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A welcome turn of events on the firing of Stephen Coughlin. "Congressmen Seek Answers about Terror Expert's Firing," by Fred Lucas for CNSNews.com (thanks to all who sent this in):
(CNSNews.com) - Members of Congress are seeking more information regarding the firing of a top terrorism expert at the Pentagon following reports that he was dismissed for being too critical of Islamic law.Earlier this month, the Pentagon Joint Staff told Stephen Coughlin, a specialist on Islamic law at the Pentagon, that his contract would not be renewed in March. The firing apparently resulted from pressure by pro-Muslim officials working in the Department of Defense, according to numerous news reports.
Meanwhile, members of Congress have not had much success in getting answers from the Pentagon either, said Rep. Sue Myrick (R-N.C.), co-chair of the bi-partisan House Anti-Terrorism Caucus.
"We want to get to the bottom of this," Myrick told Cybercast News Service Tuesday. "We are contacting everyone to see who we can talk to."
Coughlin - who supporters say had one of the most important jobs in analyzing how Jihadists think -- crossed Hasham Islam, an aide to Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England, according The Washington Times.
The paper reported, without attribution, that the aide told Coughlin to "soften his view" on radical Islam. When Coughlin refused, Hasham Islam called him a Christian zealot "with a pen," according to the report.
The incomplete reports and near silence from the Pentagon creates the need to get at the truth, Myrick said.
"This sounds like another example of someone protecting national security and being told to shut up," Myrick continued. "If we don't get over being politically correct, we won't be here as a country."
This week, Myrick said she began contacting other co-chairs of the Anti-Terrorism Caucus, such as Rep. Jane Harmon (D-Calif.), Rep. Richard "Bud" Cramer (D-Ala.), and Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas) about setting up a meeting with Coughlin and Pentagon officials to find out the circumstances behind the firing.
Myrick stressed that any congressional inquiry is in the early, talking stages, but she has contacted the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, the House Armed Services Committee, and the House Homeland Security Committee to inquire about investigative hearings into the case....
Excellent news. Read it all.
Posted by Robert at January 16, 2008 1:08 PM
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HERE,HERE!!! 2 HOORAHS FOR Rep. Sue Myrick (R-N.C.),
Posted by: Mackie![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.jihadwatch.org/nav-commenters.gif)
at January 16, 2008 1:17 PM
Hopefully, part of the investigation would have to do with how Islam got to be so close to National security. Put the FBI on him and follow every trail. He should be the one "let go" for making it easier to carry out the deeds of the Jiahdists.
Posted by: Briars at January 16, 2008 1:22 PM
...I hope they put the heat on to mr England and mr Islam....they were afraid that the truth about Islam would reach sensitive ears.....
Posted by: exsgtbrown at January 16, 2008 1:30 PM
'It says, for instance, "So how does one explain the prevailing assumption that Islam does not stand for such violence undertaken in its name with the fact that its laws and education materials validate the very acts undertaken by 'extremists' in Iraq?"'
Sound familiar? Isn't this what Robert and Hugh have been saying here for years?
Good for Sue Myrick. Now that is a woman we can really support and get behind. If she opens this can of worms, we the people can back her up by putting pressure on the people working to cover up Stephen Coughlin's firing. As an American citizen, I want to know why a Muslim colleague was able to prevent this man's contract from being renewed and I want to know who in the Defense Department caved under Hasham Islam's pressure.
at January 16, 2008 1:31 PM
Stephen Coughlin is the symbol of a systemic problem. Who is being listened to, and who is helping to fashion policy, or carefully guiding those who make that policy? For it appears that some of those fashioning policy are complacent in their belief that they have no individual duty to learn about Islam themselves, are content to accept the "disinterested" help of those who are the expected plausible fellows, "loyal Muslims and loyal Americans" (and that apparently is enough, that apparently requires no investigation, that apparently does not trigger any attempt to find out if, indeed, the texts, and tenets, of Islam, are or are not compatible with the Constitution, and instead such compatiblity is merely assumed).
