Jihad Comes to Small Town USA: Part 6

I first made contact with Sandy back in April, when the first Jihad Comes to Small Town USA article was published.

Sandy had emailed me, and she was not happy. She took me to task for implying that duplicity exited in mosques, and insisted that the kind of scene I witnessed in the mosque in Atlanta was an anomaly, rather than a regular occurrence.

She was quite clear in her opinion: “All of this Muslim-bashing is ridiculous. You don’t know what you’re talking about. Either you’re making up this, or you found one bad mosque.”

We had a lot in common. Like Sandy, I had been married to a Muslim man, and over the course of a decade I had been exposed to some rather serious attempts to convert me to Islam, especially while I was in Cairo. And like Sandy, I had resisted all of the attempts at conversion, and had clung to my Christian faith. (I divorced my Egyptian husband a decade and a half ago when it became apparent he was sinking deep into the depths of radical Islam.)

Sandy told me that she is a registered nurse, working in a critical care unit at a large research hospital. She had been married to her Palestinian Muslim husband for 12 years, and when the marriage broke up four years ago she continued to visit the mosque regularly, for holidays and family life programs.

Their two children, Hussein, 16, and Sarah, 6, attended the Islamic day school affiliated with the mosque, and attended special religious classes on weekends. Although Sandy had never converted to Islam, she felt as if she were a part of the local Islamic community, and encouraged Hussein and Sarah to participate in mosque activities whenever she could.

Sandy was not willing to even consider that Hussein was being exposed to anti-American viewpoints at his school. In fact, one reason Sandy had enrolled Hussein in the Islamic school was to counter the growing anti-American sentiment that had become more and more evident in his father since the two had divorced.

“Because I’m not Muslim, I pretty much leave the religious instruction to my ex-husband and the men at the mosque,” explained Sandy in one of our first emails. “But the men at the mosque are good, God fearing men. I am not really worried about what they are teaching him.”

I emailed Sandy back and asked her to talk to her son about what he was learning in the Islamic school. I suggested that she take a look at the textbooks, and at some of the essays that he was almost certainly writing.

I also suggested that she go spend a day in Sarah’s classroom. I had done a little research, and made a few phone calls, and knew that the first graders in the school Sarah attended were following a curriculum from the Bureau of Islamic and Arabic Education. The BIAE curriculum recommends that the students recite the following pledge each day in classes:

As an American Muslim, I pledge allegiance to ALLAH and His Prophet, I respect and love my family and my community, and I dedicate my life to serving the cause of truth and justice. As an American citizen, with rights and responsibilities, I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America And to the republic for which it stands, one nation, Under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

It was several weeks before I heard from Sandy again. Sarah’s teacher was reluctant to let Sandy visit in the classroom, because she was concerned about disrupting the students. But she provided Sandy with a copy of the curriculum that she was following in teaching the class.

Sandy emailed the curriculum to me, commented “See, I told you they weren’t like you thought.” Sure enough, the curriculum Sandy emailed to me exuded sweetness and light. What mother wouldn’t want their small child learning such universal virtues such as “responsibility, honesty, thankfulness, fairness and justice, generosity, respect, kindness and care, appreciation of beauty, patience & compassion, courage and determination, citizenship”? It sounds almost Utopian.

Sandy was concerned about the unwillingness of the teacher to have her visit the classroom unannounced, and she took the request to the principal of the school. But the principal backed up the teacher, and said that Sandy’s presence in the classroom would be disruptive to the kids. Since for all practical purposes the school year was over, Sandy reluctantly acquiesced, thinking that in the fall she would pursue it further.

Sandy told me later that in thinking back, her first true real concerns about what her kids were being taught came at a wedding for one of Sandy’s college friends. Her friend, like Sandy, had chosen a husband from a different religion. Sandy’s friend was Episcopalian; she was married a Jewish man. They planned a wedding that incorporated elements from both religions at a nearby hotel.

Sandy and the kids were all excited about the wedding, especially since Sarah was going to be the flower girl. But at the wedding rehearsal, Sarah had run away in tears when she saw the rabbi standing with the minister.

Sandy found Sarah hiding underneath a table in the reception hall, hidden from view by the long tablecloth.

Sandy climbed under the table and sat with Sarah. She tried to persuade Sarah to come out, but Sarah refused. She kept insisting “that man will kill me and mix my blood with his bread”.

Sandy was dumbfounded. She couldn’t imagine where Sarah had gotten that idea. After all, the only two strangers in the room were the minister and the rabbi.

No amount of persuasion could convince Sarah to rejoin the wedding party, and Sandy ended up leaving Sarah with a babysitter going to the wedding alone the following night.

Sandy chalked up the incident to shyness, thinking that perhaps Sarah just had cold feet.

A few weeks later, I got a panicked email from Sandy, asking if there was any way she could speak to me by phone. She had included her phone number, so I called her, thinking I was just going to get chewed out again for what Sandy described as Muslim bashing.

But that wasn’t what Sandy wanted to talk about. There had been a decided change in her attitude, and she was seriously concerned about her children.

