Jihad Watch: "Hundreds of Islamic centers in the United States have become a hot-bed of extremist activity; they promote violence, terrorism and hatred against America"

June 13, 2007

"Hundreds of Islamic centers in the United States have become a hot-bed of extremist activity; they promote violence, terrorism and hatred against America"

Nothing really surprising here. This tallies with what the Center for Religious Freedom discovered in 2005. This piece, like the Center for Religious Freedom's report, blames Wahhabism and ignores the wider problem, but it's at least some contrast to the PC falsehoods that ordinarily dominate the public discourse on this topic.

"Private undercover team exposes nationwide network of radical, anti-U.S. Islamic centers," from Insight, with thanks to all who sent this in:

Hundreds of Islamic centers in the United States have become a hot-bed of extremist activity; they promote violence, terrorism and hatred against America.
“Our initial investigation has concluded there are between 400 to 500 radical Islamic centers in the U.S.,” said David Gaubatz, the director of counterintelligence and counterterrorism for the Society of Americans for National Existence. “In those places, they preach an extreme version of Islam that says America and the West is the enemy. They espouse violence, hatred and the need for terrorism.”

Gaubatz is a former senior U.S. intelligence official, who now works for the Mapping Shari’a in America Project (www.mappingsharia.com), which is supported by SANE, a national non-profit group devoted to investigating the 2,300 Islamic centers in the U.S. for extremist activity.

Gaubatz and his investigators are currently active and will soon form a team of about 12. They pose as people interested in converting to Islam or who are current Muslims. Their goal is to infiltrate mosques and Muslim centers. Recently, he and his team penetrated the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center, located in Falls Church, Virginia, a suburb of Washington, D.C.

Sporting a beard and Muslim dress, Gaubatz said he went on May 18 to the center, pretending to be an American interested in becoming a convert to Islam. He discovered the center espoused terrorism and jihad against America.

Odd. Why dress that way if you're just posing as someone interested in converting?

“They are teaching what they call Jihad Qital, which means physical jihad,” Gaubatz said. “They’re teaching violence and hatred of the United States.”
Gaubatz said that he met the two primary clerics at Dar Al-Hijrah, Imam Shaker Elsayed and Imam Johari Abdulmalik. Both men have been trained in Saudi Arabia. He says another key individual is Yusef Estes, an informal senior leader at the center and an internationally influential Muslim scholar who was trained in Saudi Arabia.

“They put me through the process of learning their faith and ideology,” Gaubatz said. “They felt close to me and they gave me literature and CDs. They told me to study. The literature is very Jihad Qital.”

He said that the Islamic center has deep ties to Saudi Arabia and espouses Wahhabism, a virulent and puritanical version of Islam.

“Many members of the mosque provided me literature to study. Most of the literature they gave me was from Saudi Arabia,” he said. “Their literature preaches that America and the West are decadent and evil, and that Muslims have a moral duty to engage in violence against the infidels.”

Read it all.

Posted by Robert at June 13, 2007 11:19 AM
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Comments
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Oh gosh, I'm totally surprised! Isn't Islam a religion of peace? Aren't Muslims just like every
other religious group in America?

You people must be like, Islamophobes, or something!
I've read stuff from Muslims saying that they've never been to a mosque in America that teaches
anything but peace and love and all that. Don't
you know that Kumbaya was written by Muhammad?
What's wrong with you?

Posted by: root_cause

at June 13, 2007 11:32 AM

Sporting a beard and Muslim dress, Gaubatz said he went on May 18 to the center, pretending to be an American interested in becoming a convert to Islam. He discovered the center espoused terrorism and jihad against America.
from the article.

Robert suggested it was odd but I don't think so. It's a variant on "when in Rome do as the Romans do". Surely these centers are on the lookout for "spies". An American in a suit or even casual clothing might arouse suspicion. By dressing in Muslim garb he shows that he is willing to set himself apart from other Americans and has taken some preliminary steps to learn about Islam and wants to know more.

Posted by: PMK

at June 13, 2007 11:42 AM

He lost me here:

“We have a team consisting of Christians, Jews and Muslims—there are several Muslims, in fact, on our team—who go undercover and try to penetrate radical mosques in this country,” he said. “This is not about being anti-Muslim. It is about being anti-extremism, anti-Jihadism and anti-terrorism.

