At a mosque near you...Most Muslim houses of worship in America are run by Wahabi imams

Jerusalem Post ^ | 8-31-04 | ELWOOD MCQUAID

[SJackson]

Most Muslim houses of worship in America are run by Wahabi imams and subsidized by Saudi Arabia

The Wahabi presence in the United States is a foreboding one that has potentially harmful and far-reaching consequences for our nation's mosques, schools, prisons and even our military. My fear is, if we don't wake up and take action now, those influenced by Wahabism's extremist ideology will harm us in as-of-yet unimaginable ways. – US Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY)

In February of 2003 a University of South Florida professor and six others were charged with aiding Islamic Jihad, a global terrorist organization.

A federal grand jury in Dallas, Texas, handed down a 42-count indictment against the leaders of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, charging them with raising more than $12 million to funnel to the terrorist organization Hamas.

In July two New York Muslim clerics were arrested for alleged connections to al-Qaida and for attempting to purchase a shoulder-fired grenade launcher.

These incidents raise the question of how deeply radical Islamic elements have become embedded in the United States. Among the prime suspects under investigation are groups financed by Saudi Arabian interests known to be making huge investments in the spread of the extremist Wahabi Muslim doctrine in America.

Larry Medford, assistant director of the FBI's Counterterrorism Division, reported to a Senate subcommittee in 2003 that the FBI has launched an initiative to uncover such sleeper cells in 40 states.

State Department statistics show Islam is one of the fastest-growing religions in the United States.

According to a recent survey there are 1,209 mosques in America, with well over half founded in the past 20 years. Between 17 and 30 percent of American Muslims are converts to the faith. Accurate population figures for Muslims in the United States vary widely, from some two million to seven million.

Whatever the population, non-Wahabi Muslim leaders say approximately 80 percent of all US mosques are under the control of Wahabi imams and subsidized by Saudi Arabia. In addition to funding mosque construction and subsidizing programs, the Saudis are said to be pouring millions into creating a system of schools teaching militant Wahabi doctrines.

Givern the 80-percent figure, and considering that mosques are operating in every US state, Wahabis are becoming a formidable influence. For example, the State Department lists 327 mosques in California, 67 in Texas, 57 in Florida, and 140 in New York.

An example of anti-American Muslim rhetoric was documented in terrorist expert Steven Emerson's 1994 PBS documentary, Jihad in America.

Mohammad al-Asi, leader of the Washington Mosque and head of the Islamic Educational Center in Washington, DC has said, "If the Americans are placing their forces in the Persian Gulf, we should be creating another war front for the Americans in the Muslim world – and specifically where American interests are concentrated."

What sets the Wahabi segment of Islam apart as a danger to America and the West?

For starters, Wahabism has been described as an Islamist totalitarian system. Its structures include suppressing women and invoking the death penalty for alcohol consumption, sexual transgressions, and conversion to another religion.

Western influence and close interaction with non-Muslims are viewed with a mixture of disdain, contempt, and at times aggression that is believed to be sanctioned by the Koran.

Prime targets for Wahabi animosity are Israel and America. Practitioners of the Wahabi brand of Islam are committed to spreading the religion around the world by peaceful or coercive means.

The Muslim Student Association, with solid Wahabi commitments, operates chapters on virtually every major campus in America. In league with militant left-wing organizations, it has been in the forefront of organizing and executing anti-Israel, anti-Jewish hate campaigns on campuses.

A student publication at Rutgers University published a cartoon depicting a Jewish man suspended over a burning oven. The caption read, "Knock a Jew in the oven."

At Wooster College in Ohio a guest lecturer spoke about the infamous Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion as if they were true. At Northwestern University in Illinois, swastikas were painted throughout the campus nine times in a single year.

The Wahabis' brand of religious militancy is not simply a matter of being out of step with the American values and Judeo-Christian traditions of their adopted home; it is a potential menace to other Muslims who do not embrace the excesses of Wahabism.

As has been demonstrated by the Muslim-on-Muslim war in Darfur, Sudan, Wahabis are not above attacking other Muslims whom they consider not Muslim enough for their taste.

Thus far, understanding the full extent of these problems has escaped most Americans; but if we don't deal with this information now, it will be at our peril.

