The Fifth Column Report

An important story is developing at the University of California Irvine Campus, where the local chapter of the College Republicans is planning a panel discussion on Islamic extremism. As part of the forum, the Danish cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammed as well as various anti-Semitic and anti-Western cartoons published in Muslim newspapers will be displayed.

Muslim students and CAIR have raised objections, naturally not to the showing of anti-Semitic and anti-Western material, but to the featuring of the Danish cartoons. According to the LA Times, Muslim students see this as a "provocation". Further, they intimate that the cartoons "will incite violence locally". CAIR has also supported the Muslim students' assertions, printing an "action alert" on their website.

Developing...

Apart from weapons training, bomb construction and other nefarious activities, the indicted co-conspirators were just ordinary guys according to the mainstream media. In fact, the Toledo Blade produced this dribble which described one of the bums as a, "sensitive artist".

As details slowly emerge about the perpetrators, the more one should be concerned. El-Hindi spent time as a prison "Imam", undoubtedly filling the minds of prisoners with "jihadi" rhetoric. More concerning was that this man moved relatively easily through Muslim communities in New York, Michigan, Oregon, and Ohio, undoubtedly receiving assistance along the way. Of note, El-Hindi was arrested in 1991 for receiving stolen property and was convicted of a misdemeanor related to a property issue.

In an un-related effort, one of the two original Virginia Jihadists found not guilty, Sabri Benkahla was indicted again on charges of lying to a grand jury. How quickly we forget about the pervasiveness of "The Fifth Column."

Back in January, defense lawyers for the Lodi. CA men accused of assisting Al-Qaeda sought dismissal of the case. The good news is that the case is finally moving forward and the trial is imminent. Unfortunately, media leaks are rife and the government is moving forward to aggressively curtail them. Jury selection is in process and although the pair are to be tried together, they will be afforded independent juries. An excellent summary can be found here. Hopefully, this trial will conclude swiftly and justly.

Muzammil Ahmed, Board Member of the Michigan Chapter of CAIR recently crafted a response to the appearance of Danish cartoons and ensuing violence. While the headline claims that the letter "aims for healing", reading between the lines reveals a different message:

Nearly 60 years ago, perhaps one of the most powerful post-war speeches in history was delivered. The message is as relevant today as it was when it was uttered on that blustery day in March of 1946 (March 6th to be precise). So, with apologies to Sir Winston Churchill I've included some of the most pertinent highlights:

The Muslim world has exploded recently in violent outbursts over the publication of cartoons lampooning the prophet Muhammad in an obscure Danish newspaper, Jyllands-Posten. The images, which appeared in September of last year, were created by 12 different cartoonists as part of a discussion of free speech. According to Wikipedia, "the cultural editor of Jyllands-Posten, commissioned twelve cartoonists to draw them and published the cartoons in response to the difficulty that Danish writer Kåre Bluitgen had finding artists to illustrate his children's book about Muhammad, because the artists feared violent attacks by extremist Muslims.

The Danish writer had great foresight, as violence has indeed been the Muslim response. To date, violent protests have occurred throughout the Muslim world culminating in the burning of the Danish embassies in Damascus and Beirut and the deaths of several protesters. Additionally, rather aggressive protests have been staged throughout Europe including cries for "behead(ing) those who insult Islam." Ironically, due to "vandalism" Wikipedia had to restrict any editing on this topic.

Surprisingly, American newspapers have generally avoided the controversy while American - Muslims' reactions have been more subdued. CAIR and other Arab American organizations including the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee have issued a series of statements condemning the violence stemming from the cartoons' publication. But these organizations and the protesters interviewed seem to be more concerned with the Muslim community’s conviction, "that the controversy is not an issue of free speech, but is instead based on concerns over hate speech and incitement." Even the ADL, issued a statement about the cartoons calling them, "troubling" and urging newspapers to, "take into account the sensitivities of racial, ethnic and religious groups.”

