and Americans eing killed, then ‘insensitivity must be implemented. It is important to note, however, that Americans must also find a balance between unjust persecution and honest scrutiny for this solution to be effective. If the line is crossed, the danger of pushing moderate Muslims into radical Muslims will become a reality.
Another solution that will wake up Americans (Muslim Americans and non-Muslim Americans) is education. Only through education can America achieve the balance between unjust persecution and honest scrutiny. Education is critical to understanding any problem, which is the first tep to solving it. A good example of this is the destruction of a house by termites. Termites kill houses slowly by burrowing into the house and destroying it from within. The infiltration of termites is not easily seen but once identified the house can be saved.
It is crucial to identify the problem early because the longer treatment is delayed, the more damage termites will do. The same is true for radical Islam’s infiltration of America. Through research, the serious threat radical Islam poses within America and the ways it can be fought becomes clear. Radical Islam has not been identified clearly y the CJS government, media, or military. Moreover, it is being mislabeled and distorted by the government and media, a situation that can be remedied by thorough research from all viewpoints in the form of books, articles, and documentaries.
After 9/11 President Bush vaguely identified the cause of the attack as “terrorism,” labeled the persons responsible for the attack “evildoers,” and launched a “war on terror” to fight the problem. These blanketed statements neither educated Americans the cause of the attacks was an ideology known as radical Islam, nor proposed any clear solutions for efeating it. Eight years after the attacks the knowledge being handed down to Americans concerning the war against terrorism from the government is still unclear. The media is not handling the issue any better.
It not only reiterated Bush’s commentary shortly after 9/11, spreading the ignorance, but it focuses mainly on the violent attacks by radical Islam without also explaining the reason they were perpetrated. A final way to solve the problem is through moderate Muslims rising up to attack radical Islam. No matter how thoroughly non-Muslims research radical Islam or how honestly hey scrutinize perceived radical Islamist threats, moderate Muslim Americans are the only ones that can conquer militant Islam in the end.
The good news of radical Islam is although there are many Muslims that want radical Islam to cover the earth, there are greater numbers of Muslims who want radical Islam eradicated. The bad news is few moderate Muslims are stepping forward to publicly condemn radical Islam. This is partly due to the effectiveness of radical Islam’s infiltration. In addition to the majority of Muslim American organizations’ radical roots, the vast majority Of imams in he military and prison system are radical Muslims.