This Is No Fairy Tale

Oh no, the big bad wolf is coming to blow our house down. Run Little Red Riding Hood...RUN!!!!

Just like in these childhood fairy tales meant to scare children it seems that a recent post on Talking Tachlis Bad Doin's at the International Academy is having the very same effect on some of the parents at the International Academy (IA) an International Baccalaureate PUBLIC high school consortium of several Oakland County school districts that is overseen by the Bloomfield Hills School District.

Talking Tachlis has been sent an email and asked by "a parent of a Jewish student" at the IA who did not identify themselves to take down our post in an effort to "respect our children's safety."

Also, the same parent was "especially concerned about having the names of minors that are in the letter" exposed. That would refer to the names of the two Muslim Student Association members who signed the letter along with the IA history teacher Marc de Zwann.

As those of us who regularly use the Internet and email know, once you send something via electronic communication, it is as good as public. But beyond that, the letter that was posted in the Talking Tachlis blog had already been sent out to parents via the Bloomfield Public Schools ListServe. The minute that "send" button was hit, that letter became part of the public domain and could have been (and was) forwarded to others. Additionally, the communication could be FOIA'd (how you request public information from public entities like government and school districts) by anyone at any time, and the district by law, would have been required to release it. Perhaps the concern about the names of minors should have been considered by the teacher long before Talking Tachlis received a copy of the letter.

Then there is the matter of the IA Blog, hosted by the very service, Blogspot, that Talking Tachlis uses. The IA Blog, named The Arab-Israeli Conflict, which promotes the sale of the book and requests donations to the Bloomfield Hills School District and through them the MSA, was posted by one of the students at the IA, Faisal Chaudhry, the same name that was listed on the letter. Not only did Chaudhry post to the IA blog but...it is a singular post...there are no others. Additionally, there is much concern about the graphics that surround the post - drawings of prostrated men, without shoes. Does this depict Muslim men praying, or does it depict men who have been killed? Why would this student group use this graphic at the same time they are asking the community for donations for books? This is troublesome at best. Also, it appears that "they" are onto "us" having scrubbed the IA Blog of the following statement that was there just a few days ago:

"Any money you donate will go to the Muslim Youth of Greater Detroit, a non-profit (501(c)(3)) affiliated with IA's Muslim Student Association. 100% of the donated money will go directly from this group to IA's History Department for the purchase of "Footnotes in Gaza".

It has been replaced with the following statement:
100% of the donated money will go to IA's History Department for the purchase of "Footnotes in Gaza". If you would like do donate directly to the IA, please write a check to "Bloomfield Hills Schools" and give it to Mr deZwaan as soon as possible.

Talking Tachlis has learned an important lesson now that the IA student who originally posted to the IA Blog site has since 'scrubbed' that verbiage. Always make a screen shot of pertinent information that you have quoted, since sites can be changed.

But this is not surprising when you peruse the site of the Muslim Youth of Greater Detroit. A strictly religious organization, of which the poster - Chaudhry - is an active member. Donations that were going to made to the MYGD through the sale of the books would be another clear violation of Federal law and the endorsement of a specific religion by the public school. That is damning evidence and clearly needed to be deleted to protect the guilty.

It is clear that the MSA is a "religious organization" as stated in the Public School Review under "extracurricular activities at the IA" along with the Christian Student Initiative. According to the ADL website: School personnel, including teachers, may not initiate, sponsor, promote, lead or participate in religious club meetings. However, school personnel may be required to monitor club meetings. 20 USCA §4071. Mr. Marc DeZwaan is listed as the groups "advisor" on the IA website and the IA Blog and appears to be much more than just a staff member to "monitor club meetings", which appears again to be a violation of this federal code.

Additionally, there is no information available on who vetted the publication in question. Was it de Zwaan? And if it was de Zwaan, and he is also the MSA advisor then where is the wall of separation?

Based on many the above facts, Talking Tachlis finds the email from the IA parent to be disingenuous. If they are concerned with the identities of the students, they should take it up with the administration as they are the ones who have "leaked" these names obviously without any regard for these students’ safety.

But, why this parent's focus on safety of our students at what is considered one of the country's premiere high schools? Are they running from a perceived threat like the "big bad wolf" - or in this case the Muslim Student Association? Have threats been made? Certainly, the verbiage used would lead one to think that is a possibility. If students are in danger, and one can only assume from the email received that the danger is to the Jewish students, not from the Jewish students, then there are more serious problems at the IA than just this one class and the terribly one-sided book the MSA is trying to push into the IA curriculum.

Now, Talking Tachlis is not heartless, after all, we understand the concerns of parents. However, to request that we remove a post that is of such great import to the Metro Detroit Jewish community, and to the community at large...questioning and now exposing the true purpose of the MSA at the IA …well, we are not going to do that. Rather, we are going to expand on what we have learned since the last post.

According to the ADL...federal law and the courts have protected student religious clubs under "The Equal Access Act" which reads:

General Rule: The Equal Access Act (" EAA") (20 U. S. C. §§ 4071-74) requires public schools which meet certain criteria to treat all student-initiated groups equally, regardless of the religious, political, philosophical or other orientation of the groups. This means that to the extent that a school board opens up its school facilities to any student-led and run non-curriculum related group, (emphasis added) it must uniformly open its facilities to all student-led and run groups, including religious ones. The EAA was adopted by Congress in 1984, and its constitutionality was upheld by the U. S. Supreme Court in Board of Education of Westside Community Schools v. Mergens, 496 U. S. 226 (1990).

