The Mosque and Gitmo

The first reaction anyone has to the idea of building a mosque at ground zero is, "What? You must be kidding. Why would Muslims want to draw so much negative attention to themselves?" It's a good question. Why? Even if one looks past Imam Rauf’s remarks that the US was complicit with the 911 attacks, or want to give him the benefit of the doubt that the ground zero mosque is the Islamic equivalent of an extended hand of friendship, there are overwhelming reasons why the ground zero mosque should not be built. If one believes that Guantanamo Bay is being used to recruit Islamic terrorism, what do you think the result would be if the largest mosque in America was built on ground zero of the worst terrorists’ attack on US soil. Dr Zuhdi Jasser MD the founder of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy says “Make no mistake, this Islamic center is not a spiritual statement but a global one in the name of Islam…It will be used by Islamic leadership around the world to say, ‘despite the violence that al-Qaeda perpetrated on the American population, political Islam will always be victorious and from it’s ashes has risen the largest religious Muslim structure in the United States.’”

Islam is a very compartmentalized religion, local Imams or religious leaders like a pastor, determines the form of Islam he will present to his followers. It is not unusual to ask Muslims about aspects of Islam which they will have no concept of, as their Imam does not delve into that part of Islam; they will always direct you to find a cleric that imparts and interprets that area of the Koran. But just because political jihad and sharia law are not generally taught to American Muslims, that does not mean there is not pressure to do so. Much of this pressure comes from the likes of the Muslim Brotherhood The Muslim Brotherhood and the Ground Zero Mosque, of which Amam Rauf is a member, who are considered moderate, not because they do not believe in political Islam, but because they do not purport the use of violence for proselytizing political Islam . Jasser warns us against ignoring “Islamist" or "Ilamism,” his words for political Islam that is bent on world domination, “As the (Obama) administration continues to move backwards, (outlawing) the use of specific religious Islamic terms like jihad, Islamism, and salafism, the Islamists continued to make unopposed headway in the contest of ideas. We are losing the war of ideas.”

The glaring difference of course between Gitmo and the planned ground zero mosque, is Gitmo is a Marine base and the mosque will be built on private property that would normally be protected by the Constitution’s freedom of religion. I say normally because the First Amendment right is not absolute; one would not be allowed to practice the Aztec religious rite of human sacrifice, nor was Utah allowed to become a state until the Mormons stopped their religious practice of polygamy. Any religion in the United States must still not violate the rule of law. The very existence of sharia in Islam and its use by the Muslim Brotherhood as a method of proselytizing political Islam, combined with the Amam Rauf repeated remarks regarding the need for sharia Law in the United States, show the purpose for the mosque, at least in part, is to challenge our Constitution and the rule of law. Jasser believes that Aman Rauf also continues to fan the flame of what he calls the “narrative”, or the false paradigm spread by Islamic Extremists that America is at war with and wants to extinguish Islam. The belief in this narrative is so strong, that many Muslims are taught and believe that the United States is using its full military might to destroy Islam and only Allah stops it from happening. “Until anti-Islamist Muslims wage the intellectual battle against Islamism with the Muslim consciousness, we will make no headway against the narrative.” When a religion comes with its own form of political tyranny, and the leaders and followers refuse to separate themselves from that tyranny, then it is no longer protected by our Constitution. America is not at war with Islam, but we will resist political Islam or any other tyranny no matter what it looks like or purports itself to be.

The Ground Zero Mosque and Civics 101

Recently I had an ongoing conversation on a forum for the Santa Cruz Sentinel about the ground zero mosque. I have decided to repeat some of it because it has become obvious the much of the American citizenry don't understand their Constitution and Bill of Rights. The first blog demonstrated the most common mistake, once you get past that the issue is not whether the builders have the right to build the mosque, this lack of understanding takes front stage.

"Like most emotional subjects, mosque controversy is producing more heat than light. When the anger and fear are stripped away, this is a simple question: Do the owners of this property have the right to build a community center that will contain a Muslim mosque? The answer clearly is yes. The arguments raised by the opponents are irrational and fear-based. Our Constitution specifically protects this freedom and prohibits its infringement. I am saddened by the entire controversy. It is not a proud day for our country."
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"You can't say you believe in the 1st Amendment, then turn around and say, "But they should build somewhere else."

