Prominent Arab Journalist: Only War can Resolve the Palestinian Problem

Arab journalist Jihad el-Khazen has written a column asserting that the Palestine-Israeli dispute "only be resolved through war." War is the "only logical end" to the problem "unless a nuclear terrorist attack happens before that, and kills both the killers and the victims," according to el-Khazen. The writer further calls the Israeli government "Zio-Nazis" and claims that "the Jews can lay no legitimate claims whatsoever to the land of Palestine."

Unfortunately, these inflammatory statements do not spring from the fevered imagination of an Arab blogger, or the anonymous ravings of an Arabic chatroom denizen. Jihad el-Khazen is an influential writer a Middle Eastern magazine listed as one of the world's 100 most influential Arabs. El Khazen's screed appeared in al-Hayat, a Saudi financed London based publication, which the New York Times describes as "regarded as by far and away the best and most intensely read Arab newspaper."

In a 2003 essay on how Arab journalists "whitewash terrorism," Matthew Levitt singled out el-Khazen as "The prime example of this state of denial and intellectual atrophy… With people like this feeding the Mideastern denial frenzy, it's no wonder the Arab street has responded with such hostility to Western efforts to expose international terrorist activities, even after September 11."

In 2007 another writer suggested that should al-Hayat "not take the proper steps to correct the problem" of el-Khazen's incendiary rhetoric, "the UK should be encouraged to launch an investigation... to determine whether al-Khazen is guilty of hate speech."

Two years on, this suggestion is even more appropriate.

Myrick to Obama: Speak Clearly About Jihad

On the eve of the anniversary of the September 11 attacks, U.S. Rep. Sue Myrick (R-NC) has written to President Barack Obama urging him to reverse decisions not to use terms like "jihadist" and "war on terror." Myrick, who created the bi-partisan Anti-Terrorism Caucus, said softer language used by the Administration is misleading.

"The 'jihad' we are confronting is political, military and ideological in nature as defined by our enemies' own words. They call themselves 'jihadists' and say they are practicing 'jihad'. Thus, using the term 'jihadists', as long as it defines the enemy, is not only accurate but it is a duty to our citizens because it makes it clear who we are fighting."

Myrick specifically took issue with a speech last month by Homeland Security and Counter Terrorism Advisor John Brennan, in which he used the term "transnational challenge" in place of a war on terrorism.

"I have no idea what a 'transnational challenge' is," Myrick wrote; "neither do the American people."

Nuanced language offers terrorists a victory, Myrick said, taking time to note she also opposed it when the Bush Administration made similar linguistic changes.

Jihad can have different meanings to different people. But terrorists call themselves jihadists, Myrick notes, and believe their unending quest to murder and maim is a part of their personal jihad. If they can say that, she wonders, why America should use "confusing and fuzzy words when speaking about the war against jihadists and Islamic terrorists."

Check out Myrick's letter here.

9/11 - International Day of Islamic Service and Remembrance?

September 11, 2001 was the day almost all Americans became aware that radical Islam was at war with the United States. The heinous attacks committed by 19 al-Qaeda terrorists that killed nearly 3,000 innocents on U.S. soil were the catalyst for America to respond militarily to the deadly threat posed by militant Islam.

In April, President Obama signed legislation designating September 11 as a National Day of Service and Remembrance. On the surface, this appears benign. Encouraging Americans to remember the attacks is laudable. However, the purpose of this official designation appears to be heavier on "day of service" than "day of remembrance." A statement from President and Mrs. Obama about the day makes one obscure mention in four paragraphs that might be construed as "remembering" the true nature of that infamous day:

"In that same spirit, we call on all Americans to join in service on September 11 and honor the heroes of that dark day..."

The rest of the statement focuses on how and why Americans should become involved in volunteer community service. But, in the Presidential message, there is virtually no other discussion of what happened that tragic day - an unprecedented attack on our homeland by a religiously maniacal enemy bent on our destruction.

