American Muslim organization applauds FBI for actions in Portland, OR

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Whack-A-Mole approach needs greater offensive counterterrorism strategy against Islamist radicalization

PHOENIX (November 30, 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 FBI’s actions with regard to Mohamed Osman Mohamud’s attack in Portland, OR.

“The thwarted attack of Mohamed Osman Mohamud continues to highlight the ever-increasing threat that the ideological slippery slope of political Islam (Islamism) poses to America. The comments that Mohamud made to investigators and that have been released to the media demonstrate a belief in Islamist supremacy that is in conflict with American values and our very way of life. Despite the courageous work of our FBI agents and Homeland Security the threat of homegrown terror from radicalized Muslims continues to exponentially increase.

We are only playing defense against this growing threat with no signs of an offensive strategy. More and more, our homeland security strategy is turning out to be nothing more than a whack-a-mole program. This cycle will only be broken by the development of a national strategy that will counter the true root cause of Islamist terror-the ideology and continuum of political Islam that lies within the Muslim consciousness. This again calls for an American Muslim led strategy for reform against political Islam.

The FBI’s tactic of using undercover agents to contact and target Mohamud is more than justified and more than likely saved the lives of thousands of individuals. Mohamud clearly demonstrated a desire and a will to attack Americans. As we have seen with Nidal Hasan, Faisal Shahzad and Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab, it is only a matter of time before he would have reached terror leaders such as Imam Anwar Al-Awlaki and secured the means to wreak his destruction. The FBI has a duty to protect our citizens from such attacks and at AIFD we applaud their efforts to disrupt Islamist terrorism.

As we move forward into 2011, Americans and particularly American Muslims need to wake up to their responsibility to frontally address the ideological threat that we are facing today. Mohamud’s radicalization is not uncommon because the separatist ideology of political Islam is ubiquitous in Muslim communities. Condemnation of violence or terrorism is not enough. We can no longer allow the sound bite to be ‘it is one deranged individual’. This is a Muslim systemic problem that needs a Muslim systemic reform.

American Muslims must teach our youth that the ideals of America and the principles embodied in our Constitution provide the best environment for Muslims to practice their faith. We must teach our youth that the idea of the Islamic State and governmental shariah (Islamic law) has no place in modernity and no place in America. Any other approach is mired in denial and avoidance of this core ideological problem.”

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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American Muslim organization applauds dismissal of targeted killing suit

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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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Military’s Muslim chaplain vetting system poses significant risk to national security

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PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Spiritual care and leadership of Muslim service members needs open investigation.

PHOENIX (December 2, 2010) – The American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD) expresses deep concern with the military’s process for vetting Muslim clerics admitted to the Chaplain corps of the United State Military. Congress needs to give serious consideration to the concerns raised recently by former DoD Inspector General Joseph Schmitz to review the process and ensure that the chaplains charged with spiritually guiding Muslim service members are dedicated to the goals and interests of the United States and our Constitution. Until that time, the military should consider a moratorium on admitting any new Muslim clerics to the Chaplains Corps.

Presently the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) is the principle organization charged with certifying Imams for service in the Chaplains Corps. ISNA’s connection to the ideology of political Islam is significant and well documented. The ultimate goal of political Islam is to establish Islamic states for Muslim majorities based in shariah law and the goals of the “ummah” (Muslim community and nation). The theo-political ideology of political Islam is not compatible with our Constitution and defense of the United States. The massacre committed by Major Nidal Hasan demonstrates among other areas of concern that the U.S. military needs to take seriously the security risk of the separatist nature of political Islam. Further, it is our position that organizations which are apologists for political Islam should not serve as endorsers for our Muslim military chaplains. Our military imams and their endorsers need to have a proven track record against political Islam and the supremacist ideologies of its global project and its “ummah”. AIFD does not believe that ISNA meets this requirement. In fact, since most of the large Muslim organizations are Islamist, they also could not fill this need.

“As a former Lieutenant Commander in the United States Navy and a devout Muslim, I am gravely concerned about the spiritual guidance offered to Muslim members of the United States armed services,” said Dr. Zuhdi Jasser, president and founder of AIFD. “As a naval officer in the mid-90s I personally walked out of a national ISNA convention where a leader of the organization, Imam Siraj Wahhaj was calling for the Quran to replace the Constitution as the legal authority over the United States. Having ISNA train our Chaplains is akin to in the cold war to having avowed Russian communists train US capitalist economists.”

Joseph Schmitz, while Inspector General for the Department of Defense had brought forward concerns about verifying the loyalty and training of military Imams. Most of his recommendations were not utilized because of the politically correct atmosphere that is pervasive in the United States military. Mr. Schmitz recently sent a letter to Senator Diane Feinstein, Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee imploring her to review the matter and consider significant changes to the process for vetting military Imams. AIFD agrees that Congress needs to take action and asks the military and Congressional members to realize that diversity is not laudable if it brings an ideological threat within the center of our services.

“I have had conversations with ranking service members who shared with me that interactions with an active-duty military imam has on occasion left them seriously concerned with the guidance they would give to Muslim soldiers serving in combat operations,” said Jasser. “I would rather now see a moratorium on Muslim clerics being admitted to the Chaplains Corps rather than admit an Imam who will not provide Muslim service members with complete clarity as to as to the righteousness of their duty to country over all other duties.”

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/.