The ADL site also states: "What are some concerns that arise when a club meets pursuant to the EAA? The meeting of religious clubs in school facilities pursuant to their rights under the EAA may create an appearance of school endorsement of religion in violation of the Establishment Clause. School officials must protect against such impressions and may do so by issuing disclaimers clearly stating that the school is not sponsoring, endorsing or promoting any non-curriculum related student groups. Talking Tachlis has serious concerns that a "religious student group" is exercising control over the curriculum of a class at a PUBLIC high school supported by tax dollars from all of us with the endorsement of the school district.

At the very heart of the situation is the wording: "non-curriculum related student group." This separates those groups who have a clear connection to the school’s curriculum, like the Spanish or French Clubs with a different standard than groups that have no connection. And those words are there for a very important reason when they relate to religious groups like the MSA as it falls under the doctrine of "separation of church and state." The MSA, a religious group is trying to direct curriculum through the raising of "donations" and the forced inclusion of the book "Footnotes in Gaza" into the curriculum of a history class at the IA.

If there is any question as to whether the MSA is a religious organization here is a brief history of the MSA that clearly spells out why they exist. The MSA was an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood. To learn more about the Muslim Brotherhood in America and their goal to establish a global caliphate and the institution of sharia law read this earlier Talking Tachlis post. It is important to always remember that it was the Muslim Brotherhood that funded the creation of the MSA and the MSA supports the goals of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Today, MSA's are found on most college campuses and are not without their controversy. Most recently the Muslim Student Union which is affiliated with the National MSA, was suspended from the University of California Irvine for their organization's plan (and action) to disrupt the comments of Michael Oren, the Israeli Ambassador at a school sponsored event. This is only one of many questionable actions of these groups.

Now, the MSA's have descended on our high schools, and we must not let them determine the course the curriculums our schools take. It is incumbent upon our Jewish community, and the community as a whole to make certain that a religious student organization does not direct curriculum at ANY public school, period.

It appears that the administration in BHS was asleep at the wheel on this one. But that is what the MSA, and most Islamic organizations count on...that we aren't watching or paying attention – and so far they have a pretty clear road. Our community gives them every opportunity to direct the conversation in their direction. Exactly why they scrubbed the IA Blog mentioned earlier...they got caught with their real purpose.

Do not be fooled, the MSA, and their affiliated organizations like the Muslim Brotherhood and ISNA have one motive, and that motive IS the global caliphate and the institution of sharia law here in America...and a few other not so great goals like the destruction of Israel, but that is for another post.

While the BHS may not be watching, groups like Talking Tachlis are.

Bad Doin's at the International Academy

I was forwarded the following email. Read it. It's disturbing.

From: IA Parents Information Email List
To: "ia-parents@listserv.bloomfield.org"
Sent: Mon, February 28, 2011 9:42:19 AM
Subject: [IA-Parents] supplemental history text donation effort

Dear IA Family, (International Academy, book for 12th grade in fall)
Thanks to many of you, we've passed the halfway point!!!
In order to raise the remaining 45% of the money we need, please consider the below request:
The IA History Department and the Muslim Student Association are raising funds for a supplementary text for use in IB2 History. The text, Footnotes in Gaza by Joe Sacco, is a graphic non-fiction book intended to illustrate both sides of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Thanks to your generous support, we were previously able to obtain 35 copies of Footnotes through DonorsChoose.org. Now we would like to purchase an additional 65 copies in order to enable students to take the books home for further exploration. We need to raise about $600 more to reach our goal.
To donate online through Google Checkout and for more information on the book, please visit:
http://iabookdrive.blogspot.com/
To donate directly to the History Department, feel free to make out a check to Bloomfield Hills Schools and give it to Mrs. Arola in the office. Please write Footnotes in Gaza on the Memo line. 100% of all money collected, online or otherwise, will go towards buying copies of Footnotes in Gaza.
We have no doubt that the IA community will be able to meet this challenge and raise enough money for this supplementary text! Please join us in helping our students become even more open-minded and critically-thinking “international” students.
Thank you for your support!
Marc de Zwaan, IA History Teacher
Faisal Chaudhry, IA Senior
Yunus Shabandri, IA Senior

If you have any questions, please let us know!

I read part of Joe Sacco's first Israel-bashing comic series (since collected into one volume), "Palestine." I stopped buying when I couldn't stand paying for obvious anti-Israel bias.

Footnotes in Gaza is one I haven't read, but I did watch him speak on this book. He promotes as fact massacres by Israeli soldiers in Gaza in 1955 alleged by Palestinians and their handlers. One would assume that with all of the fine-toothed coverage Israel has received since its founding, if these massacres happened, it would have been much easier to uncover the facts. Sacco, instead, as he did with Palestine, relies on people who claim to be witnesses. The claim that Sacco illustrates both sides of the conflict is difficult to believe based on his talk and his previous book. In typical current fashion, he isn't interested in the Israeli side.

