Free Republic

SNIPPET: "...let's get back to the woeful tale of Bro. Ismail Royer, as presented at the Umar Lee blog:" SNIPPET: "Mr. Royer, formerly associated with CAIR, is currently serving a 20 year sentence for his work on behalf of designated Terrorist group Lashkar e Taiba. Lashkar e Taiba is notable among other things for having killed 171 people in Mumbai in 2008, among many other atrocities."

As I have recently stated, the voices against Islam are on the rise. Now Lynne Torgerson, a candidate for the 5Th District MN seat in Congress is taking on Islam head on. Of course the Council on American Islamic Relations is not happy, which means that we should fully support her. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is alarmed by what it perceives as growing anti-Muslim sentiment in Minnesota. Prompted by news of racist fliers being posted in St. Cloud and the candidacy of Lynne Torgerson against Rep. Keith Ellison, the group called for religious leaders to repudiate anti-Muslim acts....

Following Rep. Keith Ellison [Muslim Congressman], Rev. Al Sharpton, Rachel Maddow MSNBC, Gavin Newsom, [and others]

The PC-Police be dammed ! When Keith Ellison ran for and was elected to congress in the 2006 mid-term election he was the darling of the PC world and the Democratic leadership -- America's First Muslim Congressman a perfect example of the diversity of this nation. Despite the fact that there were warning signs about his "friends". Soon after his election he joined with the most powerful woman in the world, Nancy Pelosi to try and create a federal law against profiling. Its no wonder the PC police loved him. And the fact that he has associated with Anti-Semitic organizations...

A Muslim congressman says there is no need to investigate interns who may be placed with members of strategic security committees by the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

House ethics officials have called for disclosure of costs associated with Minnesota Democrat Rep. Keith Ellison's religious pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia last year. Originally, Ellison – who is the United States' first Muslim congressman – opted not to announce the cost of the trip, which had a price tag of $13,350. More disturbing than Ellison's lack of transparency is the fact that The Star-Tribune (Minn.) said the Muslim American Society of Minnesota (MAS) paid the $13,350 bill for Ellison’s two-week visit to Mecca. Americans have great cause for concern. The Chicago Tribune said the MAS, despite calling itself an "independent...

Note: Video included. Jasser Challenges Congressman on Reform's Value IPT News October 2, 2009 Video Recording At a Capitol Hill forum Thursday afternoon, U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) demonstrated how Islamists use slander and distortion in an effort to silence Muslim reformers. Ellison delivered a tirade in which he falsely accused Dr. Zuhdi Jasser - one of the United States' most prominent Muslim reformers - of encouraging anti-Muslim bigotry and attempting to censor Islamists. Jasser, a Phoenix, AZ doctor who heads the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, came to Washington to brief members of Congress and their staffs about the...

SNIPPET: "For all his public activity, Bray has rarely, if ever, discussed his life story in detail. His own MAS biography offers vague descriptions of his work as "a long time civil and human rights advocate." A charismatic African-American convert to Islam, Bray spent this entire decade working for Islamist organizations. Prior to joining MAS, Bray was political director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC). Those jobs have helped him build a growing public profile and given him access to politicians and policy makers. And that may explain his reluctance to discuss his life before political activism. The Investigative...

The FBI has cut off all contact with CAIR,the Council on American-Islamic Relations citing the group's ties with terrorist organizations particularly Hamas. But all the FBI's evidence wasn't enough for Congressman Keith Ellison, D-Minn. Ellison, the first Muslim congressman, ignored pleas from moderate Muslim Groups to show his support for the terrorist supporting CAIR last month. "It makes my work 10 times harder when these groups are legitimized by a congressman," said Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser, president of the Phoenix-based American Islamic Forum for Democracy. Jasser and others say CAIR was labeled as a front group for Hamas by an...