I do support Gaubatz's effort to expose the threat at every level. . .But islam IS about being anti-infidel. Islam is a supremacist belief system and I fail to see where supremacy can be distinguished as not extreme. I don't trust any muslim.

Posted by: justamomof4

at June 13, 2007 11:43 AM

Wahhabi is Islam's way of 'getting it right'.
If it is known where these 'center's and mosque's' are located, the imam's should be arrested for sedition, and plotting the overthrow of America. Any hate teaching in any mosque, or Islamic center, should be considered sedition, any physical training or jihad theory, or any exhortation to violence, should be considered a crime against the US gov, and the people. These people, if citizen's are treasonous, and poisonous. They dont deserve to live in America, and have proved it...

Posted by: duh_swami

at June 13, 2007 11:44 AM

400 to 500 radical flying spaghetti monster centers in the U.S?

Will somebody please tell me why, if the lord of all worlds (Allah) is so powerful, Muslims have to take things into their own hands and act in violence? Can't the master of the universe (Allah) just prove it by at least lifting his pinky? After all, as the readership here can imagine, the all knowing-all seeing ruler (Allah) should at least be able to shove a lighting bolt up me arse and convert me to the truth right?

Ok, maybe that's hoping for too much PROOF!

Now that these centers of hatred are out in the open, lets say we petition our political and law enforcement "leaders" to shut ALL them down. I'm pretty sure that the flying spaghetti monster (Allah) isn't going to stop us anyway.

Still waiting for that lightning bolt Allah...Allah? Hello?....hmmph, guess he's just a jihadis imaginary friend after all.

Posted by: Quantum Infidel

at June 13, 2007 11:48 AM

“Many members of the mosque provided me literature to study. Most of the literature they gave me was from Saudi Arabia,” he said. “Their literature preaches that America and the West are decadent and evil, and that Muslims have a moral duty to engage in violence against the infidels.”

“The ultimate goal for those at Dar Al-Hijrah is to instill Sharia law in the U.S. and have America adhere to the Islamic faith,” he said. “They want America to be an Islamic state.”

Here they are saying upfront what their goal is but the ROP apologists and the PC crowd will continue to insist that views like this "are a minority in Islam" and that America "must not surrender to fear".

[Gaubatz] says that a terrorist atrocity on U.S. soil similar to what happened on 9/11 is inevitable unless Americans take decisive measures.

“If we let our guard down, another 9/11—maybe even something worse—is going to happen again,” he said. “We need to be proactive rather than reactive.”

And what does that mean? Police can't enter mosques. Americans who report suspected terrorist activity risk being sued. The suit might be groundless but it will still cost time, money and aggravation before it is dismissed. The 1st Amendment means that jihadists can continue to "practice their religion" until they finally DO attack us. Meanwhile we are denounced as paranoid Islamophobes. Bush would never stop or even severely limit Muslim immigration and neither will the next president, unless his name is Tancredo. So all of us are just going to have to grin and bear it, I guess.

Suddenly New York City looks safer than small town America.

Posted by: PMK

at June 13, 2007 11:53 AM

A must read:

http://www.canadafreepress.com/2007/cover061107h.htm

Posted by: CGW

at June 13, 2007 12:10 PM

OK, bulldoze the mosques that teach jihad (90%) and deport radical muslims beginning with the imams.

Said this four years ago. Obvious but politically incorrect.

Posted by: dgene

at June 13, 2007 12:23 PM

"If it is known where these 'center's and mosque's' are located..."

Posted by: duh_swami

Unfortunately, that may NOT be the case. I had just read today a 2003 article by Daniel Pipes about how all the usual suspects howled when the FBI tried to count mosques.

I think the gov't does try, but then gets tangled in some legal or guilt-ridden dilemma at the hands of these groups or by those in Congress or the White House. I'm sick of it, 'cause I just see it happen too often.

So, I guess we're on our own...AGAIN.

Posted by: Miss_Anthrope

at June 13, 2007 12:27 PM

No surprise really. Islam is Islam and Muslims are required to dominate and dhimmify the rest of the population.

Muslims made it abundantly and loudly clear what their intentions are. If Europeans and Americans did not know this, or chose to ignore it, the fault lies with us in the West, and not Muslims.

Posted by: DP111

at June 13, 2007 12:28 PM

"Private undercover team exposes nationwide network of radical, anti-U.S. Islamic centers..."
-- from the article above

"Private" undercover team?