You may wish to take the contact information above and use it to let the administrators and history teachers at IA know that Israel-hating diatribes are not actual history. Oh yeah, and members of the Muslim Student Association, an organization linked to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood should not be directing the curriculum on the Israeli-Arab conflict. You might also want to ask exactly where Sacco presents the Israeli side in his book.

Here is the website for donations. Notice that,

Any money you donate will go to the Muslim Youth of Greater Detroit, a non-profit (501(c)(3)) affiliated with IA's Muslim Student Association. 100% of the donated money will go directly from this group to IA's History Department for the purchase of "Footnotes in Gaza".

If you have trouble recalling the face of the MSA, here is a reminder from David Horowitz and an MSA representative.



by Cowznofski

Some Strong Morning Joe! Harvard Historian Rocks MSNBC by Blasting Obama's Bungling of Egypt

As we noted in a previous TT post, Harvard historian Niall Ferguson made waves with his Newsweek column, a stinging rebuke of the Administration's mishandling of the crisis in Egypt.



In a follow up interview on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," he certainly did not shrink from his bold assertions. This is a must-watch interview in which this Ivy League historian lambastes Obama and his advisors for their failure to anticipate, inexperience, ineptitude and disastrous bungling of the uprising in Egypt and toppling of Mubarak.



Said Ferguson:

The only organized opposition force in Egyptian politics right now is the Muslim Brotherhood. Now if you look closely at what the Muslim Brotherhood stands for is the imposition and enforcement of shariah law and the restoration of the caliphate. Anyone who counts this as a major breakthrough for United States foreign policy hasn't got a clue about what happens in the wake of a revolution like this. It is far too early to say that this is a triumph. On the contrary, the risk are extremely high
that between now and the end of the year the Muslim Brotherhood will get into
power and then we will be staring at something comparable in magnitude to 1979
in Iran."

--posted by MT Beadle

Muslim Brotherhood Supports Terrorism, FBI Chief Testifies

As the world fixates on Egypt and aftershocks in the Arab and Muslim world, Congress is now turning its attention to the Muslim Brotherhood and its global reach.  And not a second too soon, as people are waking up to the insidious penetration of the MB and its affiliates all across the world, including here in Michigan.  While many in Congress have danced around the Muslim Brotherhood, House Foreign Affairs Chairwoman Ileana Ros Lehtinen (R-FL) urged:

the unequivocal rejection of any involvement by the Muslim Brotherhood and other extremists who may seek to exploit and hijack these events to gain power, oppress the Egyptian people, and do great harm to Egypt's relationship with the United States, Israel, and other free nations"

Michigan Congressman Mike Rogers, new chair of the House Permanenet Select Committee on Intelligence, convened his first committee hearing on the subject, with a heavy-hitting lineup of the Beltway's intel experts

What FBI Director Robert Mueller testified at the hearing should jar all Americans out of a fog of delusion and denial.  Mueller told members of the Intel Committee that "elements of the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist group whose ideology has inspired terrorists such as Osama bin Laden, are in the United States and have supported terrorism here and overseas."

Yet the A-Team was disgraced by the glaring gaffe of James Clapper, the Director of National Intelligence,  who testified, contrary to our own US State Department,  that the Brotherhood was  largely a secular group.  Clapper's comments provoked quite a stir.

Here are just two reports on reactions from one of our go-to sites on foreign policy, The Cable, and the authoritative  Investigative Project on Terrorism.

Kirk to Clapper on Muslim Brotherhood: WTF?

Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) is only one of the many people in Washington who are scratching their heads today after the Director of National Intelligence James Clapper testified that the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt was mostly a "secular" group.

"The term ‘Muslim Brotherhood' is an umbrella term for a variety of movements, in the case of Egypt, a very heterogeneous group, largely secular, which has eschewed violence and has decried Al Qaeda as a perversion of Islam," Clapper told the first ever hearing of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence under new chairman Mike Rogers (R-MI).

ABC News was quick to point out that he U.S. State Department's Background Note on Egypt describes the Muslim Brotherhood as a "potent political and religious force."

Clapper's public affairs chief Jamie Smith "clarified" the remarks, telling ABC that Clapper really meant to say that "in Egypt the Muslim Brotherhood makes efforts to work through a political system that has been, under Mubarak's rule, one that is largely secular in its orientation - he is well aware that the Muslim Brotherhood is not a secular organization."

But the gaffe was enough to invoke the ire of many in Congress, who are warning about the risks of the Muslim Brotherhood coming to power. Kirk, who was a Naval intelligence officer, issued a statement criticizing Clapper Thursday afternoon.

"I am concerned that the DNI's assessment does not agree with recent public statements by senior leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood nor does it agree with the organization's publicly stated goals," Kirk's statement read. "As the world watches these historic events unfolding in Egypt, the United States should support an orderly transition to democracy that prevents the radical Muslim Brotherhood from grabbing power."

The debate over the real identity and role of the Brotherhood is just starting in Congress, and was at the top of lawmakers' concerns at Wednesday's hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

"Now the White House is reportedly making matters worse by apparently re-examining its position on dealing with the Muslim Brotherhood, but also stating that a new Egyptian government should include a whole host of important nonsecular actors," Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) said at the hearing. "The Muslim Brotherhood had nothing to do with driving these protests, and they and other extremists must not be allowed to hijack the movement toward democracy and freedom in Egypt."

