Jasser Challenges Congressman on Reform's Value
IPT News
October 2, 2009
http://www.investigativeproject.org/1448/jasser-challenges-congressman-on-reforms-value
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At a Capitol Hill forum Thursday afternoon, U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) demonstrated how Islamists use slander and distortion in an effort to silence Muslim reformers. Ellison delivered a tirade in which he falsely accused Dr. Zuhdi Jasser - one of the United States' most prominent Muslim reformers - of encouraging anti-Muslim bigotry and attempting to censor Islamists.
Jasser, a Phoenix, AZ doctor who heads the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, came to Washington to brief members of Congress and their staffs about the dangers posed by "political Islam" as practiced by groups like the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). He also invited Ellison to discuss the issue of Islamism after Ellison spoke at two recent CAIR fundraisers in Arizona and California. U.S. Rep. Trent Franks and other members of the Arizona congressional delegation wrote to Ellison urging him not to go to the CAIR function. The letter cited damning evidence linking CAIR's founders to a Hamas-support network and the FBI's decision to cut off communication with CAIR.
Franks then hosted the talk with Jasser and Ellison. In it, Jasser emphasized that Islamist terror cannot be defeated without addressing political Islam: "We've avoided talking about the fact that there is … a radical ideology behind a faith that I love" which "has been hijacked, exploited, used as a platform for radicalism."
Criticizing policymakers in the White House and elsewhere who claim that "our enemy is simply Al Qaeda," Jasser noted the falsity of that argument. A series of recent arrests and convictions of in terror-related cases in Colorado, North Carolina, New Jersey and elsewhere demonstrate that precisely the opposite is true.
"None of these individuals are related to Al Qaeda. The only unifying principle that we see them related to is violent jihadism or the concept of holy war that they pick up through the Internet, through communications in what has been demed the cyber-jihad," he noted.
Islamist groups such as CAIR have repeatedly sought to obfuscate this by discrediting reports noting the connection between radical Salafism and support for jihad, Jasser said. The jihadists will not be defeated until Muslims "start to recognize" that they are on a "slippery slope" toward radicalism.
"The Islam my family taught me is one that that doesn't say that ours is supreme to any other faith, that feels we are equal before God," he said. "We separate mosque and state and do not feel that we have to impose unification as an ummah."
But all too often, government policies appear to send a very different message -- that organizations like CAIR speak for all American Muslims. And until Islam is brought through "an enlightenment, a reformation process just like Christianity separated the Church of England in Europe, we are not going to solve the problem of terrorism," Jasser said. "The FBI and Homeland Security are going to continue chasing their tails for years so long as we do not separate mosque and state."
"I think if Muslims want credibility and we want to be respected equally, we need to stand for reform within our faith of laws that are still in the 15th and 16th century," Jasser said. "I think Muslims need to also stop collectivizing our community as one unit."
Responding to Jasser's call for reform, Ellison launched into a tirade. "I think you give people license for bigotry," Ellison told Jasser. "I think people who want to engage in nothing less than Muslim-hating really love you a lot because you give them freedom to do that. You say, 'yeah, go get after them.' "
Ellison all but called Jasser an Islamic "Uncle Tom." Blacks, he said, are "familiar with people who would seek to ingratiate themselves with powerful people in the white community and would there turn them on the rest of us and give license to attack us all. Arguing 'African-Americans are criminally inclined, they're all in gangs, they're all on welfare.' Black people who say stuff like this. But what they're really trying to do is win themselves individual benefit at the expense of everyone else."
"I don't know you well enough to know that's what you're doing," Ellison told Jasser. "But I must admit that when I heard you speaking, that's what I thought of."
Muslims must "stand against" extremist members of their faith, Ellison said. But he seemed more threatened by Jasser. "Now is somebody going to snatch my 13-year-old daughter's hijab off, call her a horrible name, spit on her because of something that you said, Dr. Jasser, I worry about that," he added.
Pointing to the examples of Jewish terrorists like Baruch Goldstein, who massacred Palestinians in Hebron in 1994 and to Hindus who kill Muslims, Ellison claimed that Islam was no different from any other religion. He falsely accused Jasser of seeking to "suppress the way people believe in a country dedicated to the idea of freedom of expression."
In response, Jasser said that Ellison is in denial about the level of violence being committed in the name of Islam. Muslims, he added should not be comparing an endemic problem in their community to "once in a decade" attacks committed by terrorists of other faiths.
Ellison had to leave for a vote on the House floor and wasn't there to hear Jasser label the Congressman's remarks as an "apologetic."
"I'm tired of apologists speaking on behalf of our community," Jasser said, adding that Ellison should travel to Egypt or Saudi Arabia to see for himself the mistreatment of women living under sharia. He called on Muslims to oppose persons like Muslim Brotherhood-linked cleric Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi who says it is permissible to kill apostates and Jamal Badawi of the Islamic Society of North America who says apostates should be "punished."
Jasser also criticized the Assembly of Muslim Jurists for posting on its website a paper by a student (since taken down) that Muslims should not recite the Pledge of Allegiance because it is only permissible to pledge allegiance to a caliph or God.
As repugnant as such Islamist speech is, Jasser said, the worst thing the government can do is to try to censor it. He attributed Europe's more serious problems with hate crimes to the fact that most European nations have laws criminalizing such speech.
"The antidote for the speech you don't like is not squashing the speech. It's introducing your own perspective and letting the American people sort it out in the marketplace of ideas," Jasser said. In the end, "religious freedom is intimately tied with freedom of speech. That's why you have to separate mosque and state."