The writer, a pastor, is a leader in the Christian Zionist movement. His weekly 'Holy Land' program can be heard on jpostradio.com

[Guillermo]

I wonder if the Mohammedan who gave the Invocation at the RNC last night is a Wahhabi?

[SJackson]

If you'd like to be on or off this middle east/political ping list, please FR mail me.

[Bombardier]

This country needs to quit kissing mohammedan a** and begin KICKING mohammedan a**! A good start would be to deport the ones that are here, and then tell Fraudi Arabia they had better shape up and quit sponsoring terrorism, or we might make a few of their cities (Mecca, Medina, Jeddah) disappear.....and if they don't believe us, well.....maybe we should make Riyadh vanish to prove the point!

[mgc1122]

I imagine that a great many of them are used for planning terrorist attacks and/or storage of weaponry for such attacks ... when it happens, the response by the average American will be swift and merciless towards "the religion of peace".

[dennisw]

I wonder if the Mohammedan who gave the Invocation at the RNC last night is a Wahhabi?.......


I read that Daniel Pipes says he's an honest to God moderate Muslim

[NYer]

In July two New York Muslim clerics were arrested for alleged connections to al-Qaida and for attempting to purchase a shoulder-fired grenade launcher.

August 6, 2004 -- The leader of an Albany mosque busted yesterday on terror charges tied to the purchase of a shoulder-fired missile was listed as "The Commander" in an address book carried by a terrorist in Iraq, The Post has learned.

A government official said U.S. troops who raided a terror training camp run by the Ansar al-Islam group in northern Iraq last summer discovered the address book among other documents.

It contained personal information about Yassin Aref, the 34-year-old Albany imam arrested yesterday along with another mosque leader, the official said.

"His name, address and telephone number in Albany were all in the book," the official said. "His title [in the book] is 'The Commander.' "
FULL STORY

FYI - both men have now been released on bail.

RELIGION OF PEACE ALERT!

[twigs]

I read that Daniel Pipes says he's an honest to God moderate Muslim

He came across that way. Even quoted R Reagan! But he looked so unhappy.. no smile. He really looked miserable. My heart went out to him.

[Chi-Town Lady]

"I imagine that a great many of them are used for planning terrorist attacks and/or storage of weaponry for such attacks ... when it happens, the response by the average American will be swift and merciless towards "the religion of peace".

I wish I could agree with you. However, the sheeple would believe them when they say "Only the radicals caused the terror, we are a peace loving religion".

[mgc1122]

It will only take one attack ala Israeli bombings to change enough minds that we take a close look at the mosques and the practioners of the "peaceful" religion ...

[Valin]

Dispute Between Kabbani Followers and Hosts Disrupts Forum at Islamic Center of Southern California

By Pat McDonnell Twair
http://www.washington-report.org/backissues/0799/9907021.html

(snip)
A landmark meeting at the Islamic Center of Southern California that featured a State Department ambassador-at-large speaking on international religious freedom ended on a sour note June 8 when members of the Islamic Supreme Council of America disrupted closing comments of Dr. Maher Hathout, the center’s spokesman.

(snip)
While non-Muslims in the audience were for the most part in the dark as to what Ambassador Seiple was referring to in his remarks, they stunned many Muslims in the room.

The controversy centers around Sheikh Hisham Kabbani, a Lebanon-born religious leader who has been in the U.S. for the past nine years championing his international Naqshbandi order of Sufism. The Los Angeles Times published a lengthy profile on Kabbani on April 15 stating he has converted hundreds of inner city African Americans to his fold. Other reported supporters include his uncle, the grand mufti of Lebanon, the president of Chechnya, the Sultan of Brunei (one of the wealthiest men in the world), and O.J. Simpson.

To all appearances, the 54-year-old Sheikh Kabbani sees himself as the catalyst for making his brand of Islam the dominant Muslim force in the U.S. However, most American Muslim organizations see dangerous divisiveness in his message. Kabbani gained the enmity of nearly every Muslim group in the U.S. on Jan. 7 when he delivered a speech to a State Department open forum.

In essence, the white-bearded Sufi charged that the “ideology of extremism has been spread to 80 percent of the [American] Muslim population.” He claimed the foremost Muslim student organization was directed by extremists and hinted that alleged terrorist Osama bin Laden was buying nuclear devices from the Russian mafia which could then fall into the hands of radical Muslim students in the U.S.

