Courageous Stand by Norwegian Muslims

It didn't get a lot of attention in the U.S., but Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard survived an assassination attempt last week in Denmark. Police shot and wounded a 27-year-old Somali man who had broken into the home carrying an axe and a knife.

He shouted "We will get our revenge!" as he hacked away at the panic room where Westergaard sought refuge until police arrived.

He has been the subject of repeated threats since his 2005 caricature showing what was interpreted as the Prophet Muhammed with a bomb in his turban. It was among the cartoons that were considered offensive and sparked violent demonstrations in many Muslim countries.

Westergaard told the Guardian newspaper that the image isn't "necessarily" that of Muhammad and could be seen as a violent fundamentalist.

Now, a group of Norwegian Muslims is calling for a demonstration in support of Westergaard. Shakil Rheman is calling on Norway's Islamic Council to organize the rally and says his group, LIM, will try to do so if the Council will not.

"It wasn't a mistake that the caricatures of Muhammed were printed, and in any case it doesn't justify violence. Muslims have just a great interest in protecting freedom of expression as all others. Therefore Muslims should also support Kurt Westergaard," Rehman, a writer, told a publication called Klassekampen.

It is important, Rehman said, to do more than give lip service to defending free speech. He also said a caricature should be tolerated, even if it offends people.

"Muhammed didn't want to be depicted because he didn't want to be worshipped like an idol. When Muslims think the prophet is insulted by being depicted, then they make him into precisely such an idol. Therefore there shouldn't be any problem to make a caricature of him. I will go so far to say that Muslim leaders are unqualified."

Rehman's call is more than just refreshing. It could serve as a global call to action for others to stand up to dangerous Islamic radicals.

Egyptian Soldier Killed in Clashes with Palestinians, Viva Palestina Convoy

All hell seems to breaking loose on the third Viva Palestina convoy to Gaza. The group, established by British MP George Galloway, has created a deep record of Hamas support in its one year of existence.

On Wednesday, convoy participants and Palestinians clashed with Egyptian riot police at the border with Gaza in a melee that left one Egyptian soldier shot dead. Reports indicate a number of convoy participants were arrested, including some Americans.

Hamas had called for a demonstration to protest Egypt's refusal to let the entire convoy cross into Gaza and the situation broke down into rock throwing and other violence. Viva Palestina officials say they had an agreement with Egypt to allow them into Gaza, something Egypt denies. Dozens of trucks with medical supplies were reportedly let through, but that did not dissipate the anger among convoy participants.

An Associated Press report quotes Galloway calling the Egyptian decision "unconscionable."

But an Egyptian ministry spokesman said his country upheld its part of the agreement and said the activists had "provoked" the fight. "We did not mislead anyone. They have their interests ... and they want to make up problems and clash with Egypt," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki.

It's the second time a Palestinian gunman has killed an Egyptian officer in the past year. A major was killed at the beginning of Israel's war on Hamas in Gaza.

Egypt has been building a steel wall designed to block tunnels into Gaza that have been used to defy a blockade targeting the Hamas government. Anger over that move is believed to have heightened passions at the border Wednesday.

Update: Viva Palestina officials are saying they have crossed the border into Gaza.

CAIR Attacks new Airport Security Measures

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) began 2010 by complaining about new security measures at U.S. airports that are now being enforced by the Transportation Security Administration.

CAIR objects to the new regulations, which are being instituted in response to the attempted Christmas Day suicide bombing of Northwest Flight 253. Existing security procedures failed to prevent terror suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who hid explosives in his underwear, from boarding the plane in Amsterdam en route to Detroit. The attack failed only because Abdulmutallab failed to detonate his bomb and was subdued by passengers.

The nearly-successful terrorist attack exposed a "potentially dangerous" security failure, President Obama said Tuesday. The new regulations, which require anyone traveling through 13 majority-Muslim nations and Cuba be subject to enhanced screening, are part of a larger effort to prevent future terrorists from bringing down another plane.

