| THE CONNECTION AT GROUND ZERO Report of Investigation Park 51 What do “global warming,” “global governance” and “sustainable development” have to do with the proposed Ground Zero mosque?While ABDUL RAUF and his associates are working to install Shariah in the U.S., the former group is engaged in the systematic effort to destroy the current religious and moral structures as a means to facilitate their objectives of control and domination. The Progressives and globalists are exploiting this transformation for their own agenda, which is the implementation of global governance. Doug Hagmann exposes the connection of the Progressives with the Islamic program of Imam Feisal Abdul-Rauf. What do “global warming,” “global governance” and “sustainable development” have to do with the proposed “Ground Zero mosque?” One would think absolutely nothing; however investigation into the money, organizations and people behind the project has uncovered some revealing and disturbing connections. An extensive analysis of these findings provides the missing insight into the larger agenda, motives and modus operandi associated with what is now known as the Park51project. It also reveals the reasons behind the persistence of the insipid and insulting project and why it remains viable in the face of such visceral opposition. Those who oppose the construction of an Islamic center in close proximity to Ground Zero are legitimately upset by the hubris of Imam Feisal Abdul-Rauf and his associates, and his lack of class and sensitivity exhibited by their insistence to continue forward despite the plaintive objections of those most affected and victimized by the terrorist attacks. Some in opposition appear perplexed that the individuals behind the project have not relented or even acquiesced to open dialogue about moving the Islamic center due to the volatility created by the project. To date, overtures made by the governor of New York as well as members of the clergy have been quietly rebuffed by the people behind the project. If building bridges and fostering goodwill is, in fact, their objective, it is reasonable to question their reluctance and outright refusal to mitigate any ill will by reconsidering the location of the Islamic center. For the purpose of a comprehensive investigation, it is not only reasonable, it is imperative. Opposition to the Islamic center to date has been limited to information that is known or has been most easily uncovered about Imam Abdul-Rauf and the Cordoba Initiative. That Abdul-Rauf has suggested that the 9/11 attacks were a result of American foreign policy and his refusal to characterize Hamas as a terrorist organization should themselves be sufficient reasons to cause any person of reasonable sensibilities to oppose the construction, especially at this location. Yet, those behind the project, as well as those in support of the project do not appear to be adversely affected and remain undeterred. Once again, it is an investigative imperative to determine why. Despite such obviously controversial positions, Abdul-Rauf presses forward with the approval of political leaders from Barack Hussein Obama to Michael Bloomberg. Together with many in the corporate media, project supporters deflect from the core issue into a specious constitutional argument relating to freedom of religion, despite the fact that no one is preventing Islam from being practiced in the United States. The issues are even further diluted and deflected by those who insist that the project is neither a mosque nor will it be located at Ground Zero. While both assertions might be considered technically accurate in the eyes of Western thought and culture, they are nothing more than frivolous defenses at best and intellectual deception at worst. Changing of the name from the Cordoba House to Park 51Those who espouse such defenses either fail to understand or deliberately refuse to address the iconic Islamic symbolism behind the “9/11 Victory Mosque.” That the planned venture is technically outside of the footprint of the former World Trade Center complex is offered as a legitimate defense, which might hold true if one is to be so myopic as to disregard the Muslim world view. Perhaps that is the reason for the project makeover that began with the changing of the name from the Cordoba House to Park 51. It is not a likely coincidence that once the symbolic nature of Cordoba became more widely known, those behind the project opted to promote a more secular version of the initiative, while concurrently expunging certain elements relating to Islamic Shariah law from their web site. Despite the plentiful amount of information developed by independent researchers, bloggers, and commentators that has been published about the questionable associations of project front man ABDUL-RAUF over the last few weeks, he continues to travel to the Middle East as an emissary of America at the behest of the Obama/Clinton State Department. Ostensibly, his purpose is to “discuss Muslim life in America and religious tolerance” with Islamic leaders in Muslim countries. Despite his questionable associations, the U.S. State Department is steadfast in their support of his goodwill tour. U.S. State Department invoking an unprecedented shroud of secrecyNot only is the U.S. State Department unwavering in their support in spite of such controversy, they are invoking an unprecedented shroud of secrecy over the trip. When questioned about the content and message of Abdul-Rauf’s goodwill tour, U.S. State Department Spokesman Phillip Crowley curiously cited a 62 year-old law, erroneously claiming that the law shields Rauf’s message from the American public – at least by way of government web sites - as cited in this article published Tuesday by the editor of Family Security Matters. It is clearly evident that there is something very disturbing taking place behind the scenes that is permitting this “duck or bleed” approach being employed by politicians and lawmakers. It is only when we investigate deeper into the people and groups behind this assault on American sensibilities and “follow the money” do we find the nefarious nexus of “Cap and Trade globalists,” Progressives” and Islamic leaders who are pushing for a “one world” religion. The latter group, including foreign entities and governments, is working to replace our Judeo-Christian heritage with Islam as the dominant religion of America and Shariah in place of the U.S. Constitution. It is being conducted under the pretext of interfaith dialogue and unity, an objective for which Feisal ABDUL RAUF and his closest associates have been groomed. ABDUL RAUF and his associates are working to install Shariah in the U.S.While ABDUL RAUF and his associates are working to install Shariah in the U.S., the former group is engaged in the systematic effort to destroy the current religious and moral structures as a means to facilitate their objectives of control and domination. The Progressives and globalists are exploiting this transformation for their own agenda, which is the implementation of global governance. That is exactly what can be found when the layers of deception and distraction are carefully and methodically pulled back and the prospective money sources are identified. Consider the following diagram that outlines the money behind the New York City Islamic center, and use the hyperlinks to secure detailed information about each individual or organization: 
Contributed by Doug Hagmann, Canada Free Press Mosque Near Ground Zero Gets The Go Ahead A New York City community board voted yesterday for a plan to build a mosque and cultural centre near Ground Zero. The vote, 29-1 in favour with 10 abstentions, came after hours of contentious public comment from angered conservative activists and families of the victims of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks. Last night a top Manhattan politician backed the plans, saying that while the wishes of 9/11 families must be respected, the board must also try to 'balance diversity'. Construction is due to begin on September 11 next year – the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attack. A massive rally protesting the plans has been scheduled for June 6 as anger grows. Rosemary Cain, whose fireman son was killed, said: ‘I think it’s despicable. That’s sacred ground. It’s a slap in the face. 'How could anybody give them permission to build a mosque there?’
Rauf’s Dawa from the World Trade Center Rubble Meet the Ground Zero Mosque imam’s Muslim Brotherhood Friends. NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE www.nationalreview.com Andrew C. McCarthy July 24, 2010 4:00 A.M. Feisal Abdul Rauf is the imam behind the “Cordoba Initiative” that is spearheading plans to build a $100 million Islamic center at Ground Zero, the site where nearly 3,000 Americans were killed by jihadists on 9/11. He is also the author of a book called What’s Right with Islam Is What’s Right with America. But the book hasn’t always been called that. It was called quite something else for non-English-speaking audiences. In Malaysia, it was published as A Call to Prayer from the World Trade Center Rubble: Islamic Dawa in the Heart of America Post-9/11.
Now it emerges that a “special, non-commercial edition” of this book was later produced, with Feisal’s cooperation, by two American tentacles of the Muslim Brotherhood: the Islamic Society of North America and the International Institute of Islamic Thought. The book’s copyright page tells the tale:
Both ISNA and IIIT have been up to their necks in the promotion of Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood’s ruthless Palestinian branch, which is pledged by charter to the destruction of Israel. In fact, both ISNA and IIIT were cited by the Justice Department as unindicted co-conspirators in a crucial terrorism-financing case involving the channeling of tens of millions of dollars to Hamas through an outfit called the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development. For the last 15 years, Hamas has been a designated terrorist organization under U.S. law.
Dawa, whether done from the rubble of the World Trade Center or elsewhere, is the missionary work by which Islam is spread. As explained in my recent book, The Grand Jihad, dawa is proselytism, but not involving only spiritual elements — for Islam is not merely a religion, and spiritual elements are just a small part of its doctrine. In truth, Islam is a comprehensive political, social, and economic system with its own authoritarian legal framework, sharia, which aspires to govern all aspects of life.
This framework rejects core tenets of American constitutional republicanism: for example, individual liberty, freedom of conscience, freedom to govern ourselves irrespective of any theocratic code, equality of men and women, equality of Muslims and non-Muslims, and economic liberty, including the uses of private property (in Islam, owners hold property only as a custodians for the umma, the universal Muslim nation, and are beholden to the Islamic state regarding its use). Sharia prohibits the preaching of creeds other than Islam, the renunciation of Islam, any actions that divide the umma, and homosexuality. Its penalties are draconian, including savagely executed death sentences for apostates, homosexuals, and adulterers.
