Muslim Jihad Comes To Small Town, USA

It happened again this week. I came out of the office to find a flyer under my windshield wipers inviting me to a special informational presentation on God and family values, and how to bring them back to the forefront in America.

I'm a parent, so the flyer caught my interest. But as an analyst for the Northeast Intelligence Network, my eyes were riveted to the address on the flyer: The session was being held at a nearby mosque.

Curiosity got the better of me, and I decided it would be a good time for some onsite investigations of the mosque. In order to not attract undue attention, I dressed conservatively, wearing a navy jumper with a long sleeve white blouse, and low heels. I debated whether or not to put on a hijab (head scarf) then decided not to. After all, I was going to "learn," not to pretend I was a Muslim.

I checked the mosque schedule on the Web, and discovered there was going to be an Arabic language session an hour before. So I showed up an hour early. The imam met me at the door, and told me that the presentation didn't start for an hour, and suggested I come back in an hour. Fortunately, I had anticipated this. I explained that since I had quite a bit of reading to do for a class I was taking. "Can I just sit here and read?"

He hesitated a moment, then agreed. I sat in the back of the room, with my book open, and made a mental note to remember to turn the pages every so often, as I listened to the speakers in Arabic.

The first speaker was the head of the Muslim Students' Association at the nearby university. Although I missed the beginning of the discussion, I caught up quickly. He was talking about the problems he had encountered on a recent trip, when TSA flagged him for extra screening. He joked about the fact that they had stopped him for extensive screening. He had anticipated that he would be screened and he had filled his carryon luggage with printouts of the Quran from the Internet, and had 15 or 16 CDs labeled in Arabic, and he had a notebook computer with him.

As he expected, he was delayed he thought it was very amusing that while several TSA personnel were scrutinizing his personal belongings that his classmate from Jordan was able to walk through security, along with his American girlfriend, without any problems whatsoever.

One of the men said, in Arabic: "Blonde Americans are good for something!" Another man advised him to be cautious, since there was an American woman in the room. The imam spoke up and told everyone I didn't speak Arabic.

At that point, another student took the podium. His name was Khaled, and he began to recount his recent trip to New York City. Khaled and three of his companions had gone to New York for several days in January. He told of how uncomfortable his trip up to NYC had been. He felt like he was being watched, and thought he was the victim of racial profiling.

Khaled and his friends were pretty unhappy about it, and while in New York, they came up with a plan to "teach a lesson" to the passengers and crew. You can imagine the story Khaled told. He described how he and his friends whispered to each other on the flight, made simultaneous visits to the restroom, and generally tried to "spook" the other passengers. He laughed when he described how several women were in tears, and one man sitting near him was praying.

The others in the room thought the story was quite amusing, judging from the laughter. The imam stood up and told the group that this was a kind of peaceful civil disobedience that should be encouraged, and commended Khaled and his friends for their efforts.

He pointed out that it was through this kind of civil disobedience that ethnic profiling would fail.

One of the other men, Ahmed from Kuwait, gave a brief account of his friend Eyad, who had finally gone to Iraq. Ahmed was in e-mail contact with Eyad, and hoped by the following week to be able to bring them more information about the state of the "mujahideen" in Iraq.

As the meeting drew to a close, the imam gave a brief speech calling for the protection of Allah on the mujahideen fighting for Islam throughout the world, and reminded everyone that it was their duty as Muslims to continue in the path of jihad, whether it was simple efforts like those of Khaled and his friends, or the actual physical fighting of men like Eyad.

As the meeting broke up, several women in hijabs came in the room, and two of them sat with me. They were very warm and friendly and welcoming, and appeared to be clearly thrilled that I was there. They asked me questions about who I was, and why I was interested in the session.

By the time the session began, there were half a dozen American women, four of them African-American. Where the previous session had definite anti-American tones, this session was all American and Apple Pie. The earlier session had been in Arabic this one was in English.

The woman leading the session, Nafisa, told of the concerns she had regarding her daughters in the public-school system. She complained about the influence of the MTV culture, and seemed concerned about the rampant sexuality that pervaded all facets of American life, from television to movies and on into the school system.

She explained her personal solution - the local Islamic school, beginning with kindergarten. Instead of worrying about her daughters dressing provocatively and behaving inappropriately with boys, she talked about the modest school uniforms they wore, and the single-gender classes her daughters attended.

She then began to discuss Islam, focusing on the commonalities it has with Christianity. The sales pitch had clearly begun. While in the previous section, the men had quoted over and over again sura from the Quran calling for violent jihad, the women's session focused on the "gentler" side of Islam.

The same imam who demanded that the men continue in the path of jihad did a complete 180-degree turn in this session, stressing instead the suras that promoted the "brotherhood" between Muslims, Christians and Jews. "After all, we worship the same God, and follow the teachings in the books he gave each of us. We are all the same, we are all People of the Book," he stressed.

The differences between the sessions were striking. Clearly the second session was a recruiting session.

Were the women aware of what was being taught in the first session? Certainly those women who spoke Arabic should have been.

The reason for concern is obvious: Two different doctrines are being promoted. One peaceful, friendly, warm and fuzzy doctrine is being used to draw people in, with a focus on the wellbeing of their children.

It shows clearly that as much as we'd like to pretend it hasn't, jihad has reached Small-Town, USA. This mosque isn't in Washington, D.C., or New York City. This is a small mosque in a small town in the deep South.

And if it's in this tiny little quiet southern town, it's probably in your hometown, too.