The Muslim-majority nations subject to the enhanced screening measures for travelers headed to the United States are Yemen, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad complained that under the new security measures "almost every American Muslim who travels to see family or friends or goes on pilgrimage to Mecca will automatically be singled out for special security checks – that's profiling." Awad added that the regulations would only serve "to alienate and stigmatize Muslims" and would do "nothing" to improve security.

In a commentary distributed by CAIR on Monday, Awad said law enforcement should not be permitted to take religion into account when conducting security checks: "First look at behavior, not at faith or skin color. Then spend what it takes to obtain more bomb sniffing dogs, to install more sophisticated bomb-detection equipment and to train security personnel in identifying the behavior of real terror suspects."

But the Investigative Project on Terrorism's executive director, Steven Emerson, noted that it would be folly to rule out ethnicity or religion in deciding who to refer for secondary screening at the airport.

"Ethnicity is one of the factors that should be included in the profile, After all, what is profiling? You're extrapolating the common characteristics of terrorist attacks," Emerson said. "100% of the terrorist attacks against the United States last year were carried out by Muslim jihadists. So, if that's the one common factor, let's include that in the mix."

Read more of Emerson's analysis of the need to reform airport screening procedures here.

Jim Kouri, a vice president of the National Association of Chiefs of Police, interviewed former New York Police Department detective Sid Frances, who likened Awad's security prescription to grade-school discipline.

These are dramatic actions in response to emerging threats and should be subject to a vigorous public debate by responsible parties. Given its record, it's far from clear whether CAIR belongs in that arena.

In a bit of irony, CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper appeared on Fox News' "The O'Reilly Factor" Tuesday night, arguing that the new measures play into Al Qaeda's argument that America is at war with Islam.

"And when you profile people, when you pull them out of line based on the fact that they are Muslim or they look like they are Arab, Al Qaeda wins," Hooper said.

As we've noted repeatedly, CAIR has been among the leading voices claiming the U.S. war on terror is a war on Islam. Read more about CAIR's blanket opposition to responsible anti-terror measures here.

Radical Fundraiser Becomes Illinois Police Chaplain

Previously on the IPT blog we stressed the need for the Defense Department's Islamic Chaplaincy program to adopt a stricter vetting process, citing historically radical imams who have served in the program. Now the same can be said for the chaplaincy program for the Illinois State Police. The Mosque Foundation website reports that Sheikh Kifah Mustapha recently completed a four day training session in Springfield, Illinois to become the first certified Muslim chaplain for the Illinois State Police.

Mustapha's name appears on a list of unindicted co-conspirators in the Holy Land Foundation (HLF) Hamas financing trial, which ended with sweeping convictions in November of 2008. On this list he is identified as a member of the Muslim Brotherhood's Palestine Committee. According to the indictment in the HLF trial, the "Muslim Brotherhood is an international Islamic fundamentalist organization" that is "committed to the globalization of Islam through social engineering and violent jihad." It created the Palestine Committee with a "designed purpose to support HAMAS" politically and financially.

A 1991 internal memo to Palestine Committee members reveals that members of the committee intended to further the Muslim Brotherhood's goals "on the American front." Mustapha appeared on the list due to his positions with HLF and Hamas' U.S. propaganda arm, the Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP).

The IAP also was a component in the Palestine Committee's Hamas-support network.

In a deposition for the civil litigation Boim v. Quranic Literacy Institute Kifah Mustapha explained that he was a "registered agent for HLF in Illinois" from the mid 1990s until 2001 when HLF's assets were frozen. During this time Mustapha raised money for HLF.

During the deposition Mustapha also described himself as a former member of a volunteer committee for the IAP beginning in the early 1990s. As a volunteer, he "distributed flyers" and helped prepare for "festivals or conventions." Those meetings often featured incendiary rhetoric and skits portraying Hamas violence against Israelis. Additionally Mustapha said that he donated money to HLF and "maybe" IAP.

