Group Responds to Cal Thomas' Muslim Remarks

In an article posted on WTOP radio, CAIR responds to Cal Thomas' "islamphobic" commentary:

Group Responds to Cal Thomas' Muslim Remarks
July 5, 2007 - 5:03am

WASHINGTON -- Recent remarks from WTOP commentator Cal Thomas have sparked controversy in the Muslim-American community. Now, an Islamic advocacy group is responding to Thomas' commentary.

In his weekly commentary on WTOP Radio Monday, Cal Thomas discussed the recent thwarted terror attacks in the United Kingdom.

"How much longer should we allow people from certain lands, with certain beliefs to come to Britain and America and build their mosques, teach hate, and plot to kill us?" Thomas asked. "OK, let's have the required disclaimer: Not all Muslims from the Middle East and southeast Asia want to kill us, but those who do blend in with those who don't. Would anyone tolerate a slow-spreading cancer because it wasn't fast-spreading? Probably not. You'd want it removed."

Thomas' commentary prompted the Council on American-Islamic Relations to urge its supporters to contact WTOP and voice their concerns. WTOP received many calls and emails from both sides.

On Wednesday, WTOP invited Ibrahim Hooper, a CAIR spokesperson and Cal Thomas, to separately respond to Thomas' previous comments.

In his response, Hooper said Thomas' comments undermined CAIR's effort to promote mutual understanding and social justice.

"For him, I would imagine that his next step is the expulsion of the Muslim-American community," Hooper said. "We condemn extremism. We've condemned terrorism....We've issued dozens of condemnations on dozens of terrorism attacks."

CAIR works to create proactive campaigns to promote awareness about Islam and the Muslim community.

"But guys like [Cal] Thomas come along and want to say every Muslim should be suspect and should be treated in a certain way. That's not just and that's not the American way," Hooper said.

When negative incidents occur, such as the Danish cartoon controversy and the desecration of Korans at Guantanamo Bay, Hooper said CAIR focuses on educational campaigns and "things that really explain who Islam is all about so that they don't have to take their misinformation from Islamaphobes like Cal Thomas."

Hooper said he feels as though the extremists are becoming the unwanted face of Islam.

"We have a real PR problem. We have a real problem with a tiny minority of people who are misusing the faith of Islam to carry out acts of violence," he said.

While the organization tries to reach out to the extremists, Hooper said more often than not, "the people who do these types of things aren't going even to listen to me."

"But we still have a role to play in trying to convince these people that they're betraying the faith of Islam, and we just do as much as we can. We try and think every day of new ways to help in the fight against terrorism."

In response to Hooper's comments, Thomas said there is a history of "disinformation people" in the United States.

"We have always had disinformation people among us... saying that there's no real threat and the real threat are the people who are pointing it out, not the people who are plotting to destroy us. They have a problem. And if they're not listening to voices that claim to be responsible like Mr. Hooper, then they have a double problem," Thomas said.

According to Thomas, the U.S. needs to monitor Muslims more closely.

"As much as it offends our desire to be tolerant and open and free speech and association and the rest, as [New York Times columnist] Tom Friedman put it, we have a cancer among us and we better respond to it before it grows any further," he said.

Thomas also cited several "prominent liberal Democrat" U.S. senators who have expressed concerns with CAIR and its "extreme rhetoric" and "ties to terrorism."

"The truth hurts," Thomas said. "I'm not making this stuff up...we gotta connect the dots. It's a little late after things begin to explode."

(Copyright 2007 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)

We need more media people like Mr. Thomas.

Diary of an 'Asian' Physician in Jolly Old England

Hilarious stuff from Iowahawk. So good I had to post it in its entirety. H/T to Little Green Footballs.

Well, That Didn't Work Out So Great
Iowahawk Guest Commentary
By Kahlid Ahmed, MDBoard Certified Gastroenterologist and former Jihad Associate, al Qaeda UK

Ever have "one of those days?" Sure, all of us go through the occasional rough patch, but I swear there are times when I think Allah must really have it in for me. I mean, I know the "Big Guy" is supposed to have a sense of humor, but do I always have to be the punchline?