The purpose of dawa, like the purpose of jihad, is to implement, spread, and defend sharia. Scholar Robert Spencer incisively refers to dawa practices as “stealth jihad,” the advancement of the sharia agenda through means other than violence and agents other than terrorists. These include extortion, cultivation of sympathizers in the media and the universities, exploitation of our legal system and tradition of religious liberty, infiltration of our political system, and fundraising. This is why Yusuf Qaradawi, the spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood and the world’s most influential Islamic cleric, boldly promises that Islam will “conquer America” and “conquer Europe” through dawa.
In considering Imam Rauf and his Ground Zero project, Qaradawi and the Muslim Brotherhood are extremely important. Like most Muslims, Rauf regards Qaradawi as a guide, and referred to him in 2001 as “the most well-known legal authority in the whole Muslim world today.” And indeed he is: a prominent, Qatar-based scholar whose weekly Al Jazeera program on the subject of sharia is viewed by millions and whose cyber-venture, Islam Online, is accessed by millions more, including Muslims in the United States. Not surprisingly, his rabble-rousing was a prime cause of the deadly global rioting by Muslims when an obscure Danish newspaper published cartoon depictions of Mohammed.
Qaradawi regards the United States as the enemy of Islam. He has urged that Muslims “fight the American military if we can, and if we cannot, we should fight the U.S. economically and politically.” In 2004, he issued a fatwa (an edict based on sharia) calling for Muslims to kill Americans in Iraq. A leading champion of Hamas, he has issued similar approvals of suicide bombings in Israel. Moreover, as recounted in Matthew Levitt’s history of Hamas, Qaradawi has decreed that Muslims must donate money to “support Palestinians fighting occupation. . . . If we can’t carry out acts of jihad ourselves, we at least should support and prop up the mujahideen [i.e., Islamic raiders or warriors] financially and morally.”
Qaradawi’s support for Hamas is only natural. Since that organization’s 1987 founding, it has been the top Muslim Brotherhood priority to underwrite Hamas’s jihadist onslaught against the Jewish state. Toward that end, the Muslim Brotherhood mobilized the Islamist infrastructure in the United States.
The original building block of that infrastructure was the Muslim Students Association (MSA), established in the early Sixties to groom young Muslims in the Brotherhood’s ideology — promoting sharia, Islamic supremacism, and a worldwide caliphate. As Andrew Bostom elaborated in a New York Post op-ed on Friday, Imam Rauf, too, is steeped in this ideology.
In 1981, after two decades of churning out activists from its North American chapters (which now number over 600), the Brotherhood merged the MSA into ISNA. In its own words, ISNA was conceived as an umbrella organization “to advance the cause of Islam and service Muslims in North America so as to enable them to adopt Islam as a complete way of life.” That same year, the Brotherhood created IIIT as a Washington-area Islamic think tank dedicated to what it describes as “the Islamicization of knowledge.”
After Hamas was created, the top Brotherhood operative in the United States, Mousa Abu Marzook — who actually ran Hamas from his Virginia home for several years in the early Nineties — founded the Islamic Association for Palestine to boost Hamas’s support. One of his co-founders was Sami al-Arian, then a student and Muslim Brotherhood member, later a top U.S. operative of the terrorist organization Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which he helped guide from his perch as a professor at the University of South Florida. In 2006, al-Arian was convicted on terrorism charges.
Marzook and other Brotherhood figures established the Occupied Land Fund, eventually renamed the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF), to be Hamas’s American fundraising arm. The HLF was headquartered in ISNA’s Indiana office. As the Justice Department explained in a memorandum submitted in the HLF case: During the early years of HLF’s operation, HLF raised money and supported Hamas through a bank account it held with ISNA. . . . Indeed, HLF (under its former name, OLF) operated from within ISNA, in Plainfield, Illinois. . . . ISNA checks deposited into the ISNA/[North American Islamic Trust] account for the HLF were often made payable to “the Palestinian Mujahideen,” the original name for the Hamas military wing. . . . From the ISNA/NAIT account, the HLF sent hundreds of thousands of dollars to Hamas leader Mousa Abu Marzook . . . and a number of other individuals associated with Hamas.
Ultimately, the HLF raised over $36 million for Hamas. At the height of the intifada, this was not about the social-welfare activities Hamas touts to camouflage its barbarism. As the journalist Stephen Schwartz of the Center for Islamic Pluralism has observed, “Ordinary Americans should be shocked and outraged to learn that Hamas was running its terror campaign from a sanctuary in the U.S.” In addition, prosecutors showed that ISNA was central to a 1993 meeting of top Brotherhood operatives, who were wiretapped “discussing using ISNA as an official cover for their activities.”