Highlights of Jasser and Ellison's remarks appear at the top of this story.
Reader comments on this item
Ellison is not in denial, he is in coverup and blackmail
Submitted by David Tsal, Feb 6, 2010 04:25
Ellison is not in denial, he is in coverup and blackmail.
It would be useless for him, to go to Egypt and see things with his own eyes, because he probably knows them and doesn't care one bit.
When he says, "Now is somebody going to snatch my 13-year-old daughter's hijab off, call her a horrible name, spit on her because of something that you said, Dr. Jasser," he is practicing a technique well familiar in being used against us Jews: pretended self-defense.
The trouble is that people who pretend self-defense next go on a pogrom.
Has anyone ever snatched hijab off his daughter? Has anyone ever spat on her?
I was spat on twice, just for being Jewish and wearing a little round cap. Also shoved. And stalked. All of that in America, over the past 9 years. The names I was called are too many to mention. When I told it to some decent Muslims I know, they were horrified. Nothing like that ever happened to them.
But I don't expect any sympathy from Mr. Keith Ellison. From him I expect only a pogrom .
Sharia Debate?
Submitted by Russ, Oct 15, 2009 09:52
There is much evidence that a push for the implementation of the draconian laws of Islam that are based solely on an interpretation of a century and a half old religious text, supposedly the direct written words of the god of the muslims, is well into is final stages. The reasoning behind this push is because of what is being taught to muslims in the mosques, that western laws are somehow flawed because they are man-made laws and so they are inferior to the instructions given to their prophet by their god. That is OK, if that is how you see it!! The people of the world outside of Islam have really just gone about doing things in a logical manner. That is, the religion that was most prominement in the society that founded the communities in the west also had a religious text to go by, but, clearly the tenents of that text did not update itself as time went on so as to keep up with modern knowledge and understanding of how people in this day and age interact and how rights of the people that are affected by the laws needed to be protected by those that made them. Since the gods that are talked about in these two very different texts have never really come back to verify anything, written or otherwise, that pertain to a modern a world and how to make these texts apply to us today, I beleive that man-made is the best way to go until there is clarification from up above. I'm just not holding my breathe. If a muslim wants to claim that they would rather adhear to century old thinking that is fine, but they don't! they pick and choose these ignorant teachings from their crazy assed documents and apply them at will to make talking point or to intimidate others into thinking that they are more religious, and then go right back to doing as they please behind our backs. If islam wants Sharia? which I really don't beleive they do, let them go back to Arabia and make it work there all day long!!!
Jasser is right on target but...
Submitted by PatriotUSA, Oct 8, 2009 04:12
Jasser is to be commended for his stance and willingness to speak out as he has. To take on Islam in any way shape or form is risky and life threatening business. Jasser should be bringing up what is IN the Koran and Hadith. For therein lies the true problems within Islam. Rife with hatred and anti-semitism, the Koran is being whitewashed and pushed by the likes of CAIR and other not so moderate Islamic organizations. Ellison is known for apologist positions in supporting and protecting Islamic radicals both here and abroad. Islam and Muslims get a balck eye because of the actions of a a few nut cases filled with rage and hatred. Is this fair? no, it is not fair but this will continue to happen and it will get much worse until the majority of Muslims denounce such trolls as Hooper, Ellison and push themselves away from the calls to violence and Jihad that now permeate many of the mosques within this country. The onslaught of lawsuits and threats of more of the same from such groups as CAIR, MPAC, MSU, MSA has really started to wake many people up that Islam will try to topple us from the inside out, or via stealth Jihad and that is just one of many tools that Islam will bring to bear upon our freedom and liberties. People like Ellison and Hooper have little regard for the real instituiitons and documents that helped build up this country, esepcially the Constitution. I am very sick of islamic diversity and multiculturalism being forced upon the citizens of the USA. Exposure, education of Islam and the subversion that comes with it is the best way to defeat Islam and protect what we have in this country which is truly unique and so very special.
If only...
Submitted by Lynn, Oct 4, 2009 19:18
Ellison would see the truth in Jasser's eyes and heart. Me thinks he doth protest too much. CAIR (Ibrahim Hooper) is suing my city over prayer at the airport. I'm sick of such intrusiveness in public places where people of all relgions come and go with no thought of causing such difficulties for everyone traveling.
Dr. Jasser, Keith Ellison and Reforming Islam
Submitted by Abdul, Oct 4, 2009 17:18
Dr. Jasser is doing excellent work by publicly attacking "political Islam" including organizations like CAIR, and the imams. However, Jasser is NOT a reformer of Islam, let alone one of the leading reformers. First, he almost never speaks to Moslems. He speaks almost exclusively to conservative non-Moslems. Second, he has no qualifications as an Islamic scholar to speak about reform in Islam. Even lay Moslems do not listen to him. Religious Moslems, like Keith Ellison, have only contempt for Dr. Jasser.
We should support Dr. Jasser for exposing the extemist Islamism of the imams and of the Moslem advocacy organizations like CAIR, but we should not get up any hopes whatsoever that Dr. Jasser is either qualified or capable of stimulating reform in Islam. He will not even criticize the Koran or Muhammad which is where the problem with Islam lies.
More Reader Comments
| Title | By | Date |
Ellison is not in denial, he is in coverup and blackmail |
David Tsal |
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Sharia Debate? |
Russ |
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Jasser is right on target but... |
PatriotUSA |
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If only... |
Lynn |
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Dr. Jasser, Keith Ellison and Reforming Islam |
Abdul |
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jasper |
Peterk |
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Jasser Is Right |
Concerned Muslim |