In addition to his work with the HLF and IAP, Mustapha has helped raise money for other U.S. Muslim Brotherhood front groups. Mustapha has raised money for the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) which is under fire for its origins in the IAP and is also listed as an unindicted co-conspirator in the HLF trial. As recently as March of 2009, at a Dearborn, Michigan CAIR event, Mustapha helped raise $130,000 for CAIR. He also helped raise over $150,000 at a 2007 CAIR Chicago fundraiser. He has also raised money for the Muslim American Society (MAS) during a 2005 Chicago event.

It's not clear whether the Illinois State Police knew about these connections and didn't care, or whether it failed to adequately research Mustapha's background. Either raises serious concerns about who will counsel the state's Muslim troopers.

When Lone Wolves Aren't so Alone

Our colleague Douglas Farah offers some interesting analysis into Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's attempted Christmas Day bombing of a Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam to Detroit.

While Abdulmutallab is cast as a lone attacker, a vast support structure that goes well beyond sewing PETN into his underwear put him on that airplane. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula claims credit for the attack, but Abdulmutallab's radicalization reportedly took place while he studied in London. Farah points to Abdulmutallab's leadership role of the Islamic Society at while a college student in London. The Society is an arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, a global movement that seeks to spread Shariah law throughout the world.

Likewise, Ramy Zamzam, the leader of the five D.C.-area college students arrested en route to try to join the jihad against American troops in Afghanistan, served as president of the Muslim Students Association MSA DC Council.

Part of the Brotherhood's message, Farah writes, resonates with lonely or otherwise unhappy people:

"So, you have lonely, alienated and unhappy people, in effect being told that their alienation is a sign that they are close to Allah and on their way to salvation. What is required of them? To use whatever means available to attack the current system perpetrated by infidels, and bring about a new, Islamic world.

Not everyone who joins the Brotherhood ends up committing acts of terrorism. But it is certainly one of the key gateways to radicalization, and one that provides a community and support structure for those who do."

It's a disservice, Farah concludes, to view individual attacks in isolation when there's often an ideologically thread that binds them together. Read Farah's full article here.

Pakistan Gears Up Terror Case Against D.C. Five

Pakistani officials appear to close to bringing terrorism charges against the five D.C.-area Muslim men arrested there last month. The men were in a Pakistani courtroom Monday, the Washington Post reports, where officials indicated a police report with recommended charges could be filed Tuesday.

Those charges could bring life prison sentences. U.S. officials, meanwhile, also are investigating the nature of the men's secretive trip and whether it violated American law. Previous reports indicate the men wanted to make their way to Afghanistan to join the jihad against U.S. troops and left behind a farewell video.

In court Monday, Howard University dental student Ramy Zamzam, considered the group's leader, reportedly said "We are not terrorists. We are jihadists, and jihad is not terrorism."

Attorney Amir Abdullah Rokhri used more altruistic language in describing the men. "They were here to help the helpless Muslims. That's why they wanted to go to Afghanistan, not for terrorism."

Formal charges could be announced at a hearing January 18.

Judge Pushes Administration on PA Terror Lawsuit

A federal judge has issued a very public smack down of the Obama Administration's handling of civil suits filed against the Palestinian Authority on behalf of victims of terrorism, Politico reports.

The case, Gilmore v. Palestinian Interim Self-Government Authority, arose from the October 30, 2000 terrorist attack at the National Insurance Institute in Jerusalem, Israel. During the shooting, undertaken in concert by members of "Force 17" of the Palestinian Authority ("PA") and an armed faction of the Palestinian Liberation Organization ("PLO") known as "Tanzim," American Esh Kodesh Gilmore was murdered. Gilmore's family sued the PA the following spring under the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1991, which allows U.S. victims of terrorism to bring civil suits against the perpetrators of the attacks.

Following years of stall tactics and a filing in which the defendants explained it would "not appear or participate in any further proceedings in the case," the court entered the second default judgment in favor of the plaintiffs on January 29, 2007. As U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler explained in looking back on these tactics:

"this was not a case of mere delay, but a case where defendant's deliberate litigation strategy was to refuse to defend on the merits."