WHO IS KEITH ELLISON AND WHY SHOULD WE CAIR? September 29, 2009 Posted by Paul at 8:03 PM On September 18, Rep. Keith Ellison spoke at the annual fundraising dinner for the Arizona chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR). He did so even though, as the American Islamic Forum for Democracy notes, the FBI has broken all formal relations with CAIR because it is listed as an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation terror financing trial. The Holy Land Foundation and five of its board members were found guilty on November 24, 2008 of illegally funneling...

One of the two Muslim members of Congress wished "Eid Mubarak" or "blessed festival" to people celebrating Eid-ul-Fitr, the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. Observabce of Eid-ul-Fitr began yesterday and continues into today. During Ramadan, Muslims each day must fast between dawn and sunset. Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) took to Twitter on Monday, saying:Eid Mubarak one and all!Freshman Rep. Andre Carson (D-Ind.) is the other Muslim serving in Congress.

Here is video of Minnesota Democrat Rep. Keith Ellison telling CNN's John King that President Obama should not compromise on the "Public Option" in Health Care legislation. Ellison said to King, "Why should the liberals always cave?" He also said he hopes if necessary, Obama will opt to push Health Care with a "Public Option" through the Senate using the "reconciliation process," often called the "Nuclear Option." That requires only 50 votes, plus the vote of Vice-President Joe Biden to pass a bill. . . . (VIDEO)

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Nick Rahall (D., W.Va.) is island-hopping this week in the Pacific. Rep. Keith Ellison (D., Minn.) is tweeting from Kenya. Sen. Richard Shelby (R., Ala.) is preparing for a three-week trip to Europe with his wife. More * Congress Retreats Over Jet Purchase 8/11/09 * Opposition Emerges to House's Jet Spree 8/10/2009 * Lawmakers' Global-Warming Trip Hit Tourist Hot Spots 8/8/2009 * Pentagon Takes Aim at Jets for Congressional Travel 8/8/2009 * Congress Gets a Plane Upgrade 8/7/2009 Journal Community * Discuss: How much of the official travel by members of Congress is justified? These are among...

9/11 Denial is similar to Holocaust Denial, except it writes off, excuses, or explains away two missing skyscrapers, four missing airplanes, and 3000 missing Americans instead of six million missing Jews, three million missing Polish Catholics, and hundreds of thousands of associated Gypsies, Slavs, and other Holocaust victims. Aktion T4 ObamaCare advocate and 9/11 denier Keith Ellison just went on record as effectively advocating euthanasia for senior citizens to save money on health care. For the record, here is what Keith Ellison said about 9/11. “It’s almost like the Reichstag fire in Nazi Germany, kind of reminds me of that....

BOSTON – A crowd of hundreds of local Muslims inaugurated a large new mosque last week in Roxbury Crossing. The 68,000 sq foot Islamic Cultural Center in the heart of Boston, designed by Dr. Sami Angawi, and pioneered by board member Dr. Walid Fitaihi, Dr. Osama Kandeel and others, celebrated its inauguration with the historic attendance of the first Muslim in the United States Congress, Keith Ellison, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino. This new Islamic cultural center in America is tremendously significant as it resides 5 minutes from the heart of downtown Boston and less than...

Homeland Security: Despite overwhelming support in and out of Congress, legal protection for airline passengers who report suspicious behavior is being blocked by Democratic leaders. Wasn't one 9/11 enough for them? Were it not for the courage and sacrifice of the passengers of United Flight 93 who forced their plane into a Pennsylvania field, many in Congress might not be here today, with a gaping hole where the U.S. Capitol still stands. We wonder if this fact is appreciated by those trying to block final passage of the so-called "John Doe" provision protecting from legal action those who report suspicious...

Days after his return from an unannounced pilgrimage to the Islamic holy site of Mecca, U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison talked about it as a transformational personal experience, saying "I didn't want to turn it into a politics thing." Nearly eight months later, the Minneapolis DFLer faces a House Ethics Committee review of his decision to keep the trip's costs under wraps -- even though it was paid for by a local Islamic nonprofit and typically would be reported as a gift to a public official. Asked about the trip Tuesday, Ellison said that he is "not privy to the internal...