Take for example this last week. A few mates and I had been planning a big martyrdom weekend for quite a while; it's something we first began discussing a few years ago in medical school back in Amman. We were sitting around the dorm eating pizza, cramming for a big anatomy final, when Ali said "you know, after graduation, we should get together for something really big." We talked about a fishing trip to Canada or something, but most of the guys thought that sounded pretty boring. Abdul suggested a golf weekend in Cancun, but the all-inclusives there can get pretty pricey in-season. Hassan (who's really into motorcycles) suggested renting Harleys and going to Sturgis for the Biker Rally, but we heard that crowd can get pretty rowdy.

Anyhoo, Achmed finally says, "how about packing cars with explosives and killing hundreds of random infidels in a coordinated series of gigantic fireballs?" And we're like, fuckin' A! Not only would we be it an awesome bonding experience (with plenty of Paradise poontang, LOL), we would be doing a valuable community service. Okay, so we high-fived and made a solemn promise that we'd target two years after graduation for the big weekend prank blowout.

I know how it usually goes with these kinds of fraternity things; what with starting up a medical practice, honor killing obligations, and starting a family, it's easy to lose touch with the old school buddies. But this thing -- our thing -- was serious, you know? Thanks to email we were able to keep in touch and keep the plan going. As luck would have it, we all won Achmedinijad scholarships to do our residencies in England for the National Health Service. We got our families together most every weekend for backyard cookouts and self-flagellation and TV football matches. Afterwards me and the other guys would slip out to the garage for cigars, and to pack shrapnel.
So okay, the big weekend arrives, and the guys come over to my place bright and early, everybody's jazzed about rolling up some kufr carnage. All the propane tanks and propellant and nail cannisters are ready to go. I look at Ali and say, "okay mate, back up your car to the garage and I'll start loading it up." He gets this dumbstruck look on his face and says, "my car? I thought Hassan was going to do the martyrdom." And then Hassan does a massive spit-take with his tea, and he's like, "whoa dude, I rigged the cell phones, I didn't agree to blow up. I thought Mohammed was going to do the blowing up." Then Mohammed's like, "don't look at me, pal, I thought I was just providing the spiritual guidance. Plus my car's in the shop for transmission work." From there it just descended into this big shouting match. Holy frickin' prophet, two years of planning this prank and now everybody wants to pussy out on the actual martyrdom.

Long story short, we decided to draw straws. And guess who wins? Yep, yours truly, good old sucker Khalid, the same guy with a pile of charge card receipts for petrol and propane and hardware. The same guy who ended up having to host two thirds of the martyrdom planning parties at HIS house, because his good old college "pals" always have some convenient excuse about "kitchen remodeling" or "MI6 surveillance," and never lift a finger to help clean up the empty bottles or paper plates or the C5 mess. Well, you know what they say: no good deed goes unpunished. Then the other short straw get pulled by Bilal, and I'm like, oh, great. Now I'll be banging some celestial virgin with that wanker looking over my shoulder.

Wow. Hit the nail on the friggin head with this one. Must read - see the entire post here.

BROWN: DON'T SAY TERRORISTS ARE MUSLIMS

H/T to Michelle Malkin's Hot Air, from the Daily Express:

BROWN: DON'T SAY TERRORISTS ARE MUSLIMS

Tuesday July 3,2007
By Macer Hall, Political Editor

Gordon Brown has banned ministers from using the word “Muslim” in ­connection with the ­terrorism crisis.

The Prime Minister has also instructed his team – including new Home Secretary Jacqui Smith – that the phrase “war on ­terror” is to be dropped.

The shake-up is part of a fresh attempt to improve community relations and avoid offending Muslims, adopting a more “consensual” tone than existed under Tony Blair.

However, the change provoked claims last night that ministers are indulging in yet more political correctness.

The sudden shift in tone emerged in comments by Mr Brown and Ms Smith in the wake of the failed attacks in London and Glasgow.

Mr Brown’s spokesman acknowledged yesterday that ministers had been given specific guidelines to avoid inflammatory language.

“There is clearly a need to strike a consensual tone in relation to all communities across the UK,” the spokesman said. “It is important that the country remains united.”

He confirmed that the phrase “war on terror” – strongly associated with Mr Blair and US President George Bush – has been dropped.