Posted by: Hugh at January 16, 2008 1:37 PM
This is a huge scandal! Huge!
This should be all over the news. Every TV & Radio-station, every paper in the land should hammer the message home that there is (was) only ONE (!) expert on Islamic doctrine in the state department, that he was stonewalled, boycotted, sabotaged and fired by foreign agents, or rather agents of foreign powers who want to bring the country to its knees.
For two years the US was paralyzed over OJ Simpson. After that, for another 2 years, the nation was paralyzed over a blow-job!
This is the end of the line, people :this time its real!
This is what matters, get on board folks, the agit-props, the infil-traitors and their Muhammaedan paymasters must be exposed and taken to the cleaners!
Posted by: sheik yer'mami at January 16, 2008 1:43 PM
WHY do we even have ANY ISLAMIC OFFICIALS working anywhere in the Pentagon?
Are not they the groups trying to exterminate the US and all its allies today?
They should be removed and pay us back all their earnnings. I cant believe we have any of those people working in our government.
How many pro-Christians officials are working today in the Saudi defense ministry?
How many Christians are working in the Syrian, Kuwaiti, Iranian, or Libyan defense ministries?
Infiltration has to be stopped.
Posted by: Hungarian Crusader at January 16, 2008 1:45 PM
Typical if you don't like the message shoot the messenger.
Posted by: Holger Dansker at January 16, 2008 1:59 PM
Anyone remember the commercial/public announcement of the Indian with the tear in his eye as he saw the pollution in the Potomac? I think it was the Potomac. Anyway, I feel like that Indian. I wanted to say that this should be investigated to the hilt, but when you consider everything including the investigators, whats the point?
Posted by: CJK at January 16, 2008 2:04 PM
Good!! What they really need to look further into is why the guy let him go. That guy is a questionable character. If he is more loyal to islam - he needs to be booted out of office. And to be quite honest that sounds like exactly what he is - another muslim who appears to be a moderate while practicing taqiyya and telling everyone else what they wanted to hear so he could infiltrate out intelligence agencies.
Geesh, if I knew this - then why don't the lunk heads in charge know this?! This is what we are leaving our security up to - ignorant ones.
ok, here is a simple class: if we are fighting islamic jihadists and they use the koran as their reason to fight - then read the koran, read articles to saturate oneself in this area, read from ex-muslims, read jihadwatch.org, etc. Then one might come upon the idea that maybe, just maybe, hiring a muslim in the government and intelligence agencies might not be a good idea - PC or not.
Posted by: R_not at January 16, 2008 2:06 PM
It doesn't cost much to call her office with an "atta girl" so I did just that. She needs to get the feeling that she may not be wasting her time.
Posted by: pismopal at January 16, 2008 2:07 PM
This is a good first start. However, only a full blown subpoena powered investigation by either the House Armed Services Committee and/or the House Homeland Security Committee can get to the bottom of this and make the treasonous stooges pay. How can we defend ourselves if we can’t even root out this fifth (filth) column?
The sad thing is that even if Secretary England’s or Hasham Islam's heads were to role, they will just move into a cushy high paid consulting gigs like Sandy Burglar, Jamie Goerlick and so many more.
There was a time when people were hung for treason. Now hardly anyone ever gets charged.
at January 16, 2008 2:09 PM
CJK, yeah I remember it. I agree with you. I just can't believe how utterly stupid our Pentagon, CIA/FBI and government is regarding islam. They have had plenty of time to get a hint and they worry more about hating Bush, or if they are ok with Bush they worry more about appeasing the muslims or appeasing the Democrats. This is all getting way too sickening. These cornballs think they are soooooo intelligent and look what we have - a bunch of cornballs that still haven't got a clue.
Where is Thomas Jefferson when you need him?!