Meantime, in 1992, the IIIT contributed $50,000 to underwrite an al-Arian venture, the World & Islam Studies Enterprise (WISE), a front for Palestinian Islamic Jihad that ostensibly employed several members of the PIJ governing board. IIIT has been under federal investigation since 2002 — and after his terrorism conviction, al-Arian went into contempt of court rather than honor a grand-jury subpoena in the probe.
In 1991, the Muslim Brotherhood’s American leadership prepared an internal memorandum for the organization’s global leadership in Egypt. It was written principally by Mohamed Akram, a close associate of Sheikh Qaradawi. As Akram put it, the Brotherhood must understand that their work in America is a kind of grand jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and “sabotaging” its miserable house by their hands and the hands of the believers so that it is eliminated and God’s religion is made victorious over all other religions.
The memorandum included a list described by Akram as “our organizations and the organizations of our friends,” working together to implement this sabotage strategy. Prominently included in that list were ISNA and IIIT.
The Ground Zero project to erect a monument to sharia overlooking the crater where the World Trade Center once stood, and where thousands were slaughtered, is not a test of America’s commitment to religious liberty. America already has thousands of mosques and Islamic centers, including scores in the New York area — though Islam does not allow non-Muslims even to enter its crown-jewel cities of Mecca and Medina, much less to build churches or synagogues.
The Ground Zero project is a test of America’s resolve to face down a civilizational jihad that aims, in the words of its leaders, to destroy us from within. — Andrew C. McCarthy, a senior fellow at the National Review Institute, is the author, most recently, of The Grand Jihad: How Islam and the Left Sabotage America.
| | UNDERSTANDING ISLAM AND THEIR MOSQUES
UNDERSTANDING ISLAM - THREE IMPORTANT THINGS ABOUT ISLAM Amir Taheri, September 10, 2010, New York Post
Should there be a mosque near Ground Zero? In fact, what is pro posed is not a mosque -- nor even an "Islamic cultural center." In Islam, every structure linked to the faith and its rituals has a precise function and character. A mosque is a one-story gallery built around an atrium with a mihrab (a niche pointing to Mecca) and one, or in the case of Shiites two, minarets. Other Islamic structures, such as harams, zawiyyahs, husseinyiahs and takiyahs, also obey strict architectural rules. Yet the building used for spreading the faith is known as Dar al-Tabligh, or House of Proselytizing. This 13-story multifunctional structure couldn't be any of the above. The groups fighting for the project know this; this is why they sometimes call it an Islamic cultural center. But there is no such thing as an Islamic culture. Islam is a religion, not a culture. Each of the 57 Muslim-majority nations has its own distinct culture -- and the Bengali culture has little in common with the Nigerian. Then, too, most of those countries have their own cultural offices in the US, especially in New York. Islam is an ingredient in dozens of cultures, not a culture on its own. In theory, at least, the culture of American Muslims should be American. Of course, this being America, each ethnic community has its distinct cultural memories -- the Iranians in Los Angeles are different from the Arabs in Dearborn. In fact, the proposed structure is known in Islamic history as a rabat -- literally a connector. The first rabat appeared at the time of the Prophet. The Prophet imposed his rule on parts of Arabia through a series of ghazvas, or razzias (the origin of the English word "raid"). The ghazva was designed to terrorize the infidels, convince them that their civilization was doomed and force them to submit to Islamic rule. Those who participated in the ghazva were known as the ghazis, or raiders. After each ghazva, the Prophet ordered the creation of a rabat -- or a point of contact at the heart of the infidel territory raided. The rabat consisted of an area for prayer, a section for the raiders to eat and rest and facilities to train and prepare for future razzias. Later Muslim rulers used the tactic of ghazva to conquer territory in the Persian and Byzantine empires. After each raid, they built a rabat to prepare for the next razzia. It is no coincidence that Islamists routinely use the term ghazva to describe the 9/11 attacks against New York and Washington. The terrorists who carried out the attack are referred to as ghazis or shahids (martyrs). Thus, building a rabat close to Ground Zero would be in accordance with a tradition started by the Prophet. To all those who believe and hope that the 9/11 ghazva would lead to the destruction of the American "Great Satan," this would be of great symbolic value. Faced with the anger of New Yorkers, the promoters of the project have started calling it the Cordoba House, echoing President Obama's assertion that it would be used to propagate "moderate" Islam. The argument is that Cordoba, in southern Spain, was a city where followers of Islam, Christianity and Judaism lived together in peace and produced literature and philosophy. In fact, Cordoba's history is full of stories of oppression and massacre, prompted by religious fanaticism. It is true that