Officials insist that no direct links with Muslim extremists have been publicly confirmed by police investigating the latest attempted terror attacks. Mr Brown himself did not refer to Muslims or Islam once in a BBC TV interview on Sunday.

Ms Smith also avoided any such reference in her statement to MPs yesterday.

No surprise, given the French-style surrender of all of Europe to all things muslim.

Jihad Watch: Bush & MSM are off base, again, about Islam being the 'Religion of Peace'

From Robert Spencer's Jihad Watch, yet another clear indication of how Herr Bush and the mainstream media are totally missing the boat on the 'Religion of Peace' not being represented by the muslim jihadists.

Majid Khadduri and George W. Bush
When he spoke this week at the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Islamic Center of Washington, President Bush said: "In the Middle East, we have seen instead the rise of a group of extremists who seek to use religion as a path to power and a means of domination. This self-appointed vanguard presumes to speak for Muslims. They do not."

There we are again. The Administration and the mainstream media (both Left and Right) take it as axiomatic that the jihad we see all over the world today represents a perversion of Islam, repudiated by the vast majority of Muslims. The American Muslim advocacy industry, chiefly the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), which has recently been named an unindicted co-conspirator in a Hamas terror funding case, has quite successfully portrayed any exploration of the elements of Islam that give rise to and justify jihad violence and Islamic supremacism as a manifestation of "hatred," "bigotry," "Islamophobia." Those who do not accept the iron dogma that Islam contains nothing within it that can reasonably be used to justify terrorism are vilified and marginalized.

However, consider for a moment that if the iron dogma is false, the dogmatists are doing a grave disservice to the United States and even to peaceful Muslims. For if there is nothing in Islam that needs reforming, we cannot possibly offer assistance to Islamic reformers. And if Islam is a fundamentally peaceful belief-system, then we need not reevaluate our immigration policies vis-a-vis Muslims entering the U.S. from a national security standpoint, and we need not call American mosques to account for what they are teaching. If we're just dealing with a few crazies, we need not call upon Muslims in the U.S. and elsewhere to perform a searching and honest reevaluation of their beliefs, and decide whether they want to live in a state of conflict with the rest of the international community on an indefinite basis. I suspect that if the question were posed to Muslims worldwide, many would opt for otherwise universally accepted notions of human rights: the freedom of conscience, equality of dignity of women and men, equality of dignity of non-Muslims with Muslims. But we will never know, because Western leaders wouldn't dare pose the question on those terms. After all, they don't want to be seen as "hatemongers."

Read the entire article here.

You Think Our TV Violence is Bad for Children, What About Hamas?

Kudos to the Religion of Peace™ in Palestine, for cancelling a violent television show for children. Unfortunately, it's filled with propaganda, showing an Israeli official killing Farfour, a Mickey Mouse lookalike. From the Jerusalem Post:

Farfour Mouse dies in last episode

Hamas TV on Friday broadcast what it said was the last episode of a weekly children's show featuring "Farfour," a Mickey Mouse look-alike who had made worldwide headlines for preaching Islamic domination and armed struggle to youngsters.

In the final skit, Farfour was beaten to death by an actor posing as an Israeli official trying to buy Farfour's land. At one point, Farfour called the Israeli a "terrorist."

"Farfour was martyred while defending his land," said Sara, the teen presenter. He was killed "by the killers of children," she added.

Nice.

Read the entire article here.

Good News About CAIR

From Fred Thompon's blog: CAIR's support among dues-paying Muslims in America has plummeted since 9-11. The bad news: they still report millions of dollars in income, probably from extremist Saudis (that's an oxymoron). From Fred's blog, read it at http://abcradionetworks.com/article.asp?id=427045&SPID=15663

Good News about CAIR

I've talked before about the Council on American-Islamic Relations -- most recently because it filed that lawsuit against Americans who reported suspicious behavior by Muslims on a U.S. Airways flight. Better known just as CAIR, the lobbying group has come under a lot of scrutiny lately for its connections to terror-supporting groups. This time, though, The Washington Times has uncovered some very good news about the group.