The government should be funding this. There should not be 12 agents, but 120 or 1200. Every single mosque and madrasah, every Muslim group, should know it is or can be monitored. If the government is unwilling to do this, as it has been, this forces private parties -- not all of whom have the means -- to fund what should be a national effort.

Let me repeat again what I have put up here a hundred times before:

The large-scale presence of Muslims in the Lands of the Infidels has created a situation, both for the indigenous Infidels and other Infidels who have arrived, hoping to share the fruits of that Infidel nation-state, its political and legal institutions, its stability, its guarantee of individual rights, that is much more unpleasant, expensive, and physically insecure than would be the case without that large-scale presence.

No one in Great Britain, in France, in Spain, in Germany, in Denmark, in Sweden, in Norway, in Belgium, in The Netherlands, in Italy can deny the truth of that statement. No matter what people then think can, or assume cannot, be done about it, the truth of that statement remains. And no sentimentalizing about "diversity" (what stands against real diversity more than Islam itself, which teaches that ideally the whole globe should be covered with Islam and nothing but Islam?) or "moderate" Muslims ("moderate" about what? Why do they have to be "moderate" unless the thing -- Islam -- which they offer only in "moderation" is itself, in essence, a menace, a permanent threat to Infidels?).

Nor can Americans -- if they have the wit to investigate both Islam (not just the Qur'an, but the Hadith and sira), its unambiguous and uncompromising view of a world divided between Believers and Infidels, with the former having a right to remove any and all perceived barries to Islam, even if those barriers are merely those of Infidels who, contrary to Muslims, permit freedom of speech, permit freedom of conscience including the right of individuals to choose another faith or no faith at all, permit equality of the sexes, permit equality of faiths and would never permit a Shari'a-like situation.

Islam flatly contradicts the spirit and letter of the Western world. In this, it is completely unlike Buddhism, or Hinduism, or any other creed one might call alien to the Judeo-Christian tradition out of which the advanced Western democracies have come -- for it is not merely an alien creed, but an alien and a permanently hostile creed. And no amount of taqiyya-and-tu-quoque nonsense, from that business of the "three abrahamic faiths" to "we all worship the same God"(oh no we don't) to "it's just a handful of (choose one or more as nouns and adjectives: xtremists,Islamists, radicals).

Islam isn't the most complicated subject in the world, and reading the Qur'an, and re-reading it, with a guide not written by an apologist, together with a few hundred of the Hadith, and the Sira or biography of Muhammad, will do much to disabuse one of any misconceptions about the peacefulness of Islam. Muslim websites, a click away, further convey the habit of mental submission, a habit that leaches into all areas of life for Muslims, so that they are prone to conspiracy theories of every sort, and are ready to believe all kinds of things in order to avoid thinking about what should be the most obvious thing: how is that Islam connnects to, prompts, explains, the political despotism, the economic backwardness, the social inequities, the intellectual stasis or rather paralysis, of Muslim societies -- to the precise extent that Islam in those societies remains unconstrained either by some other force -- an ideological one such as Kemalism in Turkey, or another loyalty, such as a non-Arab ethnic identity (the Kurds, the Berbers) that might serve to brake one's singleminded loyalty to Islam which is felt, if not always recognized, as a vehicle of Arab supremacism.

Why must private parties be scrambling for funds (sometimes with little success), when they are, as in this case, doing exactly what the American government should, but apparently is not, doing? And who will pay for campaigns of counter-Da'wa in the prisons? Among the black and Hispanic population?" Who will pay for security at conferences, or on campuses, so that speeches can be heard that will convey something of the truth? Why should not Congress take this on, and pass a law, to ensure that guarantees of the exercise of the right of free speech be made less theoretical, by the full force of the government and the security services, ensuring that there is no disruption?

Where is the American government in all this? Oh, it's fighting the "war on terror" in Iraq, $880 billion down, and climbing. It's fighting that war by building a $595 million Embassy. It's fighting that war by handing out tens of billions of dollars in financial aid, now being supplemented by tens of billions on military aid, to both Sunni Arabs and Shi'a Arabs, building up to Western standards what is called an "Iraqi" army, an "Iraqi" police force.

That learning curve is still almost horizontal. What Presidential candidate, uttering what phrase in what speech -- what about "Stop the Jizyah of foreign aid to Muslim countries and let them get such aid from Saudi Arabia and other fabulously, and undeservedly rich, Arab and Muslim countries"? How's that to get the ball rolling, and something like a real discussion going?

