From March 11th through the 12th, the Muslim American Society of Tampa will be holding its MAS Olympics 2006. The two-day event will comprise of the standard kids sports – basketball, football, soccer, volleyball – things certainly that would appear wholesome and not present the general public with any grounds for pause. However, given this group’s propagation of radical Islamist beliefs, there are a number of reasons why this event should concern everyone who cares about the welfare of children and the safety and security of the United States.
The Muslim American Society of Tampa (MAS-Tampa) was incorporated as a “Domestic Non-Profit,” in October of 2003. The registered agent of the group was/is Mohamed Moharram, and he has since acted as MAS-Tampa’s President. The group was created as a subsidiary of the national Muslim American Society (MAS), which was founded ten years earlier.
According to its website, MAS is “a charitable, religious, social, cultural, educational, and not-for-profit organization… a pioneering Islamic organization, an Islamic revival, and reform movement that uplifts the individual, the family, and the society.” However, to those involved in the war against terrorism, MAS is nothing more than an American arm to the violent Muslim Brotherhood, the organization from which such groups as Hamas, Al-Qaeda and the Egyptian and Palestinian Islamic Jihads were brought into being.
In a full-length investigative report by the Chicago Tribune, entitled ‘A rare look at secretive Brotherhood in America,’ it is stated: “In recent years, the U.S. Brotherhood operated under the name Muslim American Society, according to documents and interviews. One of the nation's major Islamic groups, it was incorporated in Illinois in 1993 after a contentious debate among Brotherhood members… When the leaders voted, it was decided that Brotherhood members would call themselves the Muslim American Society, or MAS...”
The fact that this group is operating within America’s borders (with apparent immunity) is alarming to say the least. But when one discovers how much involvement with and influence this group has over children, that alarm becomes even more heightened.
One of the main thrusts of the Muslim American Society is to provide intensive forums for young Muslims. This is done through the MAS Youth Division, which has established dozens of youth centers across the United States, one of which is in Tampa.
When perusing through the website of MAS-Tampa, one finds that the majority of material located on the site is devoted to children. There is much information about past and future MAS-Tampa youth events. This includes numerous pictures of a previous Olympics, a youth retreat, a picnic and a career workshop.
Within these pictures, there are color photos of children shooting rifles. This is disturbing, given the fact that there is a flyer located on the site, advertising paintball for 13 to 16 year-olds, with the following statement: “We’re trying to separate the men from the Boys, The guns from the toys, The real ones from things that just make noise.”
This is only the beginning though, as the amount of unrestrained violence and hatred contained on the site is so voluminous one has to wonder how this organization was ever able to fly below Homeland Security’s radar screen.
On MAS-Tampa’s website, in the “e-Library” section, there are many Islamic-oriented texts, some much larger than others. Found inside these texts is an overwhelming amount of material with respect to the subjects of jihad (holy war) and how Muslims should deal with members of other religions.
Regarding jihad, one can view the following quotes in MAS-Tampa’s “e-Library”:
- “A Muslim must always worship Allah and wage jihad until death in order to reach his ultimate goal… Therefore the steadfast Muslim will achieve this goal either through a lifetime of effort or through sudden death as a martyr… Regularly make the intention to go on jihad with the ambition to die as a martyr. You should be ready for this right now, even though its time may not have come yet.” (Fathi Yakan, ‘To Be a Muslim’)
- “First: we Muslims have not discharged the duty of jihad that is compulsory for everyone of us in many Islamic countries to liberate the Muslim land from usurpers and aggressors in Palestine, Eritrea, the Philippines, Afghanistan, Tashkent, Bukhara, Samarkand, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and other Muslim republics (and cities) of the Soviet Union, and other similar places in China, Ethiopia and Thailand, etc… no force can stand in our way today if we act in earnest and devote our efforts to conveying our Call to the whole world.” (Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, ‘Priorities of the Islamic Movement’)
- “…the Movement has never forgotten and will never forget the Palestinian cause… [This] has been crystallized in the steadfast, brave, aware Islamic resistance movement "Hamas". Hamas is an embodiment of the Palestinian People's belief in its Muslim and Arab origins, and a testimony that this people is still alive and will never die and that its jihad will be carried on by pure hands and clean hearts until victory is achieved with the will of Allah.” (Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, ‘Priorities of the Islamic Movement’)
