10/11/13 OPCW Nobel Prize a cruel joke on the Syrian people: Chemical weapons narrative continues to hide genocide of the Syrian people

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MEDIA CONTACTS:         Gregg Edgar

Gordon C. James Public Relations

gedgar@gcjpr.com

602-690-7977

 

OPCW Nobel Prize a cruel joke on the Syrian people

Chemical weapons narrative continues to hide genocide of the Syrian people

Obama Administration and UN commend Syria while Assad’s killing machine still slaughters thousands of Syrians

 

 PHOENIX (October 11, 2013) – Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser, author of “A Battle for the Soul of Islam: An American Muslim Patriot’s Fight to Save His Faith” released the following statement on behalf of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD) regarding the continued slaughter in Syria.

 

“The Nobel Prize committee continued the cruel joke on the Syrian people today awarding the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) its infamous peace prize for their efforts in Syria. While the OPCW may do important and necessary work, the Nobel committee is the latest perpetrator of this false narrative that removing chemical weapons solves the Syrian problem.

 The death toll in Syria continues to rise as Bashar Assad takes full advantage of the breathing room he has negotiated through Russia.  Assad sacrificed his chemical weapons to avert military action from the United States.  The international community has does nothing to prevent the ongoing genocide of the Syrian people.

 Make no mistake genocide is in fact occurring in Syria. Over a year ago – long before chemical attacks, in an August 30, 2012 article in The Hill, Lori Handrahan, an international human rights and international law expert and professor from American University, made it clear that ‘Genocide is happening now in Syria. Criteria appear to be met solely, but not exclusively, on Article 2 Section (e) of the Genocide Convention which focuses on children.’ In September, at a New York UN week event commemorating the 20th Anniversary of the Rwanda genocide, two of the world’s foremost experts on genocide, Elie Wiesel and former Rwanda President Paul Kagame were unequivocal in their belief that ‘The American political…leadership had failed on Syria.  Chemical gas was a trigger point for genocide and mass murder.’

 Yet the American people are being fed a steady stream of deception as the Administration, the UN and OPCW pat themselves on the back over the past week and sadly praised Assad and the Syrian government for its supposed “cooperation” in eliminating its stockpile of chemical weapons. The majority of Syrians are engaged in a lopsided war against a ruthless regime. The international community led by the hapless Obama administration is falling for the oldest trick of distraction in war. Assad and his military are keeping the world distracted while he continues to expunge the Syrian citizenry of its humanity.

 Secretary Kerry did little to reaffirm a commitment to the administration’s “strategic goal” of ending the Assad regime when on October 7 he stated that, ‘We’re very pleased with the pace of what has happened with respect to chemical weapons in a record amount of time… I think that was a terrific example of global cooperation. I think it’s also credit to the Assad regime for complying rapidly as they are supposed to.’ Where is the indignation that thousands more have died since the President stepped off the use of military force against Assad? Where is the tough talking Kerry who rightly called Assad’s actions genocidal in September? In fact no one seems to care the very neighborhood of tens of thousands beset by the chemical attack in August when 1400 died is now being suffocated into oblivion with no food and water on the precipice of a massacre.

 The OPCW did no better when on October 9th their Director General Ahmet Uzumcu, asserted that Syria’s ‘cooperation has been quite constructive, and I will say that the Syrian authorities have been cooperative.’

 Assad is playing the world for fools.  Giving away a stockpile that no one can confirm is his full war chest of chemical weapons to get enough space to eliminate his opposition – to quite literally starve or obliterate those looking to step out from under the boot of this brutal regime.

 U.S. Ambassador to the UN Samantha Powers, a former activist on genocide and human rights who paradoxically wrote a book on how to prevent genocide, had the gall this weekend to declare that the president had used every tool in his toolbox to fight the Assad regime.  The administration hasn’t even bothered to articulate a strategy for Syria let alone activate tools that would actually bring an end to the decimation of an entire citizenry.