the Muslim rulers of Cordoba didn't force their Christian and Jewish subjects to accept Islam. However, non-Muslims could keep their faith and enjoy state protection only as dhimmis (bonded ones) by paying a poll tax in a system of religious apartheid. If whatever peace and harmony that is supposed to have existed in Cordoba were the fruit of "Muslim rule," the subtext is that the United States would enjoy similar peace and harmony under Islamic rule. A rabat in the heart of Manhattan would be of great symbolic value to those who want a high-profile, "in your face" projection of Islam in the infidel West. This thirst for visibility is translated into increasingly provocative forms of hijab, notably the niqab (mask) and the burqa. The same quest mobilized hundreds of Muslims in Paris the other day to close a whole street so that they could have a Ramadan prayer in the middle of the rush hour. One of those taking part in the demonstration told French radio that the aim was to "show we are here." "You used to be in our capitals for centuries," he said. "Now, it is our turn to be in the heart of your cities." Before deciding whether to support or oppose the "Cordoba" project, New Yorkers should consider what it is that they would be buying. Shhhhhhh, we're told. Don't protest the Ground Zero mosque. Don't burn a Koran. It'll imperil the troops. It'll inflame tensions. The "Muslim world" will "explode" if it does not get its way, warns sharia-peddling imam Feisal Abdul Rauf. Pardon my national security-threatening impudence, but when is the "Muslim world" not ready to "explode"? At the risk of provoking the ever-volatile Religion of Perpetual Outrage, let us count the little-noticed and forgotten ways. Just a few months ago in Kashmir, faithful Muslims rioted over what they thought was a mosque depicted on underwear sold by street vendors. The mob shut down businesses and clashed with police over the blasphemous skivvies. But it turned out there was no need for Allah's avengers to get their holy knickers in a bunch. The alleged mosque was actually a building resembling London's St. Paul's Cathedral. A Kashmiri law enforcement official later concluded the protests were "premeditated and organized to vitiate the atmosphere." Indeed, art and graphics have an uncanny way of vitiating the Muslim world's atmosphere. In 1994, Muslims threatened German supermodel Claudia Schiffer with death after she wore a Karl Lagerfeld-designed dress printed with a saying from the Koran. In 1997, outraged Muslims forced Nike to recall 800,000 shoes because they claimed the company's "Air" logo looked like the Arabic script for "Allah." In 1998, another conflagration spread over Unilever's ice cream logo -- which Muslims claimed looked like "Allah" if read upside-down and backward (can't recall what they said it resembled if you viewed it with 3D glasses). Even more explosively, in 2002, an al-Qaida-linked jihadist cell plotted to blow up Bologna, Italy's Church of San Petronio because it displayed a 15th century fresco depicting Mohammed being tormented in the ninth circle of Hell. For years, Muslims had demanded that the art come down. Counterterrorism officials in Europe caught the would-be bombers on tape scouting out the church and exclaiming, "May Allah bring it all down. It will all come down." That same year, Nigerian Muslims stabbed, bludgeoned or burned to death 200 people in protest of the Miss World beauty pageant -- which they considered an affront to Allah. Contest organizers fled out of fear of inflaming further destruction. When Nigerian journalist Isioma Daniel joked that Mohammed would have approved of the pageant and that "in all honesty, he would probably have chosen a wife from among them," her newspaper rushed to print three retractions and apologies in a row. It didn't stop Muslim vigilantes from torching the newspaper's offices. A fatwa was issued on Daniel's life by a Nigerian official in the sharia-ruled state of Zamfara, who declared that "the blood of Isioma Daniel can be shed. It is abiding on all Muslims wherever they are to consider the killing of the writer as a religious duty." Daniel fled to Norway. In 2005, British Muslims got all hot and bothered over a Burger King ice cream cone container whose swirly-texted label resembled, you guessed it, the Arabic script for "Allah." The restaurant chain yanked the product in a panic and prostrated itself before the Muslim world. But the fast-food dessert had already become a handy radical Islamic recruiting tool. Rashad Akhtar, a young British Muslim, told Harper's Magazine how the ice cream caper had inspired him: "Even though it means nothing to some people and may mean nothing to some Muslims in this country, this is my jihad. I'm not going to rest until I find the person who is responsible. I'm going to bring this country down." In 2007, Muslims combusted again in Sudan after an infidel elementary school teacher innocently named a classroom teddy bear "Mohammed." Protesters chanted, "Kill her, kill her by firing squad!" and "No tolerance -- execution!" She was arrested, jailed and faced 40 lashes for blasphemy before being freed after eight days. Not wanting to cause further inflammation, the teacher rushed to apologize: "I have great respect for the Islamic religion and would not knowingly offend anyone, and I am sorry if I caused any distress." And who could forget the global