Update On Michael Graham: What Did CAIR Accomplish?

The following is the complete article ,with emphases added by this blog author, from the September 20, 2005 edition of the Washington Post:

If Ex-WMAL Host Is Sorry, It's Not For Bashing Islam

By Marc Fisher
Tuesday, September 20, 2005; B01

Being sacked for arguing on the radio that Islam is a "terrorist organization" may not be the best thing that ever happened to Michael Graham's career, but it's pretty close.

After WMAL (630 AM) fired the midmorning talk show host for refusing to apologize for his remarks about Islam, Graham became the flavor of the month on TV shoutfests and talk stations across the country. Even now, after his 15 days of fame, Graham is busy fielding job offers, working as a substitute host on stations in Los Angeles and other big markets, and conducting a daily Internet-based talk show, happily reiterating his comments about Islam.

But all Graham ever wanted to be was the host of a local talk show in Washington, and ABC Radio, which owns WMAL, has now denied him that platform, which leaves Graham, who lives near Falls Church with his wife and four children, a frustrated soul.

"The whole idea of talk radio is to be a lot of fun, a little edgy, a place where crazy ideas are entertained," he says. "They may be mocked and dismissed, but they help focus the conversation. For me to be sacked for saying what I believe -- it is heartbreaking for me to leave WMAL. I just don't get it: I got your station more publicity than you'd had in five years, and you fire me? What did I miss?" (I sought comment from WMAL President Chris Berry, but he did not respond.)

Graham's journey to the limits of acceptable speech began after this summer's terrorist attack in London. The talk host, a former stand-up comedian who was inspired by listening to Rush Limbaugh six years ago to try radio as a performance medium, argued that because polls showed a large minority of Muslims were unwilling to turn in extremists in their midst, support for fundamentalist terrorism must be intertwined with the faith's teachings.

"If your theology feeds the killers and if millions of your members support the killers, even though they're a minority, you have, in my opinion, a terrorist organization," Graham said.

Graham, whose bombastic style and disdain for nuance made him a rising star in talk radio, had made similar comments many times before. But this time, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Washington lobby promoting the civil liberties of American Muslims, was listening. Its spokesman, Ibrahim Hooper, called me and other reporters to encourage stories about Graham's remarks. CAIR rallied its followers to urge WMAL's advertisers to pull commercials from Graham's show.

WMAL executives told Graham to apologize. He refused. "If I'd said something racist, I would have apologized. But I am concerned about this paradigm that the most oversensitive people get to fire you. I love that CAIR protested what I said. I had them on my show. Yes, protest, argue. If you have the argument, you don't need to have anybody fired."

Graham's firing sent shock waves through a world of sharp-tongued performers who are paid to be provocative. Over a beer at the pub across from the Heritage Foundation, where Graham uses a radio studio, the lanky funnyman marvels that he's considered a wild man in Washington.
"I'm in the middle of the pack in talk radio. But here, I'm crazy loon Michael Graham on the edge. Doug Duncan and Gerry Connolly wouldn't come on my show," he said, referring to the Montgomery county executive and the chairman of the Fairfax County supervisors. "They're scared of me. I'm a graduate of freaking Oral Roberts University -- and I'm scary?"

Talk radio in Washington is among the tamest in the nation. Talk hosts marvel at the high ratings won here by the low-key "Diane Rehm Show" on public radio's WAMU.

But Graham believes Washington audiences are eager for talk with more bite. "Washingtonians are not tight prudes," he said. "Real-life people want me to climb up on my pony with my lance and go after those in power. Real-life people who know nothing about Islam look at the newspaper and say, 'Holy crap, why are they trying to kill us?' "

Graham hopes to have the last laugh. ABC is seeking bids for its radio stations, including WMAL, and the overwhelming response Graham has had from other radio companies makes him optimistic that a new owner might put him back on the air here.

"The only people who are happy about this," Graham said, "are CAIR and the corporate weasels at ABC who go to bed every night terrified that someone will call them insensitive."

Graham makes a good point when he speaks of making an argument. CAIR's actions took measures to get him removed from the air waves instead of putting forth an argument to prove that Islam's teachings do not pose a threat.

Talk radio would have been a good forum for moderate Muslims to have reasoned with us infidels and to have explained how Islam can be compatible with Western ideals. Or is discussion between Westerners and Muslims impossible because the guiding ideologies are themselves incompatible?

Note: Hugh Fitzgerald of Jihad Watch has also commented today on CAIR. Read it here.

Defining Islamophobia

In Robert Spencer’s recently published The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades), an entire chapter is dedicated to the analysis of Islamophobia as ideological warfare. According to Spencer, the term “Islamophobia” is a relatively new word invented by “moderate” Muslims in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s and is frequently used as a propaganda tool and as a tool of intimidation in order to silence criticism of radical Islam and, indeed, of Islam itself.

What is the proper definition of “Islamophobia”? According to The Merriam-Webster Dictionary, “phobia” means “an irrational persistent fear or dread.” Therefore, “Islamophobia” should mean “the irrational persistent fear or dread of Islam.” What has happened, however, is that the charge of Islamophobia is used to silence the exposure and criticism of one of the most dangerous aspects of Islam—jihadism.

Spencer cites the following example from January, 2004 (199-200):

“The charge of ‘Islamophobia’ is routinely used to shift attention away from jihad terrorists. After a rise in jihadist militancy and the arrest of eight people in Switzerland on suspicion of aiding suicide bombers in Saudi Arabia, some Muslims in Switzerland were in no mood to clean house: ‘As far as we’re concerned,’ said Nadia Karmous, leader of a Muslim women’s group in Switzerland, ‘there is no rise in Islamism, but rather an increase in Islamophobia.’

“This pattern has recurred in recent years all over the world as ‘Islamophobia’ has passed into the larger lexicon and become a self-perpetuating industry….The absurdity of all this was well illustrated by a recent incident in Britain: While a crew was filming the harassment of a Muslim for a movie about ‘Islamophobia,’ two passing Brits, who didn’t realize the cameras were rolling, stopped to defend the person being assaulted. Yet neither the filmmakers nor the reporters covering these events seemed to realize that this was evidence that the British were not as violent and xenophobic as the film they were creating suggested.’”

The fact is that the Koran and the ahadith, the latter considered to have the same or nearly the same weight as the Koran, promote violent jihad as the best deed one can do, aside from becoming a Muslim, because jihad is active and militant service in Allah’s cause. As proof of the elevated status of waging warfare in the name of Allah, Spencer cites these words from Mohammed the Prophet (34):

“’A journey undertaken for jihad in the evening or morning merits a reward better than the world and all that is in it.”

And the promise of eternal reward has proven to be a powerful motivator, even for numerous jihadists who previously experienced the freedoms of Western society.

Instead of crying “Islamophobia!” or “Hate crime!” when thought-provoking or realistic observations of Islam are made, Muslim organizations which present themselves as Islamic moderates would do better if they were to explain how those troublesome passages from the Koran and the ahadith can be made compatible with Western society. Attempts to silence or thwart by lawsuit both Muslim and non-Muslim discussion of Islam appears to be stonewalling. Stonewalling difficult issues doesn’t satisfy, but rather conveys the impression of secretiveness and complicity.

Always On Watch: In Commemoration of 9/11

A poem to commemorate 9/11 as posted on Always On Watch.

Never forget.

New charges against ISA graduate Abu Ali

From Jihad Watch: American Muslim honor student indicted in plot to kill Bush

New charges against Ahmed Omar Abu Ali of Falls Church unveiled (pun intended, given his mother's affectation for the niqab, or face covering).

"The new nine-count indictment also adds charges of conspiracy to commit aircraft piracy and destroy aircraft, part of the Justice Department's allegations that Abu Ali was plotting with al Qaeda to conduct a Sept. 11-style attack in the United States that would include hijacking planes."

Northern Virginiastan has covered Abu Ali extensively.

In other news, the US Appeals Court for the Fourth Circuit ruled that "dirty bomb" suspect Jose Padilla AKA Abdullah Al Mujahir (Abdullah "the foreigner") can be held without charges, thereby reversing a lower court's decision that Padilla should be charged or let go.

SIXTH COLUMN: CAIR to Sponsor Taqiyya-Fest at U. S. Capitol for 9/11

George Mason at Sixth Column notes yesterday's 9/11 vigil hosted by CAIR at the Capitol Reflecting Pool.

"Co-sponsors of the vigil include: InterFaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington, Coordinating Council of Muslim Organizations (Washington, D.C.), September Eleventh Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, All Dulles Area Muslim Society, Muslim Public Affairs Council, American Muslim Voice, and the Interfaith Alliance."

Just goes to show you the stupidity and willful ignorance of ecumenical organizations that partner with Islamic organizations. As for "September Eleventh Families for Peaceful Tomorrows," if I'm not mistaken, it's part of the leftist cabal funded by George Soros and Teresa Heinz Kerry's Heinz Foundation and its members heckled Condoleeza Rice during her testimony at the 9-11 Commission hearings.

Could This Happen Here?

From Daniel Pipes:

"As the full implications of the London terrorist attacks by domestic jihadis sink in, Westerners are speaking out about the problem of radical Islam with new clarity and boldness....