[Laura Mansfield is a freelance writer with over 20 years of experience dealing with Middle East issues. She is fluent in written and spoken Arabic, and has an excellent understanding of the complex cultural, religious and historical issues. Her experience includes nearly seven years living and working in the region for a wide range of private and government clients.]

they are making it worse for all arab-looking young men.

Yes, they are.

I wonder if the situation at hand is what will break the back of so-called "civil rights", at least as it pertains to interstate commerce. It seems to me that, unless we go to a more intelligent "screening" process OR allow airlines to form "blacklists" based on Baiting Incidents of this sort, in which they would refuse service to these Baiters, we may be headed to a situation where airlines will have to become a kind of private "club" service.

These Sons of Mohammed (Yes, I would like "islam" to become an epitath) are using our own high civilization mores and achievements against us, including our rights to freedom of speech and religion, our rights of equality under the law, and our technological achievements.

I am beginning to understand how caste systems have their origins, by which members of certain groups have priviledges enjoyed by other memebers of the society denied to them.

Muslims should not be surprised if they become the recipients of a reversed Dhimmitude.

I went to this event at the Redmond Library hoping that I could finally meet "Moderate" Islam in the flesh. This meeting was almost exactly as described in the article Muslim Jihad Comes to Small Town, USA.

I was only one of three identifiably non-Muslims who attended the session. The large room had plenty of chairs for visitors, but they remained empty. I arrived late and missed the introduction of the main speakers, but I quickly caught on to what was happening. The "Imam" (teacher/preacher) Mutahhir Sabree, was teaching/preaching about the Five Pillars of Islam and what they are designed to accomplish in the heart and life of a Muslim. What I heard sounded very compatible with pre-Vatican II Roman Catholicism, Traditional Anglicanism, and mainstream Judaism. Worship of One God, practice of regular daily prayer and reading of holy writings, inward and outward cleanliness, pilgrimage to holy places and giving of charity to those in need. (How Islam relates to the Ba'hai Faith is, well, different. I know for instance that the Mullahs in Iran made "jihad" against Ba'hais and literally drove those they didn't rape, torture and murder out of Iran.)

The only "sticking point" for me was the Imam's characterization of Jesus, the Christ. He is considered to be only a prophet, the son of MAN, a human being Abraham, Isaac, Ishamel, Jacob, and all other prominent Biblical figures whose mission and message centered on One God.

Next up was Mr. "Yusuf" Estes, a former "Christian" preacher and alleged "scholar" of Scripture, whose father is still a minister in Texas. This man was introduced by Mutahhir Sabree with the title of Sheikh (inaudible). Mr Estes travels around the world and on the Internet promoting Islam as the One True Religion. He says he came to Islam as a genuine skeptic, scientifically challenging its teachings and "proofs." (he gave examples) The session I attended was being webcast for the world to hear. Mr. Estes gave an email address to which people may send questions (askislam@aol.com) saying he, or any one of a group of Islamic scholars would provide answers with the help of Allah. Mr. Estes appeared sincere and gave a very enthusiastic anecdotal presentation of his personal discovery of (and conversion to) Islam and its impact on his life.

Most salient was a point relating to his relationship with his father and the loud antagonistic arguments he used to have with him about religion. He said "the (Muslim) brothers" admonished him to stop yelling and disrespecting his father (breaking the commandment: "Honor thy Father and thy Mother"), to beg Allah's forgiveness and to be reconciled to his Father - thereby honoring Allah and giving a more appropriate witness to the truth of Islam. The result is that today he still can relate to his father even though they disagree. Unstated was the hope that his father would see the light and also convert. (Evangelism?)

There were women there (some completely covered except for their eyes) and children - entire families. There was a group of men in one corner paying close attention to the Imam and the Sheikh, but also to the people coming and going into and outside the room. I felt strangely welcome yet very much "outside" and under a microscope. The air of suspicion and mistrust was palpable.

The women were more open and friendly than the men. One even offered me some special water to drink from Saudi Arabia but I politely declined. (I have also been offered water from Catholic shrines, but I have declined that also. Knowing the chemical, bacterial and viral content of what goes in my mouth is important to me.) I was handed a folder with brochures and a CD, a pen and some sticky note cards so I could write my questions. There was also a "survey" form for me to fill out and give feedback on the program with suggestions for improvement. I was also given CDs and DVDs and other material about Islam and encouraged to explore and ask questions. Refreshments offered were plentiful and fresh. Their hospitality was inviting and warm.

I came away from the meeting with insight into the community of Islam among us that gives me cause for great concern. Adherents of Islam consider beliefs that do not coincide with the teachings of their prophet Mohammed to be utterly false. They teach that Mohammed is the last prophetic voice of God to the people of earth. The mission of Islam in this world (as expressed by these people at this meeting) appears to be nothing short of total takeover. Those who practice and represent Islam in our community are genuinely convinced that their "way of life" (not a religion) is the ultimate reality, and that the world's ultimate destiny is to be totally surrendered to Allah and to his kingdom. The attitude exepected among Muslims is one of complete submission to the sovereign will of God without question. I can see where this kind of blind obedience and religious zeal can lead to acts of violence like September 11, 2001.

I can also see from the lack of attendance that Americans are still sound asleep and have not taken the "lessons" of September 11 sufficiently to heart. The measures that have been taken to "protect" our country from terror attacks are all well intentioned I am sure, but they will not protect us from an alien cultural invasion. The only protection we have for our individual and national cultural sovereignty is to learn all we can about how Islam thinks. We also need to rediscover what western culture thinks so we can better defend the truths we hold to be self-evident from all enemies foreign and domestic.

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"al-Qaeda Meeting This Way".