For years, CAIR has claimed to represent millions of American Muslims. In fact, they claim to represent more Muslim in American than ... there are in America. This has alarmed Americans in general as the group often seems to be more aligned with our enemies than us -- which isn't surprising as it spun off from a group funded by Hamas. As you know, Hamas has been waging a terrorist war against Israel and calls for its total destruction. It also promises to see America destroyed. Nowadays, Hamas is busy murdering its Palestinian political rivals.

Even with this history, and CAIR's conspicuous failure to condemn Hamas by name, it has been treated as if represents Muslim Americans by our own government. The good news is that the financial support CAIR claims to have among American Muslims is a myth. We know this because The Washington Times got hold of the group's IRS tax records.

CAIR's dues-paying membership has shrunk 90 percent since 9/11 -- from 29,000 in 2000 to only 1,700 last year. CAIR's annual income from dues plunged from $733,000 to $59,000. Clearly, America's Muslims are not supporting this group -- and I'm happy to hear about it.

Of course, every silver lining seems to have a cloud; and this cloud is that CAIR's spending is running about $3 million a year. They’ve opened 25 new chapters in major cities across the country even as their dues shrank to a pittance. The question is; who’s funding CAIR?

CAIR's not saying. The New York Times earlier this year reported that the backing is from "wealthy Persian Gulf governments" including the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Obviously, we have a bigger problem here than the one with CAIR.

Keep an eye out for Thompson. He's supposed to make an announcement soon on whether he will run for president. He definitely has my vote.

JIHAD Watch: Muslim women at Love Field "acting suspiciously"

From Robert Spencer's Jihad Watch:

Camouflage pants under traditional Muslim garb.

"Women at Love Field 'acting suspiciously': Dallas: Police have no evidence

Muslims have ties to terrorists," by Jason Trahan for the Dallas Morning News, with thanks to Doc Washburn:

Dallas police and federal terrorism officials are investigating two women, both dressed in camouflage pants under their traditional Muslim robes and scarves, who were seen conducting what appeared to be surveillance and acting suspiciously at Dallas Love Field.

One of the women, Kimberly "Asma" Al-Homsi, 42, of Arlington, who is on probation for a 2005 Garland road rage incident involving a fake grenade, is said to have long-range assault rifle and explosives training, according to a Dallas police intelligence bulletin issued March 5.

"I'm a trained sniper and proud of it," Ms. Al-Homsi said in an interview Thursday after first refusing to comment on whether she has any terrorism ties. She then said no.

"We were watching the airplanes," Ms. Al-Homsi said. "That's not a crime, unless you're Muslim."

Sure. It's all about discrimination, racism, and Islamophobia. Just like 9/11.

Read the whole story.

UPDATE: From Debbie Schlussel:

**** UPDATE, 04/08/07: One of these women, Al-Homsi, confirms to Dallas/Fort Worth's WFAA-TV News, that she was friends with Wadih El-Hage, Osama Bin Laden's personal secretary (who lived in Texas), who is in prison, convicted of the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings in East Africa. But law enforcement--federal and local--say she has "not ties to terrorism." Uh-huh. ****

Great. Nothing to see here folks. Just move along.

BTW, I didn't think we allowed dual citizenship? I thought, to become a US citizen, you had to give up any other citizenships?

More X-Rated Iraq Video -- Blowin' Sh*t UP!

I love this stuff. H/T to Debbie Schlussel, here's what we need to do more of in Iraq - blow the F*ck out of those towelheads.

Check it out:


To quote the jarheads in the video, "See you in f*ckin' hell..."

Bizarro World: Lefty Cali Girl Boxer Denounces CAIR

From Michelle Malkin's Hot Air:

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) rescinds an award:
Dec. 29, 2006 - In a highly unusual move, Sen. Barbara Boxer of California has rescinded an award to an Islamic activist in her home state because of the man’s connections to a major American Muslim organization that recently has been courted by leading political figures and even the FBI.

Boxer’s office confirmed to NEWSWEEK that she has withdrawn a “certificate of accomplishment” to Sacramento activist Basim Elkarra after learning that he serves as an official with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). After directing her staff to look into CAIR, Boxer “expressed concern” about some past statements and actions by the group, as well as assertions by some law enforcement officials that it “gives aid to international terrorist groups,” according to Natalie Ravitz, the senator’s press spokeswoman.