 The UN declared this week that they expect upwards of 5 million Syrian refugees by early 2014. That is approximately 1/5of the Syrian population. Death tolls will likely reach 250,000 by mid-2014 if not far more. While Assad’s chemical weapons are concerning for all, they hardly scratch the surface of what we need to fear with an unbridled Syria and client to Iran.

 We cannot let the façade of chemical depot movements change the reality of evil on the ground in Syria. Empty books and words on genocide by our UN Ambassador and verbal platitudes of outrage from the leader of the free world aside, America’s inaction in Syria is a stark sign of an Obama administration which has no moral courage. History will show that the Obama administration’s obvious indifference to the moral challenge of the war crimes of the Syrian military will leave a legacy of moral indifference and in fact capitulation to evil.

 

About the American Islamic Forum for Democracy

The American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) charitable organization. AIFD’s mission advocates for the preservation of the founding principles of the United States Constitution, liberty and freedom, through the separation of mosque and state. For more information on AIFD, please visit our website at http://www.aifdemocracy.org/.

 

10/08/13 Giving Air to Tyrants

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by M. Zuhdi Jasser

 On September 7th former Congressman Dennis Kucinich helped Fox News to secure an interview with embattled Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. More than a troubling demonstration of his continued closeness to the Assad regime, Kucinich’s efforts and the interview itself raise broader concerns about our free media helping to advance the propaganda of Arab dictators while their regimes slaughter civilians by the thousands.

Showcasing the Assad regime for anything other than the fiercest criticisms is certainly not new. In what was perhaps the most glamorous depiction of the Assad legacy thus far, Vogue Magazine praised the looks of Asma al-Assad and the mild manners and blue jeans of her husband Bashar while making no mention of how this “long limbed” couple oppresses, tortures and murders its civilians. Today, Asma al-Assad’s online curriculum vitae still leads with the photo used by Vogue to open the 2011 article. Later, Barbara Walters, in an extensive and gentle interview (complete with soft-focus lighting), gave Bashar al-Assad a full hour on prime time; while CNN invited Asma al-Assad to condemn what she called Israel’s “barbaric assaults on innocent civilians” and speak to the potential of Arab youth. In the past month, Assad and his benefactor Russian President Putin both conducted a media tour of The New York Times, PBS/CBS and now Fox News to press their ideological positions on the American people. Giving Putin and Assad space to further lie about the benefit of Assad signing the chemical weapons ban treaty is no different from giving Hitler a forum on American shores to proclaim that he will give up his gas chambers if we don’t invade on D-Day.

Of course, this is not Syria – and so the media is free to interview who they like, even if viewers find the content repugnant. But what are the real consequences?

The “charm offensive” strategy of media tours has been beneficial to tyrant Assad – and now his ally, Iran’s President Rouhani – is doing the same, knowing that Western elites will clamor to give him all the positive press he desires.

In just one short week, Secretary Kerry changed his narrative on Syria strikes – from a strident rebuke that punishes the Assad regime for using chemical weapons and killing 120,000 people to a protracted statement about intervention through “through peaceful means.”

They were able to do this because the Obama Administration has failed to articulate a Middle East strategy that embraces the most exceptional part of America – our commitment to the right of every human being to freedom. The media, with its soft-focus lens for tyrants, has only made this passivity more palatable to the American public.

There is no journalistic or ethical value in giving a ruthless tyrant the space to propagandize and rationalize his genocide of the Syrian people. The Syrian regime regularly posts his American media appearances on its social media channels, something he would not have done if the interviews were at all critical of his actions. Simply put, he uses his appearances in the American media as a marker of legitimacy.

Assad’s media tour allowed him to present himself as a victim of terrorists rather than as a key ally to the Iranian regime and backer of terrorist networks himself, and gave him the impact he needed to discredit American influence in the region. Most damaging to our own national security is the fact that by currying favor with the American public, Assad was able to convince many that he – a staunch ally of Hizbullah – is a voice of reason and liberty in the Middle East.

The debate about Syria needs to be refocused on the reality the Syrian people have faced for 45 years. This is not just a 2.5 year revolution. This is not just about 1,400 people being killed with chemical weapons and 120,000 people being killed with conventional weapons.