Danish cartoon riots of 2006 (instigated by imams who toured Egypt stoking hysteria with faked anti-Islam comic strips)? From Afghanistan to Egypt to Lebanon to Libya, Pakistan, Turkey and in between, hundreds died under the pretext of protecting Mohammed from Western slight, and brave journalists who stood up to the madness were threatened with beheading. It wasn't really about the cartoons at all, of course. Little-remembered is the fact that Muslim bullies were attempting to pressure Denmark over the International Atomic Energy Agency's decision to report Iran to the UN Security Council for continuing with its nuclear research program. The chairmanship of the council was passing to Denmark at the time. Yes, it was just another in a long line of manufactured Muslim explosions that were, to borrow a useful phrase, "premeditated and organized to vitiate the atmosphere." When everything from sneakers to stuffed animals to comics to frescos to beauty queens to fast-food packaging to undies serves as dry tinder for Allah's avengers, it's a grand farce to feign concern about the recruitment effect of a few burnt Korans in the hands of a two-bit attention-seeker in Florida. The eternal flame of Muslim outrage was lit a long, long time ago. Michelle Malkin Why Every American is a Victim of 9/11 … by Clio
First, The Bold Pursuit offers our condolences to those most affected by the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001: the families, friends and associates of the victims. We also wish to pay tribute to the first responders who taught us the true meaning of heroism.
Nine years after that dreadful morning, the Cordoba Initiative, led by Chairman Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, plans to construct a $100 million, 13-story Islamic center, including a mosque. Chairman Imam Rauf is quoted as saying, "I wouldn't say that the United States deserved what happened [on September 11th], but the United States policies were an accessory to the crime that happened.”
There is fierce opposition to the Ground Zero mosque, the unsanctioned name of the structure based on its proximity – 500 feet – to the site of the most brutal terrorist attack on our nation and the de facto graveyard of many who perished on that day. “Ground Zero” is the location where innocents and heroes lost their lives in an act of premeditated evil.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, during his annual Ramadan Iftar dinner (Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. Muslims each day fast from sunrise to sunset for the purpose of inner reflection, devotion to God, and self-control. Iftar is the evening meal in which Muslims break their fast), defended the Ground Zero mosque plans:
"...If we say that a mosque or a community center should not be built near the perimeter of the World Trade Center site, we would compromise our commitment to fighting terror with freedom,” said Bloomberg. Fighting terrorism with freedom, Mayor Bloomberg? Let’s hope that your next gig isn’t an appointment to the Pentagon.
As for another term as mayor, today’s polls indicate that Mayor Bloomberg’s Republican support sharply decreased by 19% in light of his support of the Ground Zero mosque or park 51, as he often refers to the site for the Islamic edifice.
Conversely, President George W. Bush, in his remarks to a joint session of Congress following the September 11th aerial ambush, addressed the issue of terrorists and fighting terror:
 | | September 20, 2001 |
“We are not deceived by their pretenses to piety. We have seen their kind before. They are the heirs of all the murderous ideologies of the 20th century. By sacrificing human life to serve their radical visions – by abandoning every value except the will to power – they follow in the path of fascism, Nazism, and totalitarianism. And they will follow that path all the way, to where it ends: in history's unmarked grave of discarded lies. Americans are asking: How will we fight and win this war? We will direct every resource at our command -- every means of diplomacy, every tool of intelligence, every instrument of law enforcement, every financial influence, and every necessary weapon of war -- to the disruption and to the defeat of the global terror network.” Barack Obama wished his Iftar guests “Ramadan Kareem” at the White House on August 13th. His dinner address included the following remarks:
“ … let me be clear. As a citizen, and as President, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country. And that includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in Lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances. This is America. And our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakeable.” The following day, Mr. Obama, refused to clarify his remarks of the previous evening, telling a reporter:
“I was not commenting and I will not comment on the wisdom of making the decision to put a mosque there. I was commenting very specifically on the right people have that dates back to our founding. That's what our country is about. And I think it's very important, as difficult as some of these issues are, that we stay focused on who we are as a people and what our values are all about." Americans Object
What Mayor Bloomberg and Mr. Obama fail to acknowledge is that American’s do support our First Amendment right to freedom of religion, but that’s not the issue.