Read the rest of the article. Sen. Boxer comes off as both knowledgeable and reasonable and open to changing her mind as facts warrant. CAIR, as is its wont, blamed Boxer’s move on the Joooos. Or, a Jewish blogger. The “Islamophobia” word makes an appearance too. So does “McCarthy.” They know which buttons to push.

For more on CAIR’s past statements, associations and assorted sins, head on over to Anti-CAIR. Several CAIR officials have been convicted on charges of aiding terrorist groups. Here’s a sample:

Senior CAIR employee Randall Todd Royer, a/k/a “Ismail” Royer, pled guilty and was sentenced to twenty years in prison for participating in a network of militant jihadists centered in Northern Virginia. He admitted to aiding and abetting three persons who sought training in a terrorist camp in Pakistan for the purpose of waging jihad against American troops in Afghanistan. Royer’s illegal actions occurred while he was employed with CAIR

CAIR’s Director of Community Relations, Bassem Khafagi , was arrested by the United States due to his ties with a terror-financing front group. Khafagi pled guilty to charges of visa and bank fraud, and agreed to be deported to Egypt. Khafagi’s illegal actions occurred while he was employed by CAIR.

On December 18, 2002, Ghassan Elashi, founding board member of CAIR-Texas, a founder of the Holy Land Foundation, and a brother-in-law of Musa Abu Marzook , was arrested by the United States and charged with, among other things, making false statements on export declarations, dealing in the property of a designated terrorist organization, conspiracy and money laundering. Ghassan Elashi committed his crimes while working at CAIR, and was found Guilty.
CAIR Board Member Imam Siraj Wahaj, an un-indicted co-conspirator in the first World Trade Center bombing, has called for replacing the American government with an Islamic caliphate, and warned that America will crumble unless it accepts Islam.

Now, if we could only get the Bush administration to be as tough on CAIR as Sen. Boxer is:
WASHINGTON, Dec. 27 … The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today welcomed an announcement by the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) that it has provided special training about Islamic traditions related to the Hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca, to some 45,000 airport security officers. The TSA cultural sensitivity training includes details about the timing of Hajj travel, about items pilgrims may be carrying and about Islamic prayers that may be observed by security personnel….

Foxes and henhouses, or something along those lines. It was, of course, several CAIR-connected imams who instigated the “flying imams” fiasco, which appeared to be none other than a test of vigilance and a way to mau mau the airlines and airline passengers. CAIR’s Ibrahim Hooper, who often appears on cable news channels as the face of moderate Islam, has been found in the company of radicals himself.

This is the CAIR that Boxer rejects, and the Bush administration puts in charge of sensitivity training.

Good for Boxer. Bad for the administration. CAIR should be ostracized.

The world is all Bizarro, now. WTF?

It's a simple formula: CAIR = islam = terrorists

Jihad update, at home and away...

In Pakistan (from Robert Spencer's Jihad Watch):

Release of up to 80 jihadists puts Pakistan counterterror efforts 'back to square one'
"As many as 80 hard-core militants are on the loose after being cleared by the courts or released on bail." Friend and Ally Update. "Freed jihadis put Pakistan's war on terror 'back to square one', say senior officers," by Massoud Ansari and Gethin Chamberlain for the Telegraph:

Anti-terrorism forces in Pakistan have been told to brace themselves for a wave of atrocities.

Intelligence officials warned that the security situation is now more precarious than it was before the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington.

Senior officers say they are "back to square one" in their fight against international terrorist groups after the release of dozens of militants by Pakistani courts. High-ranking police officials say that as many as 80 hard-core militants are on the loose after being cleared by the courts or released on bail.

They are believed to have been involved in crimes including the attempted assassination of President Pervez Musharraf and a suicide attack on the American consulate in Karachi.

In India (from Jihad Watch):

India: jihadists hide bombs in toys

Will the Islamophobia never end? "Bombs found hidden in toys - police," from Agence France-Presse, with thanks to Mao:

TWO suspected Islamic militants had been arrested with explosives hidden inside toys which they planned to blow up at a busy market in New Delhi, Indian police said today.

