AIFD applauds the swift arrest of Shannon Conley, 19, who was stopped in an apparent attempt to join ISIS in Syria. Conley is said to have met an extremist online, and became radicalized. It is reported that she had a specific desire to help in the targeting of American citizens and our armed forces. A young convert to Islam, she was brainwashed into believing that it was her duty to aid in jihadist efforts against the West.

Shannon Conley’s case speaks to what we at AIFD have been saying for years: our Muslim community must be more vigilant in addressing radicalization in our community well before an individual has boarded a plane with the intent to help terrorists.

Conley is yet another in a growing list of Americans radicalized by jihadist internet traffic out of Syria. As we have said before, the Syrian conflict threatens the United States whether we take sides or not. The Assad regime, with the full support of Iran, has slaughtered nearly 200,000 Syrians and is stoking the flames of jihad in order to justify an even more terminal solution. The conveyor belt of radicalization into and out of Syria has only just started to rear its head on our homeland. It’s time to go beyond a whack a mole program in our absent Syria and regional conflict policy. In the case of Syria, we can only defeat the jihadists by helping to defeat the Assad regime.

PHOENIX (June 28, 2014) – Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser, president and founder of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD) issued the following statement regarding the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan on Saturday, June 28, 2014 or Ramadan 1, 1435 of the Islamic Hijri Calendar:

 “Today, we begin the commemoration of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. We wish all Muslims a ‘Ramadan Kareem’ and a blessed and rewarding month of fasting and self-reflection.

During this, the ninth month of our lunar calendar and the holy month of fasting, we are reminded to give thanks for our blessings, while keeping the suffering in our prayers and taking additional action to help them.

We are reminded of the sanctity and safety of this great nation which we call home, and which gives us the comfort and freedom to sincerely engage in the humble spiritual renewal that is Ramadan.

These are values many American Muslims all hold dearly, but may often come to take for granted.

As we abstain from food and drink during the day in this blessed land of freedom, we continue to remember, with a humble and solemn recognition, the Syrian people continuing to fight against unthinkable evil and great uncertainty. This year marks the fourth Ramadan in their revolution against Assadist tyranny. At the end of last Ramadan, the death toll had reached 100,000 with over 2,000,000 Syrians displaced. This Ramadan, the death toll is approaching 160,000, with over 5 million Syrians displaced. The millions of displaced Syrians see little hope in sight for the end of Assad’s killing machine and terror factory.  It is this recognition – which calls us to the duty to serve our fellow man – which lies at the heart of Ramadan.

This Ramadan, we also reaffirm our commitment to advocate for those persecuted on the basis of their faith or their choice to reject religion; those suffering from gender and honor-based violence; and to take action to end these injustices.

The fast of Ramadan is a symbolic equalizer for all Muslims. From the very rich to the very poor we find common goodness in the challenges and rewards of the daily fast. The hunger and thirst we share allow us to find a common appreciation for the gifts we have at home and in this nation.

This month, we renew our daily efforts to remind our brothers and sisters of all faiths and none that we, as liberty-minded American Muslims, not only cherish western freedoms, but that the solution to global Islamist radicalism must come from liberty minded Muslims.

We are blessed to take this opportunity to wish Muslims worldwide a blessed and safe Ramadan, and a spiritually fulfilling fast.”

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/.

MEDIA CONTACTS:    Gordon James

Gordon C. James Public Relations

gjames@gcjpr.com

602-690-7551

PHOENIX (May 9, 2014) Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser, author of The Battle for the Soul of Islam: a Muslim Patriot’s Fight to Save his Faith, released the following statement on behalf of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD):

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has once again proven that the singular greatest threat to its supremacist ideology of political Islam is the dissident voice calling for freedom.”

Last year, Saudi dissident Raif Badawi was sentenced to 600 lashes and 7 years in prison for “insulting Islam” by criticizing clerics in the Kingdom through his website, Free Saudi Liberals. The judge declared that Badawi had set up the website to encourage “liberalism”, and that “liberalism is akin to disbelief.” Badawi vehemently denied the charge that he had “insulted Islam,” and pursued an appeal. Now, a year later, he has been sentenced to 10 years in prison, 1,000 lashes and a fine of approximately $267,000.