Americans object to the Cordoba House (Ground Zero Mosque) on principle: the gravesite of over 2600 souls is not just “park 51” or “private property in Lower Manhattan,” it is sacred ground. The survivors of the victims of the Al-Qaeda terrorist strikes and the citizens of New York City are not the only ones who suffered when Islamic extremists brought hate-based terrorism to our country.
In the past few decades, news reports provide ample evidence of Islamic animosity toward America: “Death to America” and “The Great Satan” are familiar slogans found on protest signs and chants. The sight of Muslim protestors burning our nation’s flag is captured in photos and film.
Past Islamic terrorism primarily targeted at our military and diplomatic personnel, not civilians, thus giving us a false sense of security within our own borders. One September morning, those who proclaimed their hate and death wishes carefully crafted a plan to make good on their promise to slaughter Americans.
“Let’s Roll”
The September 11th attacks were a sucker punch to the American psyche. It was an unexpected attack on our soil, on our homeland and a personal assault on every American.
Few events in life leave indelible imprints on our minds; we remember where we were, what we were doing and other mundane details when such events occurred. In my parent’s generation, it was the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King and to my grandparents; it was that “Day of Infamy,” the attack on Pearl Harbor.
This generation will remember a late summer morning, September 11, 2001, when Islamic terrorists boarded planes, drove two of them into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, plunged another plane into the Pentagon and crashed another into a vacant field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Flight 93 departed Newark, New Jersey for San Francisco at 8:01am ET. After learning of the attacks on the World Trade Center via cellphones, passengers accurately surmised a similar fate was in store for their hijacked jet and planned a coup against the Al-Qaeda terrorists. “Let’s Roll” was their battle cry and their efforts likely caused the Boeing 757 to dive to the ground, disintegrating on impact. The last words heard from the cockpit of Flight 93, in Arabic, “Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest!”
Adding Insult to Injury: Cordoba House
The Cordoba House or Ground Zero mosque is intended to be, according to Imam Rauf, a cultural center and mosque.
Cordoba was an Iberian and Roman city, conquered by Muslims caliphs during the Middle Ages. During this period, the Caliphate of Córdoba, descended from the Umayyad dynasty, brought about territorial expansion and bolstered trade. Cordoba flourished under the Umayyads and Arabic became the state language.
The Umayyad caliphs considered themselves as “deputies of God," the representatives of God on earth, and to have been responsible for the "definition and elaboration of God's ordinances, or in other words the definition or elaboration of Islamic law."
Under the Umayyads, Cordoba rose to such eminence in Mohammedanism that its mosque, known as the Ceca, was considered the Western Mecca.
The Cordoba House seeks to “to cultivate multi-cultural and multi-faith understanding across minds and borders” via the following concepts (from the website):
Thought:
* Advising policy makers and thought leaders on urgent Muslim-West issues
* Bringing new perspectives to familiar debates
* Providing expert knowledge of Islamic Law and other technical subjects for use in the public square
Action:
* Building a network of young Muslim leaders to lead the drive for change in future generations
* Responding to Muslim-West crises
* Advocating for human rights, including higher standards for the treatment of women
Outcomes:
* Raising the bar of Islamic governance in Muslim-majority countries (emphasis added)
* Changing perceptions of the other in both the Muslim World and the West
* Fostering cooperation between governments, civil society organizations, media, academics and business leaders in the Muslim World and the West
What’s missing? Denunciation of Bin Laden, Al Qaeda, the 9/11 terrorists and their actions. Also, a message of tolerance and acceptance of other religions and divergent points of view. Cordoba House asserts “freedom of religion” for Muslims, but no one else. Freedom of religion for all beliefs goes to the very core of this country.
Furthermore, the Cordoba Initiative sponsors the Shariah Index Project. Shariah Law “evolves around the right balance between institutions of political power and authority and institutions of religious power and authority, and whether the modern nation state Muslims live in should be a secular or religious.” Muslims consider Shariah (or Sharia) Law as God’s law and dictates all aspects of Muslim life including daily routines, including family obligations and financial dealings.
