UPDATE on Virginia Legislature’s Dar Al-Hijrah Commendation

Visit our News page *** LEGISLATIVE UPDATE *** VIRGINIA GENERAL ASSEMBLY’S COMMENDATION OF 9/11 MOSQUE by Lisa Piraneo, Director of Government Relations As we informed you last month, the Virginia General Assembly shockingly passed a resolution commending the Falls Church Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center – an organization that has a long history of ties to multiple known and convicted terrorists – including the perpetrators of 9/11. Since the vote was tallied by “voice” – which means legislators simply say “aye” or “nay” en masse when the vote is called – there is no official notation of how each legislator voted on the resolution – no matter what he or she may tell their angry constituents after the fact. The response by ACT! for America’s membership was swift and severe. Thank you for taking action. Over the course of 24 hours, 28,000 e-mails were sent to the 8 members of the House and Senate leadership. These individuals were targeted as they were ultimately responsible for allowing the vote on the resolution to go forward. In addition, I travelled to Richmond to hand deliver an ACT! for America Open Letter, signed by 1,000 Virginians, in opposition to the passage of the resolution. The uproar by ACT! for America’s grassroots members has been a wake-up call to Virginia officials and politicians. Whereas many had been previously unaware and unwelcome to efforts to educate them on important national security issues, your actions have caused a large chunk of Virginia legislators (including leadership) to start seeing the light. For example: Members of leadership have indicated an interest in becoming more educated about Dar Al-Hijrah and the insidious characters that have darkened the Islamic Center’s doorway, as well as about other threats, such as the Muslim Brotherhood. House of Delegates Republican Caucus Chair, Tim Hugo, stated, “in hindsight, it is clear that the House should have handled HJ 484 differently,” adding that the bill “should not have been brought forward for a vote by our chamber, nor should Dar Al-Hijrah have been awarded a commendation by the Virginia General Assembly. I, as a member of House leadership, deeply regret that this resolution passed.” Delegate Hugo has also assured ACT! for America that “House leadership is discussing changes to the current procedures for commending resolutions.” I will continue to stay in touch with them about this, so I can report back to you when the policy modifications are made. Shortly after ACT! for America’s powerful response to the commendation resolution, Alphonso Lopez, the sponsor of the resolution, decided to drop his candidacy for Virginia’s 8th congressional district race. There has been a marked increase in the interest of becoming educated about radical Islam’s threat to our national security – not only by existing Virginia legislators, but Virginia candidates as well. I see this as very important, because education is the best first step toward deterrence (especially when an already educated constituency is watching). In the end, the Virginia legislature knows that ACT! for America is watching what they do and that we will hold them accountable. Again, thank you for taking action. Together, we ARE making a difference. REMEMBER, YOUR VOICE COUNTS! IF EACH OF US DOES JUST A LITTLE, TOGETHER WE CAN ACCOMPLISH A LOT! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ACT for America P.O. Box 12765 Pensacola, FL 32591 www.actforamerica.org ACT for America is an issues advocacy organization dedicated to effectively organizing and mobilizing the most powerful grassroots citizen action network in America, a grassroots network committed to informed and coordinated civic action that will lead to public policies that promote America’s national security and the defense of American democratic values against the assault of radical Islam. We are only as strong as our supporters, and your volunteer and financial support is essential to our success. Thank you for helping us make America safer and more secure. The news items, blogs, educational materials and other information in our emails and on our website are only intended to provide information, news and commentary on events and issues related to the threat of radical Islam. Much of this information is based upon media sources, such as the AP wire services, newspapers, magazines, books, online news blog and news services, and radio and television, which we deem to be reliable. However, we have undertaken no independent investigation to verify the accuracy of the information reported by these media sources. We therefore disclaim all liability for false or inaccurate information from these media sources. We also disclaim all liability for the third-party information that may be accessed through the material referenced in our emails or posted on our website. HOW CAN I TELL OTHERS ABOUT YOUR ORGANIZATION? Send a personalized version of this message to your friends. HOW CAN I SUPPORT YOUR ORGANIZATION? Click here to give an online donation.