FBI Chief: Muslim Brotherhood Supports Terrorism

IPT News
http://www.investigativeproject.org/
February 10, 2011

Elements of the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist group whose ideology has inspired terrorists such as Osama bin Laden, are in the United States and have supported terrorism here and overseas, FBI Director Robert Mueller told a House committee Thursday.
Mueller joined seven other Obama administration intelligence and law enforcement officials at a hearing of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. They spoke of the Brotherhood's U.S. ties as word spread in Egypt that President Hosni Mubarak was prepared to resign. Mubarak has repeatedly said his administration, in place since 1981, is the one thing keeping an Islamic state led by the Brotherhood from taking over Egypt.
While Mueller, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and other witnesses spelled out a variety of threats, they and some committee members highlighted the Brotherhood's ties in the United States. It was a significant departure from earlier hearings, which focused on groups more directly involved with terrorism.
"I'm concerned that the Muslim Brotherhood is using peaceful protests in Egypt for a power grab, and our government doesn't seem to grasp their threat," Rep. Sue Myrick, R-N.C., told the committee and the witnesses. "The Muslim Brotherhood isn't a danger because they are terrorists, but because they push an extremist ideology that causes others to commit acts of terrorism."
Clapper agreed that "there are entities associated with the Muslim Brotherhood here in the United States." Mueller told Myrick that he would provide the committee with greater detail on the Brotherhood's activities in closed session.
However, Clapper also characterized the Brotherhood in Egypt as a mostly secular umbrella organization. "The term 'Muslim Brotherhood'...is an umbrella term for a variety of movements, in the case of Egypt, a very heterogeneous group, largely secular, which has eschewed violence and has decried Al Qaeda as a perversion of Islam," Clapper said in response to a question from Myrick. "They have pursued social ends, a betterment of the political order in Egypt, et cetera.....In other countries, there are also chapters or franchises of the Muslim Brotherhood, but there is no overarching agenda, particularly in pursuit of violence, at least internationally."

Clapper's "secular" reference is odd, given the Brotherhood's motto is "Allah is our objective. The Prophet is our leader. The Qur'an is our law. Jihad is our way. Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope."
In a statement issued after the hearing, Myrick expressed astonishment at Clapper's assessment. ""Either the Administration doesn't know who the Muslim Brotherhood is, which shows incompetence," she said, "or they are apologizing for them, which is inappropriate for those in charge of protecting the American people. Let's be clear – the Muslim Brotherhood is NOT secular."
During the hearing, Myrick said she was also concerned about the Brotherhood's attitudes toward government. "The danger of the Muslim Brotherhood is not just encouraging terrorism through their ideology, but also trying to take over government, so everyone has to succumb and live under their ideology," Myrick said.
The scope of the Brotherhood's vision for the United States was spelled out in a 1991 document called the "Explanatory Memorandum." In that memo, which federal prosecutors introduced as evidence in two trials of the now-defunct Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, Brotherhood leaders said they planned to create an Islamic state in the United States.
In that document, the Brotherhood's stated goal was "a kind of grand Jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and "sabotaging" its miserable house by their hands and the hands of the believers so that it is eliminated and God's religion is made victorious over all other religions."
The memo also listed 29 organizations working in the United States to further the Brotherhood's goals. They include the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), the Muslim Students Association (MSA), the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT) and the Islamic Association of Palestine (IAP). The IAP and the Holy Land Foundation shared many members and directors, including those who founded the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
Clapper told the committee the U.S. government has no relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood in America. However, In response to a question from Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., Mueller said "we do not have a relationship with CAIR," although some FBI officials have attended the same events as CAIR representatives. The FBI suspended formal ties with CAIR in 2009, citing CAIR's ties with Hamas, the Middle Eastern terrorist group that controls the government in Gaza, and the ties of some CAIR leaders with Hamas front groups.
Much of the evidence tying CAIR to Hamas, another offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, was presented during the two trials of the Holy Land Foundation. Five HLF officials were convicted in 2008 of illegally sending millions of dollars to Hamas.
Much of the hearing testimony focused on the threat still posed by al-Qaida, the Islamist terrorist group responsible for the 9/11 attacks. Anwar al-Awlaki, the U.S.-born cleric who now leads al-Qaida unit based in Yemen, al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), has become perhaps the greatest threat, Clapper said.
While AQAP has primarily focused on attacks in Yemen and Saudi Arabia, Clapper said, "it is increasingly devoted to directing and inspiring attacks on the U.S. Homeland and other targets in the West, as well as Western interests in Yemen."
Other witnesses were CIA Director Leon Panetta, Michael Leiter, director of the National Counterterrorism Center; Lt. Gen. Ronald Burgess, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency; Caryn A. Wagner, under secretary for intelligence and analysis, Department of Homeland Security; Thomas A. Ferguson, principal deputy under secretary of Defense for intelligence; and Philip S. Goldberg, assistant secretary of State, Bureau of Intelligence and Research.
-------------------------------------------
ief-muslim-brotherhood-supports-terrorism

Over at the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), one of Israel's strongest Congressional supporters, also called hearings to address the Muslim Brotherhood and ongoing aid to Egypt.

