Arizona Islamist Media- Issue No. 1.0 Arab Voice celebrates Hamas victory

Posting extreme Islamist opinions disseminated in the local Arizona Muslim Voice and Arab Voice newspapers. For all recent postings see the homepage of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy and check under ﾓMonitoring Islamist Mediaﾔ. The Arabic language Arab Voice of February 2006 carried the following comprehensive piece on page seven. This translation is provided by AIFD. Note that the Arab Voiceﾒs sister publication in English the Muslim Voice had much milder public endorsements of Hamas. ﾓHAMAS draws the map for the entire Arab nation. ﾓ by Mohammed Riyad (page 7 of the Arab Voice February 2006). ﾓThe matter did not need Phantom Jets, nor napalm bombs, nor an American army occupying the country–to reach the heart of the capital and destroy the statue of the despot in a critical time. It did not need interference by the CIA by using their agents and millions of dollars to produce a military coup to get rid of the ruling class and put them at the bottom of the barrel.” “There was no need for an alliance that would attack the ruling authority under the cover of the stealth American planes to remove the regime and bring instead a government of traders in narcotics. None of that was needed. There were no massacres or collective rape or burning cities or bringing down mosques but the issue was much simpler than that. All it took is boxes of ballots that was used by the simple Palestinian citizen to produce the earthquake that brought down all of the establishment of tyranny in the Arab world from the Atlantic to the Gulf.” “The issue does not speak for HAMAS as a movement but what that movement represents of the irresistible will of the Palestinians for a change. Just like every Arab citizen forbidden from self-expression. Yes, HAMAS meant change and the change expresses the conscience of all of the Arab nations and their will at this age. With that HAMAS victory was an expression of the will of the entire Arab nationﾅ. ” (this translation covers only the first third of a long polemic on the ﾓgreatnessﾔ for the Middle East which the Hamas victory portends) AIFD Comment: This piece speaks for itself in its blatant celebratory tone about Hamas. Our law in the U.S. still clearly identifies Hamas as a terrorist organization whether or not they have been democractically elected. We will recall that the Nazis took over Germany democratically after an election. It is our belief that this congratulatory sentiment from this local paper of the extremist organization of Hamas does not represent the majority of Arab-Americans or Muslim-Americans in the Valley and it is unfortunate that this remains the only example of Arabic language response in the Valley to the Hamas victory. Hamas has yet to renounce its draconian charter which reads as a ‘Mein Kampf‘ of anti-semitism and in favor of an anti-democractic institution of sharia. Many publications have exposed the racist rhetoric and hate-mongering of Hamas which this columnist and the Arab Voice never mention and in fact tacitly glorify. Our prayer is that this opinion is a minority opinion within the local Arabic and Muslim community which would respond in much greater moderation.