Posted by: Hugh

at June 13, 2007 12:39 PM

He said that the Islamic center has deep ties to Saudi Arabia and espouses Wahhabism, a virulent and puritanical version of Islam.

I object to the use of the word "puritanical" It is just another slur upon a group of Christians who were instrumental in the founding of our country and whose theology was absolutely nothing like Wahabbism. It is just more MCPC moral equivalence to use a word associated with Christianity to described Islam. "Puritanical" is defined as: "practicing or affecting strict religious or moral behavior."

How does that apply to bigoted, hateful, intolerant and violent terrorists?

Posted by: Theseus

at June 13, 2007 12:44 PM

Hugh,

Your wonderful posts just get more pertinent, more insightful, more critically important everyday. I'm convinced the MSM is reading you DAILY!

You're the best, man!

Posted by: Ynkedoodl2

at June 13, 2007 12:48 PM

The only effective way to prevent terrorist attacks in to infiltrate these cockroach nests with paid informants. The ideal informant is Arabic in origin, an apostate of Islam, or Christian and stands up for America. Informants helped to bring down the FLQ crisis in Canada in the early 1970's. Let's fill all the mosques with informants...

Posted by: The Resistance

at June 13, 2007 1:09 PM

Well Im sure the government would not find the same if they took it on themselves to investigate Islamic cultural centers, and that's what counts ,What the government knows not the rank and file citizen .

Posted by: KAOSKTRL

at June 13, 2007 1:10 PM

And steel sticks to magnets.

CUE STOCK FOOTAGE: I'm shocked, shocked!

Posted by: profitsbeard

at June 13, 2007 1:16 PM

Hugh is of course correct, "The government should be funding this", but right now it is very heartening to learn of Gaubatz's existence.
i have just read his bio at:

http://www.mappingsharia.us/Project-Team-category-75.htm#PDG

and it seems that he is very well-qualified for this dangerous work.
if competent private organisations do not move into the void left by government inaction, then there is the risk that unqualified enthusiasts will get in there. the willingness of citizens to act is important, but sometimes those who are most willing to act should not be allowed to, as they lack necessary knowledge and skills. which could also be said of those folks who most want to be President...

Posted by: M Al-Content

at June 13, 2007 1:23 PM

Can we be safe with our figures, and just say all Islamic centers

Posted by: ofcourse

at June 13, 2007 1:46 PM

The most outrageous thing this article reports is the presence in the US of foreign imams. These people are like poisonous snakes, they need to at least be deported ASAP, and the immigration officers who approved their green cards or other types of visas be fired immediately.

Posted by: george_rem

at June 13, 2007 1:56 PM

Maybe we all should invest a little time and take a drive to a local mosque at prayer service and act in the guise of wanting to learn more about islam? Make em sweat. after all, they don't have the right to keep me out of their house of worship. C.A.I.R. to comment?

Posted by: mustang65

at June 13, 2007 2:02 PM

Hugh, very lucid analysis! Good shit, man.

Posted by: george_rem

at June 13, 2007 2:06 PM

Excellent piece Hugh. That one deserves it's own thread, in my opinion.

Hugh wrote:
"Islam isn't the most complicated subject in the world,"

No, indeed it is not. Even a cursory investigation into the cononical Islamic texts, some unadulterated history and current events will provide the infidel with all they need to know about the "religion of peace".

Posted by: awake

at June 13, 2007 2:16 PM

I first heard of Gaubatz back when he was railing against Curt Weldon about WMDs in Iraq.

I became well versed on the "Able Danger" fiasco and was impressed at how Weldon was going after it. Next thing you know Gaubatz is going after Weldon about his lackadaisical approach to finding WMDs in Iraq and then *poof* Curt Weldon is voted out of office and the story ends.

Now it looks as though the FBI is trying to recreate a similar open source program to track sleeper cells in the U.S. (not without a little DOJ interferance, however) so maybe all the attention on Able Danger was not wasted after all.

-XRDC

Posted by: XRDC

at June 13, 2007 2:18 PM

Havin' been through the 1964 quake here in Alaska, I have since, always been prepared to survive entirely on my own. That means power, water, food and security. I have always been concerned about the breakdown of social norms that can come with disaster as occured in New Orleans. (Roaming groups of gang bangers, and other criminals who were not prepared and would then take from others to survive.) Alaska can be damned harsh in the winter with temps of 55 or 60 below being quite common. One must be prepared to survive.
This means being able to defend me and mine from whomever threatens us. I have made preparations for such and event, and I pity anyone who comes to my home with bad intentions.
I see now that my preparations are serving double duty. We must all be prepared to defend that which we value in life from those who would take it. (Better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6.)
There are large numbers of people out there who are preparing to take your life. You'd better prepared to keep it fom them.

