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Muslims in the U.S. Military: Get them out NOW
U.S. torn over whether some Islamists offer insight
or pose threat
By BROOKS EGERTON / The Dallas Morning News
After the worst military base massacre in U.S. history, officials acknowledged that they failed to "connect the dots" – the shooter had been corresponding with an imam tied to al-Qaeda and had condemned the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as a war against Islam.
But Fort Hood gunman Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan wasn't the only one working on a Texas Army base the day of the shooting who had links to radical Islamists.
At Fort Bliss, an experienced military trainer was teaching soldiers about his Muslim faith. He, too, had denounced government counterterrorism efforts, and public records show he and some of his closest associates had ties to terrorism suspects.
But when The Dallas Morning News first inquired about the instructor, Louay Safi, military officials praised him. Only later did they say that Safi had been suspended from working on military bases pending a continuing criminal inquiry.
Louay Safi
The Safi affair reveals the deep divisions within the U.S. government over how to combat terrorism and over what constitutes moderate Islam.
Some believe insight into Islamist thinking can be gained only by engaging a wide range of people in North America's close-knit Muslim community, where leaders may well have ties to extremists – ties that do not necessarily signal alliances or support. Others argue that engagement should be limited or shunned to avoid legitimizing radicals or embarrassing the government.
Safi is a senior official of the Islamic Society of North America, the country's largest Muslim organization. ISNA has been consulted for years by Washington and is described as a partner in the fight against terrorism. In addition to serving as ISNA's communications director, Safi runs its program certifying Muslim chaplains for work in the U.S. military and prison system. He publicly denounces terrorism and advocates peace.
Safi was also named by government prosecutors as an unindicted co-conspirator in one terrorism case in 2005. His last two employers were implicated in other government terrorism investigations while he worked for them. He was never charged, nor included among the targets of those investigations.
But Safi has called the widespread raids on Muslim organizations after 9/11 "a campaign against Islam" – a term that 9/11 Commission director Philip Zelikow says is part of "the jihadi narrative."
Safi has also complained that Muslims are treated differently from Christians and Jews when they do wrong. They are unfairly identified by and questioned about their religion, he says, treatment that can lead to isolation and aggression.
Maybe this is because they Act or Behave differently from Christians and Jews? Who blows up planes and kills millions of people ot has committed 14,806 attacks of terror since 9/11?
"The extremist ideology responsible for violent outbursts is often rooted in the systematic demonization of marginalized groups," Safi said in an Internet posting after the Fort Hood shooting.
Some view Safi's rhetoric as incendiary.
Zuhdi Jasser is a Navy veteran who founded the American Islamic Forum for Democracy and has spoken publicly about the dangers of politicizing Islam. He said Safi's "separatist mindset of the world against Muslims" is the "mindset that created Hasan."
Safi would not answer most questions from The News. But in a brief interview, he said the legal assaults on him and his associates even as Washington sought their advice represented the government's divided approach to Islam.
"There are those who are prejudiced and would like to deny Muslims their rightful place in this country," Safi said, "and there are people who are more open-minded. It's as simple as that." Continue reading
Yes, and I am one of them. Just call me an Islamophobe and let's be done with it! What have they done to earn our trust? 1993 bombing of the Marine barracks in Lebanon, 9/11, Fort Hood, The Christmas Day near terrorist attack on flight 253. There are plenty more to list.
Hat tip: Act for America
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/stories/DN-NUsafi_07pro.ART1.State.Edition2.4be96ce.html
More reading of interest:
Somebody at Fort Hood Should Be Walking the Plank: Andrew McCarthy
Dhimmitude and stealth jihad at Fort Hood : Robert Spencer of Jihad Watch
3 Comments - Share Yours!:
I never get deep into the grass on these issues for me it clear---a black and white thing with no shades of gray! Get muslims out of the military. They create more issues than they solve. And please don't mention translators to me---we can get civilian traslators and we don't have to arm them.
excellent !...thanks for your bravery to speak truth to power and not PC garbage!..will add ya to my blogroll asap too..thanks and plz vis and comment at WHT anytime!:)
It is always a pleasure to drop in to WHT. You will find no bowing to the throne of anyone here. I loathe
the excesses of
PCness,diversity
and multicultutalism,
what it has done to our
country.
I have made enemies
along the way but that
is a price one must be
willing to pay.
I am honored that you dropped
by. Please do so anytime.
Comments, of course are
always welcome whether I
agree with them or not.
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