"Mr. Cameron [British shadow education secretary] spoke with a bluntness unique in four years of politicians' discourse since September 11, 2001: 'The driving force behind today's terrorist threat is Islamist fundamentalism. The struggle we are engaged in is, at root, ideological. During the last century a strain of Islamist thinking has developed which, like other totalitarianisms, such as Nazi-ism and Communism, offers its followers a form of redemption through violence.'

"Most striking are the growing calls to extrude Islamists....:

A call to expel Islamists has also come from Peter Costello, the treasurer of Australia and regarded as heir apparent to Prime Minister Howard.

Continuing now with the Pipes article:

"These statements, all dating from the past half year, prompt several observations. First, where are the Americans? No major U.S. politician has spoken of making American-based Islamists unwelcome. Who will be the first?

"Second, note the consistent focus on the law and legal issues. This correctly picks up on the fact that ultimately, the Islamist project concerns the application of Islamic law, the Sharia.

"And finally, these comments are likely to be leading indicators of a broader campaign to restrict and remove Islamists – a move that comes none too soon."

According To Michael Graham

Michael Graham now has a job. That didn't take long, did it?

Nevertheless, a few aspects of Graham's firing from WMAL still need exploring. A few days ago, Michael Graham wrote on the matter of his dismissal from WMAL in an article which I found buried in my inbox.

Some excerpts from "How To Get Fired" by Michael Graham:

"If I had called the Catholic Church a haven for pedophiles because I believed their doctrine of priestly celibacy caused pedophilia, I would still have my talk-radio job today.

"If I had called the Christian faith a terror-sponsoring organization because of abortion-clinic and Olympic bomber Eric Rudolph, I would still be an employee of the ABC Radio Company. I know, because I hear these arguments made in the media nearly every day....

"When I was suspended without pay a month ago, my smartest and closest friends told me, 'Graham, relax. This is all going to blow over. They are never going to fire you over this. C'mon-this is CAIR we're talking about!'

"And it's true that few public advocacy groups have as little legitimacy or credibility as the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Some of their members have been jailed for terrorism. Others have been deported. They are still reluctant to criticize Hamas and Hezbollah, and it took them three weeks after 9/11 to condemn Al Qaeda!"

Graham is correct about CAIR's connections to Hamas . In the exact words from an article in WorldNetDaily,

"CAIR is a spin-off of the Islamic Association For Palestine, identified as a 'front group' for Hamas by two ex-FBI counterterrorism chiefs."

For additional information as to why CAIR may be reluctant to condemn two organizations which have been designated as terrorist in orientation, see Matthew Epstein's testimony before the United States Senate Judiciary Committe Subcommitte, Saudi Support for Islamic Extremism in the United States.

Continuing now with Graham's commentary:

"Here's the bizarre part: I started my on-air conversation about the unique, tragic relationship between Islam and terrorism on the day of the second London subway bombing. No one at ABC Radio objected to my comments.

"I repeated the comments on Friday. Again, no problem. Same thing on Monday. Tuesday, I spent my entire three-hour show – at the request of ABC management – talking about modern Islam as a terrorist organization.

"And for that, I was suspended and fired. What happened? How did the words that were insignificant one Thursday suddenly become unforgivable the next?

"It was all about CAIR. Late that Monday they sent out press releases, called advertisers, complained of my 'hate radio' to ABC. By Thursday, ABC had capitulated and suspended me, and CAIR immediately sent out a press release insisting ABC hadn't gone far enough and I had to be fired. Eventually, I was.

"Meanwhile, more listeners stood by me, not a single advertiser pulled their ads..."

What's that? Not a single advertiser pulled ads? ABC must have had an attack of conscience, then. I thought that talk radio usually based their hire-and-fire decisions on the ratings factor and on the financial support of the sponsors. Wasn't Graham hired by WMAL in the first place because he already had a reputation for outspoken controversy? I believe that WMAL enjoyed the ratings which Graham delivered--until he "crossed a line," apparently. Who drew that line? CAIR?

Later in his article, Graham continues:

"Think about this: Dan Rather went on the air with a story based on a fake Air National Guard memo, lied about the steps taken at CBS to 'authenticate' it, and after he was caught dead in a lie, still maintained that the bogus story was true…and he kept his job!

"I gave an honest, reason-based opinion about the challenges facing Islam, quoted facts, polls and public comments accurately – and I was fired...."

Michael Graham is already employed elsewhere, and his dismissal from WMAL has received some attention from the mainstream media.

I'm guessing that the Michael Graham story will soon fade away. Americans' memories are notoriously short.

What has CAIR learned from the Michael Graham story?

Will the power of CAIR soon fade away? Not without a push.

Now, before you go thinking, "There goes AOW again! She a real Janie-One-Note. She's repeating herself and writing another blog article about Michael Graham," read the following August 24, 2005 information from Michael Graham's web site:

"I almost choked on my Irish Breakfast tea this morning while being interviewed by Jimmy Barrett at WRVA in Richmond, VA. He told me that CAIR is now saying they never demanded I be fired and that they had nothing to do with ABC's decision. Well, that's interesting. Let's rewind the tape to Friday, July 29th, the day after I was suspended:

"DC Radio Host Suspended Over Anti-Islam Remarks; CAIR Applauds WMAL's Move, Says Graham Should Be Fired

"7/29/2005 10:40:00 AM

"To: National Desk

"Contact: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726 or ihooper@cair-net.org, Rabiah Ahmed, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441 or rahmed@cair-net.org, both of the Council on American-Islamic Relations

"WASHINGTON, July 29 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today applauded a Washington, D.C., radio station's decision to suspend without pay a talk show host who stated repeatedly that 'Islam is a terrorist organization.'

"CAIR said WMAL-AM morning host Michael Graham should be fired for his Islamophobic remarks, for other statements made before and after the most recent controversy and for his refusal to apologize for those comments.

"OK.....what am I missing here?

"...Apparently CAIR believes that the mainstream media are so in the bag that CAIR can deny the existence of their own press releases and get away with it...."

Readers, you will have to chose whom to believe--Michael Graham or CAIR, an organization with ties to Hamas. Your call.

The [Muslim?] Origins Of Project Hope

Mukit Hossain, Muslim activist - See also Yahoo! Photos - northernvirginiastan's Photos - Rogues' Gallery

Project Hope and Harmony, not yet a nonprofit organization although filing papers for that status are said to be planned, is the organization which insisted that Herndon, Virginia build a center for day laborers. This center will operate at taxpayers' expense and will not check on the immigration status of day laborers who utilize the site.

From the August 20, 2005 edition of the Washington Post comes a bit of information about the origins of Project Hope:

"On a frigid winter day two years ago, Mukit Hossain drove past a 7-Eleven in Herndon and noticed a large group of men, some wearing only sweat shirts, shivering like leaves in the parking lot.

"Something made him stop and ask what they were doing. In broken English, one man explained that they were looking for work. With their chances as bleak as the weather at 3 in the afternoon, Hossain asked why they did not just give up and go home.

"'We don't have much of a home to go to,' Hossain recalls the man telling him.

"From that encounter, a charity was born that ultimately has led to a government-sanctioned day-laborer site that has generated national attention.

"Hossain called a meeting of civic and religious leaders, many of whom had worked quietly for years helping day laborers learn English, find housing and get medical care. He proposed that they join forces and collaborate under a name with a distinct mission: Project Hope and Harmony, whose sole goal would be to create and run an orderly site for itinerant laborers...."

Mukit Hossain, who immigrated to the United States from Bangaladesh some thirty years ago, is a successful businessman here in the United States. According to a PRWEB Press Release:

"Mukit will assume the position of Exe VP & COO on June 1, 2004. Most recently, he has served as the President of ContinewTechnology. Prior to ContinewTechnology, Mr. Hossain served at Teleglobe Communication Company as a senior executive in charge of ‘access’ development, and subsequently, for global buildout of web-hosting, collocation and POP facilities. Before that, he held several executive level positions in charge of Program Management, Marketing, Network Planning, Data Services and Partnership Management at WinStar Communications. He arrived in the DC area with an assignment to start the local telecom venture of LCI (now part of Qwest) – from business/product definition to implementation. Mr. Hossain entered the CLEC industry via his assignment to develop market strategy for Teleport Communication Group (TCG – now AT&T Local). Mr. Hossain also served in technical and marketing positions for Telecommunication and IT services at Ameritech and GTE. Mr. Hossain has Bachelors degrees in Economics, Mathematics and Philosophy from Duke University and a Masters degree in Economics with emphasis in Econometrics and Business Management from North Carolina State University."

He is, then, eminently qualified to have organized Project Hope.

Returning now to the above-cited article in the Washington Post:

"For Hossain, helping immigrants, most from Central and South America, is a Muslim issue. Charity is one of the five pillars of Islam. So he raised money from Muslim businessmen in Herndon to buy 400 winter coats for the laborers, brought them food through another charity he started, called Food Source, and even rounded up day laborers to attend a Thanksgiving dinner at an Iraqi restaurant where falafel, not turkey, was served.

"'I consider them my neighbors,' said Hossain, an immigrant from Bangladesh who came to the United States 30 years ago to attend Duke University....

"Hossain wants to buy bicycles for the day laborers so they can get to the site without taking shortcuts across private property. The All Dulles Area Muslim Society Center, a large mosque in Sterling, has offered to provide a van to transport workers to and from the site...."