Samimullah and Ali Mohammad, both from Indian Kashmir, were arrested at a New Delhi railway station on suspicion of belonging to pro-Pakistan militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba, senior police official Karnal Singh said.

The arrests came amid tight security in the Indian capital ahead of New Year festivities.

"We received a tip-off that the two men would be coming by train from Jammu (the winter capital of Indian Kashmir)," Mr Singh said.

In Minneapolis:

1,500 in Minneapolis protest ouster of Sharia government in Somalia

What are 1,500 supporters of Islamic jihad and Sharia law doing in Minneapolis? What are the implications of this for our own national security? Why is no one with any power or influence even asking these questions?

"Area Somalis want peace for homeland: Many of the 1,500 protesters in Minneapolis were angered that the U.S. gave tacit support for ousting of Islamists," by Liz Fedor in the Star Tribune, with thanks to CGW."

Read all these stories and more at Jihad Watch.

FrontPageMag: America must overcome political correctness

From Robert Spencer's article on FrontPage Magazine:

If America is to survive, it is eventually going to have to choose national security over political correctness. Shahin has complained that he was “humiliated” and that the way the imams were treated was “terrible.” Indeed. It is terrible. It is terrible that he and the other imams who were taken off the plane, as well as other Islamic leaders in America, have allowed those who commit violence in the name of their religion to do so unimpeded and unchallenged. It is terrible that these and other Islamic scholars have responded only with vilification when asked about the teachings of their faith that promote violence, instead of with honest dialogue and attempts to reform those teachings. It is terrible that, if they were indeed removed from the plane for praying, they are among those who have allowed their religion to become so associated with violence that American citizens on an airplane become alarmed at the sight of Islamic prayer.

Amen, brother, amen.

WTF? Minnesota Imams = Rosa Parks? MSNBC

Unbeliveably, the lefty nutjobs at MSNBC (think Keith Olberman) equate the six muzzys detained in the Minnesota incident with Rosa Parks:



You gotta be kidding me.

Spencer: Some Clarification on his views

At his website Jihad Watch, islamic expert and author Robert Spencer attempts to set the record straight with the mud-slinging CAIR lovin' muzzys:

A general reply, for the record
A pre-Thanksgiving miscellany:

1. Islam is not a race. One does not become a racist by opposing the jihad ideology.
2. I do not wish to drive all Muslims into the sea.
3. I have never said that the only good Muslim is an ex-Muslim.
4. I have never said that Muslims want to kill all Jews and Christians.
5. I do not single out the jihadist interpretation of Islam and anoint it as the only legitimate interpretation. As I have pointed out many times, all the orthodox sects and schools of jurisprudence teach violent jihad. I would love to highlight mainstream peaceful Islamic sects that are regarded as orthodox by other Muslims. Unfortunately, such sects do not exist. Courageous sincere individual reformers are deeply appreciated and to be applauded, but they are just that -- individuals.
6. It is false that by pointing out how jihadists use the Qur'an and Islamic teaching, I am encouraging and legitimizing those jihadists or pushing moderate Muslims to become jihadists. In fact, they do not listen to me. More importantly, it is incumbent upon moderates to refute the jihad ideology if they can. But if I can find holes in the moderates' presentations, jihadists will find ten more. And so those moderate constructions will prove useless to do what must be done: convincing Muslims to be peaceful.
7. Tabari says Aisha was nine when Muhammad consummated his marriage with her. That he says more about Aisha doesn't mean that somewhere he contradicts this assertion.
8. "Apologist" is not a pejorative term. It means a defender of a faith. And when apologists say something, this doesn't mean that no one else says it.
9. Word has gone out that I support unrestricted immigration from Muslim countries, with adjustment only to screen for active jihadists. This is false.
10. Comments here are unmoderated. If you think I support the sentiments expressed in one, please establish that with quotations from my own writings.
11. I did not add the section of my FAQ about the need to "remain true to our principles of freedom and equality of rights and dignity for all" in response to critics who claimed that I wanted to subvert those principles. In fact, that has been part of the FAQ since the site began in October 2003.

Nice to see someone who consistently stands up to the islamic apologists set the record straight. Those of us without a pro-islamic bent (definitely does not include CAIR) have been able to see these truths clearly since we first started reading Mr. Spencer's work.