Between her job, and the end of the year activities at the school Sandy had pretty much put her concerns about what was going on in Sarah’s classroom out of her mind.

But that only lasted until she took Sarah clothes shopping for summer clothes. In the southern portions of the United States, kids often wear shorts to school during April and May. But in the states surrounding the Great Lakes, it is much cooler, and since Sarah and Hussein were required to wear uniforms to school, Sandy had put off summer clothes shopping until after school was out.

Sandy was really looking forward to shopping. Every year she made it a special day - she would take Hussein and Sarah shopping one on one, and they would have a special day together. The entire family referred to it as “Mommy Time”.

Sandy explained to me how she went through the racks of little girl’s clothing at Gymboree, picking out a couple of sundresses, several pairs of shorts and summer tops, and a three cute little two piece swimsuits for Sarah.

Each year, Sarah was always especially excited about picking out her swimsuit. But this year, as Sandy went through the swimsuit rack, Sarah seemed completely uninterested. Sandy was a little puzzled, but wasn’t concerned. After all, she reasoned, maybe Sarah just didn’t like these swimsuits. She wondered if Sarah had perhaps gotten too old for Gymboree.

But when Sandy took Sarah into the dressing room, she was completely unprepared for the reaction she got from the child. Sarah completely refused to try on any of the clothing Sandy had selected for her.

Sandy at first thought that Sarah might not be feeling well, or might be hungry so she asked the clerk at Gymboree to hold the clothing behind the counter. She and Sarah headed for the food court. Sandy figured that after a kid’s meal from Sarah’s favorite fast food chain, Sarah would be ready to shop again.

But when they went back into Gymboree, as Sandy retrieved the clothing that the clerk was holding, Sarah started to have a temper tantrum. Sandy was more than a little embarrassed. She quickly selected one of the bathing suits, a sundress, and two shorts sets that looked like they would fit Sarah, and handed the clerk her American Express card.

Sandy was totally unprepared for the outburst that exploded from Sarah at that point. Sandy was in tears as she told me what her daughter had screamed in the store: “Mommy I’m not going to wear that. I’m not going to be a whore like you.”

Sandy explained that she got down on the floor, at eye level with her daughter to try and calm her down, but Sarah was hysterical. She kept insisting that she was not going to wear the clothes.

The clerk was standing there, with an look of embarrassment on her face - she wasn’t sure whether to void the sale or not. Sandy signed the credit card slip, picked up Sarah, and went back to the minivan.

When they got home, Sandy put Sarah down for a nap. Both mom and daughter needed some time to compose themselves.

Later than evening, over cookies and milk, Sandy asked Sarah where she had learned the word “whore”. But Sarah wasn’t willing to talk about it. “Never mind Mommy” was the only reaction Sandy could get.

Hussein had been at a friend’s house while the girls were out shopping. He got back home while Sarah and Sandy were locking horns over the kitchen table.

As soon as Hussein walked through the door, Sarah jumped up out of the chair and ran into his arms crying. Hussein dropped the baseball gear he was carrying and lifted his little sister in a hug. Sandy watched while Sarah, in tears, whispered frantically into her big brother’s ear.

Sandy told me later she was imagining all sorts of horrible scenarios. Her first thought was that somehow, somewhere, her daughter had been sexually abused, and it was being kept secret from her. As a nurse, Sandy knew that the worst thing she could do at that point was panic. So she sent Sarah up to watch a video.

But when she approached Hussein, he kept insisting that Sarah was ok. Sandy told him that she was afraid someone had hurt his sister and that if he knew anything he needed to tell her.

After a few minutes, Hussein exploded. “Look, mom. You know where she’s learning this. You’re the one who takes us there. Why are you surprised? You let it happen!”

Note: This is a true story. I have deliberately left out the name of the city where this family lives, and have changed the names of the children at the request of Sandy to protect them from fears that she has regarding her ex-husband and his family. I have verified the facts told to me by Sandy to the best of my ability, and was able to verify the curriculum of the school. I spoke with her college friend, who verified the events that occured at the wedding. I have also spoken with both Sarah and Hussein, and they have verified their mom's story. I have also verified court documents that Sandy provided that also corroborate her account.

Re: 108

Here is the article I referenced.

11 June 2004 - Listening to the Great Communicator
by Laura Mansfield

As I watched the funeral of former President Ronald Reagan, the camera panned the audience in Washington's National Cathedral. Those who came to show their respects to the Gipper encompassed a wide spectrum. Some were long-time friends; some were former adversaries; others were just children when President Reagan lived at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

But all shared one thing in common: respect. President Reagan was a man who earned the respect of the world.

He didn't earn that respect because he was a nice guy, although I'm sure he was. He didn't earn the respect because of his looks, although his movie-star appearance was certainly not a liability.

Many called Reagan "the Great Communicator". That was a well-earned aphorism. His communications skills weren't limited to excellent public speaking techniques; nor did they derive from stage training and movie rehearsals.

His power as a communicator came from the simple fact that when he said something, he meant it. He backed up his words with actions. When Ronald Reagan said he was going to do something, he did it. And everyone knew it.