A Google Search of Mukit Hossain pulled up lots of information about Mukit Hossain. One Google hit contained this blunt comment:

"Hossain and the other Muslims working with Project Hope and Harmony have been accused of trying to justify illegal immigration, but their commitment to the issue has remained strong."

Another hit stated this:

"The War on Terror suffered another setback when the 'Virginistan' Senate honored Mukrit Hossain, an Islamist who has used his 'charitable' work - for Da'wa and to undermine the interests of the United States. Hossain has not only parlayed giving food and coats to illegal migrants into a federally funded exercise in Da'wa (Islamic propagation), he has assisted those who broke the law with legal aid to help them fight to stay in the US . Hossain exploits his 'charitable' work for furthering his Islamist agenda,and openly proclaims this to be his political mission as well....Hossain is also active in MAS, the Muslim American Society, the group which is in the forefront of campaiging for the release of jailed presidental assassin wannabe Omar Abu Ali. MAS also lauded Hossain as a 'supporter' of their organisation which is directly linked to ICNA and by extension Al Qaeda. The trustee of MAS's Islamic American University is Sheik Yusuf Qaradawi who proclaimed that Muslim women have an Islamic duty to become suicide bombers."

A third Google hit produced this:

"Perhaps most outrageous of all is that the FAITH 'charity' -Foundation for Appropriate and Temporary Immediate Help- which Hossain is being lauded for which helps illegal migrants get around American law and enables him to expose them to Islam, is registered at 500 Grove Street an address which was raided by law enforcement because 'it housed more then 100 interlocking Muslim organisations... which gave material aid to terrorists.' Besides Hossain and FAITH's activities in recruiting illegal migrant converts to Islam, one must also conclude that the potential for these people to become terrorist operatives is just as likely."

Back in May 2005, Hugh Fitzgerald of Jihad Watch did a bit of analysis on MAS, the head of which is Mahdi Bray:

"A convert to Islam, Mahdi Bray is not one of those, like Ibrahim Hooper, who has attained national prominence. He is a tireless worker at the local level, however, and in his dual presentation of self, or presentation of dual selves, most instructive. Soft-spoken and smiling and all sweet reason, and with a comfortably American voice, when addressing Infidels, he becomes something quite different for Muslim audiences, where he has been known to chant-and-rant, as in his call of support for Hamas before a crowd in Washington, or whipping up a crowd to show up at a courtroom to mock the proceedings which involved charging a Muslim with plotting to kill the American President. He is also careful, at the local level, to carry out all those carefully-calibrated and well-publicized deeds of supposed charity – to earn Infidel goodwill – that are described as being so useful in the conduct of Da’wa at Muslim sites.

"In his last appearance in the Boston Globe, some months ago, he is seen in a photograph (he made sure there would be a Globe photographer handy) helping to lift a box of donated food for the poor, which we are naturally supposed to believe is disinterested Muslim charity, but zakat, of course, can only be given to Infidels for the sake of promoting Islam....

"The list of those he has chosen to vocally defend is instructive...

"In October 2000 he appeared at a demonstration called in support of Hamas and Hizbullah:

“In American Jihad, [Steve] Emerson notes that when Abdurrahman Alamoudi of the American Muslim Council, who is now serving a 23-year prison sentence for a terrorism financing conviction, encouraged the Muslim crowd at an October 2000 rally cosponsored by MPAC to declare their support of the jihad terror groups Hamas and Hizballah, 'MPAC’s Political Advisor, Mahdi Bray, stood directly behind Alamoudi and was seen jubilantly exclaiming his support for these two deadly terrorist organizations.' This was just three weeks after Bray 'coordinated and led a rally where approximately 2,000 people congregated in front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C.' Emerson reports that 'at one point during the rally, Mahdi Bray played the tambourine as one of the speakers sang, while the crowd repeated: "Al-Aqsa [Mosque] is calling us, let’s all go into jihad, and throw stones at the face of the Jews [sic]."

"Mahdi Bray was at another demonstration in December of that same year:

"On December 22, 2000, MPAC's Mahdi Bray organized a rally in Lafayette Park outside the White House to celebrate a 'Worldwide Day for Jerusalem.' In Arabic, the crowd responsively chanted with the emcee, 'Khaybar, Khaybar oh Jews, the Army of Muhammad is coming for you!' Posters calling for 'Death to Israel' and equating the Star of David with the Nazi swastika were openly displayed and anti-Semitic literature calling for the destruction of the Jews and Israel was distributed. Members of the crowd burned the Israeli flag while marching from the White House to the State Department.

"And here is some testimony before Congress about Mahdi Bray:

"United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary

"Terrorist Recruitment and Infiltration in the United States: Prisons and Military as an Operational Base.
"Statement of J. Michael Waller Annenberg Professor of International Communication Institute of World Politics

"Before the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security Senate Committee on the Judiciary, 14 October 2003

"Appendix 2: Key Organizations Involved in Muslim Prison Recruitment
"National Islamic Prison Foundation (NIPF) – Contact: Mahdi Bray; 1212 New York Ave. NW, Suite 525, Washington, DC 20005. This is the same address as the American Muslim Council (AMC).
"• Specifically organized to convert American inmates to Wahhabism.”

Is there a comprehensive list of groups which have funded, or are funding, Project Hope and Harmony, defined in the Washington Post as "an umbrella group, not a nonprofit organization." How closely tied is Project Hope to the Muslim American Society? And why should any group--of whatever civic or religious persuasion--be allowed to promote illegal immigration within the United States?

Gangs in the DC Metro area

Northern Virginiastan is about "Monitoring how Islam is subverting public institutions in Northern Virginia and the greater DC Metro Area." Consequently, we normally don't discuss other issues, but after reading blog member Always on Watch's post Immigration Advocates Need A Reality Check on his own blog, I felt the need to share some news items concerning Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, a Latino gang (more accurately called a transnational criminal enterprise) active in the DC Metro area. It's all the more relevant because of alleged meetings between Al-Qaeda and MS-13 operatives in Central America.

From WJLA ABC 7 comes this news item about Montgomery County (MD) Executive Doug Duncan's recent visit with the President of El Salvador seeking support in fighting gang violence. Of course, much of Duncan's visit was opportunistic, as he sought trade ties with El Salvador and this trip could bolster his standing when he runs for Governor. Coverage of his trip states that Salvadoreno residents in Maryland send back millions of dollars in remittances to El Salvador.

From the Washington Post via Yahoo! News comes this article on Anti-Gang Strategies Lack Unity, which quotes Montgomery County police chief J. Thomas Manger (formerly of Faifax): "In Fairfax, it was pockets: Baileys [Crossroads], Route 1, Falls Church. It's the same situation here. There's probably more neighborhood gangs here, and we have more African American gangs. But 90 percent of the problem over here in Montgomery County is Latino gangs. . . . It goes down the [Interstate] 270 corridor: Montgomery Village, Gaithersburg, Wheaton, Silver Spring to Takoma Park."

Is it more than a coincidence that there is also a high concentration of Muslims in Baileys and Fall Church? The same can be said for Herndon.

Lastly, from CNN.com, comes this article Guatemala prison riots kill dozens: At least 30 dead in gang clashes at four prisons between MS-13 members and members of rival gang MS-18.

Fear on the Metro

As noted on Yahoo! Groups : dc-terror, "A member of a password-protected al-Qaeda affiliated message board provided the map of the Washington Metro subway system today, August 11, 2005, in addition to advocating an attack with chemical weapons upon this system."

From Joe Grossberg's blog comes this item:

Brown, Eyed Guy

Is MWB (Metroing While Brown) the new DWB (Driving While Black)?, or im brown, on the metro and messin with your head.

The Origins of CAIR

Mr. Beamish and George Mason reminded me of the importance of exploring and revealing the origins of CAIR.

After some searching, I've obtained the information, somewhat buried in a 2003 article :

"...The Wahhabist Saudi government began its ongoing 'colonization' of the West in earnest after World War II, Palazzi [2003 secretary general of the Italian Muslim Association] said, sending students abroad to study.

"Their mission, he said, was to create what was initially called the Muslim Student Federation, then 'after it became rooted in the country, to start creating the local mosques, local organizations and groups such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations,' or CAIR.
"Though it claims to represent moderate Muslims, Palazzi calls the Washington, D.C.-based lobby group the 'U.S. section of Hamas.'

"... CAIR is a spin-off of the Islamic Association of Palestine, a group identified by a U.S. intelligence official as a front for Hamas. Awad was the group's public-relations adviser, and CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper also was an employee. Awad praised Iran's revolutionary leader Ayatollah Khomeini and at a university forum in 1994 declared, 'I am in support of the Hamas movement.'

"Hamas itself has its roots in the Egypt-based Muslim Brotherhood, the group from which al-Qaida was born, noted Palazzi.

"The difference between al-Qaida and Hamas is not over belief in the legitimacy of terrorism, but whether terror is to be used as the primary strategic tool or as only one of the possible tools, he said.

"'The leaders of Hamas and Brotherhood accept and promote suicide bombing and terror, but they believe it is not going to work in every circumstance,' Palazzi explained. 'In some cases, it is useful to have a kind of political activity. In some cases it is useful to resort to diplomacy.'

"Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood support terror in Kashmir, Israel and Chechnya, for example, he pointed out, but say that in the West, terror is not the best strategy.

"They say, according to Palazzi, 'We would rather infiltrate the West by our network and take advantage of the role of religious freedom in democratic legal systems and create our legal basis in those countries.'