Posted by: Alaskan

at June 13, 2007 2:32 PM

Posted by: Alaskan

at June 13, 2007 2:36 PM

This mappingsharia project also asks for our help, and not just financially. Take a look:

http://www.mappingsharia.us/How-You-Can-Help-category-71.htm

Posted by: Leave Iraq Now

at June 13, 2007 4:14 PM

“Their literature preaches that America and the West are decadent and evil, and that Muslims have a moral duty to engage in violence against the infidels.”

Oh, so it's not about Palestine, Iraq and Chechnya? Posted by: Crusader

at June 13, 2007 4:45 PM

"I had just read today a 2003 article by Daniel Pipes about how all the usual suspects howled when the FBI tried to count mosques" - from Miss-anthrope, above.

OK. Just counting mosques isn't that difficult. All one needs is one or more of the following: the sort of street directory that lists 'houses of worship' (ours, here in Oz, include not only synagogues and all stripes of Christianity, but also temples of various descriptions, AND MOSQUES'; phone directory; the internet ; and one's own ordinary powers of observation whilst engaging in daily business. Here in my part of Oz a substantial portion of the ummah publishes its own newspaper - in English - and posts same online. I now know exactly how many mosques and islamic schools have 'gone public' in my home city. I will be checking regularly to spot updates.

Intelligent Infidel retirees with a bit of time on their hands should find it very simple to maintain a list of all those mosques/ islamic centres/ islamic schools which have gone so far as to 'hang out a shingle' in the public domain. Cruising along innocently whenever 'open days' are held can provide additional information - eg ethnic mix, a guess at the congregation size, where the imam comes from, even what Quran commentaries they keep on their bookshelf. Monitoring activity levels - numbers and genders and ages of people going in and out - would not be particularly difficult for any nosy neighbour. If you study or teach at a university that has an Islamic Studies or Oriental Studies centre, make it your business to find out which books the students are told to read.

I have said this before: let us simply indulge our natural human curiosity. And be aware of patterns, and sudden interesting changes in patterns.

Posted by: dumbledoresarmy

at June 13, 2007 5:03 PM

I think they are just shia muslims who hate sunni muslims and want to shut down the sunni mosques.

The shia want to spread their islamic hate throughout America (and every other western country), but can't stand the competition.

Same with the sunnis. I'm sure the sunnis are constantly trying to figure out ways to shut down shia mosques.

Posted by: mrockroll1969

at June 13, 2007 6:05 PM

I hope these investigators/researchers provide a copy of their findings to the State Department and every other federal bureaucracy. I'm sure they will be dismissed with indignation and condemnations of islamophobia, bigotry, etc. but at least there will be a record that our stupid, inept, politically correct government was warned.

I have to continue reminding myself that most people don't see stories like this because the MSM do not report them. But word is getting out and the American people proved that they are not deaf, dumb, and blind when they bombarded Washington with phone calls, faxes, e-mails, and letters protesting the suicidal immigration fiasco. When we suffer another terrorist attack at the hands of rabid muslims, Washington can expect a full fledged citizen revolt. There is absolutely no excuse for our distinguished "leaders" to be unaware of what's going on in this country, whether it is in the islamic "community" or the "Hispanic" community, or whatever community. Their arrogant disregard for the well-being and security of America is absolutely despicable! Political correctness has crippled our government and made all of us sitting ducks for islamic fanatics, both here and abroad. The "war on terror" being fought in Iraq is a farce and a sham. Our borders are wide open; islamic radicals are creating jihadist armies right here in America; terrorists are suing loyal, patriotic Americans, and our GOVERNMENT DOES NOTHING! I am sick of it!

Posted by: Susanp

at June 13, 2007 11:10 PM

I'm really getting sick and tired of Islam....

Posted by: YshaYahuw

at June 14, 2007 12:04 AM

This may be a helpful site to source new mosques being planned...

http://redesign.pluralism.org/news/index.php?key=Zoning

-XRDC

Posted by: XRDC

at June 14, 2007 9:52 AM