Posted by: R_not at January 16, 2008 2:11 PM
CJK -
I hope you don't feel like the Indian with a tear in his eye. That was Iron Eyes Cody a pureblood Sicilian from NY who faked his way to Native American fame.
at January 16, 2008 2:12 PM
Sue Myrick 08!
Posted by: TheOmegaMan at January 16, 2008 2:26 PM
Don't get too excited, folks. Congress has not power over the military; it's only a political stunt.
Congress hasn't don't anything useful since 2006 election; it needed bogus show of work.
Posted by: ssa at January 16, 2008 2:27 PM
R_not -
This rot originates at the very top, I believe. It's President Bush who has failed to recognize the enemy and take the appropriate steps.
If President Bush were a capable commander, the Pentagon would be a lean, mean, clean, focused organization. But, the commander is, apparently, addled. The Pentagon reflects the commander's limitations.
Posted by: Havoc at January 16, 2008 2:30 PM
"If we don't get over being politically correct, we won't be here as a country."
It's a good thing we still have freedom of speech in this country. I recall reading somewhere recently of a politician in Austria who is being investigated for hate speech and could face two years in the hoosegow for questioning political correctness.
Posted by: Lt. Presley O'Bannon at January 16, 2008 2:31 PM
"Congress hasn't don't anything useful since 2006 election; it needed bogus show of work.
Posted by: ssa"
...it that why they booted Coughlin?>....
at January 16, 2008 2:38 PM
It's a good thing we still have freedom of speech in this country.
Posted above.
Hm, really?
There is freedom of speech, if it's a popular, and not, when it isnt.
Example: Michael Savage, Mark Stein, at al, and don't forget the professor who interpreted the law is also sued by Padita, the terrorist.
Oh, one other thing: The conservertive view is not popular too.
Where is the freedom?
Posted by: ssa at January 16, 2008 2:38 PM
stg brown, eh the goofer-mann is going into show business now.
Posted by: ssa at January 16, 2008 2:41 PM
To echo what Hugh just said, it is a widespread problem, Muslims, loyal to the Ummah first, obligated by their faith to spread Islam, to knock down opposition to Islam, the spread of it, have injected themselves for years into all aspects of our societies.....this specific example is significant because it doesn't get much higher up than Gordon England in the Pentagon, and the dolt listens and relies on advice from who???? A guy named Hasham Islam?
Unfortunately, Hasham Islams are all over, universities, elementary, secondary education systems, police (local, state, provincial] federal), justice departments, media, diplomats, government, fbi, cia, homeland security......infiltration on a mass level.
Posted by: Sneakyzionistcrusader at January 16, 2008 2:43 PM
"There is freedom of speech, if it's a popular, and not, when it isnt.""
...when it is attempted in Muslim dominated societies...
Posted by: exsgtbrown at January 16, 2008 2:45 PM
when it is attempted in Muslim dominated societies
Yup, Pentagon is.
Posted by: ssa at January 16, 2008 2:49 PM
Great news.
I saw Steve Emerson on Fox talking about Islamic infiltration of the Pentagon in this regard, but I think the real issue is government ignorance of Islam. After all, a savvy Pentagon official would be less tractable by the likes of Hasham Islam, or any Islam.
at January 16, 2008 3:02 PM
This firing was nothing but an attempt to supress the facts about the fascist blood cult called Islam. It's a shitbox belief system, and has no place here.
at January 16, 2008 3:14 PM
... he was dismissed for being too critical of Islamic law.
This is nut's, how is it possible to not be critical of Shari'a? And just exactly what does 'too' critical consist of? You mean he disapproved of stoning? This is like criticizing a soldier for being too good a shot...Fire/jail the perpetrators and look for more...
Posted by: duh_swami at January 16, 2008 3:14 PM
Just to note ...
It's not the Congress MEN who did this ...
IT's Congress WOMEN.