St. Paul, Minn. — Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison said the U.S. government is trying to ensure the safe return of some of the young Somali-American men believed to be fighting with a terrorist group in their homeland. Ellison said he has been included in classified briefings about efforts to bring the missing men back to the Twin Cities. At least four Somali-American men from Minnesota who left to fight in the Horn of Africa have died there in recent months. One of youngest, a skinny teenager from Minneapolis named Burhan Hassan, was trying to leave the fighting and make his...

I noted earlier tonight that all American taxpayers are paying for the Uighurs' indefinite vacation in Bermuda, but that is very much the exception to the rule. Most of us never find anyone willing to pay for our vacations. If you're a Congressman, though, that rule doesn't necessarily apply.We've written several times about Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison's hajj to Mecca, most recently here. A spokesman for Ellison, the first Muslim Congressman, first claimed that he paid for the pilgrimage himself. Later it was reported that the Muslim American Society paid for the trip, which MAS spokesman Mahdi Bray heatedly denied,...

Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., joins scholars and policy experts next week near the nation’s capital to discuss the future of U.S.-Muslim relations. The nonprofit Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy is celebrating its 10th anniversary with an academic conference Tuesday titled, “How to Improve U.S.-Muslim Relations: Challenges and Promises Ahead.” The conference in Arlington, Va., among other things, will take up the Obama administration policies and what role Islam will play in developing democracy in the Muslim world. During the gathering, Maldives Foreign Minister Ahmed Shaheed will receive the “Muslim Democrat of the Year” award for his work...

Eight activists protesting the expulsion of aid groups in Darfur have been arrested in front of the Sudanese Embassy in Washington. Humanitarian leaders and five U.S. lawmakers, including Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison and Maryland Rep. Donna Edwards, were led away in handcuffs Monday from the embassy after crossing a police line. The activists are urging world leaders to take a stand against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir's decision to expel 16 aid agencies from Darfur.

US Islamist Congressman Keith Ellison was arrested as he was protesting for aid groups to be allowed into Darfur to help his Muslim brothers. He was asked to leave and would not, subsequently he was arrested. Would Mr.Ellison of showed so much passion if it were not Muslims involved? I doubt it.

A rhetorical tiff boiled over this week between Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann and Democratic Rep. Keith Ellison. Bachmann started it last week when she said in a radio interview that the controversial "flying imams" -- six Muslim men removed from a plane at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in a well publicized incident in 2006 -- had come to the Twin Cities to attend Ellison's victory celebration following his initial election to Congress. Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, replied Thursday that Bachmann was engaged in "psycho talk." According to the transcript of an interview Bachmann gave to a San...

The Jewish Daily Forward runs a front-page piece on Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison in which the writer, Nathan Guttman, implicitly praises Ellison’s ability to avoid declaring himself pro-Israel: In a sense, Ellison is walking a tightrope, one that does not place him squarely in either the “pro-Israel” or “anti-Israel” camp in Congress. But he says he does not feel any push-back from either side, not even from the pro-Israel lobby, which is often charged with using political strong-arm tactics. “I heard talk about that, but I never encountered it,” he said. By maintaining ties with both communities, Ellison believes he...

WASHINGTON – Barack Obama is conducting his own affirmative action program to get more Muslims in the White House. The move began with Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn, who took his oath of office with a hand on the Quran, to solicit the resume of what he considered to be the nation's most qualified adherents of Islam. According to the Denver Post, when White House officials heard about the program, it was put on overdrive. So far, 45 Ivy League grads, Fortune 500 executives and government officials have been submitted for consideration.