"The Wahhabi aim, he says, is nothing short of bringing the whole world under its domination."

How is it, then, that our government allows CAIR to operate here in the United States? Why is WMAL Radio allowing CAIR to exert pressure on the broadcasts of Michael Graham and Geoff Metcalf?

Please don't omit reading this by George Mason, who has written an excellent commentary about the efforts of CAIR to silence talk-show hosts on WMAL Radio. It's important!

Tariq Hamdi protected by diplomatic immunity?

With thanks to loyal friends from Springfield, a followup to our August 10 post Tariq Hamdi charged with immigration and mortgage-loan fraud, a story from Newsweek that Hamdi might be working in the Iraqi embassy in Turkey, which would grant him diplomatic immunity: American Contact?

Virginia Tech Plays The Dhimmi

The following item appeared in the August 6, 2005 edition of the Washington Post and is quoted below in its entirety:

Program Brings Saudis to Tech

"About 60 faculty members from a Saudi Arabian university are taking courses at Virginia Tech in classrooms separated by gender.

"Virginia Tech officials said administrators from King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah asked for the separation to reflect practices at their home institution.

"'This is the way they teach their courses over there, and this is the way they wish their courses to be taught over here,' a Virginia Tech spokesman said.

"The courses are in English instruction, communications, distance learning and Web site development. The program is being offered through a contract between the schools that does not involve state money, the spokesman said."

Compare the above item with this excerpt from the August 7, 2005 edition of the Washington Post:

"...Al Qaeda has become the first guerrilla movement in history to migrate from physical space to cyberspace. With laptops and DVDs, in secret hideouts and at neighborhood Internet cafes, young code-writing jihadists have sought to replicate the training, communication, planning and preaching facilities they lost in Afghanistan with countless new locations on the Internet.

"Al Qaeda suicide bombers and ambush units in Iraq routinely depend on the Web for training and tactical support, relying on the Internet's anonymity and flexibility to operate with near impunity in cyberspace. In Qatar, Egypt and Europe, cells affiliated with al Qaeda that have recently carried out or seriously planned bombings have relied heavily on the Internet.

"Such cases have led Western intelligence agencies and outside terrorism specialists to conclude that the 'global jihad movement,' sometimes led by al Qaeda fugitives but increasingly made up of diverse 'groups and ad hoc cells,' has become a 'Web-directed' phenomenon...

"Among other things, al Qaeda and its offshoots are building a massive and dynamic online library of training materials -- some supported by experts who answer questions on message boards or in chat rooms -- covering such varied subjects as how to mix ricin poison, how to make a bomb from commercial chemicals, how to pose as a fisherman and sneak through Syria into Iraq, how to shoot at a U.S. soldier, and how to navigate by the stars while running through a night-shrouded desert. These materials are cascading across the Web in Arabic, Urdu, Pashto and other first languages of jihadist volunteers.

"The Saudi Arabian branch of al Qaeda launched an online magazine in 2004 that exhorted potential recruits to use the Internet...

"[According to Michael Scheuer, former chief of the CIA unit that tracked bin Laden,] 'It used to be they [jihadists] had to go to Sudan, they had to go to Yemen, they had to go to Afghanistan to train,...'"

Or jihadist computer geeks can go to Virginia Tech, now conducting classes in accordance with shari'a law.

Have at it, anti-dhimmitudinal commenters!

Note: Go here for more on Virginia Tech's dhimmitude.

U.S. spotted Qaeda cell before 9/11

The CIA identified 9/11 hijackers Nawaf al Hazmi and Khalid al Mindhar as threats back in 2000.

The article U.S. spotted Qaeda cell before 9/11 from the International Herald Tribune quotes Rep. Curt Weldon (R-NY) that a military intelligence unit identified four future hijackers as likely members of a cell that Al Qaeda was operating in the United States a year prior to 9/11. The four hijackers included Mohammed Atta and Khalid al-Mihdhar and Nawaf al-Hazmi. The article states that al-Mihdhar and al-Hazmi had been identified as potential threats by the CIA before the summer of 2000, but information about them was not provided to the FBI until the spring of 2001.

Al-Mihdhar and al-Hamzi were beneficiaries of the largesse of Princess Haifa, wife of outgoing Ambassador of Saudi Arabia, Prince Bandar - refer to our March 2005 post on this topic.

Tariq Hamdi charged with immigration and mortgage-load fraud

Thanks to loyal friends from Springfield who forwarded this story with this message

"Stan: From Herndon (go figure) via the Post:"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/08/AR2005080801492.html

By Mary Beth Sheridan
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, August 9, 2005; B01

A Northern Virginia man who allegedly delivered a satellite-phone battery to Afghanistan for Osama bin Laden's use in 1998 is now facing charges of immigration and mortgage-loan fraud, according to court documents unsealed in recent days.

Tarik Hamdi, 43, a naturalized U.S. citizen who had been living in Herndon, is believed to be out of the country and has not been arrested, said Dean Boyd, a spokesman with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement division of the Homeland Security Department.

It was not clear whether Hamdi, an immigrant from Iraq, had hired a lawyer. The phone listed for his home in Herndon was disconnected.

Hamdi delivered a satellite phone battery to a Bin Laden aide while he was in Afghanistan in May 1998 helping to set up an interview for ABC News, according to an affidavit by David Kane, an agent with the immigration division. Bin Laden used that phone in connection with the deadly bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that year, according to the affidavit, which was in support of a 2002 search warrant and was unsealed last week.

It was unclear how long Hamdi has been out of the country, but the grand jury charged him in a sealed indictment in May. A call to his former employer, the International Institute for Islamic Thought in Herndon, was not returned yesterday.

ABC News did not respond to a request for more information about its relationship with Hamdi.

[ABC News has come in for a drubbing lately. Russia revoked ABC News's press credentials for interviewing Chechen terrorist Shamil Basayev - read Dymphna's excellent post ABC Drops Its Moral Compass in the Swamp on this issue the Gates of Vienna blog. Also, ABC News broadcast images of unexploded bombs from the July 21 bombing attempt in London, despite an appeal from Metropolitan Police not to run them. This interview with Bin Laden was no doubt another effort at sensationalism. - NV]

Hamdi has not been charged for delivering the battery. A friend, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Hamdi had carried it to Afghanistan as a favor for an acquaintance. Still, the act apparently attracted scrutiny from U.S. anti-terrorism agents, who searched Hamdi's home in March 2002 as part of a blitz of raids on Muslim charities in Northern Virginia. None of those charities has been accused of a crime.

The charges against Hamdi focus on a series of alleged omissions in Hamdi's naturalization papers, as well as information he submitted on mortgage-loan applications.

According to the indictment in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Hamdi did not state on his naturalization form that in 1994 he had been the U.S. representative for the Committee for the Defense of Legitimate Rights in Saudi Arabia, a London-based organization that has embraced many of bin Laden's views.

In addition, Hamdi did not acknowledge that he had tried to qualify for immigration amnesty by claiming to have worked on a Texas farm in the mid-1980s, the papers say. His application was denied after officials determined the farmer who vouched for him was a phony, according to the indictment.

Hamdi emigrated from Iraq in 1983 on a student visa and eventually married a U.S. citizen, who sponsored him for permanent residency, the court papers say.

U.S. officials have increasingly used immigration charges to lock up or deport people who have come to their attention in terrorism investigations. Officials say they must take every legal measure to preempt further attacks, including using lesser charges when a terrorism case is difficult to build.

Islamic and civil-liberties groups have said the charges can amount to selective prosecution of Muslims and Arabs.

Hamdi was also accused of committing wire fraud by receiving mortgage loans by inflating his income on the applications. If found guilty of all the charges, he could face up to 20 years in jail, court officials said.

© 2005 The Washington Post Company

The Counterterrorism Blog: Jeffrey Imm Joins Us as Research Editor

The Counterterrorism Blog: Jeffrey Imm Joins Us as Research Editor

Those of you who follow Robert Spencer's Jihad Watch know that Jeffrey Imm frequently provides news items for that site. Jeffrey also serves as moderator of Yahoo! Groups : dc-terror, which covers DC news concerning terror and emergency preparedness. Now he is joining The Counterterrorism Blog as a Research Editor.

Northern Virginiastan would like to congratulate Jeffrey Imm and offer our best wishes on his new assignment.

How Many Terrorists Are Among Us?

According to an article in the August 9, 2005 edition of the Washington Post:

Man Arrested in Md. May Have Terror Ties
Police Say Suspect Is on Watch List

"A Pakistani man who police said appears on a terrorist watch list was arrested late Sunday on criminal charges after a traffic stop in Baltimore County.

"Muhammad Asif Haider, 27, of New York was detained in connection with an indictment issued against him last week in the Southern District of New York, federal officials said. The indictment accuses Haider, who it says is also known as Asif Iqbal, and others of trafficking in fraudulent immigration documents....

"Sgt. Vickie Warehime of the Baltimore County police department said Haider was a passenger in a vehicle that was stopped on Reisterstown Road shortly before 10:45 p.m. The driver could not produce a driver's license, Warehime said, and a check of the two passengers matched Haider to the watch list.

"Warehime said the check showed more than Haider being wanted in connection with the indictment in New York. 'It's above and beyond that,' she said. "It's a special category that alerts law enforcement to potential terrorist involvement.'...