The defense asked the court to reconsider the default judgment 10 months later.

In considering this motion, as the court explained, there were a number of competing considerations, including: (i) the potential prejudice to the plaintiff; (ii) any willfulness on the part of the defendant; and (iii) "whether there is any significant public interest and foreign policy issues presented in this case."

Although the court was more than qualified to issue a ruling on the first two factors, recognizing the institutional competencies of the Executive in matters of foreign policy, the court requested that the administration file a "statement of interest" in the case.

In response to the court's request, the Obama administration submitted a two paragraph filing which stated, in part:

"The United States supports just compensation for victims of terrorism from those responsible for their losses and has encouraged all parties to resolve these cases to their mutual benefit. At the same time, the United States remains concerned about the potentially significant impact that these default cases may have on the defendant's financial and political viability."

After reviewing all the arguments, Judge Kessler granted the defendant's motion and vacated the default judgment on Monday. In doing so, she took a swipe at the administration, calling its response to her request for assistance in resolving the dispute "particularly unhelpful in resolving this difficult motion." In fact, as the court intimated, in completely dodging the issue, the government left the court to speculate on the foreign policy implications. As Judge Kessler wrote:

"it is fair to say that making any predictions about developments in the Middle East is a risky and speculative undertaking, far beyond the competence of federal judges."

Without question, this case has revived an issue that has dogged the last four administrations, Democratic and Republican alike—how to balance the need to compensate American victims of Palestinian terrorism without bankrupting the only remaining "legitimate" government of the Palestinian people. Whatever the "right" answer is to this question, Judge Kessler is absolutely correct that she is not qualified to make the decision. Instead, the administration must make the difficult choice.

"Hundreds" More Al Qaeda Operatives in Yemen Planning Attacks, Foreign Minister Says

A senior Yemeni official warned Tuesday that there are hundreds of Al Qaeda operatives in his country who are planning to carry out terrorist attacks. Foreign Minister Abu Bakr Al-Qirbi's call for help from the international community to help train Yemeni security forces came one day after Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) claimed responsibility for the plot to bring down Northwest Airlines Flight 253 on Christmas Day .

"Of course there are a number of Al Qaeda operatives in Yemen and some of their leaders. We realize this danger," Al-Qirbi said. "They may actually plan attacks like the one we have just had in Detroit. There are maybe hundreds of them - 200, 300."

Al -Qirbi said the United States, Great Britain and the European Union should provide more support for Yemen's counterterror efforts. "There is support, but I must say it is inadequate. We need more training. We have to expand our counterterrorism units and provide them with equipment and transportation like helicopters," he said.

Al-Qirbi added that Yemen and the West needed to work in "partnership" to ensure that the terror problem "will be brought under control."

U.S. officials counter that they have finally convinced the Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh to accept increased help in fighting Al Qaeda. They say that a visit last summer by Gen. David Petraeus, head of the U.S. Central Command, and President Obama's counterterrorism advisor John Brennan persuaded Saleh of the importance in working with Washington against Al Qaeda.

U.S. assistance to Yemen reportedly includes security and military aid along with counterterrorism training. Read more here.

But mounting evidence that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's attempted suicide attack was planned in Yemen show that that nation's counterterrorism efforts have a long way to go. Federal authorities say Abdulmutallab told them he made contact with an unidentified radical imam in Yemen who put him in touch with Al Qaeda leaders in a village north of Sanaa.

Abdulmutallab said he lived with the Al Qaeda leader in Yemen and was not permitted to leave as he was trained to carry out an attack. He was eventually joined by an Al Qaeda bombmaker. Authorities have said the device intended to blow up the Northwest plane, consisting of a six-inch packet of powder and a syringe with a liquid, was made in Yemen.

Wolf: Sending Detainees to Yemen "Unconscionable"

With the country's attention focused on Al Qaeda's increasing strength and operations in Yemen, a Republican congressman again is asking President Obama about the wisdom in sending terror suspects from Guantanamo Bay to the Arabian Gulf state.