Posted by: Morgaan Sinclair at January 16, 2008 3:23 PM
Well, ssa, last I checked, Michael Savage is fighting back against those CAIR maggots, and may succeed in giving them more than they bargained for.
Mark Stein and Ezra Levant are fighting their own free speech battle north of the border, and unfortunately for them (and us) there is no Bill of Rights enshrined in the Canadian constitution.
Conservatism may be unpopular, but thank God that Robert, Hugh, Marisol, and many others like them are not subject to arrest for telling the truth, as is Lionheart, that brave blogger from the UK.
The wheels of government, as do those of Justice, grind slowly, but they do grind.
Posted by: Lt. Presley O'Bannon at January 16, 2008 3:34 PM
Morgaan, you're right, and I was going to stress that it's REPUBLICAN Congress Women, but then I read the next thread.
Posted by: Lt. Presley O'Bannon at January 16, 2008 3:38 PM
Sue will most certainly end up like Ron Brown, with a bullet in his head at the scene of a plane crash
Posted by: GrennBeck at January 16, 2008 3:44 PM
Sue Myrick is in the minority. Why is she out front about this? She's talking to Jane Harmon? How is it that a chair of the anti-terrorism caucus hasn't been heard from by now on this issue? When ARE we going to hear from the gentle lady from California?
Don't count on action when Congress has more important things to worry about, like steroids in baseball. Jason Giambi makes for better television, and he'll get more press attention as well.
Posted by: PMK at January 16, 2008 3:46 PM
Robert
Maybe you could get back onto Savage and address this topic. I'm sure he would welcome the help and it would reach a wide audience.
at January 16, 2008 3:48 PM
Thank you Sue Myrick (R -NC).
Far be it from me to toot my own horn, but I want to remind the readers of this site that I nominated this brave woman to be the 2007 American Anti-dhimmi. You can look it up.
Congrats to Mr. Steyn for winning, but the fact is Mr. Steyn is not American. Wins on a technicality.
Sue Myrick is All-American. Start practicing how to draw her Mr. Washburn. This woman wins in 2008!
Sue, you go girl...kick some PC muslim infiltrator & apologist's ass.
The 2008 award for Internatioanl Anti-Dhimmi has already been won: Ezra Levant & Mark Steyn for taking on the muzzie sympathizers at the Canadain HRC.
Posted by: omvi at January 16, 2008 4:11 PM
More Good News,
Please go to Front Page Mag and read the article "Seeking True Diversity in Middle East Studies." Bernard Lewis and Fouad Ajami are forming a new organization called the "Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa", or ASMEA.
Take that, MESA.
Mr. Spencer, can we all assume that you will be a charter member?
Posted by: patagonianplato at January 16, 2008 4:34 PM
Yup, Lt. O'Bannon ...
This sexist language is brought to you by CNS, in defiance of standards by the Congress, AP Stylebook, and the Chicago Manual of Style, but I guess they continue with to think of all creation in terms of MEN until they are run out of business.
But, oh, this is such good news. I hope that they run a HUGE investigation and shine light into EVERY CORNER and clean the whole place out.
Posted by: Morgaan Sinclair at January 16, 2008 4:51 PM
isabellathecrusader
I just wrote the names of those three ladies and one gentleman, two Republicans and two Democrats - Sue, Jane, Kay and Richard - onto my 'TO PRAY FOR' list. For heavy-duty spiritual and physical protection, holy angels, the works. Remember Ephesians 6: 10-18.
Here, too, is a wonderful Jewish prayer from Chaim Potok's "My Name is Asher Lev". It seems to be the Jewish child's equivalent of 'four angels round my bed". Let's invoke it for these four congresspeople, and others unnamed who are with them, as they embark on a truly dangerous journey:
"In the name of the Lord, the God of Israel:
May Michael be at my right hand; Gabriel at my left; before me Uriel; behind me, Raphael; and above my head the divine presence of God. Amen."