"Barry Maddox, an FBI spokesman in Baltimore, said no information links Haider to Mahmud Faruq Brent, a Baltimore resident charged last week with conspiring to support a terrorist organization. [See here and here.]

"The indictment says Haider and others sold fraudulent green cards or Social Security cards to an undercover New York police officer and at least one confidential informant.

"Haider was in the country illegally, according to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement official. The agency lodged a detainer with authorities in Baltimore County to ensure that he is not released."

Jive Turki

Prince Bandar has been ambassador from Saudi Arabia to the U.S. for so many years, that it's hard to believe he's leaving. Robert Spencer profiles his replacement, Prince Turki al-Faisal, in Jihad Watch, where he notes that Prince Turki headed Saudi Arabia's intelligence services and was an early mentor of Osama Bin Laden. According to reports, Turki participated in the multimillion dollar payoff to Al-Qaeda so that Al-Qaeda would not attack the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia itself.

Maryland Man arrested for links to foreign terrorist organization

From The Counterrorism Blog:

Mahmud Faruq Brent of Gwynn Oak (near Baltimore) was arrested for conspiring to support to support a foreign terrorist organization by attending a terrorist training camp the group ran in Pakistan. The article notes that "Brent's phone records apparently include a phone number at an address known to have been used by Seifullah Chapman, one of the convicted paintballers. Also recall that Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, the young wannabe jihadist arrested in northern Virginia in February, knew members of the paintball gang."

Did You Know?

Since 9/11, I have been sending web information about Islam to one of my dear friends (No, I am not referring to Mustang this time). My friend has compiled those many forwards numbering in the hundreds, has done independents research, and has written the following e-letter. Please notice the last paragraph. How many Americans are feeling this way? Here is my friend's e-letter, posted here without links or further commentary from me.

Everyone should read the following and remember. We have a serious problem in this country (actually, more than a few problems) - all continued to allow to "fester" because of political correctness and freedoms allowed to those who do not earn freedoms, to those who abuse freedoms, to those who do not deserve our freedoms; and they are the same ones who WILL cut our throats and take our freedoms away.

"They" - the leaders of Muslim organizations who have brazenly stated that they want to see the Qu'ran the highest authority in America - have stated that they want to see America become an Islamic State. AND, they have also stated that they will see all this come to pass - without violence - but through our educational system and our political system, and they are using our own laws - which allow them to state grievances and win sympathy with such complaints as, "I'm being profiled," etc.

Did you know that a Muslim organization called CAIR (the Council on American Islamic Relations) placed 8000 packets in our public libraries - info about ISLAM from the viewpoint they decided. Did you know that Muslims regularly take groups into our public schools to demonstrate and teach about Ramadan. Does Ramadan sound familiar? It is a Muslim religious celebration. Try to go into a public school and teach about Christmas, the birth of Christ, the Crucifixion and the Resurrection. Try merely to lead in prayer - the best you can do is hold a moment of silence. Try to sing a Christmas carol. We now attend Winter Concerts - no Christmas carols, not one song that hints of anything other than snow, Frosty the Snowman, Jingle Bells, etc.

And, did you know that your tax dollars support the hundreds of Islamic organizations? That is right - they are non-profit - they are Islamic religious organizations. We allow these organizations to take away our freedoms with our own money. We allow these organizations to exist in our midst, planning our demise, and we allow them to do so without paying any taxes.

Did you know that Muslim schools in this country, of which there are more than 300, teach hatred for Americans and teach violence against Americans? Did you know that most of the Muslim schools are financially supported by the Government of Saudi Arabia? You know, that wonderful kingdom who pretends to be our friend. The Government of Saudi Arabia adopted Wahhabism, the most violent sect of ISLAM, established many years ago as the only permitted religion of Saudi Arabia. The Government of Saudi Arabia even selects the teachers and pays them to teach in schools right here in the United States. The Government of Saudi Arabia selects Imams (the priests of Mosques) to serve as head of Mosques, thereby getting their message of hate and violence out. Mosques provide sanctuary, homes, money, etc., to terrorists. Not just the 9/11 terrorists. Mosques provide ongoing support to terrorists.

Did you know that there are more than 1500 mosques in this country? Our hands are tied - they enjoy complete immunity to the law of the land. Most of these mosques are financially supported by Saudi Arabia and thereby are on "Saudi soil" (all embassies of other nations - here in America enjoy the same immunity - that is why a foreign national connected to an embassy can kill someone and flee the country and cannot be touched by our laws). Which, of course, means we have a little Saudi Arabia in our midst. We have no legal jurisdiction, can take no police action against, and cannot not even raid or investigate - no matter what they teach against us. They can conduct any business they want in the walls of a mosque. And most of the business conducted is how to conquer and rule America.

Did you know that once a Muslim is buried in the ground - in a cemetery- that Muslims believe that they own that land? Did you know that Muslims are buried without being embalmed? Do you realize the dangers of that practice? Don't believe me? Read about Muslims suing for ownership of the Taj Mahal. That is right. There are Muslims buried in the basement of the Taj Mahal and, therefore, Islamists believe they own a part of it and are suing for ownership and to collect a large percentage of the total of millions of dollars collected annually from tourists. The Taj Mahal represents goodness and love to most. Islam does not. How can Islamists be allowed own a portion of the beautiful Taj Mahal? Do you see the irony?

Did you know that Susan Douglass, an American convert to Islam, was a teacher in one of the largest Muslim schools in the nation, which happens to be in the shadow of the U.S. Capitol (her husband is the head of another Muslim school here)? She now consults with three of the largest public school textbook publishers in America to change American and world history in our textbooks. It is now being taught that there were Muslims who arrived with Christopher Columbus! Susan Douglass decides what the children of America will learn about ISLAM - and the information is stated positively.

Here's the truth: there is nothing positive about ISLAM. However, if you log onto some of the Islamic websites and you read information printed by Islamists, you will find yourself thinking - "This sounds good." That is the snake trying to rope you in.

DC Mayor Williams appoints 9-11 Mosque imam to Interfaith Board of Advsiors

Imam Johari Abdul Malik is at right

Those who follow Northern Virginiastan should know by now that the "9-11 Mosque" is Dar Al Hijrah Mosque in Falls Church. No, the imam appointed by Mayor Williams is not our old buddy Shaker Elsayyed, a frequent subject on this blog. The imam is Johari Abdul Malik, the director of outreach and PR for Dar Al Hijrah. I had not heard of this guy until I had read the article on Islam's expansion into the outer suburbs. He's the guy looking forward to hearing the adnan, or call to prayer, broadcast in our neighborhoods. The article DC Mayor Appoints Muslim to Interfaith Board from The Muslim Link community newspaper's web site indicates that Muslims in prison are his top priority.

Prisons are a fertile place for Islam to recruit and indoctrinate the alienated elements of society. No wonder prisoners are Malik's concern. Why I am glad to see the likes of Ali Al-Timimi put away for a very long time, they should be isolated from the rest of the prison population so that they cannot propagate their ideology and create people who become even more dangerous on account of their indoctrination.

The Word Search of Incitement

Northern Virginiastan has previously posted on the Muslim Link, a newspaper serving the Muslim community in the DC metro area. Now from Joe Grossberg, via Little Green Footballs: The Word Search of Incitement

Judge Brinkema reduces sentences for convicted Virginia "paintball" jihadists

From Yahoo! Groups: dc-terror, 2005-0729: Judge cuts sentences in 'Virginia Jihad' cases:

U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema reduces the sentences of Masoud Khan of
Gaithersburg, Md., Seifullah Chapman of Alexandria and Hammad Abdur-Raheem of Falls Church, who were sentenced for their roles in the conspiracy to join the Taliban and fight U.S troops.

Islam expands into the outer suburbs

From Yahoo! Groups: dc-terror: 2005-0801: Muslims Find Room to Grow in D.C.'s Outer Suburbs

Imam Johari Abdul-Malik, director of outreach programs at the 9-11 Mosque (AKA Dar al Hijrah), laughs as he awaits the day when the adnan, or call to prayer, will be heard as church bells are heard today. Hello! Will somebody come forward to explain why the adnan is different from church bells?

Urge your U.S. Representative to support the Saudi Arabia Accountability Act

King Saud died today, but don't expect major changes in government policy towards Saudi Arabia.

Via Mike's America: Defunding Terror Recruitment in The U.S. (Thanks, Mike, for your comments):

The purpose of the Saudi Arabia Accountability Act is to "halt Saudi support for institutions that fund, train, incite, encourage, or in any other way aid and abet terrorism, and to secure full Saudi cooperation in the investigation of terrorist incidents, and for other purposes." Most recently, this action has been referred to the Subcommittee on Middle East and Central Asia, House Committee on International Relations.

None of the U.S. Representatives serving districts witihin the DC Metro Area is listed as a sponsor. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) is a co-sponsor of the related Senate bill S. 1171.

To find out how to contact your U.S. representative, visit http://www.house.gov/.

The Power Of CAIR

In re: Michael Graham's suspension from D. C. talk-radio station WMAL

CAIR's official website, however, provides some interesting information in their news release of Friday, July 29, 2005, excerpted below:

"The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today applauded a Washington, D.C., radio station’s decision to suspend without pay a talk show host who stated repeatedly that 'Islam is a terrorist organization.' CAIR said WMAL-AM morning host Michael Graham should be fired for his Islamophobic remarks, for other statements made before and after the most recent controversy and for his refusal to apologize for those comments.