For more
Unveiling the Controversy
the discussion of Islamic extremism in America
http://www.islamicsupremecouncil.org/bin/site/wrappers/default.asp?pane_2=content-extremism_inamerica_unveiling

[Valin]

Muslims for Bush
http://www.muslimsforbush.com/

[Cultural Jihad]

File this story under: "Scandal! People Exercising Their 1st Amendment Rights!"

[Valin]

Reason #56,926 Why they don't play Hail To The Chief when you enter a room.


If you really feel that way I'd recomend you NOT vote for George Bush.

[Calpernia]

ping

[Guillermo]

I wonder if the Nazi's for Roosevelt have a site up?

[Guillermo]

I tend to disagree with Mr. Pipes, in that there are no "moderate" Muslims.

[Alamo-Girl]

Bump!

[Honorary Serb]

The biggest mosque in my area sponsored anti-Serbian marches during the 1999 war, and before 9/11 had links from their website to KLA and Chechen bandit sites (including asking for funds for these terrorists). After 9/11, the website got a new "religion of peace" look and deleted these links, but emphasized "hate crimes" against muslims rather than the 9/11 victims and their families. Then they went on to gloat over all the American dupes that they got to convert to islam as the result of the new interest in their religion after 9/11.

Connections between founders and donors to this mosque and terrorist organizations keep surfacing in the news from time to time. But the mosque keeps denying these connections. To me, their lies are transparent. Nevertheless, liberal Christian and Jewish organizations and local politicians keep fawning all over this mosque. Those who say anything against the mosque are labeled as "bigots". I myself experienced this directly--I was not only supposed to be a "bigot" and "extremist" for opposing the mosque and its terrorist connections, but for supporting the Serbs.

The islamoNazi infiltration of American mosques is not only an issue for Jews and Christian Zionists, but for all American Christians, especially Orthodox Christians and other conservative Chrstians in the catholic tradition (Lutherans, Roman Catholics, and Anglicans). The islamists may scream all sorts of antisemitic poison, but we are their main target!!!!

[Coroner]

The 13 muzzies I worked with went to these mosques. It was pretty obvious. Deport and intern!!!

[StillProud2BeFree]

Muslims for Kerry

www.muslimsforkerry.com

"John Kerry is the candidate that best represents American and Muslim interests both domestically and internationally. George Bush and John Kerry are not the same! Kerry has our best interests and the nation's best interests in mind."

Boy, now THERE is a real confidence builder!

[Cultural Jihad]

A good start would be to deport the ones that are here . . .

Please ping us when you repeal the Bill of Rights.

[dennisw]

I tend to disagree with Mr. Pipes, in that there are no "moderate" Muslims.....

I think Pipes is closer to your kind of thinking but must put on a facade to avoid being branded extremist and getting zero traction. Americans have a hard time understanding how insidious Islam is when it comes to stealth Jihads and Jihad via demographics.

[Guillermo]

I wonder what it's going to take for American to wake up?

Islam needs to be treated today as Nazism was in WWII.

[BayouCoyote]

Bump.

Their insidious lies need to be exposed for all of America to see. Deportation is just one tool that we will need to use in order for us to purge these vermin from our mist.

[Guillermo]

The only problem I have with Arabs is their religion.

Non-Mohammedan Arabs are great people. My step-fathers family are Lebanese Maronites.

Mohammedanism is the problem, not their race or ethnicity.

[7.62 x 51mm]

I disagree with Mr Pipes: there are NO moderate Muslims. All would kill us infidels, if they had motive and opportunity.

[TheSpottedOwl]

FYI - both men have now been released on bail.

And of course they'll show up for their court date.

So, now what? We know that mosques for the most part are more of a terrorist rest stop, than a place of worship. If we know it, the FBI knows it, and so does Homeland Security.

[nuconvert]

LOL

[nuconvert]

LOL

[Bombardier]

Terrorists and their enablers have no right to be here.

[nw_arizona_granny]

Bump

[nw_arizona_granny]

Muslims for kerry.com

Communists for kerry

China for kerry

Is there any enemy of America, who is not "for kerry"?

[Cultural Jihad]

Terrorists and their enablers have no right to be here.

Indeed, but you haven't shown how peaceful, law-abiding Muslims are terrorists or the enablers of terrorism.

[Cultural Jihad]

Muslims for kerry.com ...

Is there any enemy of America, who is not "for kerry"?