I have friends in North Carolina - a classic Southern gentleman (veteran of World War II and the Normandy landing), married to a Canadian. Awhile ago I emailed them and told them all about Islam - gave them a boiled-down version of Islam 101 together with a rave review for Robert Spencer's books. I hope they remember.
I'll email them this article and let them know just how much I admire what their Congresswoman is doing.
Posted by: dumbledoresarmy at January 16, 2008 4:56 PM
Maybe that Hasham Islam should be fired and investigated. I wonder what is in his past???
Posted by: callmeinfidel at January 16, 2008 5:01 PM
Rep. Sue Myrick (R-N.C.) not only needs our support, she should also get the support of EVERY CONGRESSPERSON ON THE HILL! If I find my Reps haven't shown explicit and continuing support for Rep. Myrick's investigations, I will let them know in no uncertain terms how PISSED OFF it will make me.
Posted by: tsarbomba29 at January 16, 2008 5:12 PM
Rep. Sue Myrick (R-N.C.) not only needs our support, she should also get the support of EVERY CONGRESSPERSON ON THE HILL! If I find my Reps haven't shown explicit and continuing support for Rep. Myrick's investigations, I will let them know in no uncertain terms how PISSED OFF it will make me.
Posted by: tsarbomba29 at January 16, 2008 5:17 PM
Rep. Sue Myrick (R-N.C.) not only needs our support, she should also get the support of EVERY CONGRESSPERSON ON THE HILL! If I find my Reps haven't shown explicit and continuing support for Rep. Myrick's investigations, I will let them know in no uncertain terms how PISSED OFF it will make me.
Posted by: tsarbomba29 at January 16, 2008 5:18 PM
Why oh why do we have moslems in the Pentagon?
Posted by: interestinconundrum at January 16, 2008 5:22 PM
1. I, too, called Representative Myrick's office earlier today.
Her assistant, Taylor, told me that Sue is getting very positive responses to this effort.
2. What's in Hesham Islam's past, some ask?
Well, here:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=47795
I am not willing to discredit his military career, but must wonder why he would be so offended by Coughlin's rough treatment of Islamic fundamentalism and the shari'a.
Posted by: PRCS at January 16, 2008 5:53 PM
poetcomic1; Thanks for telling me that Indians' name. I just looked up 'Iron eyes cody' and watched the video . I don't care if the guy's from Mars, that's a classic cut from my childhood.
Posted by: CJK at January 16, 2008 6:01 PM
I'm going to ask her if her party will spend as much time on investigating this issue as the world shattering problem of steroids in baseball, actions speak louder than words still!!!!!
Posted by: OLD SARGE at January 16, 2008 6:30 PM
A commenter to the last post on this matter was kind enough to include a link to the paper that got Stephen Coughlin crosswise with the "Muslim outreach" clique at the DoD:
http://www.strategycenter.net/docLib/20080107_Coughlin_ExtremistJihad.pdf
This document is about 330 pages long and is somewhat slow going -- but it is a detailed and devastating critique of what Coughlin calls the "Current Approach" to "Intelligence Preparation of the Battlefield" in the "War on Terror": to wit, chasing after the chimera of a "moderate," "mainstream" Islam while ignoring the core elements of Islamic scripture, traditions, doctrine and law that the putative "extremists" use to make their case among their co-religionists. Like Robert Spencer, Coughlin draws heavily on Islamic sources: the Qur'an, the ahadith, the 'Umdat al-Salik (a manual of Islamic law), a junior high- and high-school-level textbook written by an American Muslim convert and intended for American Muslim students, and many others.