"When first contacted by CAIR, WMAL stood behind Graham, but changed its position after hundreds of people responded to the group’s action alerts bycontacting the station and its sponsors. In a statement, WMAL President and General Manager Chris Berry said that Graham would be suspended... 'We do not condone his position and believe his statements were irresponsible,' said Berry. (WMAL is owned by the Walt Disney Co.)....

"The Washington-based Islamic civil rights and advocacy group this week initiated a public campaign against WMAL and the station’s advertisers after receiving complaints from Muslim listeners who heard Graham..."

Yesterday, Michael Graham posted the following on his website:

"As a talk show host, author and columnist, I've repeatedly criticized the current state of Islam and called for its reform. As for the "controversial" statement that 'Sadly, as it is constituted today, Islam IS a terrorist organization, but the good news is that the major of Muslims--who don't support terror--can change that and take back their religion,' I first made that statement on the air last Thursday.

"Did I get suspended Thursday? No. Friday? No.Monday? No.

"It wasn't until CAIR launched its campaign against me in the mainstream media..."

On his website, Graham gives information as to how to support him and also states,

"Trust me: CAIR is not playing games. They are making threats and shaking down our advertisers and trying to intimidate everyone concerned. The worst part is that, in the past, it has almost always worked for CAIR. They've managed to scare a lot of people into silence.

"But not everyone."

Graham is correct that not everyone is scared into silence. Just look at the blogosphere! Whether or not CAIR's tactics will work in Graham's case remains to be seen. Could it be that, this time, citizens will check into exactly what kind of organization CAIR is? Or will Americans' short memories allow Graham's case to be forgotten?

At the end of the CAIR news release is a list of contacts, the first of which is Ibrahim Hooper.

According to Daniel Pipes,
"Ibrahim Hooper...told the Minneapolis Star Tribune on April 4, 1993: 'I wouldn't want to create the impression that I wouldn't like the government of the United States to be Islamic sometime in the future.'"

Mr. Pipes also has provided information about other individuals affililiated with CAIR:

"Randall Royer, CAIR's communications specialist and civil rights coordinator, was indicted on charges of conspiring to help Al-Qaeda and the Taliban to battle American troops in Afghanistan. He later pled guilty to lesser firearm-related charges and was sentenced to twenty years in prison.

"Ghassan Elashi, the founder of CAIR's Texas chapter, was convicted in July 2004 along with his four brothers of having illegally shipped computers from their Dallas-area business, InfoCom Corporation, to Libya and Syria, two designated state sponsors of terrorism. In April of 2005, Elashi and two brothers were also convicted of knowingly doing business with Mousa Abu Marzook, a senior Hamas leader and Specially Designated Terrorist. He continues to face charges that he provided more than $12.4 million to Hamas while he was running the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF), America's largest Islamic charity.

"Bassem Khafagi, CAIR's community relations director, pleaded guilty in September 2003 to lying on his visa application and for passing bad checks for substantial amounts in early 2001, for which he was deported. Khafagi was also a founding member and president of the Islamic Assembly of North America (IANA), an organization under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice for terrorism related activities.

"Rabih Haddad, a CAIR fundraiser, was arrested on terrorism-related charges and deported from the United States due to his subsequent work as executive director of the Global Relief Foundation, a charity he co-founded; in October 2002, GRF was designated by the U.S. Treasury Department for financing Al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations. According to a CAIR complaint, Homam Albaroudi, a member of CAIR's Michigan chapter and also a founding member and executive director of the IANA also founded the Free Rabih Haddad Committee.

"Siraj Wahhaj, a CAIR advisory board member, was named in 1995 by U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White as a possible unindicted co-conspirator in connection with the plot to blow up New York City landmarks led by the blind sheikh, Omar Abdul Rahman.

"Ihsan Bagby, a future CAIR board member, stated in the late 1980s that Muslims' can never be full citizens of this country,' referring to the United States, 'because there is no way we can be fully committed to the institutions and ideologies of this country.'

"Omar Ahmad, CAIR's chairman, announced in July 1998 that 'Islam isn't in America to be equal to any other faith, but to become dominant. The Koran . . . should be the highest authority in America, and Islam the only accepted religion on earth.'"

CAIR presents itself as a representative of mainstream Islam. Do those statements represent mainstream Islam? If so, we are in deep, deep trouble.I urge interested readers to visit the above article written by Daniel Pipes. If you visit, have a look at the comments too.

WMAL suspends Michael Graham

By now, the blogosphere knows that WMAL Radio suspended Michael Graham for the comments he made about Islam. Read the post No Freedom of Speech for Michael Graham on contributor Always on Watch's own blog.

WMAL has demonstrated that it doesn't care about its listeners and chose to cave into the Saudi-financed terrorism-enabling pressure group CAIR instead. Although CAIR advises its minions of writers to be polite (no doubt knowing the violent rhetoric and actions of Muslims), I can only surmise that WMAL was subject to threats and intimidation from the elements within the Muslim community.

Yemeni sheikh sentenced to 75 years

A follow-up to our March 17, 2005 posting Yemeni Cleric, Aide Convicted in New York:


Terror Supporter Gets 75 Years



Sheikh Mohammed Ali Hassan al-Moayad was sentenced to 75 years in prison on Thursday for conspiring to support and fund al Qaeda and Hamas and fined $1.25 million in federal court in Brooklyn. Alhamdulillah.

Mohamed Alanssi, the man who set himself afire outside the White House last November, served as an FBI informant to lure al-Moayad to Germany. The CBS News article says that Alanssi said that the self-immolation was an effort to get more money from the FBI.

Muslim World League raided ... again

From the Washington Post via Robert Spencer's indispensable Jihad Watch, the FBI and DHS agents raided the offices of the Muslim World League at 360 S. Washington St. in Falls Church. As noted in the March 15, 2005 posting The Muslim Brotherhood's Conquest of Europe - Middle East Quarterly - Winter 2005 on this blog, the Muslim World League is an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood and is generously funded by Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The WML was previously raided in 2002, but was not charged.

Also, Abdullah Alnoshan, 44, a Saudi citizen who worked at WML was charged with immigration fraud. No surprise that Ashraf Nubani, an occasional subject on Northern Virginiastan, is serving as Alnoshan's lawyer

CAIR targets WMAL Radio host

I have long regarded CAIR a pressure group that carries out witch hunts against anyone who dares to criticize Islam ... and that was long before several of its officials were sentenced for their roles in enabling terrorism. Now CAIR is training its sights on WMAL radio host Michael Graham. I do not listen to WMAL, and I don't fully agree with Graham's using the Boy Scouts as an analogy, as the BSA has an identifiable structure and Islam does not, but this story is typical of CAIR's tactics. With thanks to loyal friends from Springfield:

washingtonpost.com
Muslims Call Comments by WMAL Host 'Hate-Filled'

By Paul Farhi
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, July 26, 2005; C01

A local radio talk show host touched off complaints from an Islamic civil rights organization yesterday after repeatedly describing Islam on the air as "a terrorist organization" that is "at war with America."

The organization, the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), asked the station to take disciplinary action against Michael Graham, who hosts WMAL-AM's late-morning call-in program.

A station executive, Randall Bloomquist, said yesterday that Graham's comments were "amped up" but justified within the context of the program. He said the station, which is owned by the Walt Disney Co., had no plans to reprimand Graham.

The show host touched off the flap during a discussion of the Muslim community's response to recent acts of terrorism. Graham suggested the fault lies with Muslims generally because religious leaders and followers haven't done enough to condemn and root out extreme elements. "The problem is not extremism," Graham said, according to both CAIR and the station. "The problem is Islam." He also said, "We are at war with a terrorist organization named Islam."

CAIR denounced the comments yesterday as "hate-filled" and "Islamophobic" and asked its members to contact the station's advertisers to express their dismay.

"It's amazing," said Ibrahim Hooper, CAIR's communications director. "I talked with Mr. Bloomquist and asked him if he would reprimand someone who used the n-word on the air. He said yes. I asked him if he would reprimand someone who read [approvingly] from the [anti-Semitic] 'Protocols of the Elders of Zion.' He said yes. So I asked him if he would do the same if someone had called Islam a terroristic organization. Well, he said, it's all about context, but he never quite explained it to me."

Added Hooper, "The First Amendment allows people to be idiots and bigots. All you can do is embarrass people and have them defend their reputation. If WMAL doesn't feel embarrassed and doesn't want to defend its reputation in the face of anti-Muslim bigotry, then there's not much we can do about it."

Graham, who broadcasts locally, is one of several conservative hosts heard on WMAL (630). The station's daily lineup includes the syndicated Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity programs.

After rising slightly during the months preceding the presidential election last year, WMAL's audience ratings have fallen precipitously. Exact ratings for Graham's 9-11:45 a.m. time slot are unavailable, but WMAL's morning programming, which includes part of Graham's program, are off 25 percent since last year. The station overall has lost 41 percent of its core 25-to-54-year-old audience in the past 12 months, dropping from 158,200 individual listeners per week to 116,600.