Both Ros-Lehtinen and her Democratic counterpart, former Committee Chair Howard Berman (D-CA) issued tough warnings about the MB.

In a statement issued after news of Mubarak's resignation, Ros-Lehtinen said:

Now that the immediate demands of the Egyptian people have been met, steps must be taken for the prompt commencement of a calm and orderly transition process towards freedom and democracy in Egypt. This transition must include constitutional and administrative reforms, starting with the repeal of the emergency laws. These are necessary for legitimate, democratic, internationally recognized elections to take place with peaceful, responsible actors who will not only advance the aspirations of the Egyptian people, but will continue to enforce Egypt's international obligations.
The Egyptian military can continue to play a constructive role in providing for security and stability during this transformational period. The U.S. and our allies must focus our efforts on helping to create the necessary conditions for such a transition to take place.  We must also urge the unequivocal rejection of any involvement by the Muslim Brotherhood and other extremists who may seek to exploit and hijack these events to gain power, oppress the Egyptian people, and do great harm to Egypt's relationship with the United States, Israel, and other free nations.

Said Berman: "Like many I am skeptical about the Muslim Brotherhood's commitment to democracy. The Brotherhood wants Egypt to be governed by religious law rather than man-made law, a problematic position for a democrat. It has a bloody history," he said. "Even in the best-case scenario where the Brotherhood proves itself fully committed to democracy, there is every reason to believe it will try to influence the Egyptian government in ways that undermine U.S. interests and that will make Egypt a regressive, less-tolerant place."

For more reaction from the Hill to Mubarak's departure and the fear of the MB, check out Boomberg's reporting here    

Posted by MT Beadle

Who Invited the Vampires Into Our House?

As we watch the events unfold in Egypt, we listen to the multitude of experts warn us against letting the Muslim Brotherhood gain a foothold in that country.  Bob Sklar, Editor for the Jewish News had an excellent column, The Right Brotherhood? in this week's JN.  He spells out in detail the dangers of this organization bent on waging jihad in, "pursuit of a shariah-governed global Islamic state known as the caliphate." 

We all remember the stories about not inviting vampires into our homes, because without an invitation they cannot enter, and you remain safe within you own house.  So while we are all pondering the fate of Egypt and the implications of the Brotherhood there, one has to wonder who is watching our front door? 

In our Jewish community there are many organizations that are looked to for advice, protection, and information.  Whether an NGO like the Jewish Community Relations Council, The Jewish News, or our local temples and synagogues, we like to believe that they have the best interests of our Jewish community and the Jewish people at heart.  We assume that they do their due diligence before they partner with outside organizations like CAIR or the Arab American News.

But after this writer read today’s Jewish News, one can only conclude that not only do these organizations not know better, they fail to take even the requisite few minutes needed to find out who they are inviting into “our” house.  In fact, their modus operandi is to want to be “friends and neighbors” with anyone and everyone no matter their history, background, or motives.  And now it appears that they have opened the front door and invited in the vampires that are just waiting to suck (or in the case of the Muslim Brotherhood – slit a throat here or there) the blood right out of all of us.

The JN article “Faith Filled” 2/10/2011, about the world faith Sabbath, held at Temple Israel on January 30^th, reported that many religious leaders from around the metro Detroit area were invited to participate in the event. 

Alarmingly, one of the participants was Imam Achman Salie.  A five minute Internet search revealed a bevy of information about Salie, and all of it very disturbing.

It was easy to find out that the Imam is a faculty member at Oakland University who “works closely” with the MSA (Muslim Student Association).  The MSA, according The Investigative Project has its roots in the Muslim Brotherhood.  But that is not Salie’s only connection to the MB.  He is also on staff at the Fairfax Institute and listed on the instructors page.  That seems innocent enough, until you find out that the Fairfax Institute is part of the International Institute of Islamic Thought or the IIIT as it is more commonly known. 

And who exactly is the IIIT?  Andy McCarthy, former Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and renowned author and expert on Islam and jihad in his article International Institute of Islamic Thought and the Muslim Brotherhood clearly lays out the connection between the IIIT, the Muslim Brotherhood and the Holy Land Foundation Trial. According to McCarthy, "To begin with, the Brotherhood is prominently cited in DOJ’s coconspirator list for the HLF case. More significantly, central to the HLF prosecution was the Brotherhood’s 1991 internal memorandum, discussed in my column. The IIIT is expressly identified by the Muslim Brotherhood in that memorandum as being among “our organizations and the organizations of our friends.”

So, this begs the question: If Imam Achman Salie is tied to the MSA and the IIIT and if the both these organizations are tied to the Muslim Brotherhood, then why in the world would Temple Israel invite the vampire into our house?

posted by Aerie

2/15/2011 Update:

Here is the description about Salie as he is listed on the Fairfax Institute website:

Imam Achmat Salie holds the Alim Fadil Kamil degree in Islamic Jurisprudence, graduate degree in Arabic, MBA in E-Commerce, and doctrorate in Business Leadership.  He is the coordinator of the Islamic studies program.  He contributed to the book by Sally G. Bingham, Leading Religious Voices Speak Out on Our Sacred Duty to Protect the Environment.  He works closely with the Muslim Students Association at OU, offering advising and counseling, and speaking at on-going interfaith events. He directs the Islamic Center and participates on the advisory boards of the Islamic University Bank, Huda Montessori and Michigan Interfaith Power and Light. He is at work on a book and articles exploring the theme of Muhammad as CEO and servant leader.  He can be reached at mailto:salie@oakland.edu  Courses:  Islamic Literature, Islamic Ethics, Muhammad and the Quran, Muslims in America, Introduction to Islam, History of Islam.