While it appears that the American Muslim organizations have suddenly become concerned with justice and an aversion of "hate speech", they are noticeably silent on the fact that the Arab media is rife with anti-Semitic caricatures, cartoons, and videos. The ADL correctly observes, "What has been overlooked in the controversy is the fact that despicable anti-Jewish caricatures appear daily in newspapers across the Arab and Muslim world. While invoking the supposed "freedom of the press" in their countries, Arab and Muslim leaders have refused to take any action to stem the drumbeat of anti-Semitism in widely circulated newspapers, many state-sponsored. Indeed, leaders of regimes such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia have virtually ignored appeals from the United States and Jewish organizations to put an end to incitement in their media, excusing it in the name of "freedom of the press." One would hope that leaders of Arab and Muslim countries would turn all of the anger being aimed at the European press into a larger lesson for their own people about the power of images." In fact, even Arab American Newspapers have printed anti-Semitic cartoons!

About the Danish cartoons, Kareem Shora of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), had the chutzpah to say, "This (controversy) echoes the historical problems that Europeans had with anti-Semitism." Yet he failed to acknowledge the constant discharge of anti-Christian and anti-Jewish sentiment which percolates endlessly throughout the Arab world. When a reporter in New York asked some Muslim protesters about the demeaning caricatures of Jews that regularly appear in Middle Eastern newspapers, a group of teenaged girls holding picket signs said that the comparison was false.

CAIR Rallies To Defend Terrorist

CAIR joined a coalition of Arab American groups, The Chicago Tribune, and others to file briefs protesting Federal Judge Amy St. Eve's ruling to close her court during sensitive testimony in the trial against suspected terrorist, Muhammad Salah.

Background: Muhammad Salah, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Jordan was arrested and had his assets seized in 1998. It wasn't until 2004 that he and two other co-conspirators were indicted by a Grand Jury on RICO violations of money laundering for the terrorist group HAMAS. According to the DOJ, Salah "traveled throughout the United States and to London, Israel and the West Bank and the Gaza Strip on behalf of Hamas, meeting with its leaders and members, recruiting and training new members in the United States, and disbursing money from the United States to directly support the activities of Hamas." The five-count indictment also sought forfeiture of approximately $2.7 million - not a bad stash for a gentleman whose occupation was listed as a "used car salesman". The indictment can be found here.

Salah was just one of at least 94 known terrorists operating on U.S. soil.

More troubling is CAIR's defense of and association with a suspected terrorist. Contrast CAIR's reaction with that of the ADL when Irv Rubin, leader of the JDL was arrested on alleged acts of terrorism. CAIR continues to portray itself as a mainstream Muslim "civil rights and advocacy group", yet their actions speak otherwise.

Muslims Challenge Law & Liquor in Oakland, CA

The selling of liquor is legal and regulated by the State of California, so why would this upset Muslim leaders in Oakland, CA? That question was punctuated by a rally in front of City Hall and a march held to intimidate shop keepers from selling alcohol this past Saturday. According to two reports (SF Chronicle & Inside Bay Area), approximately 150 Bay Area Muslims gathered to protest the sale of liquor store owners, many of whom are Muslims themselves.

Recalling the attacks on Oakland liquor stores a few weeks ago by assailants identified to be associated with a local Muslim bakery, Faheem Shuaibe, resident imam of the Masjidul Waritheen mosque in East Oakland noted, "It was the right intent, but simply done in the wrong way."

According to the Inside Bay Area, “The march and rally were planned by Muslims and mosque officers from all over the Bay Area.

But initially it looked like a march by supporters and associates of Your Black Muslim Bakery, Inc. The march of 75 men, women and children was preceded by three luxury cars, a Chevrolet Suburban, a Lexus and a BMW, each carrying distinctive red-and-white crescent flags.
A phalanx of men in black coats ran alongside the cars, ahead of the marchers. The group stopped at liquor stores along the route, and Your Black Muslim Bakery representatives stationed themselves like sentries at the door of each store.”

Where were the police during all of this? Isn't it a crime to intimidate minorities in this country? Aren't U.S. laws the basis for our societal governance? Since when did religious doctrine trump our legal doctrine. These developments are quite scary indeed.