One aspect of Coughlin's critique has to do with attitudes toward such erudition at the highest levels of the national security establishment. Quoting an Oct. 17, 2006 New York Times article, he notes that
"For [NYT reporter Jeff] Stein, the more pressing problem is that 'too many officials in charge of the war on terrorism just don't care to learn much, if anything, about the enemy we're we're fighting.' This conclusion may have been driven as much by the troubling responses of prominent Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) leaders as by the ignorance of key Congressional leaders. What prompted Stein's investigation was FBI Counterterrorism Chief Gary Bald's insistence that knowing the distinctions between Sunni and Shia as it relates to differences between al-Qaeda and Hizballah was not as important as being a good manager. When Stein spoke to FBI Public Affairs Director John Miller regarding Bald's assertion, Miller's response was that 'a leader needs to drive the organization forward' and such questions were nothing more than 'lawyers and journalists' using 'Islamic Trivial Pursuit' questions as 'cheap shots.' "
As Deputy SecDef Gordon England was a longtime defense industry executive before he became a DoD mandarin who depends for knowledge of the Muslim world on his Muslim aide Hesham Islam, it may be surmised that such observations were a bit too close to the bone for his liking.
In light of this, Coughlin concludes that the "knowledge deficit has become a strategic deficit. More than five years into the WOT [War on Terror] against a threat that defines itself in Islamic terms, the national security community does not understand the most basic Islamic doctrines that the enemy self-identifies as being its primary motivating factor. This is the legacy of ... the Current Approach."
And this is the guy they're trying to throw overboard.
I am about halfway through Coughlin's work and strongly recommend it to anyone with a serious interest in the matter. It should actually be published in book form.
Posted by: Papa Whiskey at January 16, 2008 6:40 PM
am very interested in hearing your views on issues of importance to you. Due to the large volume of US Mail, email and faxes I receive, I am only able to accept messages from residents of the North Carolina. Congressional courtesy dictates that Representatives be given the opportunity to assist their own constituents. If you are a resident of another district, I encourage you to contact your Representative in Congress by clicking the following link to the Write Your Representative Service.
Please provide the following information to help determine whether you reside within North Carolina:
Zip Code Information:First Name
Last Name
* Zip Code
In other words no vote, not interested, typical political BS!!!!! but i will contact the local rep. and see whats up his bank account!!!
at January 16, 2008 6:47 PM
Old Sarge "In other words no vote, not interested, typical political BS!!!!! "
sorry but that has been standard practice for years. a U.S.representatives first duty is to the citizens of their district. you can always send a snailmail message to them which is just as effective, if not more just look at all the bricks that were sent to Congressmen last year
Posted by: pak152 at January 16, 2008 7:21 PM
Don't know why anyone is surprised by Coughlin's firing. It's a clear case of insubordination. The cic has said over & over that islam is a religion of peace. he said so w/in a week of 9/11, and he obviously still believes it. so why would someone who has repeatedly thrown good people under the bus for not getting with the program (e.g., Gen. Shinseki) make an exception for Coughlin? Don't blame Hasham Islam or Deputy Secretary England. the real man (and I use that term very loosely) wielding the hatchet is bush himself. when administration policy is that islam is not the problem, it will tolerate no one who demonstrates that it is. the only consolation is that the day of reckoning for bush is one day closer than it was yesterday.
Posted by: sheik yer booty at January 16, 2008 7:21 PM
Old Sarge
This is a standard response when you contact a member of the house who does not represent your district. It does not mean you are not heard. it means they are not your representative.
AND that you should voice your concerns to your duly elected rep.
at January 16, 2008 7:23 PM
The movie would open with Islam as a young boy growing up in Cairo, Egypt, huddling in terror as Israeli bombs came raining down, demolishing much of the building around him and his family.
Next would be the scene of the teenager who moves to Iraq when his Egyptian naval officer father is transferred to help establish the Arabian Gulf naval academy Islam would later attend.
The camera would then close in on a young merchant mariner adrift for three days in the Arabian Sea after an Iranian torpedo sunk his 16,000-ton cargo ship, drowning all but Islam and four of his crewmates.
