Two unindicted co-conspirators in a Hamas jihad terror funding case, CAIR and ISNA, join the ADC, MPAC, and New York Muslim leaders in condemning the New York synagogue jihad plot.
“N.Y. muslims [sic] denounce terror in response,” by Gary Stern for LoHud.com, May 22 (thanks to News4U):
Muslim groups across New York found themselves having to denounce terrorism yesterday because of the arrests of four men who authorities said wanted to “commit jihad” by bombing two synagogues in the Riverdale section of the Bronx.
It’s become a predictable exercise for American Muslims whenever terrorist attacks are committed in the name of Islam anywhere in the world.
Indeed it has. One might wonder why Muslim groups don’t become more proactive, and institute programs in mosques and Islamic schools in the West (as well as in the Islamic world) to teach Muslims why the views of Osama bin Laden et al are wrong, and how the true Islam eschews violence against and hatred of unbelievers. Yet CAIR, ISNA, MPAC and the rest have never instituted or even called for such a program. They are ready with the condemnations after arrests or explosions, but why wait passively? Why not act to head off jihadist activity by Muslims?
“We believe that violence has no place in our community and is in no way a part of the tenets of Islam,” said Fozia Khan of Armonk, president of the Westchester-based American Muslim Women’s Association. “Unfortunately, incidents of this kind hamper our efforts to create harmonious relationships with other religious organizations within our community.
Since Fozia Khan’s holy book calls for warfare against Jews and Christians until they submit as inferiors to Islamic rule (Qur’an 9:29), and mandates the beheading of unbelievers (47:4), among many other belligerent passages, her assertion that violence “is in no way a part of the tenets of Islam” could bear some elucidation. None, however, was forthcoming from her, at least from the looks of this article.
“In recent years, we as an organization have had to condemn far too many acts of violence committed in the name of Islam,” she said. “We would like to stress that the people who commit these acts are misguided and confused and ignorant or unaware of Islam’s ideology of peace and tolerance.”
So why not teach them?
Anees Shaikh, spokesman for the Thornwood-based Upper Westchester Muslim Society, said Muslims in New York, like all New Yorkers, were relieved that the alleged plot was stopped.
“The local Muslim community, including the Upper Westchester Muslim Society, has said many times, and continues to say, that we reject terrorist acts and hate-motivated crimes regardless of who perpetrates them or seeks to commit them,” Shaikh said. “It’s especially disturbing that in this case houses of worship were apparently targeted.”…
Yes, indeed.
MPAC, meanwhile, is outraged:
“MPAC Outraged Over NYC Synagogue Plots,” from MPAC, May 21 (thanks to Michael):
The Muslim Public Affairs Council is outraged over the alleged plan of four men to carry out attacks against Jewish houses of worship in New York City. The four men were arrested after planting what they thought were explosives near a synagogue and community center. MPAC applauds the FBI for foiling the group’s plot to bomb New York City synagogues and use surface-to-air missiles to attack U.S. military planes.
Earlier this morning, MPAC Executive Director, Salam Al-Marayati, wrote to Rabbi Schneier, President and Founder of the New York based Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, and other Jewish leaders stating:
“I write to you today with shock and dismay over reports that four Muslims planned to bomb synagogues in the New York City area. This criminal attitude is reprehensible and wretched. On behalf of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, I want to demonstrate solidarity with you and all Jewish Americans against any attack motivated by anti-Semitism. We, Muslims and Jews, are all believers in the One God who wants justice in our society. We are all American citizens who band together to protect our country against any threat. We are all members of humanity who want to work for the betterment of society, in building bridges of understanding, against those who want to destroy those bridges. Thank you for all the work you do at the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding. I hope to be with you in the near future by the will of God.”
Islam considers the use of terrorism to be unacceptable for any purpose, and MPAC reaffirms the position of condemning acts of violence against any faith group in the name of Islam. Additionally, those seeking to carry out acts of violence should be swiftly brought to justice….
Strong words, good words. In fact, MPAC has been saying this sort of thing for years — making it even odder that their “counterterror” guidelines appear to be more concerned about misbehavior by non-Muslim law enforcement officials in mosques than about the possibility of terrorist activity in those mosques. Details here.
ISNA condemns the plots also. ISNA has admitted its ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas. The Brotherhood is waging, in its own words, “a kind of grand Jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and “˜sabotaging” its miserable house by their hands and the hands of the believers so that it is eliminated and Allah’s religion is made victorious over all other religions.”
