Friday, December 22, 2006

Reining in the CAIR Treatment

This story has been all over the place: Rep. Virgil Goode, Fifth District of Virginia, sent a letter to some voters in his district attacking Minnesota Representative Ellison’s plan to use the Koran as the scripture by which he will be sworn into office for the coming Congressional term. According to Goode, his letter was a response to his constituents expressing concern that Keith Ellison, the CAIR boy, is going to be serving in Congress at all. If you remember, back in October, Gates of Vienna posted on Mr. Ellison’s somewhat checkered past, including his extreme anti-Semitism and the fact that CAIR had underwritten his campaign.

Since this is a Virginia story, we’ll skip the usual big guys and go with the story in The Richmond Times Dispatch by staff writer, Rex Bowman. He links to the text of the letter, if you want to read the whole thing.

Mr. Bowman pulls quotes from Rep. Goode’s letter and then lists all the usual suspects up in arms about Rep. Goode’s straightforward objections to Elllison, and to the further immigration of Muslims into America. Among the chorus of complainers, there is The Council on American-Islamic Relations, the Virginia Muslim Political Action Committee, and, of course, James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute. All concerned picked up the predictable “Islamophobic” tar brush and began painting Rep. Goode in the usual CAIR colors.

Finally, Mr. Bowman ends with this:

The 5th Congressional District, largely rural, stretches from the North Carolina line between Henry and Brunswick counties north through Charlottesville to Greene County. It is home to few Muslims, but precise numbers are not available because the Census Bureau does not collect data based on religious adherence.

However, there is a small Muslims of America community in western Charlotte County. In recent weeks, members of an organization calling itself the Christian Action Network have sought to have changed the name of the main road, Sheikh Gilani Lane, that runs through the African-American community.

Up until those last two paragraphs, I could have lived with Mr. Bowman’s surface glide over the story. However, to describe a Jamaat al Fuqra compound as an “African-American community” is stretching things a bit. Someone should ask the residents if they consider themselves Americans.

Here is the letter (edited slightly for this post) that I sent to Mr. Bowman about his news report—

Mr. Bowan:

Your article on Rep. Goode’s letter had this quote:

“However, there is a small Muslims of America community in western Charlotte County. In recent weeks, members of an organization calling itself the Christian Action Network have sought to have changed the name of the main road, Sheikh Gilani Lane, that runs through the African-American community.”

Sir, with all respect, this group of people swear their allegiance to a Pakistani terrorist, Sheikh Gilani, who is not permitted in this country, and who is thought to be the mastermind of several assassinations in this country, not to mention the death of Daniel Pearl.
- - - - - - - - - -
Here is the first of several articles we researched and wrote on this group:

“Jamaat al Fuqra in Virginia”:

A snip:

“But first: some background on Jamaat ul-Fuqra. The group was founded in New York by Sheikh Gilani in New York in 1980. Its current headquarters is in Hancock, New York, and it has various compounds, or Jamaats, scattered throughout the United States and Canada, notably in Colorado, New York, Tennessee, Georgia, and Virginia. Most of the adherents are reported to be American-born Black Muslims who follow a strict Islamist ideology.

Sheikh Gilani, you may remember, is the cleric with whom Daniel Pearl had arranged an interview back in January of 2002. Unfortunately, Mr. Pearl was betrayed by his sources, and then abducted and beheaded. Sheikh Gilani was arrested later that month and languishes in Pakistani custody.

So this is the kind of people we are dealing with here. They launder money, smuggle firearms, plan and carry out assassinations and bombings, and conduct intense Islamist indoctrination, including inside American prisons.”
______

The South Asia Terrorism Portal is a wealth of information on this group and its goals.

Also see The Politics of CP, whose research is extensive. Since he is harder to track down than we are, I insisted that my fellow-blogger pass any further information to this man, who has the most complete and current information on JF in America. I am concerned for our own safety if we do much more on the subject.

Before further stories and predictable quotes about Rep Goode’s “Islamophobia” are distributed, I think a look into Jamaat al Fuqra is warranted. It is this kind of group to which Goode is saying “enough.”

We live in rural Virginia, but I might add that Richmond is not exempt. It is thought that the Beltway Snipers went to ground (for rest and refuge) at several JF compounds about 45 minutes from Richmond, in “rural Virginia.” That kind of thing could happen again.

Make no mistake, Mr. Rowan, these people loathe us. They are heavily armed, their girl children do not go to school, and the compounds are run-down and unkempt. This is mainly because most of their welfare money goes to the guru in Pakistan — who lives like royalty, by the way. We have received emails from disaffected members about visiting Pakistan and becoming disillusioned at the great chasm between their lives and his.

It is ironic, but not unusual, that American taxpayers are indirectly supporting a known and dangerous terrorist. “Jamaat al Fuqra” means “Community of the Impoverished” and that name certainly describes the adherents of this cult in this country.

I’m glad Rep Goode spoke up. It’s time to turn back immigration, both from the Middle East and Mexico. I voted for him precisely because Goode sees that our culture, any culture, cannot assimilate people that quickly. And in the case of many Muslims and Mexicans, assimilation is not in their plans. You have only to listen to what they say or see what they do to know that this is the case.