Warning you are not reading the opening pages of a Robert Ludlam novel about a sleeper agent. This is Hesham Islam's Bio in the Defense Dept. Newsletter
Posted by: Aunt Bea at January 16, 2008 7:38 PM
who is Hesham Islam?
here are some links
http://www.apaam.org/Hesham_Islam.htm
http://jewishodysseus.blogspot.com/2008/01/few-clues-about-mr-hesham-islam.html
Diane West's take on the issue
http://www.washingtontimes.com/article/20080111/EDITORIAL04/346804216/1013
at January 16, 2008 7:48 PM
When contacting Sue Myrick or your own Congressman, keep in mind the infiltration has effected every branch of government including our Park Services as described by Error Theory's Alec Rawls, who continues to unveil the deception behind the memorial tribute to Islam and the 9/11 hijackers of Flt. 93 at the Shanksville, PA site :
Posted by: heroyalwhynesshttp://errortheory.blogspot.com/2008/01/pentagon-not-only-department-giving.htmlPentagon not the only Department giving the last word to Muslims covering up terror threatsThe military's top expert on jihad ideology was fired last week at the behest of a Muslim aide to Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England. The aide is a friend to the grand-daddy of all modern Islamic terror groups, the Muslim Brotherhood. His influence is penetration of the top levels of the Pentagon by our terror war enemies.What happened in the Park Service's Flight 93 memorial investigation is very similar. Our last three blogbursts exposed how two Muslim academics fed the Park Service blatantly dishonest excuses for the giant Mecca oriented crescent in the Murdoch-designed memorial.
Kevin Jaques from Indiana University said that the similarity to an Islamic mihrab should be ignored (a mihrab is the Mecca direction indicator around which every mosque is built) because there has never been a mihrab anywhere near this big before.
Nasser Rabbat said that because the Flight 93 crescent does not point quite exactly at Mecca (it is 1.8° off), it cannot be regarded as a mihrab:
"Mihrab orientation is either correct or not. It cannot be off by some degrees." [From the Park Service's White Paper.]
Liar. Many classic mihrabs are oriented 10, 20 or 30 degrees from Mecca. The most elaborate mihrab in the world, the mihrab at the great mosque in Cordoba Spain, is oriented more than 45° off Mecca . . .
at January 16, 2008 10:06 PM
auntbea -
I wonder just how much of 'Hesham Islam's sensational bio, all the way from his parentage and date and place of birth, right through his military record, would stand up to rigorous scrutiny ?
After all: we know from the examples of Edward Said and Yasser Arafat, to name just two most obvious examples, that anything and everything that Arab Muslims (and, alas, some Islamochristians, also) say about themselves, or that their friends, families, even enemies, say about them, may all turn out to be mostly fictional. (I suspect that the famous T H Lawrence caught that disease, or was already predisposed to catch it - I wonder, too, sometimes, about the famous Glubb Pasha).
It's ironic.
Under sharia law, Muslims are assumed always to be telling the truth; Muslim testimony always trumps kafir testimony, since kafir are assumed ipso facto to be liars.
In fact, the reality seems to be exactly the other way around.
Most non-Muslim civilisations and their people, on the whole, value truth and try to speak it; whereas - far too often - Muslims, and Muslim societies and regimes, will say *anything* in order to get whatever it is they think they want at this or that moment; and the question of whether what they are saying corresponds to something that has actually happened, or to a state of affairs that actually exists, is a matter of total indifference.
Posted by: dumbledoresarmy at January 16, 2008 11:53 PM
PRCS linked to Hesham Islam's biography:
The movie would open with Islam as a young boy growing up in Cairo, Egypt, huddling in terror as Israeli bombs came raining down, demolishing much of the building around him and his family.
Next would be the scene of the teenager who moves to Iraq when his Egyptian naval officer father is transferred to help establish the Arabian Gulf naval academy Islam would later attend.
The camera would then close in on a young merchant mariner adrift for three days in the Arabian Sea after an Iranian torpedo sunk his 16,000-ton cargo ship, drowning all but Islam and four of his crewmates.