In a letter to the President, U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) cited the recent release of Guantanamo detainees to Yemeni custody and said continuing the practice threatened national security.

"It is unconscionable that your administration would release terrorist detainees back into the clutches of al Qaeda in Yemen, Somaliland and Afghanistan as was done earlier this month," Wolf wrote. "These dangerous detainees were released under a cloak of secrecy and the American people were not informed until these individuals walked free. Your administration still has not provided information on their past terrorist activities. These releases are reckless and the administration's continued concealment is a danger to the security of America."

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian man who smuggled explosives onto a Detroit-bound plane from Amsterdam on Christmas Day, reportedly had been in Yemen since August. Other reports say he has told officials there are others just like him in the Gulf state who are preparing attacks.

It's the sixth letter Wolf has sent to the President since October raising concerns about sending Guantanamo detainees to "Yemen and other dangerously unstable countries." (See them all here.)

Wolf, the ranking Republican on an appropriations subcommittee dealing with the Justice Department, tried to amend the 2010 budget to require unclassified notifications about impending detainee releases. The White House opposed the amendment, which failed.

Wolf, who also was critical of the Bush administration on some security issues, isn't backing off.

"This is important to national security," Wolf hand wrote across the bottom of the letter. "Please stop the releases."

Al Qaeda Touts Virtues of Airplane Bombings, Small Explosives

Press reports suggest that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian man accused of trying to bomb Northwest Airlines Flight 253 on Christmas Day, received the explosives from a bomb expert affiliated with Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which claimed credit for the attack.

As the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) first reported, AQAP's emir, Nasir Al-Wahishi, wrote in favor of bombing U.S. airplanes several months ago in the organization's magazine Sada Al-Malahim.

Al-Wahishi's article entitled "War is Deception," which was posted on jihadist websites in late October, urged others to follow the example of Abu Al-Khayr, an AQAP suicide bomber who attempted to assassinate Saudi Deputy Interior Minister Muhammad bin Naif on August 27.

Al-Khayr, an Al Qaeda fugitive, had asked to surrender to Naif while the latter was receiving a group of Ramadan well-wishers. Instead Al-Khayr blew himself up using a bomb attached to his body. Naif was slightly wounded in the attack.

In the article, Al-Wahishi exhorted jihadists to make "explosives into a bomb that you can throw, set off with a timer, explode by remote, or make them into an explosives belt." Another option would be to put the explosives "in any digital recorder in which you hear the tunes of explosions, or in a photo album, a folder, or an envelope. Explode them on any taghut [an idol or false God], spy nest, Emir, minister or Crusader whenever you find them."

Al Wahishi added that fighters should detonate their explosives "in the airports of the Western Crusader countries that have taken part in the war against the Muslims, or in their planes, on their residential blocks, or in their metros, and so on. There is always a stratagem [to be found] if you think and rely on Allah, and have no fear of it being discovered after you have hidden it well."

According to MEMRI, while Al-Wahishi "appeared to be encouraging independent actions on the part of 'lone wolf' bombers, the article did include an offer to help with these initiatives." He offered to "make contact with anyone who wants to wage jihad with us, and we will guide him to a suitable means to kill the collaborators and the archons of unbelief."

In the article, the Al Qaeda boss emphasizes the importance of small explosives in making this vision a reality. AbdulMuttalab is believed to have had the explosive PETN sewn into his underwear. Al-Khayr, (who had been searched repeatedly at Saudi airports) apparently hid an explosive in his rectum.

MEMRI quotes Al-Wahishli touting the virtues of small explosives. "It requires no great effort on your part, nor large sums, to manufacture 10 grams, more or less of explosives. Do not search long for the materials, since they are in your mother's kitchen and are ready at hand," he wrote. "[A]nd with Allah's help, our brothers in the manufacturing department will produce videos explaining how anyone, using simple materials available to him, can [manufacture explosives] and blow up the enemies of Allah."

Newer Postings   |   Older Postings