Take a clue from our Commander-in-Chief. Muslims are not our enemy.

[Cultural Jihad]

. . . there are NO moderate Muslims. All would kill us infidels, if they had motive and opportunity.

Reason #323,785 that no one plays 'Hail to the Chief' when you walk into a room.

[Guillermo]

I have no idea, but, at least around here, most gas stations do not seem to be run by Mohammedans.

[Bombardier]

Indeed, but you haven't shown how peaceful, law-abiding Muslims are terrorists or the enablers of terrorism.

Read the Koran. There is no such thing as a "peaceful, law abiding" camel raper. When mohammedans are in the minority, the Son of Shaytan (AKA, Mohammed, may the fleas of a thousand camels compete with the crabs in his crotch), told his followers to lay low and act like everyone else until they could take over. Bluntly, all they're waiting for is an opening. I'm not prepared to give them one. Intern them, process them, deport them. That's the only way to handle them.

[Old Professer]

This sort of thing is what prompted the use of my current tagline.

[Bombardier]

Muslims are not our enemy.

And Nazis were misunderstood German nationalists. And Communists were just agrarian reformers.

Have any other jokes to tell?

[Cultural Jihad]

That's the only way to handle them.

Thanks, but I'd rather follow the lead of our CIC than some Keyboard Kommando or Salon Bolsheviki on the internet.

[Bombardier]

Thanks, but I'd rather follow the lead of our CIC than some Keyboard Kommando or Salon Bolsheviki on the internet.

Then enjoy your dhimmitude.....but don't drag the rest of us down along with you.

[Stag]

They can;t be all bad...I love the green mustard they put out. Especially with a little soy sauce on my sushi or sashimi...YUMMY!!!

[Publius6961]

Whatever the population, non-Wahabi Muslim leaders say approximately 80 percent of all US mosques are under the control of Wahabi imams and subsidized by Saudi Arabia.

That is sufficient reason, as far as I'm concerned, to either insist that they be run by "home grown" imams, or that the structures be razed immediately after the next mass murder event. Or two. Or three.

[nuconvert]

From what I've read, this article is correct. The vast majority of mosques in this country are run by Wahhabis.
I for one believe this is Not a good thing. Most conservative and moderate muslims would agree.

And YES, to any doubters out there, Moderate muslims DO Exist. And the vast majority of muslims in this country are Asians.

(2 cents worth)

[nopardons]

Nope,he was home grown NOI.

[nopardons]

Thanks for the ping. :-)

[Valin]

Islam in Conflict in Cleveland
TCS ^ | 02/24/2004 | STEPHEN SCHWARTZ

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1084348/posts?page=9





Muslims in Cleveland have, by calling for the removal of Fawaz Damra, demonstrated that they have had enough of the politicization of their faith, and deserve the support of all Americans. Their action may mark a necessary turning point in our country's recent history.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- An historic series of events is taking place in the largely-hidden world of Islam in America, and in a place many people would consider unlikely: Cleveland, Ohio.

The incidents in question involve Imam Fawaz Damra, 41, a Palestinian-born religious officer of the Islamic Center of Cleveland -- described as the biggest mosque in Ohio.

In December 2003, Imam Damra was arrested on a federal indictment for seeking U.S. citizenship illegally. The indictment (available here), charges that in 1993, when he first sought naturalization, he failed to disclose his affiliation with a number of Islamic extremist groups. These included the Al-Kifah Refugee Center, an operation linked to al-Qaida, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. He also denied ever engaging in incitement or other hateful activities based on race, when in reality he had advocated lethal terrorism against Jews.

In addition, money raised in Imam Damra's mosque went to the Holy Land Foundation, which the federal authorities have closed as a Hamas front. (I have elsewhere called it the Holy War Foundation). Damra has been associated with former University of South Florida professor Sami al-Arian, who has also been indicted as a leader of Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Indeed, Damra has been described as an unindicted coconspirator in the Al-Arian case.

Following his arrest, Imam Damra pled not guilty and was released on $160,000 bail.

In a recent visit to Cleveland, I had the opportunity to gauge reactions to the Damra indictment among some unlikely interlocutors: leaders of the local Jewish community who had participated with the imam in interfaith activities.

Much of an unsavory nature about imam Damra had already been disclosed in the wake of September 11, 2001, when a video in which he threatened and insulted Jews was broadcast on television. But Damra then apologized for his remarks, and thereafter worked mightily to cultivate an image of moderation.