Graham declined to comment when contacted yesterday, saying, "I'm saving all my comments for my show. You'll just have to listen." But in his weekly column, which will appear on WMAL's Web site today, he repeats the statement that "Islam is a terror organization" and makes the following analogy:

"If the Boy Scouts of America had 1,000 Scout troops, and 10 of them practiced suicide bombings, then the BSA would be considered a terrorist organization. If the BSA refused to kick out those 10 troops, that would make the case even stronger. If people defending terror repeatedly turned to the Boy Scout handbook and found language that justified and defended murder --and the scoutmasters responded by saying 'Could be' -- the Boy Scouts would have been driven out of America long ago.

"Today, Islam has whole sects and huge mosques that preach terror. Its theology is openly used to give the murderers their motives. Millions of its members give these killers comfort. The question isn't how dare I call Islam a terrorist organization, but rather why more people do not."

Bloomquist said his station had received more than 100 e-mails protesting Graham's comments, many of them, he said, apparently generated by CAIR's e-mails to its members. He went on to defend Graham, saying, "Remember that this is talk radio. We don't do the dainty minuet of the newspaper editorial page. It's not 'Washington Week in Review.' It depends on pungent statements to drive it. Michael is rattling the cage. It's designed to start and further a conversation, and it has certainly done that."

Graham made waves earlier this year when he scuffled with Montgomery County police after he tried to attend an event for illegal immigrants while wearing a T-shirt that read "INS (I Need Border Security)." He also recently led a rally in front of The Washington Post's building in the District seeking the dismissal of Newsweek reporter Michael Isikoff, who wrote a story that inaccurately reported on alleged abuses of the Koran in the military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba (Newsweek is owned by The Washington Post Co.).

Graham has also clashed with CAIR in the past. The group last year cited him in a campaign called "Hate Hurts America" for what CAIR described as implicitly advocating violence against Muslims.

© 2005 The Washington Post Company

Follow-Up To Posting Of July 23, 2005

Metro Bolsters Staff Training On Security
More Frequent Instruction To Include Janitorial Crew
By Lyndsey Layton
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 27, 2005

All citizens should be on heightened alert and should take appropriate steps so as to prevent a terrorist attack of the same type as the 7/7 London bombings. Metro officials are now taking steps to promote more efficiency in their responses to reports of suspicious items. Excerpts from the Washington Post article state the following:

"Starting next month, Metro will give quarterly security training to more than 1,100 station managers, train operators and janitors, prompted by the bombings in London, transit officials said yesterday.

"Currently, those employees undergo security training when they are hired. The subway's 469 station managers receive yearly refresher courses, and its 475 train operators must know security procedures in order to be recertified every two years.

"But Steven A. Feil, Metro's chief operating officer for rail, said yesterday that the level of preparation is insufficient. 'You can't have awareness training every two years if you're in Code Orange,' Feil said. 'It's not enough.'

"The decision comes after an episode on a Blue Line train last week in which transit officials allowed an unattended backpack to travel on a train through two stations before inspecting it.

"The incident sparked panic among riders, some of whom ran from the train, and raised questions about Metro's response to potential threats during times of elevated fear about terrorism....

"Metro's investigation into last week's Blue Line incident continued yesterday, and officials said they had yet to take disciplinary action....

"The operator, who has been in her job for seven years, contacted Metro's central control and was ordered to inspect the backpack, [Metro spokeswoman] Smith said. The operator walked to the last car to look at the backpack, which was on the floor in the aisle, and decided that it did not pose a threat, Smith said. She made that determination based on Metro's criteria, which includes checking for exposed wires, leaking fluid and vapors.

"Satisfied that the bag was innocuous, the train operator returned to her cab and moved the train out of the station. Leaving the backpack untouched in the last car was mistake...

"'It appears the operator made an error in judgment after determining that the backpack was not suspicious,'" Smith said.

"'Instead, she should have either taken it herself to the end of the line and returned it to lost and found, or handed it off to the station manager at Federal Triangle. She also apparently did not clearly communicate to customers on the train."

Virginia man pleads guilty for lying on citizenship application

From Inside ICE: Volume 2, Issue 15, with thanks to loyal friends from Springfield:

Virginia Man Who Lied About Ties to Terror Pleads Guilty

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A Virginia man investigated by ICE and FBI agents assigned to the Joint Terrorism Task Force has pleaded guilty to lying on his application for United States citizenship.

Maher Amin Jaradat, a 43-year-old Israeli-born Palestinian and naturalized U.S. citizen, entered a guilty plea July 14 to fraudulently procuring U.S. citizenship.

Jaradat submitted an application for U.S. citizenship with immigration authorities in March 1995, and in June 1995 appeared before immigration authorities where he swore under oath that the contents of the application were true, even though he knew the application contained false statements.

He also failed to disclose that he had been a member of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) for 16 months beginning in 1980; that he had also studied bomb-making and the use of small arms at a training camp in Syria run by DFLP, an organization involved in terrorist activities; and that he had engaged in security duties in Lebanon. Jaradat also did not disclose that, beginning in 1981, he had also been a member of al-Fatah, an organization responsible for numerous terrorist attacks and airplane hijackings.

In addition, Jaradat falsely claimed that he had never been arrested, cited, charged, indicted, convicted, fined or imprisoned for breaking or violating any law or ordinance, when in fact, he had been arrested for assault and battery in the city of Alexandria, Va. in 1990.

“U.S. citizenship is a privilege. Those who attempt to gain it through fraud, especially by concealing their affiliation with violent militant groups, will be pursued vigorously by ICE,” said ICE Washington, D.C. Special Agent-in-Charge Allan J. Doody.

Insecurity On Metro Rail

After the second round of London mass-transit bombings within two weeks, a comforting headline appeared above the fold on the front page of the Washington Post on July 22, 2005:
Metro Patrols Grow As Security Tightens.

Much of the article focused on the feasibility of bag searches of the type which the NYC Police are conducting. Apparently, Washington, D.C., is going to wait to see how the random bag-searches work in New York before employing such searches here.

Meanwhile, Metro has issued some guidelines for the public to follow, including the following:

"Federal agents and police officials urged citizens to look for suspicious behavior on the area's Metro and rail systems..."

Metro's official guidelines contain these words, directed to the riders themselves:

"Be observant. Watch what people bring onto trains. Look to make sure they don't leave behind packages or bags....To report such incidents, use the intercoms, call transit police or call 911."

Yet, when, on the very next day, Metro riders reported one such package left behind, response on the part of Metro was delayed:

"Jittery about the bombings in London and told to be vigilant, Metro riders spotted an unattended backpack yesterday on the last car of a Blue Line train and did exactly as officials have been urging. They alerted the train operator.

"But the suspicious bag stayed on Train 401 as it rolled through two more stations Metro Center, a major hub, and McPherson Square, a few blocks from the White House -- before Metro officials took the train out of service and inspected the backpack...."

Blessedly, the abandoned backpack turned out to be a false alarm and contained two baseball bats belonging to a forgetful child. Nevertheless, the incident shows just how vulnerable Metro is--not only because it is a mass-transit system but also because the proper steps were not taken. In fact, when one of the riders contacted a security officer after the train had already proceeded unchecked through two stops, the officer contacted at that point admitted that he had received no previous notification of a suspicious package.

In what may be the ultimate irony, Donnelly had the following experience after the incident was resolved:

"Shaken by yesterday's incident aboard the Blue Line train, Donnelly sent an e-mail complaint to Metro. She received an automated reply, thanking her for her e-mail.

"The reply also reminded her to report anything suspicious on the Metro system."

Even before the incident cited above, Metro riders seemed to have adopted a fatalistic attitude, as found in the first article:

"At Metro Center yesterday afternoon, James Washington, 54, of Brookland changed trains for a trip to Silver Spring. He had heard about the bombings, but the news did not change his plans.

"'There's not much you can do,' Washington said. 'These people have shown thateven if you prepare for it, if they want to do something they're going to do it. It doesn't matter if you have all kinds of security or not. You have to keep going.'

"Nearby, Chad Pipan and his wife, Julie, of Modesto, Calif., said that they had just heard the news over lunch and that they hesitated only momentarily before getting on another train to head to Arlington National Cemetery.

"'If they want to bomb something, there's not really something we can do about it,' Chad Pipan said."

Is this an attitude one that our Founding Fathers would endorse? Just accept this way of life? Hunkering down for a crisis to pass is one thing; indefinitely living in a state of siege is another.

We must, somehow, turn around the crisis-management mode in which we've become locked.

Step One is the renewal of the Patriot Act. As Robin Leach said on Fox News on July 22, 2005:
"We are living in war conditions." In wartime, civil liberties sometimes have to be temporarily curtailed in the interest of national and personal security.

Step Two is to follow through on security guidelines. It is inexcusable for those who have sworn to enforce security to assume a lackadaisical attitude, even in the face of false alarms. Just because bombings such as London has endured have not occurred here does not mean that they won't. Denying the enemy soft targets requires constant vigilance from citizens and from security officials. Any break in the chain of security will eventually have fatal consequences.

Step Three is to employ criminal profiling. Seditious and treasonous words, including but not limited to what goes on inside mosques and Islamic centers, should result in rapid and effective prosecution. With free speech come responsibility and certain limitations, and in wartime, that responsibility and those limitations assume grave importance. Cutting off the funding of jihadists is a corollary to step three, and relying on Saudi oil-supplies funds to the Wahhabists.

