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November 27, 2007

Ijaz's Remarks On Romney's 'Muslim' Comment Invites Questions For Ijaz (Updated)

Topics: Understanding Islam
Islamists, which constitute a large and growing number of Muslims (in America), have loyalty to the ummah first, nationhood (America) last (if at all). This makes the idea of Islamists (a large and growing percentage of American Muslims) living in and accepting a Democracy, an exercise in futility. - Hyscience
When Mansoor Ijaz, a New York financier and commentator of Pakistani ancestry, asked former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney about putting a Muslim in his presidential Cabinet, Romney responded by saying he "cannot see that a Cabinet position would be justified" based on the percentage of Muslims in the U.S.

Ijaz apparently did not care for the answer, and subsequently wrote a piece titled, "A Muslim belongs in the Cabinet." Interestingly, his piece is subtitled, "Muslims are uniquely qualified to help deter Islamist threats," which of course begs the question as to why in the hell there should be a threat to society from a religion - in the first place!

As for why Ijaz asked the question and was subsequently unhappy with Romney's response, one can only surmise that it had a lot to do with the fact that Ijaz describes himself as "an American-born citizen of the Islamic faith" rather than an "American citizen of the Islamic faith."

As is unfortunately the case with so many Americans of the Islamic faith, they consider themselves as Muslim first, and consequentially or lastly as Americans. For them, it's all about the ummah, not America, a position unique to Muslims and unlike the generations of immigrants that have come to America's shores of a plethora of other faiths and cultures.

Given this background, Romney's point, noted by Kathryn Jean Lopez at NRO - is all the more important:

After reading both Geraghty and Mike Allen it seems like he was responding to an Ijaz Muslim mandate idea. We no more NEED a Muslim than we NEED a Catholic or (dare I?) a Mormon in the Cabinet...is what I assume Romney was saying. The Cabinet should have people who are qualified for the agencies they're assigned to.
Given Ijaz's question to Romney, I offer a few for Ijaz, beginning with, of course, why is it that, unlike most non-Muslims of various cultures, he considers himself to be a "an American-born citizen of the Islamic faith" rather than an "American citizen of the Islamic faith"?

Other questions for Ijaz should include those posited by Jerry Gordon in his piece titled, Muslim Extremism in America: A Suggested Agenda for Congressional Hearings:

* Why is Muslim Extremism so prone to espousing violence, terror and demonizing of the "Other" which make adherents so shockingly unassimilated in Western societies and contemptuous of our civil and human rights laws and standards here in America?

* Why is there a 'cognitive disconnect' when Muslim advocates 'brand' Islam as a 'religion of peace' while espousing the imperative of Jihad against the unbelievers by the 'ummah'-the Muslim community of believers? Does this Muslim Extremism arise from Islamic canons-the Qu'ran, Hadiths, Sira, etc.? What documentation is available to focus on these issues; e.g., Dr. Andrew Bostom's two volumes on The Legacy of Jihad, and the forthcoming The Legacy of Islamic Anti-Semitism , Bat Ye'or's several books on Dhimmis and Dhimmitude culminating in Eurabia, the several published works by Bob Spencer, and the unpublished papers by Stephen Coughlin, Islamic Law specialist at the Joint Chiefs of Staff in DoD .

* Why did 26 % of American Muslim youths surveyed by the Pew Research Center support suicide attacks? Why did the New Jersey Fort Dix Six become Jihadis? Why did a young U.S. Muslim captured in Saudi Arabia threaten our President's life?

* What is occurring in Madrasses and Mosques here in the U.S. that gives rise to Muslim Extremism? What evidence is available from current and immediate past reports about the content of books, pamphlets and Friday sermons that foster such incitement to violence and hatred? Some resources include the Freedom House reports, MEMRI translations and videos, and Investigative Project reports .

* What sources-both domestic and foreign- are providing funding , training Imams and supplying textual materials for religious instruction of Muslim youth and believers? Is it the American ummah itself, or foreign governments, e.g., Saudi Arabia?

* Why aren't there reformist movements in Islam akin to the reformation of Christianity and the enlightenment movement in Judaism that would reduce xenophobic and violence tendencies in Islam? Why are 'moderate and secular Muslims' rejected, trivialized, threatened with Fatwas and lacking in support by normative Muslims here in America?

* Why is normative Islam the 'fastest growing religion' in our nation's correctional systems, especially among disaffected minorities, and who is supporting Muslims Chaplains and Imams in espousing xenophobic and violence doctrines? Is it our federal, state and local governments? What Muslim sects and doctrines supply chaplains in our prison system? What are the underlying factors propelling the dramatic growth in Muslim converts among minority convicted felons in our nation's prison systems?