Jewish leaders nevertheless expressed shock to learn that the imam with whom they had engaged in extensive dialogue was charged with al-Qaida involvement.

The sincerity of the Cleveland Jewish leaders in seeking interfaith civility with the city's Muslims cannot be doubted. But even more interesting about the Damra case is that it has brought about a significant split within the Islamic Center.

Members of the mosque's board of trustees suspended Damra after the indictment was handed down. He rejected the suspension, and his opponents appealed for support to the civil authorities. At one point, police from the community of Parma were called to the mosque to assure order when Damra appeared, although no violence occurred.

However, resolution of the controversy between Imam Damra and his critics was deferred until next month by a compromise under which he could continue to perform marriage and funeral services, but could only preach in the mosque on alternate Fridays in February -- Muslim collective prayer occurs on Friday afternoon.

Final disposition of his situation now remains in the hands of the mosque's general assembly.

But to emphasize, the real story in Cleveland is less the exposure of an extremist imam, than the willingness of mosque congregants to stand up and call for his removal.

Islam in America suffers from the domination of radical leaders, grouped in organizations I have called "the Wahhabi lobby" -- mainly, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). Authoritative sources in the Muslim community have long argued that up to 80 percent of the main mosques in America are controlled by the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), which has been targeted for a tax investigation by the U.S. Senate Finance Committee as a probable recipient of funds from outside the U.S. -- i.e. from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

ISNA and the mosques it controls work day and night to maintain ideological dominance over Muslims in America, in the interest of Wahhabism -- the official Saudi sect, which preaches hatred and violence against non-Wahhabi Muslims, who are the vast majority in the U.S. and in the Islamic global community or ummah. A similar group, the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) functions among Pakistani-American Muslims to enforce conformity to jihadist ideology.

This does not mean 80 percent of Muslims in America are radicals, They are not. But even after September 11th, Muslims in America were reluctant to stand up and challenge the virtual dictatorship of the Islamist ideology. This was not because of sympathy for Wahhabism, but because of more complex sociological issues.

Immigrant Muslims come to America to escape Islamist radicalism, and are shocked and intimidated to discover the extent of extremist influence in their community. Most of them would never have believed, in the countries from which they came, that the American authorities would permit an Islamist conspiracy to take control of their faith on our shores.

Further, they are naturally concerned that if they openly oppose extremist influence, their relatives in their countries of origin, as well as their families right here, will suffer threats and worse, since it is not unheard of for dissident Muslims in America be killed.

But the two-and-a-half years since September 11th have begun to wear down the habits of submission and conformity that have been drilled into American Muslims. An understandable fear of government sanctions and a simple weariness with having the jihadist ideology on their backs has finally induced some Muslims to step forward.

I recently obtained a letter from mosque congregants in Cleveland that plaintively, but eloquently, expressed the dilemma facing the local Muslims. The authors, whose names cannot be disclosed, wrote, "our community is being tested to its limit. May Allah help us all in this time of turmoil… In September of 2001 when issues surfaced with the media and Imam Damra, there was a great deal of dissent and upheaval about the retention of Imam Damra as the Imam of the Center… The Board decided to retain the Imam and as a result a great deal of tension and upheaval occurred within our Community… On Tuesday, January 13, 2004, Imam Damra was arrested at his home and indicted… After the presentation and discussion the joint Boards voted 10 to 4 to ask Imam Damra to take a voluntary paid leave of absence until his legal issues are resolved. Imam Damra rejected the decision and the Board was then forced to place Imam Damra on an involuntary paid leave of absence. The decision to ask the Imam to temporarily step down was a difficult one for the Board to take, and when it was defied we were left with no alternative but to seek legal recourse."

Most Muslims came to America seeking economic opportunity, security, and a better education for their children. Most of them want the chance to become real Americans, to affirm their loyalty and to participate according to the rules that govern the country as a whole. They should be assured of that chance. Muslims in Cleveland have, by calling for the removal of Fawaz Damra, demonstrated that they have had enough of the politicization of their faith, and deserve the support of all Americans. Their action may mark a necessary turning point in our country's recent history.

Stephen Schwartz is a frequent TCS contributor. He last wrote for TCS about "when are terrorists not terrorists?"