CHICAGO — In a bid to get more Muslim Americans working in the Obama administration, a book with resumes of 45 of the nation's most qualified — Ivy League grads, Fortune 500 executives and public servants, all carefully vetted — has been submitted to the White House. The effort, driven by community leaders and others, including U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., was bumped up two weeks because White House officials heard about the venture, said J. Saleh Williams, program coordinator for the Congressional Muslim Staffers Association, who sifted through more than 300 names. "It was mostly under the radar," Williams...

Just like in the UK we are now looking to put Muslims in positions of power, desperately hoping that this will actually make things better. Appeasement never works with them and suicide bombers in the UK were doctors and teachers, so their position in the country does not necessarily mean loyalty. This will come back to haunt us.

US Senator John Kerry made a rare visit to the war-ravaged Gaza Strip on Thursday, but stressed this did not reflect a change of policy towards the territory's Islamist rulers listed by Washington as a terror group. The visit "does not indicate any shift whatsoever with respect to Hamas," said Kerry, who heads the Senate's powerful foreign relations committee. His first stop in the impoverished Palestinian enclave was the American school left in ruins by the deadly 22-day Israeli offensive that ended on January 18. Talking to a Palestinian lawyer amid the dust and rubble, Kerry defended Israel for responding...

Last week, media reports surfaced that the FBI quietly decided last summer to sever its ties to CAIR, the Council on American-Islamic Relations. One week prior, Ingrid Mattson, president of ISNA, the Islamic Society of North America, delivered a prayer at the National Prayer Service, one of the events associated with the inauguration of President Obama. In other words, while it appears the FBI has finally learned a valuable lesson, it just as clearly appears that President Obama hasn’t. For years the FBI has conferred legitimacy on CAIR, meeting with its leaders and asking for its advice on relations with...

Though it represents itself to be a Muslim civil rights organization, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) devoted most of its resources earlier this month to mobilizing opposition to Israel's attempt to neutralize Hamas militarily. On Thursday, the Investigative Project on Terrorism reported that the FBI has cut off contact with CAIR due to unanswered questions about the organization's roots in a Hamas-support network. Earlier this month, the IPT showed how CAIR officials dutifully avoid mentioning Hamas by name when discussing the conflict. Yet no major media outlet or political figure is challenging CAIR's positions or tactics. That may be...

Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison's groundbreaking pilgrimage to Mecca last month was paid for by an American Muslim organization that has ties to Islamic radicals and is "the Muslim equivalent of the neo-Nazi party," his critics say. Ellison, a Democrat, became the first U.S. congressman ever to make the hajj pilgrimage when he visited Islam's holy city in December. The trip was funded by the Muslim American Society of Minnesota, a non-profit interfaith group that is one of 55 branches of the MAS nationwide. The pilgrimage was hailed by Muslim activists in the U.S. "A U.S. congressman going on hajj sends...

SNIPPET: "The fundamental truth is that Hamas' road to Iran runs through the international Muslim Brotherhood, and has for two decades. What is often missing in the discussion of the Muslim Brotherhood is that Hamas, according to its own founding charter, is an integral and armed part of the Ikwhan, not separate from it."

There was no fanfare, no press release when Keith Ellison made the pilgrimage to the Muslim holy city of Mecca last week. "We weren't really trying to turn this into a political thing," said the Democratic congressman from Minneapolis. "This is just me trying to be the best person I can be." Downplaying his role as the first member of Congress to make the Hajj, as the pilgrimage is known, Ellison called the experience "transformative." "It really didn't have anything to do with me being a congressman," said Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress. Bravo...Sierra...

Twenty-three ethanol plant workers from India who face illegal immigration charges faced federal court hearings Wednesday to change their pleas. Their supporters say they are victims of a human trafficking scheme, and they plan a 24-hour fast and prayer vigil. In Minnesota, Rep. Keith Ellison and religious leaders announced they would join the fast to support the workers.

