PrintMarch 8, 2011
American Moslems and Rep. King
How many more Americans must be threatened and murdered by Moslems yelling Allahu Akbar before the political establishment acknowledges there is a profound threat to Americans coming from within the Moslem community that must be investigated? When will a rotunda's worth of Senators and Congressmen begin asking the Moslem community to root out these dark elements and vigorously help law enforcement stop what are becoming all too frequent attacks against American citizens?
Just last week, in Germany, two more American servicemen were murdered, just as earlier thirteen people were murdered by Nidal Hassan at Fort Hood. This comes after an "angry" Moslem killed one and maimed five in Seattle, not to mention the foiled plots in Times Square, North Carolina, New Jersey, Texas, and the Christmas Day flight to Detroit.
This week, one Congressman, Peter King (R-NY), will be doing just that, and many American Islamic organizations are doing whatever they can to derail the hearings whose very purpose is to protect the American people.
Imam Rauf, who is behind building the mosque near the site of the 9/11 victims, and Imam Shamsi Ali of the 96th Street Mosque, held a protest in Times Square this Sunday, March 6, against Peter King and the hearings he's holding beginning this Wednesday. Together with CAIR, they are claiming "bigotry" and casting the Moslem community as "victims of a witch hunt." But Peter King is no bigot, rather the courageous chair of the Congressional Homeland Security Committee who simply wants to find out who and where are the dangerous Islamists planning attacks within America, and is asking the Moslem community to be more forthcoming in assisting law enforcement. Protecting American lives is the first obligation of our elected officials and King says he's "tired of the political correctness that has for too long been standing in the way of our government fulfilling its Constitutional duty to the people." Furthermore, it is not an investigation of the Moslem community but of the radicals within that community.
The truth is America's Moslem community is not a victim. Rather, it is we, the American people who are being shot, threatened and victimized. Despite all the attacks that have taken place in the name of Islam against the American people, there has been no measurable retaliation against Moslem schools, businesses or individuals. Indeed, in its latest report the ADL announced that American Jews have been attacked more than any other group, and a good portion of these attacks have come from members of the American Moslem community, as was the case at the Seattle Jewish Federation(10/6/06); at the El Al counter at LAX(7/4/2002); the throat slitting of a young Jewish man in Houston by a Saudi student(8/6/03); the bomb plot against Riverdale, N.Y. synagogues(May, 2009); and chants in Ft. Lauderdale by Moslem demonstrators screaming "Hitler didn't finish the job"(12/30/2008).
I'm often asked by reporters how I and fellow Jews would feel if hearings were being held about members of our community. One thing is for sure. If the Jewish community had hundreds or thousands within its community planning attacks against fellow Americans, and doing those attacks in the name of Judaism, just about every Jew and Jewish organization would be "outing" them immediately, ridding ourselves of these imposters of the faith, helping law enforcement in every way possible, and firing any teachers in our schools or synagogues who preached terrorism against fellow Americans or spoke of replacing our Constitution.
I know of no other community that has as many organizations warning their people not to cooperate with law enforcement as is found in today's Moslem community, and it seems that's exactly why these hearings have become necessary and are long overdue. In fact, Congressman King has said that he's "been frustrated over the lack of tangible cooperation from Moslem organizations with Homeland Security". It is they who have brought this upon themselves. Congressman King has no choice.
It is, also, the moral thing to do; for there is nothing more obligatory than doing what must be done to protect innocent life. Rabbi Marc Schneier, who is a long-time ally of Imam Rauf and party to the incessant grievance-machine coming from Moslem organizations, spoke Sunday of "not targeting a religious community." But Congressman King is not denying them religious rights, rather hoping they display good citizenship. Isn't it high time the majority of Moslems did the religious thing and began showing concern for the lives of others, instead of trying to stop elected officials from protecting innocent Americans? Isn't it time that instead of being fixated always on the honor and sensitivity of the Moslem community and accusing us of racism and Islamophobia, the majority of Moslems do the heroic thing expected of religious people, as well as good neighbors, and declare jihad against the jihadists, the radicals, and the imams preaching the hateful and supremacist teachings fueling the Allahu Akbars against non-Moslems? Or are their leaders promoting a religion so inner-directed and bifurcating of life, that what it demands for itself, it is unwilling to give to others?
If Rabbi Schneier of the trendy Hampton Synagogue had done his homework, he would have known that in our religious tradition the protection of life and body is more important than feigned "sensitivity." But perhaps he was all caught up in the rally's slogan: "Today, I am A Moslem." Clergymen have an obligation to uphold the fundamentals of the Bible, protecting innocent life and rooting out evil, instead of subordinating to political correctness. For that, we already have college professors. Life, according to our serious religious tradition, is more important than "sensitivity."
Schneier asks that we "do the honorable thing and care about people from other groups." How long will Americans be asked, yet again, to do penance and prove their goodness by denying their own needs and rights, while others are never asked to show honor towards us?
The repeated assertion by the Rabbi and Imams, and President Obama, that the never-ending destruction by Islamists against us "has nothing to do with Islam" perpetuates the danger, since it exonerates the Moslem community from embarking on the soul-searching and introspection necessary to bring about change and moderation in the community and dissipates any public pressure on them to root out the extremists in their midst or cooperate more fully with law enforcement. Why should they, when we keep telling them that the killings done in the name of Islam have nothing to do with Islam.
Down the block, many on Sunday counter-protested the Imams' and Rabbi's rally, asserting: "Today, I am not a Moslem, nor was I yesterday, nor will I be one tomorrow. I am Jewish, I am Christian, and intend to remain so." Others spoke of being proud of being American and believe multiculturalism has gone too far when people like Imam Rauf openly suggest some type of new arrangement between the Koran and the Constitution, one which will deprive us of full rights by altering the historic Constitution to fit with the values and needs of Moslems. There is nothing either moderate or American in a group coming to America and its leaders demanding the country "slightly" change its Constitution, resulting in a nation partially losing what has been its sacred heritage and civil rule book.
The Imams and Rabbi Schneier are trying to frame this as a civil rights issue and many of their leftwing backers intone We Shall Overcome. However, unlike the blacks of yesteryear, every Moslem citizen in this country is allowed to vote, and is free to purchase a home, go to college and find a job. They are not denied civil rights. It is we who are being denied our fundamental civil right to safety and protection by those wishing to block these hearings.
Indeed, the country has bent over backwards, to its own peril, trying to be sensitive to Moslem concerns. Nidal Hassan, who killed fourteen at Fort Hood and impaired 30 others, plus their families, was not stopped along his route to destruction precisely because he was a Moslem and no one wanted to be accused of profiling a Moslem. A non-Moslem expressing to friends and superiors the dangerous desires he did, would have been stopped way earlier. In the name of being sensitive to Islamic honor, Americans died. It's enough already!
In the name of sensitivity, millions of innocent Americans are unnecessarily, and daily, humiliated at airports as if potential terrorists, while women wearing burkhas are given far less dress-down. Evidently, Jewish and Christian humiliation is negligible, acceptable. Truth be told, the Moslem activists such as Rauf and CAIR and its rabbinic defenders should stop their never ending grievances and indictments against the American people, since it appears that Moslems are given greater consideration and latitude than the rest of us. But they won't. Many are concocting accusations and using American slogans to pave the way toward Islamization.
It's time more of our elected officials began openly talking about the threatening Islamization plans unfolding in our country. If they do, I'm confident We Shall Overcome.
Aryeh Spero is president of Caucus for America