More on Egypt, Brotherhood

IN THEIR OWN WORDS: THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD

The following out-take of Muslim Brotherhood leadership statements by the Washington Instititue for Near East Policy is a repository of wealth for understanding the MB's guiding doctrines and objectives.  TT has reprinted in full the Institute's report below, but for added emphasis, we have also selected to highlight a few statements below as they relate to the group's unbending, binding positions on Israel and global Islamic dominion. 

"We will continue to raise the banner of jihad -- two swords and a Koran -- as long as the Zionists raise their flag, with two blue stripes to represent their so-called state [reaching] from the Nile to the Euphrates. And the [Muslim] brotherhood will continue to view the Jews and Zionists as their first and foremost enemies."
-- Muhammad Badi, IkhwanOnline, April 15, 2010.

"Concerning the Group's views and stance on the issues of internal reform or any other developments at stake, we quickly evaluate the situation when we observe a certain phenomenon that does not suit our beliefs. You know, Muslim Brothers are reform-oriented. It is our approach and will not change over time. Our stance on the issues of Copts, women, Zionist enemy and all other issues at stake is clear for all."

"It is your obligation to stop the absurd negotiations, whether direct or indirect, and to support all forms of resistance for the sake of liberating every occupied piece of land in Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, and all [other] parts of our Muslim world. The sources of your authority, as all religious scholars have agreed, are the Koran and the Sunna, and not U.N. resolutions or the dictates of the Zionists or Americans."-- Mohamed Mahdy Akef, chairman, Muslim Brotherhood, IkhwanWeb, October 17, 2009.

"We will never concede our principals, and we will not concede our project. It is not a hollow project, it is a project based on Islam and history."
-- Mohamed Mahdy Akef, chairman, Muslim Brotherhood, IkhwanWeb, November 27, 2008.

It bears repeating here the MB's credo as taken from its strategic plan for North America:  
"The Ikhwan must understand that their work in America is a kind of grand jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and ’sabotaging’ its miserable house by their hands and the hands of the believers so that it is eliminated and God’s religion is made victorious over all other religions.”



 

The Muslim Brotherhood: On the Record

February 4, 2011"Islam is the solution"
-- slogan of the Muslim Brotherhood

The following sampling of comments by Muslim Brotherhood leadership in Egypt explains the group's position in the current crisis and its attitudes towards the United States, Israel, and the rest of the Arab world.

On protests in Egypt:
"Our first demand is that Mubarak goes. Only after that can dialogue start with the military establishment on the details of a peaceful transition of power."
-- Mohammed al-Beltagi, former member of Egyptian parliament, member, Muslim Brotherhood, Reuters, February 1, 2011.

On forming a coalition:
"We insist on establishing a coalition among all political powers and civil society, to sit together and lay down an agenda and a method through which we can improve this nation and help it out of this serious deadlock and tyranny that Egypt is currently witnessing."
-- Mohamed Mahdy Akef, chairman, Muslim Brotherhood, IkhwanWeb, November 27, 2008.

On Mohamed ElBaradei and the National Association for Change:
"The Muslim Brotherhood is coordinating with Dr. ElBaradei, as well as with the National Association for Change. My personal attitude as an MB member relates to the MB's policies, and if I'm requested in person to participate, I would not hesitate."
-- Ibrahim Munir, secretary general, International Organization of the Muslim Brotherhood, IkhwanWeb, January 12, 2011.

On Mubarak and succession:
"Even after (Mubarak goes), we refuse to deal with Omar Suleiman."
-- Essam al-Erian, senior leader, Muslim Brotherhood, Reuters, February 1, 2011.

On the mission and nature of the Muslim Brotherhood:
"We will never concede our principals, and we will not concede our project. It is not a hollow project, it is a project based on Islam and history."
-- Mohamed Mahdy Akef, chairman, Muslim Brotherhood, IkhwanWeb, November 27, 2008.

"Concerning the Group's views and stance on the issues of internal reform or any other developments at stake, we quickly evaluate the situation when we observe a certain phenomenon that does not suit our beliefs. You know, Muslim Brothers are reform-oriented. It is our approach and will not change over time. Our stance on the issues of Copts, women, Zionist enemy and all other issues at stake is clear for all."
-- Mohamed Mahdy Akef, chairman, Muslim Brotherhood, IkhwanWeb, October 17, 2009.

On the United States:
"The Soviet Union fell dramatically, but the factors that will lead to the collapse of the U.S. are much more powerful than those that led to the collapse of the Soviet empire -- for a nation that does not champion moral and human values cannot lead humanity, and its wealth will not avail it once Allah has had His say, as happened with [powerful] nations in the past. The U.S. is now experiencing the beginning of its end, and is heading towards its demise..."
-- Muhammad Badi, statement, IkhwanOnline, September 30, 2010.