Back home, he's one of the 535 most powerful lawmakers in America, but last week, on the holiest week in Islam's holiest city, U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison was just one among the estimated 3 million travelers making the pilgrimage to Mecca. Ellison, D-Minn., and the first Muslim elected to Congress, also became the first sitting member to make the hajj, the journey that all able-bodied Muslims are obligated to make once in their lifetime. Ellison had been planning the weeklong pilgrimage since a trip to Saudi Arabia almost a year ago, said his spokesman, Rick Jauert, and hadn't expected the...

WASHINGTON — Rep. Keith Ellison, the first Muslim member of Congress, made the hajj pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca last week, calling it a "transformative" experience. The Democrat from Minnesota's 5th Congressional District traveled to the Saudi Arabian city along with about 3 million people. The journey is a lifelong dream for many Muslims. "It was transformative. It was a wonderful experience," Ellison said in a telephone interview today. "I learned a lot about myself, about my faith."

"As Keith Ellison, the first Muslim member of the U.S. Congress who performed Hajj this week, told CNN, you forget who you are -- black or white and American or African -- and where you come from when you are before God circling the Kaaba in a two-piece unstitched garment."

Barack Obama’s election with the middle name Hussein (invoked to rile Republican crowds during the presidential campaign) should inspire Muslims to pursue public service and other work, even if they speak with accents or their names are perceived as foreign-sounding, U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison told the recent annual meeting of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR). Ellison, the first Muslim member of Congress, followed up on CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad’s plea for Obama to hire Muslims to federal posts by urging American Muslims to apply for some of the administration’s 8,000 job openings.

JERUSALEM – CNN's extensive coverage this week of the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca is a defeat for evangelical Christians and proves it is only a question of time before Islam will be "shining all over the world," according to Muslim terrorists in Gaza speaking to WND. Starting last Saturday and continuing until Wednesday, CNN provided regular coverage of the Hajj, the largest annual pilgrimage in the world. The fifth pillar of Islam requires every able-bodied Muslim to travel to Mecca at least once in their life in a demonstration of solidarity with fellow Muslims and in an act of...

WASHINGTON – When the Council on American-Islamic Relations held its 14th Annual Banquet at the Marriott Crystal Gateway Hotel tonight, it was planning to raise funds and honor some of its supporters, but instead several top officials of the Muslim lobby group were served with subpoenas for various civil and criminal offenses. The dramatic surprise, caught on video to be released later, was a result of the research work of the Mapping Sharia Project, headed by Dave Gaubatz. He personally served CAIR Director Nihad Awad at the banquet tonight while North Carolina state Sen. Larry Shaw, D-S.C., a CAIR national...

President Bush has been "briefed," as they say, about the extraordinary spate of Somali piracy that culminated this week in the seizure of the Sirius Star. Incredibly, this Saudi supertanker loaded with crude oil destined for the United States now joins a commandeered fleet of about a dozen ships and 200 crew being held by Somali pirates who, according to Jane's Terrorism and Security Monitor, may well have links to jihadists. I'm wondering whether President Bush, at any point in his briefing, ever thought to ask his experts: "What is up with Somalia?" I say this given the disjointed but...

When he endorsed Barack Obama for president in mid-October, former Secretary of State Colin Powell did more than merely cross a partisan divide. Yes, of course, the headlines after Powell made his dramatic endorsement on NBC's "Meet the Press" highlighted the fact that one of the country's most prominent Republicans had given his backing to the Democratic nominee. But the lingering phenomenon that Powell's endorsement created in Muslim American communities across the United States has been far more profound. Powell made what will be remembered as the campaign's most powerful statement regarding religious tolerance. "I'm also troubled by, not what...

Video: Sen. Coleman's home vandalized (see link below) When Laurie Coleman, wife of U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman, hauled her trash to the alley at 7:30 Wednesday morning, a chilling sight greeted her. Sprayed in black on the wooden siding of the garage behind the couple's St. Paul home, in letters nearly a foot high: "U R A CRIMINAL RESIGN OR ELSE! PSALM 2" On the alley side, "SCUM" was scrawled across both garage stall doors and a wooden partition in between. The Colemans weren't alone. Vandals struck the garages and homes of five other Minnesota members of Congress late Tuesday...