And how does the U.S. State Department approach the newly created 9/11 Day of Service and Remembrance? A recent State Department cable from the Secretary of State to the many U.S. embassies, consulates and other posts around the world says the Department "encourages posts to consider organizing an Interfaith Day of Service in their host countries as a way to commemorate the anniversary of the tragic events of September 11, 2001."

For those posted in countries with large Muslim populations, the Department recommends that they:

"...send a message of goodwill, cooperation, and shared interest to their host countries and their religious communities. To accommodate posts in countries where Muslims may be observing Ramadan until/about September 19, posts are requested to plan an Interfaith Day of Service between September 11 and October 18, 2009 [emphasis added]. We encourage you to bring together leaders of different religious backgrounds and identify jointly a priority project. Those leaders would encourage their members to join mission employees and resident Americans in working together on a community project. We request that posts keep their regional bureaus informed of their 9/11 commemoration plans so that the information can be made available to interested USG officials and agencies."

The DOS cable purports to tout "interfaith" service efforts, but specific religious references throughout the cable only mention Islam and Muslims.

• Organize a food-drive for the end of Ramadan with religious leaders and citizens in Muslim communities to donate to a local mosque or community, such as this activity in Dubai in 2008...
• The Office of the Special Representative for Muslim Communities (S/SRMC) can be a resource.

A list of Ramadan 2009 outreach materials for Muslim communities can be found at...

This State Department cable is yet another example of the agency engaging in "outreach" activities steeped in a religious context:

The Global Partnership Initiative (S/ GPI ) has developed new tools and talking points for the Department's efforts at the nexus of faith and foreign policy.

"Faith and foreign policy." Yet there is no explanation, at least in this cable, about what that means. The cable does provide an interesting statement indicating what the meaning of 9/11 may be to State's high command:

The Interfaith Day of Service is an opportunity for posts to expand their contact bases, initiate long-term partnerships with civil society, and spread goodwill in observing September 11, 2001 .

Seemingly, to commemorate the anniversary of the worst attack on America in modern times, our State Department will use that commemoration to "spread goodwill" in foreign countries. Given the history of these faith-based outreach efforts that primarily focus on Muslim countries and Islam, that spreading of "goodwill" is aimed mostly at Muslims. On the anniversary of the day radical Islamic jihadists spread massive death and destruction to America, Americans may wonder how much goodwill will be spread to the United States from the "Muslim world."

The State Department has a history of involvement with radical Islamists and of engaging in Islamic-oriented programs that bring into question Constitutional issues related to the Establishment Clause of the 1^st Amendment.

Yemeni Feminist Faults Obama on Hijab

President Obama's desire to make the U.S. more accepting of Islam, and make Muslims around the world more accepting of the U.S., is too reliant on advisors with an extremist viewpoint.

So says a Yemeni feminist who is disturbed by the President's ardent defense of women who wear the hijab. According to a translation by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), Elham Mane'a takes issue with Obama's appointment of Dalia Mogahed to his Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Mane'a, who writes for the liberal www.metransparent.com website, argues Mogahed does not offer a representative viewpoint.

Obama's reference to the hijab in his June 5 Cairo speech proved Mogahed's negative influence, Mane'a writes. In the speech, Obama boasted that the U.S. has litigated cases "to protect the right of women and girls to wear the hijab, and to punish those who would deny it." But the wearing of the hijab outside of a Muslim country, Mane'a writes, is a sign of inculcation and coercion, rather than free expression:

"I understood then that Obama had heard [only] one opinion on this matter, which purports to exclusively reflect 'what Muslim men and women think' and 'what Muslim men and women want.' In actuality, this view represents [only Dalia Mogahed's] perception of Islam, which is an extremist Islamic perception..."

Mane'a mocks the very premise of Mogahed's latest book, written with Saudi Arabian-underwritten Georgetown University Professor John Esposito called Who Speaks for Islam? The book emphasizes research they did for Gallup polling on the attitudes of 1 billion Muslims throughout the world:

"I do not know what you think, sisters, but I work in the field of scientific research, and I do not think it possible for a survey to reflect the opinions of more than one billion people. Whoever makes such a claim is not only exaggerating, but is disregarding the very [principles] of research."

