Jenny's blog

Frank Gaffney Jr. in an important piece, writes how vital it is to understand Islam's threat to the U.S.

"John Brennan, the assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism, last week approvingly recalled a key point in the speech Barack Obama delivered in Cairo in June: "America is not and never will be at war with Islam." Unfortunately, that statement ignores the fact that the decision as to whether the United States is at war with anybody is not entirely up to our leadership or people. The real question is: Is Islam' at war with us?"

The nature of Sharia law is that eventually everyone must follow it.  If a person says that they follow Sharia law they are in some ways supporting this idea.  This is the danger that we as Americans face and this is the war we are fighting. Officials are beginning to see the danger in this because of a law suit against the Treasury Department and Federal Reserve by Kevin Murray, a Michigan Iraq war veteran.

"Murray is challenging on constitutional separation of church-and-state grounds the practice of a U.S. government-owned company, the insurance conglomerate AIG, promoting Sharia-compliant products."

One of the dangers of Sharia Law is that those who claim they are moderate are in reality trying to promote Sharia Law in the west.  For example the organization CAIR which says they are moderate has actually been associated with people who have been involved with terrorist organizations.  To learn more about this watch "The Third Jihad." It is crucial to understand that Sharia Law poses a threat to our western freedoms and it is critical that we prevent this. Click here to read the entire article.

Bloomberg recently reported a terrorist threat in Australia.  One of the biggest military bases in Sydney known as, Holsworthy Barracks, was targeted by five people who may be connected to Somali Islamist militia al-Shabaab.  Al-Shabaab is an Islamic organization that controls a part of Somalia.  The U.S has put al-Shabaab on the terrorist list and says that they may have some connection with al-Qaeda.

“If al-Shabaab were to obtain a haven in Somalia, which could then attract al-Qaeda and other terrorist actors, it would be a threat to the United States,” Clinton said, according to a State Department transcript.

The five men are all between 22 and 33 in age and of Somali and Lebanese decent and they are set to be in court again on October 26th facing terrorism charges. Al-Shabaab denied any connection to the plot reported the Australian Broadcasting Corp. The broadcaster however stated that Rage, who spoke on behalf of al-Shabaab, probably does not have connections with the whole group. Even though this threat occurred far away we should be wary of the camps that could develop in Islamic countries.  The documentary The Third Jihad pinpoints some terrorist breeding camps that are already in use, we must do everything possible to prevent more from developing.

Is the war really over? Today The Detroit News reported that the rise of Radical Islam is declining and there is less support for Radical Islam in many of the Muslim and Arab countries.

“In April, Indonesian Islamist parties that had emerged four years earlier to capture 39 percent of the vote lost ground in parliamentary elections this time around, falling to below 30 percent. "You can't pray away a bad economy, unemployment, poverty and crime," one voter, a 45-year old shop assistant, told Agence France Press.” “Then in May came parliamentary elections in Kuwait, where women had won the right to vote and hold office in 2005 but had never yet won office. Even though the Islamic Salafi Alliance issued a fatwa against voting for female candidates, four captured seats in parliament. Adding insult to injury for the Islamists, their representation fell from 21 seats to 11. "There is a new mindset here in Kuwait," the al-Jazeera network reported, "and it's definitely going to reverberate across the Gulf region."

There is a similar decline in support from voters in other countries as well, such as Jordan, Pakistan, and Lebanon.  The riots in Iran from the outcome of the presidential election also show the increase in the voters’ awareness of their own rights and their desires for their freedoms. There has also been a change in the Muslim world regarding who supports and justifies terrorist suicide bombings. The decrease in support is definitely a positive development in the fight against Radical Islam; however we must remember that Radical groups are not disappearing.  It is crucial to continue educating people about the dangers of these Radical Islam groups and put a stop to their growth.

Bryant Neal Vinas is accused of attempting to take part in a suicide bombing attack last year.  The New York Times reported that Mr. Vinas grew up in Brooklyn, converted to Islam in 2004, and was recruited into an Al Qaeda education program sometime between March and July 2008.  Mr. Vinas was trained in different explosives and, soon after, attempted twice to attack American bases.  During his 14 months in Pakistan, he also provided information to terror leaders of the Long Island Rail Road for a possible suicide bomb attempt. Mr. Vinas also provided inside information on how the recruiting camp works.  He said that people come to the camp through many different ways: Internet, mosques, criminal groups in Europe, through friends, etc.  Each person gives the leaders their and their relative’s information, hands their passports to Al Qaeda and receives another identity.  They then swear their allegiance to Al Qaeda and the leaders then run their lives. This article is particularly disturbing because it shows how easily people who are not born into the Islamic religion become part of the fundamental Islamic extremist groups.  It is important to learn how prevalent homegrown terror is today.