WASHINGTON — Freshman Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison has become a de facto American emissary, meeting with foreign policy makers both here and abroad to preach peace and democracy. Ellison, a Democrat, had already developed an international reputation when he took his oath of office on the Quran last year. In his first term in office, he's built on that with congressional trips, State Department functions and internationally themed town hall meetings in his district. "Peace is a key component of what I'm here to do," he said in a recent interview.

Not sure what to make of this. Over the 4th July Ellison spent time in Kenya with Obamas grandma. This from Star Tribune: "The 10-day journey, which ended Monday, culminated in a July 4th reception at the U.S. ambassador's residence in Nairobi, Kenya, where Ellison met Sarah Hussein Onyango Obama, the grandmother of presidential candidate Barack Obama." I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall for this conversation.

Muslim B. Hussein Obama is being highly favored by Islamics in the United States. Per MosqueWatch.com: Muslim Congressman Keith Ellision endorsed the 2008 presidential campaign of Sen. Obama saying "He speaks with a unifying spirit." He said he supports "Obama's message of an open and fair economy, a balanced prosperity and clear opposition to the war in Iraq." National and International Muslim American Leader Imam W.D. Mohammed endorsed Sen. Barack Obama saying "He is the best candidate for the Presidency." All the more, Muslims worldwide are giving their applause to B. Hussein Obama. In addition, the Nation of Islam with...

I WISH Barack Obama were a Muslim. Better that than having supercilious staffers whisk women in Islamic head scarves out of photo-ops. Better that than telling Representative Keith Ellison of Minnesota, the nation's first Muslim congressman, not to come help Obama in Iowa and North Carolina. Better that than wooing red states by wobbling before the modern equivalent of the Red Scare. In his year-and-a-half-long run for president, Obama has visited churches and synagogues, but no mosque. This has the musty feel of light-skinned African-Americans passing for white, paranoid over daylight visits from dark-skinned relatives.

As Senator Barack Obama courted voters in Iowa last December, Representative Keith Ellison, the country’s first Muslim congressman, stepped forward eagerly to help. Mr. Ellison believed that Mr. Obama’s message of unity resonated deeply with American Muslims. He volunteered to speak on Mr. Obama’s behalf at a mosque in Cedar Rapids, one of the nation’s oldest Muslim enclaves. But before the rally could take place, aides to Mr. Obama asked Mr. Ellison to cancel the trip because it might stir controversy. Another aide appeared at Mr. Ellison’s Washington office to explain. “I will never forget the quote,” Mr. Ellison said,...

As Senator Barack Obama courted voters in Iowa last December, Representative Keith Ellison, the country’s first Muslim congressman, stepped forward eagerly to help.Mr. Ellison believed that Mr. Obama’s message of unity resonated deeply with American Muslims. He volunteered to speak on Mr. Obama’s behalf at a mosque in Cedar Rapids, one of the nation’s oldest Muslim enclaves. But before the rally could take place, aides to Mr. Obama asked Mr. Ellison to cancel the trip because it might stir controversy. Another aide appeared at Mr. Ellison’s Washington office to explain.“I will never forget the quote,” Mr. Ellison said, leaning forward...

An apology issued by Barack Obama to two Muslim women booted from the front lines of a public appearance by the Democratic presidential candidate last week was orchestrated by Rep. Keith Ellison, the first Muslim ever elected to Congress. Multiple congressional sources confirm that it was Ellison, D-Minn., who confronted Obama over the issue during a meeting with the Congressional Black Caucus. Obama called the women to apologize after two volunteers with the campaign removed the women from the stage area behind the location where Obama would be speaking. The volunteers allegedly told the women it was because they were...