Mogahed is not the President's only advisor on Muslim issues. We know he listens, too, to Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) President Ingrid Mattson because one of his top aides said so at ISNA's national convention. That convention also featured hate and conspiracy speech against Jews, gays and others along with radical literature defending terrorists.

Rather than seeking a diversity of opinions about Islam, Mane'a argues the President is turning to those who tell him 'this is Islam, and this is the way Muslim men and women are,' instead of saying 'this is the way I perceive Islam, and this is what I believe Muslim men and women think...'"

If he wants to broaden his input, we know of some very good candidates.

US Embassy in Copenhagen Invites the Wrong Muslim Leader to Iftar – Again

U.S. embassies are hosting Iftar meals during the month of Ramadan. That's fine, but part of good diplomacy should include judicious control of the guest list. That didn't seem to happen when Laurie Fulton, the U.S. Ambassador to Denmark, hosted the fast-breaking meal last week with "prominent Muslims and representatives of other faiths" at her official residence in Copenhagen. The Embassy did not release a guest list for the event. However, the Embassy's website shows Ambassador Fulton sitting with Mohammed Fouad Albarazi.

Albarazi gained notoriety in early 2006, when at the beginning of the furor over the Danish Muhammad cartoons, he told al-Jazeera, the largest Arabic language satellite television network, of a rumor that Qurans would be publicly burned in Copenhagen's City Hall Square. A few days later demonstrators attacked the Danish Embassy in Damascus. Soon after, Albarazi called for the United Nations to ban "publication of material that blasphemes or insults religions."

Despite this background, in 2007 then-US Ambassador to Denmark James Cain invited Albarazi to an Iftar at his Residence. In the resulting controversy, critics asserted that the Ambassador "acted too naïve" or was a 'useful idiot.'

Apparently the Embassy's institutional memory faltered or for some reason Ambassador Fulton chose to ignore Albarazi's past actions and give him official sanction through her invitation to her residence.

Don't (Always) Believe the Hype

As we reported Tuesday, an all-star lineup of California state political figures was touted as co-hosts for an Iftar dinner organized by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)-California chapter at the state Capitol in Sacramento.

CAIR's release listed Gov. Arnold Schwarzenneger, leadership of the Assembly and Senate and 35 other lawmakers. The governor was not expected to attend. Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg was a co-host, but a spokeswoman said he did not plan on attending the dinner, either. Late Tuesday, after publishing our story, we heard from Shannon Murphy, spokeswoman to Assembly Speaker Karen Bass.

"The Speaker has nothing to do with this event," Murphy said. "We have no idea how this came about."

Similarly, a spokesman for Assembly Assistant Majority Leader Paul Krekorian said Krekorian found himself listed as a co-host merely by saying he would consider attending. Krekorian responded to an e-mail invitation saying he would consider the dinner if he were in town that night, said spokesman Jeremy Oberstein. It turned out he wasn't.

It's the second time in a month that California Democrats disavowed something that carried the official's name. In late July, U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff claimed his signature should not have appeared on a letter from seven House Democrats to Attorney General Eric Holder asking that he meet with representatives of radical Islamist groups and reconsider policies spelled out in a list of grievances.

In that case, a Schiff aide blamed miscommunication between his staff and U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez, who coordinated the letter to Holder.

These things can happen in politics. California's Assembly is in session, dealing with a host of thorny issues and Murphy indicated Bass wasn't going to try to find out how her name ended up on a host list in which she had no connection.

But it might serve as a little "buyer beware" warning for friend and foe alike. Don't show up hoping to meet all the high-powered names listed. And don't think a group has political clout just because of the names it claims are supporting it.

Writer Sees Palestinians Blowing Their Chance

It was the late Israeli diplomat Abba Eban who famously said that "Arabs never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity." Now an Arab intellectual looks at the Palestinian political situation today and fears it will prove that statement true.