Cordoba House and Islamic ExtremistsWhen taking all into context (Islamic extremists’ unapologetic abhorrence of America and everything it represents, numerous past terrorist attacks on American interests and the September 11th massacre of innocent Americans), one takes offense at the intention of the Cordoba Initiative to pursue building their cultural center/mosque just two blocks from the site of the 9/11 massacre.
Every American is a victim of that attack and the Cordoba Initiative, with great insensitivity, refuses to budge and build their mosque elsewhere. Why? What could be more insulting to America, to the victims and survivors of the al-Qaeda terrorist attacks than to build a shrine to the terrorist’s faith near the target of their hatred? Is this an insult or a throwing down of the proverbial gauntlet with an agenda to antagonize our country?
Will Americans allow the building of this mosque … or will we declare our own Jihad?
Below are some thoughts on September 11th and the Ground Zero mosque; please feel free to share your own:
Columnist and author, Erik Rush: “Jihadists are out to destroy the paradigm of life for all Americans, so any American who doesn't want to live under Shariah law needs to choose a side. Radical Muslims don't care who they kill in the name of jihad; themselves, their families, friends, countrymen. So they most assuredly don't care about those they killed on 9/11 who might have been sympathetic to them. In general, people who are willing to summarily kill you if they perceive an obscure threat are not great friends to have.”
Sharron Angle, Republican U.S. Senate Candidate 2010, Nevada: “History is replete with examples highlighting the importance of learning from experience.
“September 11th is a hallowed day of remembrance, forever enshrined in the hearts of the American people.
“The sacrifice and resolve from the American patriots on September 11th, 2001 has left us with the lesson we will never forget. We must not forget; so that another assault on our way of life - which will be met with equal measures of patriotism and resolve – will never be repeated.”
Contributing Writer and Editor, Cynthia Toney: “If this center is for outreach, why do the Muslims not erect a small monument to the victims at the site, along with their mosque? (Not that I believe the mosque should be built at all!) The massive funding provided would certainly allow for at least that much of a tribute to them.” Letter to the Editor L. Gordon Muslim Belief
This is a true story and the author, Rick Mathes, is a well-known leader in prison ministry.
The man who walks with God always gets
to his destination.
If you have a pulse you have a purpose.
The Muslim religion is the fastest growing religion per capita in the United States, especially in the minority races!!
Last month I attended the annual training session that's required for maintaining my state prison security clearance. During the training session there was a presentation by three speakers representing the Roman Catholic, Protestant and Muslim faiths; each speaker explained his respective beliefs.
I was particularly interested in what the Muslim (Islam) had to say. The Muslim gave a great presentation of the basics of Islam, complete with a video. After the presentations, time was provided for questions and answers. When it was my turn, I directed my question to the Muslim and asked: 'Please, correct me if I'm wrong, but I understand that most Imams and clerics of Islam have declared a holy jihad [Holy war] against the infidels of the world and, that by killing an infidel, (which is a command to all Muslims) they are assured of a place in heaven. If that's the case, could you give me the (your) definition of an infidel?'
There was no disagreement with my statements and, without hesitation, he replied, 'Non-believers!'
I responded, 'So, let me make sure I have this straight. All followers of Allah have been commanded to kill everyone who is not of your faith so they can have a place in heaven. Is that correct?'
The expression on his face changed from one of authority and command to that of a little boy who had just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.' He sheepishly replied, 'Yes.'
I then stated, 'Well, sir, I have a real problem trying to imagine Pope John Paul commanding all Catholics to kill those of your faith or Dr. Chas. Stanley ordering all Protestants to do the same in order to guarantee themselves a place in heaven!'
The Muslim was speechless!
I continued, 'I also have a problem with being your friend when you and your brother clerics are telling your followers to kill me! Let me ask you a question: Would you rather have your Allah, who tells you to kill me in order for you to go to heaven, or my Jesus who tells me to love you because I am going to heaven and He wants you to be there with me?'
You could have heard a pin drop as the Imam hung his head in shame. Needless to say, the organizers and/or promoters of the 'Diversification' training seminar were not happy with my way of dealing with the Islamic Imam, and exposing the truth about the Muslims' beliefs.
In twenty years there will be enough Muslim voters in the U.S. to elect the President!
I think everyone in the U.S. should be required to read this, but with the ACLU, there is no way this will be widely publicized, unless each of us send it on! This is your chance
to make a difference... | |