I plan to work as hard as I can to prevent in the US the tipping point Europe has reached. This is not easy when one is fighting Saudi-financed mosques and groups like JF. The infiltration in our country continues apace. And one of the hotspots is our Commonwealth.

I realize this message is anathema in Charlottesville and environs. However, it wouldn’t be if Jamaat al Fuqra set up a compound in, say, the Belmont area. But, of course, it won’t. Stealth operations don’t work that way.

One wouldn’t expect a reporter to risk himself personally exploring this group. Believe me, it’s an unsettling experience. But I would ask that you do whatever research you can online. We have. People write us — from places like Georgia and Hancock, NY, and Tennessee who are really scared about what they see — including the heavy duty weapons.

If you do the research, sir, Rep Goode’s remarks won’t seem “Islamophobic.” In fact, I believe it was his sudden introduction to the problem by a Lynchburg group — who showed him a photo of the Sheikh Gilani Lane street sign, a state-named road — that may have been the catalyst for his response.

As for Rep. Ellison, you have only to look into his record to know he is bought and paid for by Saudi/CAIR money. Here’s my take on it:

“Will Minnesota Send the First CAIR Muslim to Congress?”

Personally, I don’t care if he swears on the Koran or on a James Joyce novel, or — as some office holders do — on nothing at all. I’m not interested in what he says, only in what he does. And what Ellison has done so far is pretty alarming. His cheap publicity stunt making sure everyone knew he was going to use the Koran to be sworn into office is just that: politician sleaze publicity.

Dymphna
Gates of Vienna


Note to readers: Strictly speaking, the Koran is the Constitution of Islam, so by placing his hand on this book, Mr. Ellison is implicitly repudiating the American Constitution. That’s what I mean by words versus deeds.

8 comments:

Georgia Kafir said...

I wrote a letter to Congressman Goode last night expressing my support. We all need to get behind this guy and any others like him.

Charro99 said...

Dymphna,

I agree with your letter, and only take issue with one minor point you made about Mexican immigrants. I agree that illegal immigration needs to be stopped cold, but I favor legally drawing immigrants from Latin America (as opposed to muslim countries).

We're in for a rough century, and we're going to need all of the Americans we can get. In my considerable experience with illegal immigrants from Mexico and the rest of Latin America, they are very, very eager to integrate and assimilate into our culture. (Last week, for example, I met a couple and their two-year-old daughter, whom they had named "America." Really.) These generally aren't the kind of people who will dabble in the exoticism of Islam or let muslims push them around.

I enjoy your work, please keep it up. Sorry to go off on a tangent. Concerns about assimilating vast numbers from anywhere certainly have merit. Our immigration system is obviously a disaster. It costs a fortune and accomplishes next to nothing, mostly doing doughnuts on the lawn.

Respectfully,

Charro

Baron Bodissey said...

Scott,

What was your source? Was it the Martinsville paper, or another place?

The 910 group needs to know.

felix said...

Charro,
I agree with your drawing distinction between Mexican immigrants (who obviously have the potential to assimilate) and Muslim immigrants about whom there is a big question mark. At a minimum, we need to draw legal distinction in the US between Radical Islamists and moderate moslems, with radicals hopefully to be deported.

Although the Congressman's comments appear extreme--it sounds like he wants to stop all Muslim immigration into the US--how else to we get a discussion going about our immigration policy?

Scorpius said...

Dymnpha,

Good article. I hate to split hairs, but isn't it more accurate to say that the Koran the constitution of the Umma?

om said...

suppose your worries about these groups can be justified -- does that make your extreme solution, namely the closing of our borders to all muslims, reasonable?

obviously not. you know, there are other groups in this country, namely various armed militias, which are likely quite dangerous, and their goals, like the goals you ascribe to these muslim groups you write about, focus on subverting the government. many of these groups are closely aligned with a christian patriot ideology (as usual wikipedia isn't the best place for info, but it is a good place to start).

however, no one would suggest that we impose some draconian restrictions on all christians, or even christian patriots.

personally, i'm an atheist and find this voltaire quote quite apt:

"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities."

however, i know many good immigrant muslims and christians who live in america, have assimilated into the culture and are worthwhile contributors. we shouldn't treat a large swath of them as dangerous just because some minorities that fall under their religious umbrella are in fact dangerous.

Papa Ray said...

Muslims are not the problem.

Islam is the problem.

Islam is in fact the Muslims biggest problem. It is going to force us to kill them now in the thousands and if we are not successful in making them abandon Islam after that. We will be forced to kill them by the millions.

Papa Ray
West Texas
USA

Harrison said...

>papa ray

Aren't Muslims people who practise Islam as a religion? By renouncing Islam they renounce being Muslim. Though we here at the Gates and in the 910 Group are still searching for a plausible alternative to Nuke Mecca, it would be wise to err on the side of caution: Islam and Muslims are not mutually exclusive - they are indivisible and intertwined.