The red herring being thrown out by the progressive left about the ground zero mosque is this is all about the First Amendment and religious freedom; this could not be further from the truth. The reason is the Bill of Rights protects the citizenry from government, but does not restrain the citizenry. If we all agree that government has no say so about building the mosque, then whatever the citizens say or demonstrate about has no attachment to the Constitution's protection against government intrusion. The citizenry is therefore protected by the First Amendment to protest the mosque; you can't claim one right to the exclusion of another. The fact that citizens want to uphold the mosque's Constitutional right to be built and can still say the disagree where it is being built should be applauded as it demonstrates the Constitutions protection of free speech. Thomas Jefferson said, as long as you don't pick my pocket or kick me in the leg, I don't care what else you do.

The Constitution also protects the minority from being trampled over by the majority. You aren't allowed to lynch Muslims simply because some sick majority has gotten their fever up and thinks they have a right ... simply because they are the majority. And I use the term "majority" lightly. Just because a group makes the most noise, it doesn't mean they are the majority.

Your are right as far as you go. The Constitution does protects the minority from the tyranny of the majority, but only if the trampling (or tyranny) is done through or by GOVERNMENT. If a majority of the citizenry attempts tyranny over a minority or individual (which does not rise to the level of criminal action), then the minority's redress is in Civil Court, where there are civil penalties, not criminal penalties. Lynching is primarily a violation of the criminal codes of kidnapping and murder, not a federal constitutional violation. There have been exceptions, but mostly when the federal governments believes the state GOVERNMENT violated the victim's rights. There are also are also so called “hate crimes” which are generally described as a person violating the “civil (or Constitutional rights) of another. However, these civil rights violations are actually enhancements to state statute law violation and not federal Constitutional rights, and do not come into play unless a criminal violation has first occurred. Further, most hate crimes enhancements are a violation state constitutional rights, not federal constitutional rights. In the mind of many, it is the State overreaching, wanting a perpetrator to be punished not just for his crime, not for his intentions, but the thought process behind his intentions; in essence it' s a thought crime. It's a shame that our citizenry is not taught basic civics in school. The only penalty a citizen can pay for tyranny (short of a criminal violation) is that which can be calculated monetarily. That's why there are so many damn lawyers..

There is Something Fishy About the Ground Zero Mosque

There is something wrong going on in New York. What I mean the Ground Zero mosque just doesn’t past the smell test. Imagine you are a member of the Muslim Brother hood and your agenda for the United States “is a “Civilization-Jihadist Process” with all the word means. The Ikhwan (aka the Muslim Brotherhood) must understand that their work in America is a kind of grand Jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and “sabotaging” its miserable house by their [own] hands and the hands of the believers so that it is eliminated and God’s religion is made victorious over all other religions. Without this level of understanding, we are not up to this challenge and have not prepared ourselves for Jihad yet. It is a Muslim’s destiny to perform Jihad and work wherever he is and wherever he lands until the final hour comes, and there is no escape from that destiny except for those who chose to slack. But, would the slackers and the Mujahedeen be equal.” The Muslim Brotherhood and the Ground Zero Mosque.

This was written in 1991; 10 years later came 911, but thanks to President Bush, there was little retaliation against the Muslims in the US. In the 10 years since 911, the US has been at war with Muslims extremists in Afghanistan and whileAmericans have seen the continued atrocities of these Muslim extremists that are aligned with those that brought down the twin towers and murdered 3000 civilians in New York, we continue to welcome American Muslims into our culture. The majority of Americans holds our freedoms sacred, and will always give those the benefit of the doubt when it comes to their religious beliefs, even when a segment of that religion are cowardly terrorists that annihilated our brothers and sisters. If it is the intent of the Muslim Brotherhood, and I firmly believe that it to “eliminate and destroy” the Western civilization from within and “sabotaging” its miserable house by their [own] hands and the hands of the believers so that it is eliminated and God’s religion is made victorious over all other religions, would you then plant the flag of victory for the terrorist at the site of the 911 attack?

In no other country would we be even having this discussion. There is no other country in the world that is so forgiving as the American people. This is a country where most the racism that exists is that baited by the progressives (if one take a moment to review history you will see that like all those who judge others, the progressives mostly judge what they see in others for what they most hate in themselves). The most often cited reason for distrust of Muslims has nothing to do with religious rights at all, at least in the traditional sense. It is well known that Islam carries with it it’s own criminal justice system called Sharia (or Shariah). The primary tactic used for proselytizing Sharia Law, aka Dawa (or Dawah), is interjecting Sharia law into a nation, trying create a two tier justice system. Imam Fiesal Abdual Raouf, the front man for the Ground Zero mosque, has attempted to make some headway in the United states by saying the Constitution is Sharia compliant, however Americans had stood fast in opposition to any to attempt to honor any aspect of Sharia law as Americans still hold the Constitution and Rule of Law sacred.