The first inkling many had of the importance of this ability and how it would impact us as a nation was in 1980, during his campaign for the Presidency.

In November of 1979, Islamic militant students in Iran took over the United States Embassy in Tehran, seizing 63 American hostages. A military rescue attempt had failed in April of that year; the bodies of US military personnel who died in the aborted rescue attempt were desecrated, and at least one was decapitated. As the presidential campaign heated up during the summer and fall months of 1980, the Islamic militants and the government of Iran remained intransigent; the hostages remained locked in the embassy.

The patience of the American public was exhausted. Candidate Reagan promised he would bring our citizens home one way or another, using force if necessary, and the American people believed him. They voiced their agreement at the ballot box, and America had a new President.

The government of Iran believed him too. As President Reagan took his oath of office on January 21, 1981, news came over the networks: the American hostages had cleared Iranian airspace, and were free.

As the Reagan administration began, and with our citizens home from Tehran, attention turned to the home front. The economy was in desperate need of revitalization, and the concept of Reaganomics was born. But by 1982, attention was called back to the middle east. Lebanon was rapidly descending into civil war; the US sent troops to Beirut to help maintain order.

That task was easier said than done, and on April 18, 1983, Islamic militants killed 63 people, including the Middle East Bureau chief for the CIA. Later that year, on October 23, homicide bombers drove a truck packed with explosives into a barracks full of sleeping US Marines at the Beirut Airport, killing 241. President Reagan's statement was eerily prophetic, as he described a phenomenon that has become all too familiar in the past few years:

"The evidence indicated that both vehicles were driven by radical Shiite fundamentalists, bent on the pursuit of suicidal martyrdom. They were members of the same group responsible for the barbarous bombing of our embassy in Beirut the previous April, a group whose religious leaders promised instant entry to Paradise for killing an enemy of Iran's theocracy. Nancy and I were in a state of grief, made almost speechless by the magnitude of the loss".

But only a decade had elapsed since the final US troops were airlifted out of Saigon, and America was still phobic about entering what could be "another Vietnam". The remaining US troops came home from Beirut.

The terror didn't stop. The US Embassy in Kuwait was attacked on December 12, 1983, along with the French embassy, the control tower at the airport, the country's main oil refinery, and a residential area for employees of the American corporation Raytheon. In the spring of 1984, CIA Station Chief William Buckley was kidnapped, marking the start of a wave of kidnappings that plagued war-torn Beirut. Throughout 1984 and 1985, planes were hijacked throughout the region, with American passengers being singled out for execution on many of the flights. The luxury cruise liner Achille Lauro was hijacked as well, and wheelchair bound US citizen Leon Klingenhoffer was shot and dumped overboard out of his wheelchair. There were airport attacks on US citizens during the Christmas holiday season in both Rome and Vienna.

All the attacks had one thing in common: Islamic fundamentalists were the perpetrators.

In April 1986, President Reagan had had enough. Too many Americans were dying at the hands of terrorists; negotiations, rewards, and the criminal justice system had all proven ineffective at stopping the violence. Military maneuvers showing force were equally ineffective. After the bombing of the La Belle Discotheque in West Berlin, Reagan's patience was exhausted. Investigative efforts showed Libya as the primary sponsor of the wave of terror. His response was to order airstrikes against Benghazi and Tripoli. One of the residences of Libyan leader Moamar Khadaffi was hit; Khadafi's adopted daughter Hanan was reportedly killed.

The effect was instantaneous. Two US hostages were killed in Lebanon in retaliation; then the wave of terror against Americans in the middle east stopped. L.Paul Bremer had the following comments regarding the effect of the US attacks on Libya:

I know for a fact that the attack on Libya had very important consequences. Number one, we had very clear intelligence that the Libyans had been planning 34 or 35 subsequent attacks on American targets in Europe. Those were stopped immediately. The intelligence was clear.

President Reagan had not only gotten the attention of the Islamic world; he had also earned their respect. I was in Cairo at the time of the Libyan attacks. At a social event the following evening, the US actions were discussed. One of the guests was an Egyptian Army General. Someone asked whether there would be reprisals against the United States from the Islamic radicals. The General's response was quick. "No, they will stop, because they don't know what he'll do next. He might "nuke" them!"

Nearly twenty years later we have come full circle. The United States is once again under attack by Islamic radicals. We could learn a lot from President Reagan's life; we need to learn the lessons of his Presidency.

Xenophobia, isolationalism, and inconsistency breed terrorism. It's not important that the rest of the world like us now; it is important that they respect us.

Firm, consistent, and forceful responses, without a lot of second guessing in the media, gets the point across.

As I looked at the audience in the cathedral this morning, I saw a new generation of leaders. Hamid Karzai from Afghanistan, Jordan's King Abdullah, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and many others. The old guard was there too: Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev paid their respects.

Four former US presidents (Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford, George H.W. Bush, and Bill Clinton) joined President George W. Bush at the ceremony.

Hopefully these world leaders who will chart our way into the future will heed the lessons left to us by President Reagan. After all, he wasn't called the Great Communicator for nothing.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.