Local Islamist Media in the Valley- Be informed

Spread an awareness of local media which hijacks our spiritual faith of Islam for political agendas Dissemination of Islamist (Political Islam) ideology by the only two local Valley Muslim and Arabic Community newspapers needs the light of day The local Arabic language Arab Voice and the English language Muslim Voice are local throw away newspapers published by Mr. Marwan Ahmad of Breek Publishing and distributed predominantly to the Arabic speaking community in Arizona, California, Nevada and New Mexico. While typically the quality of reporting and writing in these papers would not warrant an effort at monitoring, these papers are ubiquitous and unopposed in the local Arabic and Muslim communities of Phoenix and the southwest. Their wide presence in most Arabic and Islamic cultural centers in the Valley when put in the context of a virtual absence of any competitive or contrary voices makes it a political force and threat worth regular public monitoring. In the coming months, we will provide a public translation and accounting of selections from the Arabic language Arab Voice and excerpts from the English language Muslim Voice to the Arizona community. Without this report most Arizonans are unaware of this widespread material. This will hopefully be our small contribution in an effort to let the greater Arizona and southwest community understand what type of ideology is being distributed under the guise of cultural and religious newspapers. Transparency is essential to countering the ideology which feeds political Islam. We may at times provide commentary, but the selections should speak for themselves. It is our firm belief that those who operate under the benefit of freedom of the press should not seek comfort from the protection of communication in a foreign language or from distribution to circumscribed, limited, ethnic, cultural, or religious populations. Exposing political Islamic literature will force the debate which we seek– a public debate concerning the separation of religion and state in our faith of Islam. Today, the terrorism which threatens American security the greatest is that committed by radical Islamists driven by the politicization of Islam (Islamism). In our efforts to secure our safety from such threats, vehicles for Islamism operating on American soil are certainly a liability and at any time can serve as fuel for the next radicalized Muslim. Transparency will dilute this toxin. This is the reason we monitor local and global islamist ideology. Moreover, the sad reality is that this relatively rare phenomenon (as demonstrated by the lack of other competitive voices) of a local Arabic or Muslim publication could have actually been one of the primary tools in combating the ideology of Islamism. But rather quite to the contrary, readers of the English and the Arabic translations of Mr. Ahmadﾒs papers will find that these publications are far from being moderate voices for the Arab and Muslim communities in the Valley. Stay tuned to our ﾓArizona Islamist Watchﾔ reports and discover the type of ideology distributed in our Valley and in the southwest. These selections will also highlight an ideology which rests alongside their fellow media echo chambers of such satellite television networks as Al-Jazeera, Syrian television, Egyptian television, or a number of Saudi satellite stations beaming in Arabic language anti-American propaganda into American Arabic homes on a daily basis. Our efforts will remain steady to expose the writings of these publications as long as Breek Publishing (Principle: Mr. Marwan Ahmad) and its papers continue to distribute Islamist and anti-American ideology here in Arizona. Finally, also essential in this debate is an understanding of which businesses and mosques, fund, support, and distribute this material. For in the end, whether knowing or unknowing, they are directly facilitating a wider distribution of the ideology of Breek Publishing, Mr. Ahmad, and his editorial staff. One should safely assume that all of these advertisers and distributors support Mr. Ahmadﾒs message since they are funding it, distributing it, and allowing their own businesses to benefit from the community which reads it. At the website of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy we will only post the names of those businesses, mosques, and cultural centers which distribute or advertise for this material. (see Arizona Muslim Voice and Arab voice watch section and supporter lists). It will remain updated as we are aware of any changes. Our prayer is that with the light of day we can begin to break apart this toxic mixture of our pious local faith community and Arabic cultural community with the visceral politics of the Middle East and the Islamist agenda. While these publications (the Arab Voice and Muslim Voice) have not and do not promote violence and often carry many non-political messages as community services, unfortunately readers will also find throughout a heavy promotion of political Islam. It is our central belief that political Islam (Islamism) is an ideology which runs against the pluralistic ideology of America and the separation of religion and state. Perhaps our efforts will encourage the development of other non-political Arizona Arabic and Muslim community religious and cultural publications. Until Islamist (political Islamic) publications are truly marginalized, they will remain a liability to our security through their fertilization of susceptible Muslim minds. Stay tuned.