These are his qualifications? "Huddling in terror [from] Israeli bombs"? I wonder if the U.S. Navy has thought to include any Israeli survivors of bus-bomb attacks in their upper ranks as advisors on Islamic matters? There's plenty of them out there, as well as Qassam missile survivors, sniper survivors, pizzeria-bomber survivors, hijacking survivors. They would be well qualified to advise on Islamic matters. "Huddling in terror" and being on a ship that was sunk in an intra-Islamic war (between Shi'ite-led Iran and Sunni-led Iraq) qualifies Hesham Islam to influence our Navy at the highest levels in regards to Islam?
Five generations of the Islam family have served as naval officers.
But Hesham Islam is a first generation immigrant, who came here as an adult. Not only are all religions the same, all cultures are the same, but now all navies are the same. Egyptian, Iraqi, U.S., what does it matter? We're all the same, we're all on the same side, we're one big happy navy family.
It would be interesting to know more about which navies these Islam family naval officers served under, and what actions they were involved in, and for which side.
A Muslim, Islam works closely with the Muslim-American community, encouraging its members to integrate into American society and take an active stand with the United States in the war on violent extremism. “This war can’t be won by just Americans,” he said. “It’s a war that has to be fought by Muslims. Islam has been hijacked, and it is time to take it back.”
Ahh, the old "hijacked" Religion of Peace fairytale. As always, no mention of what exactly the hijackers have added to Islam that wasn't there for the past 1400 years. No mention of exactly how he's going to "take it back", no mention of how he's going to counter the copious Qur'anic quotations that the "violent extremists" use to justify their "violent extremism".
England and Islam deserve much, much closer scrutiny.
Posted by: special_guest at January 17, 2008 1:12 AM
I wonder just how much of 'Hesham Islam's sensational bio, all the way from his parentage and date and place of birth, right through his military record, would stand up to rigorous scrutiny ?
posted by dumbledoesarmy
When I posted that last night I had to try six times. I got kicked out of typepad and out of firefox so many times.
???
As far as clearances go the strangest things can get you kept in or rejected.
Of course, my experiences go back to Cold War times.
Do you remember when the Marine guard at the US Embassy in Moscow let his Russian girl friend get into the secure area of the Embassy?
It was a rough period, every communication had to be hand carried for a while. Kept a lot of people busy.
Then there are the guys who didn't come home in the next few days.
Most of the people who sell out their country do it for ridiculously small amounts.
When Walker sold the Crypto manuals/keys I think the figure was less than 10K.
Point is I believe you go through better psychological vetting to work for a major retail chain than to have access to America's secrets.
But that is just my uninformed opinion.
at January 17, 2008 9:56 AM
dms:
Maybe you could get back onto Savage and address this topic. I'm sure he would welcome the help and it would reach a wide audience.
You can't just go on shows whenever you want. You have to be invited.
Cordially
Robert Spencer
at January 17, 2008 10:05 AM
patagonian plato:
Please go to Front Page Mag and read the article "Seeking True Diversity in Middle East Studies." Bernard Lewis and Fouad Ajami are forming a new organization called the "Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa", or ASMEA.Take that, MESA.
Mr. Spencer, can we all assume that you will be a charter member?
Nope. They only want professors at universities. No independent scholars allowed.
Cordially
Robert Spencer
at January 17, 2008 10:06 AM
"Islam has been hijacked, and it is time to take it back.” from Hesham Islam's CV.
Islam has not been 'hijacked'- it is the ideology of hijackers. The ideology of hijackers, suicide bombers, head choppers, mysogynists, honor killers and raving lunatics who run amok over cartoons, over something the pope says, over Koran down the toilet, and other ridiculous things.
We don't want hijackers like Hesham Islam and Gordon England in the Pentagon. Their subversion is noted. But what doesn it take to expose the subversion and the sabotage these people engage in?
Posted by: sheik yer'mami at January 17, 2008 11:58 AM
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