This is a revolution sparked by 15 million people clamoring for the right to be free. This is a revolution sparked by the masses of 10-15 million Syrian citizens clamoring for the right to be free. Tell me whose side should the United States be on  – certainly not Vladimir Putin’s, Bashar Al-Assad’s, Hassan Rouhani’s, or Hassan Nasrallah’s?

Zuhdi Jasser is the president and founder of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy and the author of A Battle for the Soul of Islam: An American Muslim Patriot’s Fight to Save His Faith.

10/16/2013 Nobel Peace Prize committee blew it

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Source: Toronto Sun News

For the half a million people around the globe who had signed petitions urging their country’s parliamentarians to nominate Malala Yousafzai for the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize, Friday morning brought deep disappointment.

The possibility the Nobel Committee would overlook the Pakistani teenager and instead choose another worthy nominee was always there.

However, the fact the wise men of Oslo rewarded failure instead of Malala was particularly insulting to many.

American author Dr. Zuhdi Jasser summed it up best. He called the decision of the Nobel Committee to award the Nobel Peace Prize to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) a “cruel joke on the Syrian people.” Dr. Jasser is an American of Syrian ancestry and has been in the forefront of the Syrian opposition to the Assad regime.

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10/03/13 Assad starves those that gas did not kill: Obama’s negotiations over chemical weapons do little to stop genocide of Syrian people

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MEDIA CONTACTS:         Gregg Edgar

Gordon C. James Public Relations

gedgar@gcjpr.com

602-690-7977

 

Assad starves those that gas did not kill

Obama’s negotiations over chemical weapons do little to stop genocide of Syrian people

 

 

PHOENIX (October 2, 2013) – Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser, author of “A Battle for the Soul of Islam: An American Muslim Patriot’s Fight to Save His Faith” released the following statement on behalf of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD) regarding the decimation of the people of Moadhamiya, Syria.

 

“It has been almost a month now since President Obama threatened limited reprisals against the Assad regime for its use of chemical weapons.  Now that the U.S. is in a protracted negotiation with Russia for Assad’s WMD, the genocidal tyrant feels secure enough to systematically starve the people of Moadhamiya, Syria, a suburb of Damascus and one of the neighborhoods targeted by the Assad regime in the infamous sarin gas attack that took 1,400 lives.

 

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that 12,000 people are trapped inside Moadhamiya and over a half a million people are trapped in suburbs and rural towns outside of Damascus. This is the same town in the area of Ghouta attacked by a sarin gas attack which invoked the verbal wrath of the West on August 21.

 

Despite being ground zero of the chemical attack, Moadhamiya’s plight is attracting little attention of western media. The moral equivalency of 1,400 killed in a chemical attack and over 12,000 being killed through starvation is simply astounding. The continued focus of this administration on their supposed victory in securing Syria’s chemical weapons continues to degrade U.S. impact in the region.  In the Journal’s article, Khaled Erksoussi, head of disaster response for the Syrian Red Crescent, expressed deep disappointment with an international community more concerned with legal and technical aspects of chemical weapons than its victims.

 

Genocide is ongoing in Syria and the rate of death has only climbed since the chemical attack in the suburbs of Damascus.  This is not just a civil war. This is not a legitimate government fending off Islamist terrorists.  If anything it is a brutal tyrant and a negligent U.S. President and free world creating the breeding grounds for now the world’s worst Islamist radicalization.

 

Over 120,000 people are dead. At least 500-600 people are being killed each week. With a reported half a million trapped in their neighborhoods, there is every reason to believe that Assad is willing to kill all of them if not a majority of Syria’s 23 million people in order to hold onto power over the next few years as the world turns the people of Syria its collective cold shoulder. The same Journal story quoted a law student working for Assad’s forces as stating that they “will not allow them to be nourished to kill us’ and that in the neighborhoods are either “all terrorists or those embracing them”.

 

President Putin is successfully leading the U.S. on a wild goose chase for chemical weapons giving his ally space to cleanse Syria of all opposition.”