On President Obama's Cairo speech:
"Unless one agenda and one objective unite the Arabs, I do not expect anything good to come from the West. But as long as the Arabs remain scattered and torn by internal conflicts, do not expect any outcome from this visit. However, this does not mean that I refuse to enter into a dialogue with the other: if I receive an invitation to enter into a dialogue with the U.S., I will accept the invitation."
-- Mohamed Mahdy Akef, chairman, Muslim Brotherhood, IkhwanWeb, October 17, 2009.

On resistance and jihad:
"...Jihad must not be likened to terror. Jihad means making sacrifices in order to restore what has been stolen, defend one's property, expel the occupier, and make Allah's word supreme, while terror is occupying someone else's land..."
-- Muhammad Badi, statement, IkhwanOnline, March 18, 2010.

"We will continue to raise the banner of jihad -- two swords and a Koran -- as long as the Zionists raise their flag, with two blue stripes to represent their so-called state [reaching] from the Nile to the Euphrates. And the [Muslim] brotherhood will continue to view the Jews and Zionists as their first and foremost enemies."
-- Muhammad Badi, IkhwanOnline, April 15, 2010.

On negotiations and agreements with Israel:
"It is your obligation to stop the absurd negotiations, whether direct or indirect, and to support all forms of resistance for the sake of liberating every occupied piece of land in Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, and all [other] parts of our Muslim world. The sources of your authority, as all religious scholars have agreed, are the Koran and the Sunna, and not U.N. resolutions or the dictates of the Zionists or Americans. This can be achieved if you declare the Palestine cause and the causes of the [other] occupied Islamic nations your primary concern. You must stand behind your free peoples and their various institutions in their repeated calls for boycotts, an end to normalization, and support for the resistance and its representatives... You must revoke all the agreements of capitulation.... especially the Camp David Accords... which go against the Egyptian constitution and U.N. resolutions, and do not therefore obligate Egyptian senior officials."
-- Muhammad Badi, statement, United Jerusalem Foundation, September 2010.

"After President Mubarak steps down and a provisional government is formed, there is a need to dissolve the peace treaty with Israel,"
-- Rashad al-Bayoumi, RiaNovosti, February 3, 2011

On the role of women:
"On our part, we believe that the burden of presidency must not be placed on a woman's shoulders -- any more than supervising and leading the army -- since they contradict her nature and the rest of her social and humanitarian roles."
-- Muslim Brotherhood Party Platform, Al-Masry Al-Youm, Part 1 and Part 2, August 10-11, 2007.

On confronting the "Zionist enemy":
"Resistance is the only solution against the Zio-American arrogance and tyranny, and all we need is for the Arab and Muslim peoples to stand behind it and support it. The peoples know well who is [carrying out] resistance and who has sold out the [Palestinian] cause and bargained over it. We say to our brothers the mujahideen in Gaza: be patient, persist in [your jihad], and know that Allah is with you..."
-- Muhammad Badi, IkhwanOnline, September 30, 2010.

On a Palestinian state:
"I speak out that the Palestinian nation including all factions should have a clear agenda and work for liberating their homeland. The Arab and Muslim Worlds are also involved in this agenda, because Palestine isn't owned by the Palestinians alone, Al Aqsa Mosque isn't owned by the Palestinians alone, Jerusalem isn't owned by the Palestinians alone, but they are deemed holy by all Arabs and Muslims. Brothers in Palestine should first prepare an agenda to liberate their country, and then all sincere people of the Arab and Muslim nation will back them."
-- Mohamed Mahdy Akef, chairman, Muslim Brotherhood, IkhwanWeb, November 27, 2008.

On Arab reconciliation:
"A comprehensive reconciliation requires Arab countries to possess a free will of action that is independent from the American administration that will allow it to break the siege of division, weakness, and paralysis imposed on it."
-- Mohamed Habib, vice chairman, Muslim Brotherhood, IkhwanWeb, February 2, 2009.

Compiled by Washington Institute research assistant Allison LeBlanc and intern Kelli Vanderlee.

Israel Urges Egypt to Uphold Peaceful Relations

• Islamists attack, plan terror attacks in Sinai Hamas prisoners in Egypt escape to Gaza

An Egyptian watchtower overlooking the Gaza Strip. (Marius Arnesen)

• Netanyahu: Islamists can seize control amid chaos

Egypt could “fall into the hands of radical Islamists as a result of the country’s uprising,” Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said to a European delegation at the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, on Monday (Feb. 7).


Israel and the United States are concerned that the situation in Egypt could be “exploited” to provoke unrest around the Middle East and threaten Egypt’s relatively quiet border with Israel.


Incompatibility between Islamism and secular ‘liberal’ democracy is worrying experts around the Middle East, Al Jazeera News TV reported.


Although the protesters may have been seeking social reform at first, "in a situation of chaos, an organized Islamist body can seize control of a country,” Netanyahu said, Israel’s Haaretz reported.


“It happened in Iran. It happened in other instances,” he added. Please click here for The Israel Project’s Iran Kit.


Iran witnessed a revolution in 1979 in which Islamic forces quashed the opposition and moderate voices. The country has been under Islamic control ever since.


The world now fears that Iran is developing nuclear weapons in order to intimidate the West, Arab nations or possibly “wipe Israel from the map,” as Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has stated.