So what is going on here? Why would the Muslim Brotherhood seemingly shot themselves in the foot and create so much anti-Muslim sentiment? This is not Islamphobia as the progressive media is so willing to judge, as the American people have had every right to mistrust Muslims, but have generally offered our hand in friendship instead. This is something else. If I had to venture a guess, I would think we are looking at the moral equivalent of two opposing Christian armies meeting in no-man’s land during a Christmas cease fire. The generals could not allow the soldiers humanizing each other so they were fired upon to separate them. What I believe is the Muslim Brotherhood is losing control. Like any religion that comes to America, they are soon “corrupted” by the ways of liberty and freedom. They actually start believing the Imam Fiesal Abdual Raoul rhetoric that the Constitution is Sharia compliant; so it is starting to be viewed as a replacement? American Muslims see a country where other religions are truly accepted and encouraged (I have always been wary of the acceptance by Islam of other religions, when history shows them tearing down the churches and synagogues of conquered cities to build mosques in their place; I’m guessing they were accepting in a more historical sense). Imam Fiesal Abdual Raoul wanted to ease Sharia law into the United States, but what he is seeing is American Muslims that have no need for such an antiqued justice system and without Sharia law, Islam as it is known would not exist. An excellent on point article is A Patriotic Muslim's Warning On Ground Zero Mosque.

Without Sharia law, Islam simply becomes another respected religion in America. The Muslim Brotherhood through Imam Fiesal Adual Raoul had to throw up a wall between the American people and the America Muslims, and create the impression Muslims are being discriminated against so they will continue to seek out Sharia law. What we are seeing is not Islamphopia, the fear is coming from the other side. The American Muslims are simply becoming Americans, not part of the plan for an Islamic world revolution contained in the constraints of Sharia law.

The Muslim Brotherhood and the Ground Zero Mosque

The world organization that has dedicated itself to world wide Sharia law is the Muslim Brotherhood; a religious and political organization that had it's start in Egypt in 1928. The primary goal is "the upbringing of an Islamic generation" through the restructuring of society and religious education. The Muslim Brotherhood has been active in the United states since 1960 with it's stated purpose as Dawa (proselytizing Sharia Law; see Where is the Outcry from Mainstream Muslims). The Muslim Brotherhood is considered moderate for it's belief in non-violent jihad as the method for converting the world to Islam; they have close ties to Hamas, are vehemently anti-Zionist and are the organizers of the recent flotilla demonstrations trying to run the blockade of Gaza. However in May of 1991, a inflammable memorandum called the “Understanding the role of the Muslim Brother in North America,” was distributed by Mohamed Akram, Dr. Mohamed Akram Adlouni (or Adluni) to high ranking members in the United States. At the time of writing, Adlouni was one of the key players within the Muslim Brotherhood in the U.S. He was a member of the Shura Council and five departments within the apparatus including, the Planning department; the Special Committee and the Secretary of the Palestine Committee The Muslim Brotherhood in the United States,. Article 4 of his memorandum states, “The process of settlement is a “Civilization-Jihadist Process” with all the word means. The Ikhwan (aka the Muslim Brotherhood) must understand that their work in America is a kind of grand Jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and “sabotaging” its miserable house by their [own] hands and the hands of the believers so that it is eliminated and God’s religion is made victorious over all other religions. Without this level of understanding, we are not up to this challenge and have not prepared ourselves for Jihad yet. It is a Muslim’s destiny to perform Jihad and work wherever he is and wherever he lands until the final hour comes, and there is no escape from that destiny except for those who chose to slack. But, would the slackers and the Mujahedeen be equal.” The Muslim Brotherhood is the largest collective of Muslim organizations in the world. Imam Fiesal Abdual Raouf, the front man for the NY ground zero mosque, is a high ranking member of this organization from Malaysia, currently operating in the United States. His father, Mohammed Abdul Rauf, is a close contemporary of the Muslin Brotherhood founder Hassan al-Banna.