 

About the American Islamic Forum for Democracy

The American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) charitable organization. AIFD’s mission advocates for the preservation of the founding principles of the United States Constitution, liberty and freedom, through the separation of mosque and state. For more information on AIFD, please visit our website at http://www.aifdemocracy.org/.

10/17/2013 Malala, the Nobel, and Meaningful Peace

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Malala, the Nobel, and Meaningful Peace

Nobel Prize Committee jeopardizes women’s rights around the world by not giving award to Malala Yousafzai

PHOENIX (October 17, 2013) – Raquel Evita Saraswati, an American Muslim activist focusing primarily on issues relating to women and girls in Islamic communities around the world released the following statement  regarding the Nobel Prize committee’s decision to not award the Nobel Peace Prize to Malala Yusafzai:

 

“And now I know that you must not be afraid of death. And you must move forward. You must go forward, because education and peace are very important.”– Malala Yousafzai

 

It’s not every year that the Taliban weighs in on the decision of the Nobel Committee. This year, however, the decision to award the prestigious award to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons delighted the Pakistani Taliban. In fact, Islamists the world over have made condemnation of Malala a near-viral trend. Assed Baig, formerly of Islamic Relief in the United Kingdom and a prolific commentator on all things he perceives to be anti-Muslim, doesn’t see Malala as a young Muslim woman defying stereotypes and fighting against those most often responsible for the murder and silence of fellow Muslims — the Taliban and their Islamist compatriots. Instead, he paints Malala’s story this way:

 

“This is a story of a native girl being saved by the white man. Flown to the UK, the Western world can feel good about itself as they save the native woman from the savage men of her home nation. It is a historic racist narrative that has been institutionalised…The story of an innocent brown child that was shot by savages for demanding an education and along comes the knight in shining armour to save her.”(Huffington Post, July 2013.)

 

Also appearing in the Huffington Post was this piece by a young woman named Sofia Ahmed, writing from the UK. To Sofia, Muslims who speak out in support of Malala and against Islamism are “nefarious” attention-seeking propagandists, and the West’s “feminist crusade” is responsible for the abuses of women so rampant within our own Muslim community.

 

As American Muslim blogger Meriam Sabih ­so capably pointed out, Assed Baig and Sofia Ahmed’s attacks on Malala dismiss her personal bravery, ignore the universality of her message, and perpetuate the misogynist honor culture responsible for the silencing and brutalization of Muslim women worldwide. It doesn’t matter to Baig and Ahmed that Pakistani doctors were in part responsible for saving Malala’s life. In the eyes of Baig, Ahmed, and others like them, when Muslim women speak out their efforts are nothing but Western fabrications, imperialist conspiracies, and sources of shame for Islamist men. Sabih highlights, and we agree, that these condemnations of Malala and the West are eerily similar to comments made by the Pakistani Taliban’s Adnan Rasheed in a letter he wrote to Malala this summer. Ultimately, while many Islamists don’t share the violent tendencies of the Taliban, their disdain for women, individual liberty, and dissent is part of the same dangerous supremacist ideology of political Islam.

 

Sadly, the Nobel Committee seems to share the same views about who should “represent” Muslim women. In 2011, they awarded Tawakkol Karman with the Nobel Peace Prize for what they call her “struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work.” Ms. Karman has declared Mohamed Morsi the “Arab world’s Mandela” and is a senior member of Yemen’s Muslim Brotherhood affiliated al-Islah party. How can a leading figure within a movement seeking to restricts women’s most basic liberties, including that of freedom from genital mutilation, be awarded such a prestigious award in the name of women’s rights?

 

When the Nobel Committee dissented with the chorus of voices calling for Malala to be honored, did they do so because they truly believe that the failed effort to obliterate chemical weapons represents successful peace? Or, were they reluctant to take on the threat of Islamism by supporting the teenage girl who strikes fear in the Taliban? Not having participated in their discussions, we will never really know. What we do know is that supporting young women like Malala and young men who share her commitment to individual liberty is the only way that the world will achieve a meaningful and lasting peace. Regrettably, Western governments (including the Obama administration) have often failed to ally with liberty-minded Muslims and have instead placated Islamists and their sympathizers.