As AIFD has said before (see our statement on his 2013 conviction), Badawi’s efforts to encourage open dialogue dealing with the role of religion in society and to address the supremacist, misogynistic and dangerous ideology of the clerical establishment bear a similarity to our own work that cannot be ignored. As Muslims who advocate the separation of mosque and state and for freedom of conscience, we stand unequivocally in support of Raif Badawi.  We are sharply aware of the fact that we express our views in the safety of the West while he faces a barbaric (and potentially fatal) lashing and imprisonment at the hands of those who call themselves the “guardians of Islam.” While we in the United States are also subject to intimidation tactics by Islamists, we are guaranteed freedom of speech and conscience by the Constitution – a privilege of which we are aware every single day.

Saudi Arabia’s treatment of Raif Badawi is nothing new. In 2008, he was detained on apostasy charges. Apostasy, or leaving Islam, carries an automatic death sentence in Saudi Arabia. He was released after questioning, but since then, Badawi has been repeatedly tormented by Saudi authorities. His lawyer has been arrested and his wife’s parents attempted to have the couple forcibly divorced. This latest sentence is a continuation of Saudi’s efforts to make an example of Badawi and silence other dissidents through fear and intimidation.

Make no mistake. As an American Muslim organization dedicated to reform and modernity, we at AIFD are Raif Badawi! The prisons of Islamist governments from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey and other nations of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) are filled with prisoners of conscience whose voices represent the key to individual freedom across Muslim-majority societies.

AIFD calls on President Barack Obama and his administration to appeal to Saudi authorities on behalf of Raif Badawi. How can the United States maintain ties as an “ally” with a state ready to torture, imprison, and possibly kill a man for the crime of questioning clerics? American values demand that we stand in support of Raif Badawi – firmly, unequivocally, and swiftly. Badawi’s case will have repercussions for the entire Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and beyond.

If Badawi is permitted to languish in prison, is tortured with lashes and crippled with impossibly high fines, or worse yet murdered for asking the very questions and issuing the same challenges we do – the future of Muslim dissidents worldwide looks increasingly bleak. To date, the Obama administration has not taken sides in this battle within the “house of Islam” – and with every resistance to supporting real forces of liberty, more voices are silenced through fear, intimidation, and violence.

About Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser:

Dr. Jasser is the author of A Battle for the Soul of Islam: An American Muslim Patriot’s Fight to Save His Faith.  He is also the founder and president of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD). A former Lieutenant Commander in the United States Navy, Dr. Jasser is a nationally recognized expert on the contest of ideas against political Islam and American Islamist organizations. Dr. Jasser also serves as the Vice-Chair of the U.S. Commission for International Religious Freedom. He is called upon to regularly brief and testify before the U.S. Congress on the threat of political Islam.  He has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, The Washington Times, The New York Post, The Dallas Morning News, CNN, CBS, Fox News Channel, MSNBC and BBC in addition to nationally syndicated radio programs. He has spoken at hundreds of national and international events including universities, places of worship, and government venues.

Media Contact:

Kim Owens

Gordon C. James Public Relations

kowens@gcjpr.com

602-697-1396 (cell)

CAIR’s attack on Dr. Zuhdi Jasser resembles a desperate schoolyard bully

PHOENIX (January 30, 2014) – The American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD) released the following statement regarding recent attacks from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) on AIFD president Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser, author of “A Battle for the Soul of Islam: An American Muslim Patriot’s Fight to Save His Faith”:

 “In a stunning display of Islamist intimidation tactics, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) released an unscrupulous attack on AIFD’s president, Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser following Dr. Jasser’s appearance on the January 24, 2014 episode of Fox News’s morning program, Fox and Friends.  Dr. Jasser was invited to discuss the Department of Defense’s changes to their policies on religious dress for our military members.

During the interview, Dr. Jasser specifically discussed the value and importance of inclusion, and at no point suggested that Muslim servicemen and women be denied their religious rights, including the right to reasonable accommodations.  However, among other fabrications in their release, CAIR falsely claimed that ‘Dr. Jasser decried the expanding rights as they applied to Muslims’.

As a former Lieutenant Commander in the United States Navy, Dr. Jasser is familiar both with the culture of the military and its guidelines and the tenets of his faith.  Dr. Jasser served proudly in the U.S. Navy as a Muslim who prays five times a day, abstains from alcohol and pork, fasts during the month of Ramadan, and more. In his 11 years of service, Dr. Jasser found no conflict to between his personal faith and his service in the military.