In an article in the London-based Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, Mamoun Fandy argues there will never be a better chance to create a Palestinian state, but "idiotic warring Palestinian factions," along with misguided priorities may doom the chance. According to a translation of Fandy's article by the Middle East Media Research Institute, Fandy said "The ones who oppose the establishment of a Palestinian state today are the Palestinians and the Israelis – in that order."

To succeed, Palestinians are going to have to create a unified leadership for negotiation with Israel and that's not likely to happen:

"The behavior of the various Palestinian factions, and the rivalry between them, looks to the world like efforts to maintain the status quo. [Hamas prime minister] Isma'il Haniya and [Hamas political bureau head] Khaled Mash'al have so far shown no political maturity proving that they want a solution instead of rejecting one."

Palestinians, he writes, are "are tired of this pointless 'resistance' – because resistance must have a political goal." But it is difficult at times to figure out what the goal is of Palestinian leadership:

"If the goal [of the resistance] is for a few members of the leadership to be recognized as symbols of resistance and [national] honor – we are perfectly willing to give them this recognition, but there is no need to sacrifice innocent lives in order to accomplish such a limited goal.

However, if the goal is realizing the dream of establishing a Palestinian state, and for this people to live in dignity like other peoples – then that is a different struggle, which requires new strategies. The first [of these] strategies is the creation of a united leadership for the future Palestinian state – one that will convince its enemies to negotiate with it and to give it the land. It is easy to convince friends – but solving the problem requires first of all convincing enemies…"

The EU, UN and the Obama Administration are setting the table for a deal favorable for the Palestinians. It's up to them, Fandy writes, to decide "whether to be part of the solution or part of the problem."

The full MEMRI translation is here.

Hamas' Holocaust Denial Reaches Classrooms

In the world according to Hamas, it's okay to teach kids that killing yourself in a terrorist attack is a good thing, or that a loveable Mickey Mouse knock-off was really knocked off by "the filth of the criminal Jews."

But when it comes to teaching children the history of the Nazi Holocaust of 6 million Jews, Hamas draws the line. According to Haaretz, Hamas condemned a United Nations book used in curriculum for 13-year-olds in Gaza that it believes will contain a chapter on the Holocaust.

"Branding the Nazi genocide of the Jews 'a lie invented by the Zionists,' the Islamist movement that runs the Gaza Strip wrote in an open letter to a senior UN official that he should withdraw plans for a new history book in UN schools."

The United Nations Relief Workers Agency (UNRWA) told the newspaper that the Holocaust curriculum wasn't part of the coming school year.

A Hamas spokesman ducked questions about the Holocaust itself, but said "we oppose forcing the issue of the so-called Holocaust onto the syllabus, because it aims to reinforce acceptance of the occupation of Palestinian land."

Perhaps. Or, it might be that Hamas realizes Palestinian children might ask questions whether their conflict with Israel, which has a death toll in the thousands, merits the same label of "holocaust," as the systematic extermination of millions of people.

Brothers of Hamas = The Brotherhood

A Jordanian newspaper report seems to establish an ongoing relationship between the Muslim Brotherhood and the Hamas terrorist group. Hamas was created as an offshoot of the Brotherhood, which was established in Egypt in 1928 with the goal of establishing an Islamic Caliphate governed by Shari'ah, or Islamic law.

But Brotherhood leaders claim Hamas broke away into an independent entity.

The August 27 edition of the Jordanian Arabic newspaper al-Ghad carries an article by reporter Taiseer Neimat stating that Hamam Saeed, an official in Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood branch, the Islamic Action Front (IAF), is also a member of the Hamas al-Shura (governing) council and two other IAF executive office officials also serve on the Hamas al-Shura council. This establishes a clear, current and direct senior operational link between the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas, a US-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization.

There has long been a close relationship between the IAF and Hamas, and some of those links have reached into the United States. But we now have statements in Middle East media identifying specific IAF officials who are concurrently serving in senior Hamas positions.