 

It is certainly true that liberty-minded Muslims have a difficult road ahead. Not only do we face vicious onslaughts from Islamists and their supporters, but we must also work against a suffocating tide of cultural relativism and decades-old policies which stifle those voices calling out for freedom. Granting Malala Yousafzai the Nobel Peace Prize would have been the right thing to do, signaling to the world that those who stand with courageous voices for reform understand that the key to peace is courage in the face of monsters like the Taliban.

 

Of course, Malala’s courage is not diminished because it was not recognized by the Nobel Committee. Millions of young Muslims, girls and women in particular, are emboldened by her example and inspired by her message. People of all religions and none have been inspired to make positive change. Ultimately, that is the greatest prize any activist could hope for.

 

MEDIA CONTACT:

Gregg Edgar, Gordon C. James Public Relations,                 gedgar@gcjpr.com 602-690-7977

 

About the American Islamic Forum for Democracy:

The American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) charitable organization. AIFD’s mission advocates for the preservation of the founding principles of the United States Constitution, liberty and freedom, through the separation of mosque and state. For more information on AIFD, please visit our website at http://www.aifdemocracy.org/.

 

10/16/2013 Turkey says it fires on al-Qaida-linked fighter positions in Syria

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Source: The Jerusalem Post

Turkish military fires four artillery shells at Islamist Syrian positions after stray mortar shell strikes Turkish territory.

Patriot missile installation on Turkish-Syrian border.
Patriot missile installation on Turkish-Syrian border. Photo: REUTERS

ISTANBUL – Turkey’s army said on Wednesday it had fired on al-Qaida-linked fighters over the border in northern Syria in response to a stray mortar shell which struck Turkish territory.

The military fired four artillery shells at positions of fighters of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) on Tuesday, the general staff statement said.

Turkey has repeatedly carried out such retaliatory action when shells fired from Syria hit Turkey in the past. This appeared to be the first time the Turkish military had targeted the al-Qaida-linked fighters in such a way.

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10/15/13 American Islamic Forum for Democracy extends a Blessed Eid al-Adha or Holiday of the Sacrifice to Muslims Around the World

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American Islamic Forum for Democracy extends a Blessed Eid al-Adha or Holiday of the Sacrifice to Muslims Around the World

PHOENIX (October 15, 2013) – The American Islamic Forum for Democracy released the following statement to mark Eid al-Adha:

 

“To all of our Muslim friends, members, and supporters we at the American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD) wish you a most Blessed Eid al-Adha. 

May the commemoration of this holiday remind us of all of God’s blessings which we enjoy every day and may it also remind us of the responsibility which comes with them.

This year marks another Eid al-Adha on which the people of Syria are sacrificing all they have for freedom. As we honor this day together, we remember all of those struggling for freedom and keep them in our prayers.”

 

Muslims will be commemorating the Islamic holiday of Eid Al-Adha (holiday of the sacrifice) on Tuesday, October 15, 2013. Eid Al-Adha, the “biggest holiday” for Muslims, occurs on the 9th Day of the month of Dhul-Hijja, the 12th month of the Islamic (Hijri) lunar calendar — 12/09/1434 (Islamic Lunar calendar) and10/15/2013 (Gregorian calendar). Eid al-Adha marks the end of the annual pilgrimage (Hajj) of Muslims to Mecca.

 

Over 2.5 million Muslims participate annually in the Hajj (pilgrimage) which commemorates the Muslim understanding of the challenges placed upon the Prophet Abraham by God in demonstration of his monotheistic belief.

 

Annually, in addition to those who participate in the pilgrimage to Mecca, Muslims take this holiday to remember God, family, and country and thank God for health, happiness, and prosperity.

 

About the American Islamic Forum for Democracy

The American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) charitable organization. AIFD’s mission advocates for the preservation of the founding principles of the United States Constitution, liberty and freedom, through the separation of mosque and state. For more information on AIFD, please visit our website at http://www.aifdemocracy.org/.