Talking about understanding Islam and about reform within Islam is just so many words, not a proactive step. Furthermore, such reform is not a step we Westerners can take. Islam must reform itself. And those who are not jihadists cannot afford to wait too long for such hypothetical reform to take place. Reform is a process, not a definitive turning point in and of itself.

In the meantime, I won't be riding Metro.

Legal Issues In The Al-Timimi Trial

Renowned Middle Eastern scholar Daniel Pipes has commented on this recent trial here in Virginia.

http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/475 :

"Comment: The legal track is another theater – and one of the better ones, actually – for figuring out exactly what is the relationship of radical Islam to Islam, of ideology to religion. As Blum points out,

"'The case illustrates the difficulty in prosecuting suspected terrorists who subscribe to a form of militant Islam, without airing tenets of the religion itself before a jury. And it raises the question of how far is too far whenit comes to using a defendant's religious beliefs as evidence of criminal intent. The issue will likely continue to confront judges as more cases against accused terrorists come to trial.'"

Alhamdulillah

Praise be to Allah.

From Robert Spencer's Jihad Watch, news that Ali Al-Timimi, the spiritual leader for the Virginia jihadist "paintball" gang, has been sentenced to life in prison for exhorting his followers to engage in jihad against the U.S.

Putting Islam on the Stand

From Legal Times via Robert Spencer's Dhimmi Watch:

Edward MacMahon, the Middleburg lawyer who defended Ali Al-Timimi, is now trying to seek a new trial on the grounds that prosecutors secured the guilty verdict by appealing to religious bigotry against Muslims. The prosecutor told jurors that Al-Timimi would lie and couldn't be trusted to tell the truth on account of his religious belief.

Spencer cites the Quran 16:606:

any one who, after accepting faith in Allah, utters Unbelief - except under compulsion, his heart remaining firm in Faith - but such as open their breast to Unbelief, on them is Wrath from Allah, and theirs will be a dreadful Penalty

In the Legal Times article, MacMahon draws equivalencies between verses from the Quran and verses from the Bible:

'Since the attacks of Sept. 11, MacMahon, who also represents convicted terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui, has received a crash course in Islam. But during a recent interview, it was a story from the Old Testament -- the violent tale of the Battle of Jericho -- that was on the 44-year-old Catholic's mind.

According to the Bible, Joshua leads a force of 40,000 to take over the land of Canaan. After sending spies into a brothel to gather intelligence, the force conquers the city and slaughters its inhabitants, claiming the land as its own.

"If I told the story to a crowd of Christians, would I be telling them to go lie or to kill or to seek out prostitutes? Would I be responsible for inciting a riot?" MacMahon asks.'

Of course not. The story of Joshua and the Battle of Jericho is told as history, while Muslims believe that Allah is speaking directly to them (indeed, many of the verses are stated as imperatives). Another attempt to draw moral equivalencies between Islam on one hand and Christianity and Judaism on the other.

Read the whole of the Legal Times article. You'll be appalled at the proposals and suggestions, which will subvert the judicial system.

Vienna resident Louay Habbal pleads guilty to running unlicensed money transfer business

Northern Virginiastan has been tracking the case of Louay Habbal.

From the Washington Times (hat tip to friends in Springfield):

Virginian pleads guilty to illegal fund service
By Jerry Seper
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Published July 9, 2005

A Virginia man arrested in March by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents at Washington Dulles International Airport upon his arrival from Damascus, Syria, has pleaded guilty in federal court to operating an unlicensed money service business from his Vienna home.

Louay Habbal, 45, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Syria, entered the plea Thursday in U.S. District Court in Alexandria. U.S. District Judge James C. Cacheris scheduled sentencing for Oct. 7.

"We know that terrorists and other criminals use illegal money transfers to support themselves and to fund their operations," said U.S. Attorney Paul J. McNulty, whose office prosecuted the case. "While there is no evidence of a link to terrorism in this case, we aggressively prosecute unlicensed money transmitters to deprive terrorists and other criminals of a potential vehicle to facilitate their crimes."

Habbal was arrested March 15 by ICE agents and members of the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) task force after his indictment by a federal grand jury on charges of operating Mena Exchange, an unlicensed money transmittal business, from his residence in Vienna.

As part of the guilty plea, Habbal agreed to forfeit $114,237 and admitted receiving more than $6 million from customers in the United States between December 2003 and March 2005. The money was deposited in bank accounts in Virginia and elsewhere.

Authorities said that after taking a portion of the deposits as a fee, Habbal transferred the remaining funds to other entities for further transfer to persons overseas who had been designated by his U.S. customers.

Habbal also admitted that he advertised his business through a Web site called MenaExchange.com, and that although he was aware he needed a Virginia state license to operate such a business, he operated without obtaining the license.

Authorities said the Web site described Mena Exchange as a service provided by Mena First Capital LLC, which transmitted funds between the United States, the Middle East and North Africa.

"This case demonstrates the threat posed by unlicensed money transmittal businesses," said ICE Agent Allan Doody, who heads the agency's Washington field office. "Any criminal or terrorist can come to these underground businesses and have their millions wired anywhere in the world in a matter of seconds with no questions asked."

The case was investigated by the Annandale HIDTA Money Laundering Initiative, an ICE-led group composed of task force officers from the FBI, U.S. Secret Service, the Internal Revenue Service, Virginia State Police, the Virginia Attorney General's Office, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, Metropolitan D.C. Police, Prince William County Police, Arlington Police and Alexandria Police.

It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Mellin and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Lombardo.

Who's Minding the U.S. Universities?

The blogosphere is aroil with articles about the July 7, 2005 London bombings. This day of atrocity happened "across the pond," but signs points to the strong possibility that another 9/11 will happen here in the United States.

According to the following excerpts from an article in the U.K.'s Times Online, univerisites are fertile ground for the recruitment of terrorists:

"AL-QAEDA is secretly recruiting affluent, middle-class Muslims in British universities and colleges to carry out terrorist attacks in this country, leaked Whitehall documents reveal.

"A network of 'extremist recruiters' is circulating on campuses targeting people with 'technical and professional qualifications', particularly engineering and IT degrees....

"Most of the Al-Qaeda recruits tend to be loners 'attracted to university clubs based on ethnicity or religion' because of 'disillusionment with their current existence'. British-based terrorists are made up of different ethnic groups, according to the documents.

“They range from foreign nationals now naturalised and resident in the UK, arriving mainly from north Africa and the Middle East, to second and third generation British citizens whose forebears mainly originate from Pakistan or Kashmir.

“In addition . . . a significant number come from liberal, non-religious Muslim backgrounds or (are) only converted to Islam in adulthood. These converts include white British nationals and those of West Indian extraction.”...

"The former Scotland Yard chief, who retired earlier this year, said that on one weekend more than 1,000 undercover officers had been deployed, monitoring a group of suspected terrorists. He said that he believed last week’s attackers were almost certainly British-born, 'brought up here and totally aware of British life and values'.

“'There’s a sufficient number of people in this country willing to be Islamic terrorists that they don’t have to be drafted in from abroad,' he said."

Take the above excerpts and selectively substitute American for British. Then think about all the universities in the D.C. Metro area.

The Washington Times profiles Shaker Elsayed

Today's Washington Times featured an article about our old buddy Shaker Elsayed, now imam at Dar Al Hijrah Mosque AKA the 9-11 mosque (hat tip to Always on Watch and friends from Springfield):

Activist imam puts politics into sermons

The voice of the new imam at one of the largest mosques on the East Coast rang loud from the pulpit during Friday services: "The call to reform Islam is an alien call."

People who do not understand Islam are the ones seeking to change it, said Shaker Elsayed, the new spiritual leader at the Dar al-Hijrah mosque in Falls Church.

"Ignorance comes from outside circles who know nothing about us," Mr. Elsayed said during noon services to more than 500 men and women, with women worshipping in a separate room. It was one of three services Dar al-Hijrah holds every Friday.

Mr. Elsayed, who assumed duties as imam of the mosque June 1, is well known in the Muslim community for his political activism.

He has served as secretary general of the Muslim American Society, an advocacy group that some accuse of promoting a fundamentalist strain of Islam.

He also has served as an unofficial spokesman for the family of Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, who is accused of joining al Qaeda while studying overseas and plotting to assassinate President Bush. Mr. Abu Ali grew up in Falls Church and worshipped at Dar al-Hijrah.

Mr. Elsayed has accused the Justice Department of unfairly targeting Mr. Abu Ali and other young Muslims for prosecution.

Perhaps not surprisingly then, Mr. Elsayed's sermons take a political tone.

"Islam forbids you to give allegiance to those who kick you off your homeland, and to those who support those who kick you off your homeland," he told worshippers. "We do have license to respond with all force necessary to answer our attackers."

Mr. Elsayed explained after the sermon that opposition to U.S. policy in the Middle East is different than viewing the American people as the enemy.

Asked his views on militant groups such as Hamas, which the U.S. government has designated as a terrorist organization, Mr. Elsayed compared Hamas to Nelson Mandela's African National Congress -- organizations that resorted to violent resistance only after decades of injustice.

"Everybody jumps on Hamas," Mr. Elsayed said. "When did Hamas first emerge? 1990 or so? Look at how long Israel has occupied [Palestinian lands]. How long did it take to say enough is enough?"

Still, he said support for Hamas' objectives does not mean he always supports the group's tactics, which have included suicide bombings.

"Islam calls for the minimum effective response to aggression," Mr. Elsayed said.