Iran-backed Hezbollah and Hamas are allegedly planning terrorist attacks in the Sinai Peninsula, the Egyptian region that borders Hamas-controlled Gaza.


A section of an Egyptian-Israeli gas pipeline was blown up by terrorists on Saturday (Feb. 5) in Sinai. Egyptian officials now say the bombing was carried out by four armed men and that the explosion halted gas exports to both Jordan and Israel.


There was fighting in Rafah, an Egyptian city that borders Gaza, on Monday (Feb. 7). Attackers, identified as members of the Islamic group Takfir wal-Hijram used rocket-propelled grenades and two people were injured, Palestinian Maan News Agency reported.


The attacks in Sinai over the past few days suggest that “provocateurs are trying to take advantage of the political turmoil in Cairo to spread unrest in Sinai,” The New York Times reported.


Egypt closed the Rafah-Gaza crossing because Hamas-members have escaped from Egyptian prisons into Gaza through illegal smuggling tunnels.


Sinai has become increasingly dangerous in recent years as Islamist groups have planned terrorist attacks and tried to attack, kidnap and terrorize foreign tourists there.

Additional Reading:

Jerusalem, Feb. 8 - Israel fears that the current Egyptian government could be replaced with a repressive, hostile regime that causes regional instability.

Is Jordan next?

Haaretz

A successful attempt to remove the current regime in Jordan is of a totally different magnitude

Muslim Brotherhood: ‘Prepare Egyptians for war with Israel'

Jerusalem Post
A leading Muslim Brotherhood member declares that Egyptians should prepare for war with Israel.

Israel, Alone Again?

By:Yossi Klein Halevi
New York Times

"The fear of an Islamist encirclement has reminded Israelis of their predicament in the Middle East. In its relationship with the Palestinians, Israel is Goliath. But in its relationship with the Arab and Muslim worlds, Israel remains David."

Will the Real Imam Rauf Please Stand Up?

            Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, in his continuing bid to brand himself as a moderate Muslim, one interested only in peaceful outreach to those of other faiths here in the United States, will be barnstorming the country on his “Meet the Imam” Charm Offensive. His other motive in traveling the nation is to solicit donations for his Cordoba Initiative, you know, the proposed 13 story Islamic center near Ground Zero, the one we’re not supposed to refer to as the “Ground Zero Mosque.”

            Other aspects of this project we’re not supposed to question are: Where are they going to get the million  of dollars they need to build this project? Who will really be served, as there are so few Muslims in the surrounding communities? The main question that we’re not allowed to ask is: Why has there been so little investigation of Imam Rauf by the American mainstream press? Are they so ready to accept their dhimmi status according to Sharia law, that they accept whatever Imam Rauf and his supporters dish out? Is “speaking truth to power” only done when there are no consequences?

            Fortunately, our Talking Tachlis crack investigative team has taken the time that the MSM has been too afraid to do to discover whether Rauf is telling the truth, or if he is indulging in taqqiya. We want to get the skinny on Rauf’s real motives behind this initiative.

            After a simple survey of some of  the available knowledge on Imam Rauf, it’s easy to conclude that we should remain suspicious of the imam. Just a few of the documented facts discovered by Alyssa Lappen of ACT! for America that the mainstream press doesn’t think are important enough to report:

In 2001 on 60 Minutes, Rauf called U.S. policies “an accessory to the crime that happened,” and said, “In ... the most direct sense, Osama bin Laden was made in the USA.”

In the fiscal year ended Jun. 30, 2009, Feisal's ASMA accepted at least $1.3 million, including $576,312 from Qatar,13 whose government stands accused of funding international terrorism, has long harbored terror financiers, and for decades hosted Muslim Brotherhood spiritual chief Yusuf al-Qaradawi. Rauf is quite friendly with Qaradawi, a large, founding shareholder in terror-funding al-Taqwa Bank who champions sharia law, wife beating and suicide bombing.

Rauf seeks more U.S. legal “leeway” for sharia --- to put Muslims above the law --- by “[Inviting] voices of all religions to join the dialogue in shaping the nation’s practical

life, [and allowing] religious communities ... to judge ...according to their own laws.

In March 2010, also in Arabic, Rauf stridently denounced interfaith discussions. “I don't believe in interfaith dialogue,” he said in an article that highlighted his statement in its headline.

            There is much more, including Rauf’s connections to Hamas and The Muslim Brotherhood. And the fact that he has completely, and without challenges from those who should know better, misrepresented the contents of his book. The American edition is called, What’s Right with Islam Is What’s Right with America. The earlier Malaysian edition though, was printed under the title, A Call to Prayer from the World Trade Center Rubble: Islamic Dawa in the Heart of America Post-911. “Dawa”, like “jihad” is a word we need to understand. Dawa means to invite non-Muslims to accept the truth of Islam . . . by any means necessary.

Others have already done the digging. It’s up to us to read what they found and add our voices to those already informing the public and protesting this Islamic insult to our nation especially since, when Rauf does come to Dearborn on January 15, we can depend on both the Detroit News and Free Press to fawn over this alleged model of moderateness.

It’s interesting that Rauf’s first event on his tour will be the First Annual ISNA Diversity Forum, organized by the Islamic Society of North America. Diversity, eh? Will this be the Helen Thomas brand of diversity? Or will it be even worse?
by
Cowznofski