 

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Malala, the Nobel, and Meaningful Peace

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“And now I know that you must not be afraid of death. And you must move forward. You must go forward, because education and peace are very important.”– Malala Yousafzai

It’s not every year that the Taliban weighs in on the decision of the Nobel Committee. This year, however, the decision to award the prestigious award to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons delighted the Pakistani Taliban. In fact, Islamists the world over have made condemnation of Malala a near-viral trend. Assed Baig, formerly of Islamic Relief in the United Kingdom and a prolific commentator on all things he perceives to be anti-Muslim, doesn’t see Malala as a young Muslim woman defying stereotypes and fighting against those most often responsible for the oppression and murder of fellow Muslims — the Taliban and their Islamist compatriots. Instead, he paints Malala’s story this way:

“This is a story of a native girl being saved by the white man. Flown to the UK, the Western world can feel good about itself as they save the native woman from the savage men of her home nation. It is a historic racist narrative that has been institutionalised…The story of an innocent brown child that was shot by savages for demanding an education and along comes the knight in shining armour to save her.”(Huffington Post, July 2013.)

Also appearing in the Huffington Post was this piece by a young woman named Sofia Ahmed, writing from the UK. To Sofia, Muslims who speak out in support of Malala and against Islamism are “nefarious” attention-seeking propagandists, and the West’s “feminist crusade” is responsible for the abuses of women so rampant within our own Muslim community.

As American Muslim blogger Meriam Sabih ­so capably pointed out, Assed Baig and Sofia Ahmed’s attacks on Malala dismiss her personal bravery, ignore the universality of her message, and perpetuate the misogynist honor culture responsible for the silencing and brutalization of Muslim women worldwide. It doesn’t matter to Baig and Ahmed that Pakistani doctors were in part responsible for saving Malala’s life. In the eyes of Baig, Ahmed, and others like them, when Muslim women speak out their efforts are nothing but Western fabrications, imperialist conspiracies, and sources of shame for Islamist men. Sabih highlights, and we agree, that these condemnations of Malala and the West are eerily similar to comments made by the Pakistani Taliban’s Adnan Rasheed in a letter he wrote to Malala this summer. Ultimately, while many Islamists don’t share the violent tendencies of the Taliban, their disdain for women, individual liberty, and dissent is part of the same dangerous supremacist ideology of political Islam.

Sadly, the Nobel Committee seems to share the same views about who should “represent” Muslim women. In 2011, they awarded Tawakkol Karman with the Nobel Peace Prize for what they call her “struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work.” Ms. Karman has declared Mohamed Morsi the “Arab world’s Mandela” and is a senior member of Yemen’s Muslim Brotherhood affiliated al-Islah party. How can a leading figure within a movement seeking to restricts women’s most basic liberties, including that of freedom from genital mutilation, be awarded such a prestigious award in the name of women’s rights?

When the Nobel Committee dissented with the chorus of voices calling for Malala to be honored, did they do so because they truly believe that the failed effort to obliterate chemical weapons represents successful peace? Or, were they reluctant to take on the threat of Islamism by supporting the teenage girl who strikes fear in the Taliban? Not having participated in their discussions, we will never really know. What we do know is that supporting young women like Malala and young men who share her commitment to individual liberty is the only way that the world will achieve a meaningful and lasting peace. Regrettably, Western governments (including the Obama administration) have often failed to ally with liberty-minded Muslims and have instead placated Islamists and their sympathizers.

It is certainly true that liberty-minded Muslims have a difficult road ahead. Not only do we face vicious onslaughts from Islamists and their supporters, but we must also work against a suffocating tide of cultural relativism and decades-old policies which stifle those voices calling out for freedom. Granting Malala Yousafzai the Nobel Peace Prize would have been the right thing to do, signaling to the world that those who stand with courageous voices for reform understand that the key to peace is courage in the face of monsters like the Taliban.

Of course, Malala’s courage is not diminished because it was not recognized by the Nobel Committee. Millions of young Muslims, girls and women in particular, are emboldened by her example and inspired by her message. People of all religions and none have been inspired to make positive change. Ultimately, that is the greatest prize any activist could hope for.