“ISNA Condemns Plots to Attack Synagogues and National Targets,” from ISNA, May 21 (thanks again to Michael):
(Plainfield, IN – May 21, 2009) The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) is relieved to learn that law enforcement agencies were able to foil a plot to blow up two synagogues in New York, and is appalled that suspects planned to attack places of worship and to commit crimes against national institutions.
“We commend the FBI and other law enforcement agencies for preventing the planned acts of violence by fanatics,” Dr. Ingrid Mattson, ISNA president stressed. “We reject unequivocally such violence or any attempt to undermine public safety and national security. We are repulsed by the hatred directed towards the Jewish community and stand in solidarity with our Jewish neighbors,” she added….
ISNA seems to blame the media for identifying the suspects as Muslims, although many jihadist and Jew-hating statements from the perps are on record:
Several media reports referred to the suspects as Muslim. ISNA rejects the association of Islam with such criminality, hatred and bigotry….
Of course, that is a tried-and-true tactic. When Islamic preachers preach hate and bloodshed in mosques, these “moderate” groups say nothing. But when Geert Wilders dares to depict their preaching disapprovingly in a film, it’s…”Islamophobia”! And the whole world pretends that it is he, not the preachers, who has associated Islam with violence.
CAIR is also concerned that the media not link Islam to these plots, despite the fact that the alleged perpetrators have linked Islam to these plots:
“CAIR Applauds FBI for Preventing Attacks on NY Jewish Sites,” from CAIR, May 21 (thanks yet again to Michael):
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 5/21/2009) -Â The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today applauded efforts by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies that apparently thwarted an alleged plot to attack Jewish institutions in New York….
In a statement, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said:
“We applaud the FBI, the New York Police Department and the other law enforcement agencies that took part in the investigation for their efforts in helping to prevent any harm to either Jewish institutions or to our nation’s military.
“We repeat the American Muslim community”s repudiation of bias-motivated crimes and of anyone who would falsely claim religious justification for violent actions. Members of the American Muslim community should remain vigilant in reporting any activities that could harm the safety and security of our nation or its citizens.”
CAIR also requested that media outlets and public officials refrain from linking this case to mainstream Islam and to challenge those who will inevitably exploit this disturbing incident to promote anti-Muslim fear and stereotypes.
Along with innumerable condemnations of other terror incidents, CAIR has in the past launched an online anti-terror petition drive called “Not in the Name of Islam,” initiated a television public service announcement campaign of that same name and coordinated a “fatwa,” or Islamic religious ruling, against terrorism and religious extremism.
SEE: CAIR”s Anti-Terrorism Campaigns
[NOTE TO EDITORS: American Muslims are often accused of not speaking out forcefully against acts of terror committed in the name of Islam. This statement, along with the many other past anti-terror statements by mainstream Muslim groups, reaffirms the American Muslim community”s unequivocal condemnation of terrorism in all its forms.]…
You can get the links at the CAIR site. Meanwhile, here is an explanation of why CAIR’s anti-terrorism campaign rings hollow.
And finally, the ADC:
“ADC Condemns Alleged Plots to Attack NYC Jewish Temples,” from the ADC, May 20 (thanks still once more to Michael):
Washington, DC | May 20, 2009 | The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee(ADC) is appalled by the alleged hate-motivated crime that took place earlier today against the Bronx Riverdale Temple and the Riverdale Jewish Center in New York City. An FBI press release earlier this evening indicated that four individuals attempted to set explosive devices at the Jewish houses of worship.
ADC National Executive Director Kareem Shora said, “This alleged act of hate is absolutely unacceptable. ADC has been consistent in condemning hate-motivated crimes and any attacks aimed at civilians, especially houses of worship, no matter who the victims or the perpetrators may be,” Shora said, ” ADC urges the FBI to make every effort to track down all perpetrators responsible for this alleged crime and bring them to justice immediately. We welcome the FBIs proactive efforts in this investigation and remind media outlets and the public that hate-motivated violence is not associated with nor representative of any specific race, religion, or ethnicity.”…
In other words, stop noticing that these guys were Muslims, motivated by Islamic teaching.
I am not saying these condemnations are necessarily or ipso facto insincere. But why are these high words never backed up with deeds? And why all the lacunae in the condemnations, instead of unequivocal and unmistakable language? Is it too much to ask that Muslim groups stand against the jihad doctrine and Islamic supremacism clearly and openly in both deed and word? And if it is too much to ask, as apparently it is, then why are these groups still so widely regarded as “moderate”?