- “The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: He who does not join the warlike expedition (jihad), or equip, or looks well after a warrior's family when he is away, will be smitten by Allah with a sudden calamity.” (‘Partial Translation of Sunan Abu-Dawud’)
- “…the Mujahidun who return safe and sound from the battlefield and get their share of booty are inferior in reward to those who are martyred or wounded in Jihad and do not get any share from the booty… when the situation calls for Jihad then the foremost priority of a Muslim should be Jihad.” (‘Riyad-us-Saliheen’)
Regarding non-Muslims, one can view the following quotes in MAS-Tampa’s “e-Library”:
- “The Holy Prophet (and through him the Muslims) has been reassured that he should not mind the enmity, the evil designs and the machinations of the Jews… In view of the degenerate moral condition of the Jews and the Christians, the Believers have been warned not to make them their friends and confidants.” (Abul Ala Mawdudi, ‘Chapter Introductions To The Quran’)
- “God will cause the jews to be defeated. Earth shall be filled with muslims as a vessel is filled to the brim with water-the entire world shall recite the same Kalima (Islamic declaration of belief) and worship shall be offered to none else except God Almighty.” (Abul Ala Mawdudi, ‘The Finality of Prophethood’)
- “The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: ‘May Allah destroy the Jews, because they used the graves of their prophets as places of worship.’”… “The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: ‘May Allah curse Jews and Christians for they turned the graves of their Prophets into places of worship.’” (Sayd Sabeq, ‘Fiqh-us-Sunnah’)
- “Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet (peace be upon him) once said: ‘He who possesses sufficient provisions and means of journey for the performance of Hajj and yet does not do so, let him die the death of a Jew or a Christian.’” (Sayd Sabeq, ‘Fiqh-us-Sunnah’)
- “A Jew came to the Prophet asking for his debt and said: ‘You are from the tribe of Abd Manaf whose tribe likes to delay paying debts.’ When Umar heard this, he swore that he would cut off the Jew’s head.” (Fathi Yakan, ‘To Be a Muslim’)
- “The Hour will not be established until you fight with the Jews, and the stone behind which a Jew will be hiding will say. ‘O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, so kill him.’” (‘Sahih Bukhari’)
These Islamist imperatives show that the agenda of MAS-Tampa is to create an exclusively Muslim American Society ‘by any means necessary.’ It is clear that young children subjected to this form of indoctrination have a good chance of becoming radicalized.
The kids attending MAS-Tampa’s Olympics 2006 will be aged 9 and up. This includes both the beginning and latter stages of adolescence, what is arguably the most impressionable time in a child’s life. According to the National Institute of Health, “The adolescent experiences not only physical growth and change but also emotional, psychological, social, and mental change and growth. During this period, adolescents are expected to become capable of adult behavior and response.”
It has to be noted that suicide is the third leading cause of death of adolescents. This is of interest, when considering the ages of suicide bombers. In a November 2003 piece put out by the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, entitled ‘Israel, the Conflict and Peace: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions,’ it is stated, “Youth groups and official PA summer camps teach young people to become holy warriors, actually training them in the use of firearms. This cult of martyrdom has inspired Palestinian children to take an increasingly active role in the violence. The average age of suicide bombers has dropped and attacks carried out by teenagers have become more and more frequent.”
Taking this into consideration, the question must be asked: What is MAS-Tampa contemplating, when it is obvious that the group is so focused on children?
In answering this question, one should look not only at the material on the group’s website, but one should also bear in mind a recent event that was supposed to take place in the town of Lithia, Florida. It was here that MAS-Tampa planned a New Year’s youth retreat, featuring as a speaker the Youth Division Head of MAS-New Jersey, Mazen Mokhtar. Mokhtar, just prior to 9/11, created a website that raised funds and recruited fighters for Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. None of this can be overlooked.
Yet, what may be more telling than any of the above is found on the group’s website, as well. It is a flyer for an MAS youth conference (‘YOUth: Generation with a Mission’) that took place in April of 2004, in Raleigh, North Carolina. On it, there is depicted an adult male’s hand giving over a book into a child’s hand. But this is not just any book. It is a Quran – the same Quran brandished in suicide bomber video ‘testaments’ – the Hamas Quran!
Question answered.
