American Muslim organization applauds dismissal of targeted killing suit

Decision should make Obama Administration rethink placing Elibiary on Homeland Security Council

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PHOENIX (December 8, 2010) – Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser, a devout Muslim and the president and founder of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD) issued the following statement regarding the decision of federal Judge John D. Bates to dismiss a suit over the use of targeted killing of American Citizens.

“AIFD applauds the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by Nasser Al-Awlaki, father of Anwar Al-Awlaki, represented by Jameel Jaffer of the ACLU and the Center for Constitutional Rights. The decision correctly clears the way for the United States military and intelligence community to target Anwar Al-Awlaki who is an extreme threat to the security of our country. Judge Bates is correct in his decision that the judiciary should stay out of national security decisions related to targeted killings of those who are deemed to be imminent threats to the United States and our citizenry. Matthew Miller of the Justice Department appropriately stated, ‘that a leader of a foreign terrorist organization who rejects our system of justice cannot enjoy the protection of our courts while plotting strikes against Americans. The court properly rejected that course and declined to intrude into sensitive military and intelligence matters.“

We are at war against radical Islamists. No individual since Osama Bin Laden epitomizes the face and actions of our enemy than Imam Anwar Al-Awlaki. His documented words and actions and those of his surrogates like the murderous traitor, Major Nidal Hasan, are violent salvos of war against our nation, our military, and our citizens. We do not negotiate with terrorists, and we do not give them protection from the battlefield they chose against us because they happen to be former citizens or we are concerned about their martyrdom status. In the end, a strong, swift, and unequivocal response on the battlefield against our militant Islamist enemies is absolutely necessary in order to make it clear that anyone who declares war against our nation and murders our citizens will be dealt with swiftly on the battlefield. The deterrent effect of such action against future jihadists far outweighs any irrelevant concerns over Al-Awlaki’s already false martyrdom.

There is little threat to our freedoms from the United States government deciding to swiftly remove an imminent threat to our citizens. Al-Awlaki has repeatedly proven a desire to commit violent acts of war against the American people and should be held accountable.

Interestingly, this ruling also highlights the mindset of some Muslim advisors to the Obama administration. Mohamed Elibiary, recently appointed to Secretary Janet Napolitano’s Homeland Security Council argued on Foxnews.com in April that ‘it’s a mistake to assassinate Anwar Al-Awlaki.’ In that argument he oddly stated:

‘His public rhetoric including his sermon inside the U.S. Capitol, was largely benign and non-political until his detention in Yemen a few years ago. Al-Awlaki is a one trick pony whose messaging capability was beginning to be cornered by various American and western Muslim community efforts until this administration overreacted after the Christmas Day bomber tried to blow up a plane over Detroit and inflamed Anwar’s stature many fold …the more effective method would have been to have mainstream clerics from Anwar’s same Salafi version of Islam expose his disingenuousness and unsound Islamic logic to the youth in the population currently sitting on the sidelines watching geo-political struggles unfold around the globe and wondering what their role in it ought to be.’

Tuesday’s federal ruling highlights how compromised the advice is that will come from Mr. Elibiary. We need Muslim advisors to our government who articulate the need for reform against political Islam and who understand the threat posed by radicals like Al-Awlaki. We need Muslim advisors to our Homeland Security who advocate against radical Islamists from an American position of strength and who do not just put a bandaid on the problem by working with the less violent theopolitical Islamist movements that also threaten our national existence. We need American Muslims who are not afraid to use a military solution on the very real threats against our country.”

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/.

Contact: office: 602-254-1840, email: info@aifdemocracy.org

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