Kifah Mustapha

“CHICAGO — The Illinois State Police has revoked the appointment of the agency’s first Muslim chaplain… A national Muslim advocacy group [CAIR – the Council on American-Islamic Relations]… blamed the move on Islamophobia.

Kifah Mustapha, a Chicago-area imam, was appointed the agency’s first Muslim chaplain in December…But within days, the appointment came under criticism from the Investigative Project on Terrorism, a Washington-based think tank.

The group alleged that Mustapha was linked to the Palestine Committee of the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood, a popular movement in the Muslim world that advocates the formation of Islamic governments in the Middle East. It also alleged he raised money for the Holy Land Foundation, a now-defunct Islamic charity whose founders were sentenced last year for funneling money to the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Steve Emerson, executive director of the Investigative Project on Terrorism, on Wednesday defended the group’s original report, saying it merely published content linking Mustapha to fundraising for terrorists…Emerson dismissed charges of Islamophobia as “empty diversions and without merit”

http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2010/06/23/4552942-ill-police-revoke-1st-muslim-chaplains-post

Prepare to hear this more and more often: the deeply-wounded, offended cries of “Islamophobia!”, and accusations of discrimination against Muslims. It’s a tactic used to intimidate and silence anyone who objects to radical Islam or interferes with their efforts to establish a beach head in our society. It’s an attempt to use our tolerance and generosity against us.

It has worked very well in the Netherlands. If you take the time to look carefully you will see how a brilliant strategy unfolded: using the openness of a society to establish and consolidate a base of political and financial power and to then begin exerting that power to change the host culture.

Shouting accusations of “Islamophobia!” is a clever strategy because there is much about Islam that you don’t need to fear. Extremists can hide behind that. It’s the bits that threaten values we hold dear that we should be concerned about. It is as simple and profound – and as effective – as the Trojan horse. They played out that strategy brilliantly in Europe.

Are Americans going to be smart enough to see through it?

If Islamists can bully you into sitting down and being quiet, they can carry on pressing towards the clearly stated goal of bringing Islam to power all over the planet.

Think that’s crazy? Paranoid? Compare the UK and Europe of today with what those countries were like 20 years ago.

Not that the growth of radical Islam within our borders is the biggest threat America faces, or the most urgent, but don’t kid yourself: it is a very real threat. If we are complacent and passive, then radical Islamists will continue to hide behind the screen of “religion”. They use our tolerance against us, push forward and feel justified in taking more and more power since, in their eyes, we are obviously weak and corrupt.

They don’t have to use AK-47s and RPGs. They can build a voter base and vote in politicians. As Muslim cleric Omar Bakri Mohammed said, “We will use your democracy to destroy your democracy.”

It would be great if we could all just get along, give each other the space to believe whatever we choose, and follow whatever god or life principle we want – but when someone talks about destroying democracy that places them solidly in the “enemy” box.

If you think the only war, the only jihad, that America is engaged in is way over there in Afghanistan and Iraq, you are mistaken. It’s happening here, it’s been happening for years now. You can see it unfolding in supermarkets, neighborhoods and “schools”. We accept it quietly because “everybody knows” how important tolerance and diversity are.

See the beauty of this strategy? The fact is, tolerance and diversity ARE important, and if the enemy can keep you focused on that while you are dragging the giant horse statue inside the city walls, then they are very close to winning. Or at least causing you a great deal of trouble.

And if we object? “What’s your problem?!” they shout, “It’s just a horse statue. How can a horse statue hurt you? What have you got against horses?!”

But it’s not the horse that worries me.

Maryam Namazie speaking on Sharia law

This commentary by Maryam Namazie is insightful, rational and articulate. I also admire her courage for speaking openly – unlike the network cowards who caved in to fear and intimidation and refused to air the recent South Park episode.

Maybe I shouldn’t be too harsh on them, though, since they are victims of terrorism (if you don’t do something because you fear the threat of violent retaliation, isn’t that terrorism?)

Not that I agree with what seems like her complete rejection of religion, but considering her story, I can hardly blame her and I applaud the worthy effort she is making to be the voice of reason. And the risk she is taking.

Maryam is spokesperson for Iran Solidarity, Equal Rights Now, the One Law for All Campaign against Sharia Law in Britain and the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain. This excerpt is from her blog:

“Islam matters because of political Islam

More than many other things, Islam matters.

But I think it matters mostly because it is the banner of a reactionary political movement.

Otherwise, Islam is no different from other religions.

You can find just as much misogyny, cruelty and inhumanity in the Bible or other religious books as you can in the Koran… But even so, today – as we speak – there is still a distinction to be made between religion in general and Islam in particular but for no other reason than that it is the ideology behind a movement that is, in many places, part and parcel of the state, the law, criminal so-called ‘justice’ system, judiciary, and educational system.

I think this point is key for a principled criticism of Islam and more importantly a progressive and humane response to the totalitarianism of our era.

This means, firstly, that we have a duty to criticise Islam; this goes beyond the mere right to and freedom of speech and expression.”

For the rest of this essay, check out her blog here:

http://maryamnamazie.blogspot.com/2008/06/islam-matters-because-of-political.html

In spite of efforts by some to sidetrack the debate by shouting accusations of “bigot!” or “hater!” the fact remains: if we are to grow as a civilization into our full potential as humans, we must resist totalitarianism in all its forms, even if it’s cloaked in the trappings of religion. Maybe especially when it’s disguised in religion.

People throw the word “tolerance” around as if that ends the debate. Sure, we need to be tolerant – but tolerant of what? Priests abusing children? Should we tolerate that? Oppression of women? Injustice? Do we want to say it’s a good thing to tolerate injustice? Hiding behind a label of religion to justify or excuse abuse is something that we cannot tolerate, whether that label has a crescent moon or a cross on it.

It would be great if we could resolve every conflict with a discussion, if we could prevent totalitarianism through negotiation and reason, then we would not need warriors.

In some cases the only honorable and effective response is to resist, to be a warrior in whatever form that might require. Ideally that will be done keeping in mind the warning of Frederick Nietzsche (another person whose views on religion run counter to mine but whom I have nevertheless learned from).

“He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster himself”.