* What Islamic organizations are behind the creation and operations of 14 Muslim paramilitary training camps in America whose 'graduates' consist largely of former prison converts to Islam? How many have been processed by these para military training camps? What is the rational and purposes of their operations? Where is the financial support coming from for these camps?

* If there are an estimated 4 to 12,000 Muslim members of our Armed Forces do they have a higher allegiance to the ummah - the Muslim community of believers? Who is training Military Muslim chaplains and how do we assure that they are maintaining the loyalty of Muslim soldiers to our government and Commander in Chief? (emphasis mine)

* Why is our national security and intelligence apparatus so lacking in linguistic, cross cultural and Islamic law and doctrine training to develop effective counter terrorism programs? How should this lack of knowledge about Muslim fundamentalist doctrine be corrected?

* Have our federal humanitarian and refugee resettlement laws and programs been unwitting factors in planting Muslim extremists in our nation's heartlands since the 1990's in such locations at Nashville and Memphis, Tennessee, Atlanta, Minneapolis, Omaha, and Fort Wayne? Have we inadvertently permitted such groups in our midst to manipulate other federal minority preference assistance programs for nefarious ends? If so, how can we correct these defects and not lose the original humanitarian intent of such laws and programs?

* Why are our national security and law enforcement agencies biased against the hiring of qualified non-Muslims linguists, translators and analysts in critical languages? How do we remove barriers for the employment of these qualified non-Muslims in important intelligence and national security activities?

* What lies behind the spate of defamation suits brought by Muslim Advocacy groups like CAIR, MPAC and others in state courts? Best examples being the flying Imams ' John and Jane Doe' case, the now resolved CAIR -Anti-CAIR Virginia law suit and the Islamic Society of Boston litigation in the Massachusetts courts? Is it to redress legitimate anti-Islamic matters of discrimination or is it an attempt to use our civil courts to stifle free speech and First Amendment Rights?

* What prospects are there for Muslim assimilation to American standards of civil and human rights vis a vis the legal status and treatment of Muslim women in America?

* What can our government do to create constructive programs of community dialogue, and education that might ameliorate Muslim Extremism in America?

My take home message here comes from the folks at Islamic Monitor who have written that if Muslims truly want to demonstrate that they are good Americans, they should:

  • Renounce their primary allegiance to the ummah (worldwide Moslem community). It used to be that renouncing prior allegiances was a prerequisite for becoming American; now it no longer seems to be the case. Muslims in the U.S. should demonstrate their patriotism by making their principal allegiance the United States and its citizens, regardless of faith (or lack of faith).

  • Renounce hateful passages in the Qur'an and Hadith (traditions of the prophets) advocating punishment of non-believers - please check the links below.

  • Purge their institutions and web sites of pervasive anti-western rhetoric. The anti-western rhetoric is not merely expressed as opposition toward U.S. policy toward Israel, as Moslem apologists claim. It is also expressed as hatred of American values of freedom of speech and expression, approval of violating U.S. laws if they conflict with sharia (Islamic law), and regarding our women as sluts and whores. The anti-western rhetoric creates an environment that enables support for terrorist activities.

  • Volunteer their linguistic skills in Arabic and Dari Farsi (the language used in Afghanistan) to assist in the investigation.

An I'd call this just a start in the right direction.

Related: Re-The Muslim Comment [Andy McCarthy]...

I am feeling Mitt Romney's pain. I have debated Mansoor Ijaz -- in an "Opinion Duel" organized by NRO. I repeatedly found that he accused me of saying things I hadn't said while he took positions that were unresponsive, at times incoherent, and consistently wedded to an agenda which he pursued no matter the course of the debate. Don't take my word for it -- unlike Mitt, I have a transcript, which is here. Judge for yourselves. I think, within the confines of his agenda, he means well, but I would not take him to the bank as a raconteur.
Other related readings:
Muslims of the Americas: In Their Own Words
"As Muslims, our allegiance is only to Allah (SWT) and His messenger and the Muslim Ummah (community)"
The Mini Taliban Factory (... mini Taliban factories in the west vigorously encourage the Muslims to get united and invade the West by Islam. Eventually, what would be then if USA and Canada got Islamised? North America would become like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , Iran , and former Talibani Afghanistan .)

Not all muslims are Islamists, and moderate Muslims (truly moderate Muslims), have different opinions from the Islamists.

Other blogs posting on Ijas-related news: Riehl World View, Captain's Quarters




Posted by Abdul at November 27, 2007 2:01 PM


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