Obama's
Dubious Mosque Choice
IPT News
February 2, 2016
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 Barack Obama is
scheduled to visit the Islamic Society of Baltimore (ISB) Wednesday,
his first visit to a U.S. mosque since becoming president.
ISB leaders have amassed a record of support for radical Islamic causes
over the years, including endorsing the Chechen jihad and Palestinian
suicide bombings. Its former imam was active in a charity later linked to
terror financing including Hamas, the Taliban, and for providing
"hundreds of thousands of dollars" to Osama bin Laden.
More recently, a resident scholar described homosexuality as a threat to
societal health, in stark contrast to the president's views on the issue.
It's safe to assume the White House vetted the ISB and found it an
acceptable venue for a presidential appearance despite this history. And
that is not surprising. The Obama administration has repeatedly embraced
contact with the Muslim Brotherhood, repeatedly meeting with its officials
during and after the Arab Spring while ignoring secular democracy advocates. It praised the early tenure of Brotherhood member Mohamed
Morsi when he briefly served as Egypt's president. The administration also
helped a Brotherhood delegation skip routine screening by U.S. Customs and Border
Protection upon landing in America.
And, as we reported in December, a White House meeting also aimed
at standing by the Muslim-American community featured representatives of
Islamist groups, including some with consistent records of opposing U.S.
law enforcement counter-terrorism efforts.
ISB officials have worked closely with one of those groups, the Council
on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). In 2014, two ISB officials joined
with CAIR in a news conference blasting Israeli military actions in Gaza.
The conflict, known as Operation Protective Edge, started when Hamas
operatives kidnapped and murdered three Israeli teens and
continued its incessant campaign of firing rockets with the hope of killing Israeli civilians.
Those rockets were fired from densely populated areas, including near schools and houses of worship.
But Hamas' murders and ongoing efforts to carry out more were never mentioned
by the CAIR and ISB officials. Instead, they blamed Israel when raids aimed
at rocket launchers and other Hamas targets inadvertently killed and
injured civilians.
ISB President
Muhammad Jameel recklessly invoked "genocide in the name of
self-defense" and said that, "as an American I am ashamed to
stand here."
Abid Husain, the ISB's general secretary, joined Jameel in calling for
the U.S. to pressure Israel into opening Gaza's borders, ending an embargo
that was enacted to stop the flow of weapons and materials used to make
them.
"The U.S. government must not remain silent about Israel's indiscriminate
assault and unjust use of force," Husain said. "The right of a
nation to defend itself does not extend to unrestrained aerial bombardments
of civilian populations and must be condemned."
Far from genocide, which is the systematic elimination of a
people, and from an indiscriminate attack, Israel campaign against Hamas
"went
to extraordinary lengths" to minimize civilian casualties, said
Gen. Martin Dempsey, then-chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Israel dropped leaflets and called residents of buildings targeted for
bombing in hopes the residents would heed the warnings and seek safer
locations.
After the conflict ended, Dempsey sent a team of senior officers to
learn from Israeli military leaders to study the tactics in Gaza to
minimize civilian casualties. "In this kind of conflict, where you are
held to a standard that your enemy is not held to, you're going to be
criticized for civilian casualties," he said.
Another ISB official, resident scholar Yaseen Shaikh, sermonized against
homosexuality as a mental disorder and "something which we
despise." The talk is dated May 2013, just weeks before he joined the ISB.
The Quran says "harm them" to those who engage in
homosexuality, he said. "What does this mean? If it was not an
aberrant act, if this was not a despised act, why would Allah ... say,
'Harm them'? Allah then says, '[Several Arabic words],' 'If they repent and
they reform and they transform themselves and change, then let them
be."
As the Daily Caller reported, a past ISB imam worked with an Islamic
charity later shuttered by the Treasury Department for supporting
terrorists.
Mohamad Adam El Sheikh was a regional representative for the Islamic
Africa Relief Agency (IARA) in Baltimore the same time that he was an ISB
imam and director.
An archived ISB action alert says that the "Islamic
Society of Baltimore was recently visited by an IARA representative who
brought the attached pictures of atrocities committed by Russians against
the Muslims in Chechnya."
Although links to several pictures from the Chechen jihad are still
available on ISB's archived web page, the actual pictures are no longer
accessible.
"Despite all of this, by the grace of Allah, the Mujahidin in
Chechnya have been able to defend themselves and remains a formidable
threat to heavily armed Russian Army. However, it is also our
responsibility as Muslims all over the world to help them in their Jihad
effort," the action alert added.
The action alert further solicited donations "to help the Refugees
and Mujahidin in their struggle."
In 2004, El-Sheikh justified Palestinian suicide bombings, saying they
are acceptable when "certain Muslims are to be cornered where they
cannot defend themselves, except through these kinds of means, and their
local religious leaders issued fatwas to permit that."
Another page on the ISB's archived "Official English Site"
links to a feature on the "Jihad in Chechnya" on the Azzam
Publications website. Azzam publications was an al Qaida-tied website that was
"one of the most well-known supporters of jihad, or holy war, on the
internet." The site is replete with material promoting jihad and
martyrdom operations and includes a photo and link to a biography of Osama
bin Laden's mentor, Abdullah Azzam.
Just after 9/11, the ISB hosted speakers who would become prominent
advocates of jihad, including American-born al-Qaida cleric Anwar
al-Awlaki, who was killed in a 2011 U.S. drone strike. Awlaki's online
sermons remain some of the most watched, most effective terrorist recruiting material online.
A page from ISB's archived website links to the homepage of Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader Yusuf Qaradawi. Qaradawi has issued fatwas or religious
rulings in support of terrorism and described suicide operations as
"heroic martyrdom operations." In a 2004
fatwa, Qaradawi called abducting and killing Americans in Iraq is
"a [religious] duty."
At a 1995 conference held by the Muslim Arab Youth Association (MAYA) in
Toledo, Ohio, Qaradawi called for the "conquest" of Europe and
America through Dawa, or proselytizing. "We will conquer Europe, we
will conquer America! Not through sword but through Dawa," he said.
The ISB's leaders have had connections with radical Islamists and
espoused extreme viewpoints throughout its history. Like a lot of mosques,
it continues to segregate men and women during prayer, something American-Islamic Forum
for Democracy President Zuhdi Jasser called "gender
apartheid."
During an appearance on Fox News Monday, Jasser said he was insulted by the president's choice of the
ISB. It continues an administration policy of working with Islamist groups
and ignoring Muslims like him who stand against theocracy.
"It's disgraceful that this is one of the mosques – or the mosque –
that he's picked to be the first visit," he said. ISB's website looks
like "a covert operation. There's no name on it. It basically has
pictures of individuals, but no names."
For an event that is expected to focus on tolerance, diversity and
inclusion, Obama made a puzzling choice in the ISB. Its leaders sympathize
with terrorists, hate homosexuals and treat women as less than equal.
Related Topics: , Barack
Obama, Islamic
Society of Baltimore, CAIR,
Hamas,
Gaza,
Operation
Protective Edge, Muhammad
Jameel, Abid
Husain, Martin
Dempsey, Yaseen
Shaikh, Mohamad
Adam El Sheikh, IARA,
Azzam
Productions, Anwar
al-Awlaki, Yusuf
Qaradawi, Zuhdi
Jasser
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