Contrary to CAIR’s assertions, Dr. Jasser actively worked to create inclusive spaces for Muslim soldiers at both the Bethesda Naval Hospital and in Norfolk. Dr. Jasser welcomes the fact that the DOD’s move toward further inclusion will likely attract many religious Americans to serve proudly as Dr. Jasser did. Some Muslim women who wear the hijab, for example, may now see the military as a viable option for serving their country. Welcoming inclusion does not mean that every practice an individual deems ‘religious’ should be granted, however, and that is exactly what the policy continues to state.

The concern that Dr. Jasser expressed on Fox and Friends was not one any rational mind would understand as ‘anti-Muslim.’ Dr. Jasser’s concern remains that these guideline changes may be seen as a green light by those who seek to undermine our national security through radicalism and yes, predatory litigation. While we embrace inclusion, we always do so with a vigilant approach to opposing those who seek to undermine our values. Thus, any changes to uniform guidelines must be made with attention to unit cohesion, mission readiness and solemn dedication to our country’s foundational principles.

Dr. Jasser highlighted how these types of accommodations may benefit groups like Sikhs, for whom a beard is central to their faith practice, Jews who wear a yarmulke, or Muslim women who wear the hijab, but can be exploited by individuals who may seek to exploit the availability of accommodations. It is certainly within reason for Muslims to debate whether the beard is a required practice for Muslims as it is for Sikhs. It is also reasonable to debate whether Islamists would exploit the Sikh accommodation for their own balkanization. CAIR does not care about rational debate and discussion. They care only about spreading disinformation and defaming their antagonists. There is no better proof of Dr. Jasser’s concerns than CAIR’s rabid attack on even a religious Muslim who raises a reasonable set of questions for discussion. As Dr. Jasser wrote in the Wall Street Journal August 18, 2011, “our armed forces are ground zero in the struggle between Americanism and Islamism.” CAIR’s deceptive and malicious release on January 24^th is proof positive of this.

CAIR has blatantly lied about Dr. Jasser’s position and engaged in reckless misrepresentation of his comments before. This latest smear crosses multiple lines. It is not just dishonest but attempts to sabotage Dr. Jasser’s professional work in defense of religious freedom.  CAIR’s inability to engage with integrity is not unexpected, and their desire to silence the urgently needed ideological battle within the Muslim community is legion.

CAIR’s strategy appears to have many malignant aims. Among these is the demonization of any Muslim who disagrees with them in order to alienate that individual from the broader Muslim community. Additionally, their bullying tactics ‘make an example’ of those who dissent with them, creating a chilling effect on the speech of American Muslims who seek to dissent with CAIR.

CAIR’s stated goal is to protect the civil liberties of Muslims and foster understanding between communities. These would be noble aims. Unfortunately, CAIR chooses to defame Dr. Jasser and others in the Muslim community while employing bullying tactics and rejecting ideological and fiscal transparency.

The DOD’s changes, while not significant, are welcomed – but there needs to be additional protections put in place for commanders who will be charged with the implementation of these guidelines. Mission, not political correctness, needs to drive the decision of the commander to grant religious exemptions. We have seen the impact of political correctness in the military. When Nidal Hasan referred to himself as a “Soldier of Allah” and murdered 13 of his fellow soldiers, he did so after concerns about his ongoing radicalization were dismissed.  The fact that Hasan’s colleagues at Walter Reed Army Medical Center may have hesitated to fully address Hasan’s disturbing behavior out of fear of offending ‘religious’ sensibilities demonstrates that CAIR’s silencing of this discussion harms both American security and casts a shadow of suspicion on American Muslims in the military. Commanders cannot fear legal or other retribution if they determine that a religious accommodation or behavior compromises a unit’s mission, cohesion or safety.

If we really want the military and the broader American community to truly embrace the contribution of American Muslims, we must reject the bullying tactics of organizations like CAIR, who claim to advocate for civil rights but really peddle a narrative of ceaseless victimhood while denigrating any Muslims who seek balance against the threat of Islamist ideologies.  Their approach belittles true transgressions against religious liberty and in fact ostracizes those Muslims who bravely serve of 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/.

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 20^th 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 9^th 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/.