In recent years, there has been debate concerning the radical and dangerous nature of the MB. Within that debate, even as some senior US Government officials have urged "outreach" to the Brotherhood, there has been speculation the MB established an armed wing. In addition to Hamas, Islamic terrorist organizations such as Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and even al-Qaeda have roots in the MB, though the public posture of Brotherhood leadership, especially for Western audiences, claims to eschew violence.

This is a long-term objective to be realized through a methodical plan that includes preaching, charitable work and a commitment to jihad. Many major U.S. Muslim organizations have roots in, or links to, the Brotherhood, including the Muslim Students Association (MSA), the Muslim American Society (MAS), the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).

ISNA and CAIR already have been linked to a Hamas-support network. If the Brotherhood and Hamas continue to exist under one mother ship, the terrorist linkage of these Brotherhood-connected groups becomes even more apparent.

Pandering for Saudi Dollars at Yale?

One of the most disturbing aspects of the Danish cartoons scandal at Yale University Press is the role played by the school administration.

Martin Kramer writes about the hardball tactics Yale University Press Director John Donatich and others employed to make sure that the cartoons in question were kept out of a forthcoming book about the 2006 controversy over the cartoons: The Cartoons That Shook The World, written by Jytte Klausen, a Danish-born professor of politics at Brandeis University.

When Klausen was summoned by Donatich to learn that the cartoons would not be published in a book about them, the two had company. Also present at the meeting were Marcia Inhorn, director of Yale's Middle East center, and Yale Vice President Linda Lorimer, who also serves as secretary of the The Yale Corporation.

Kramer quotes Klausen as stating that the university effectively forced the hand of the press by collecting the opinion of "experts" who warned that violence would erupt if the cartoon images were republished. "Once the university had decided to collect these alarmist reports about the consequences [of including the pictures], there was very little the [Yale University] press could do," Klausen said.

Kramer contends that this is just the latest example of Saudi efforts to use oil money to influence academic scholarship at American universities.

Yale has been courting Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, one of the world's richest people, who has made no secret of his plans to establish centers of Arab and Islamic studies at select American universities. In December 2005, Harvard announced that Alwaleed had given $20 million to establish an Islamic Studies Program and Georgetown University announced he had contributed $20 million for the Prince Alwaleed Bin-Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding headed by John Esposito.

Kramer reports that Muna Abu Sulayman – Alwaleed's point person for academic programs -- has been named a "Yale World Fellow" for 2009, and she will reside in New Haven from August through December. "Can you imagine a better way to set the stage for a major Alwaleed gift?" writes Kramer. "Hosting for a semester the very person who structured the Harvard and Georgetown gifts, and who now directs Alwaleed's charitable foundation? A stroke of genius."

So what happened when someone in Yale's administration learned that Yale University Press was about to publish a book like The Cartoons That Shook The World? "Good luck explaining to people like Prince Alwaleed that Yale University and Yale University Press are two different shops," Kramer writes. "The University can't interfere in editorial matters, so what's to be done? Summon some 'experts,' who will be smart enough to know just what to say. Yale will be accused of surrendering to an imagined threat by extremists. So be it: self-censorship to spare bloodshed in Nigeria or Indonesia still sounds a lot nobler than self-censorship to keep a Saudi prince on the line for $20 million."

Diana West also has been tracking Yale's pursuit of Saudi millions. She cites the blog Global Muslim Brotherhood Daily Report's disclosure that Abu Sulayman's father is "Muslim Brotherhood kingpin" AbdulHamid Abu Sulayman.

Not everyone is so desperate to win Alwaleed's largesse. In 2001, New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani returned his $10 million donation to rebuild the Twin Towers after the prince suggested that U.S. support for Israel led to the September 11 attacks. After Giuliani returned the $10 million, Alwaleed attributed the decision to "Jewish pressure."

After Yale unsuccessfully tried to secure funding from the prince four years ago (losing out to Georgetown and Harvard),an op-ed which ran in the Yale Daily News made the case that the school would be better off without Alwaleed's money. The op-ed noted that he had pledged $27 million to a Saudi government telethon that raised money for the families of Palestinian suicide bombers. Read more about Alwaleed's background here.

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