At War with Radical Islam? It's Time to Connect the Dots

by Lori Averick

The past year has seen a serious and alarming increase of violent
extremist activities throughout the United States. Contrary to what
some in the media would have you think, this clear and present danger
is not coming from the radical "right" or the liberal "left." It is
coming from Muslim terrorists whose activities are frightening and
well-documented. 

Authoritative Islam is a radical theo-political ideology that openly
aims to kill Jews, Christians and other non-believers who do not
convert or submit to Islam. This threat should be the primary concern
of leaders and citizens alike. Unfortunately, we are living in a
country where political correctness has trumped all security threats.
Therefore, how can we aggressively fight our enemy, when some of us
refuse to even identify them as such?

So the question that begs to be answered is: Is America at war with radical Islam and those who seek to carry out its doctrine?

To help answer that question, take a closer look at some of the
recent jihadi activities that have been glossed over and labeled as
isolated occurrences. Click on the hyperlinks to read more details
about each story:

• October 2008 – Shirwa Ahmed,
a 27-year-old born in Somalia, became the first American citizen
suicide bomber. He left his home town in Minnesota to return to Somalia
and commit jihad. FBI officials believe he was radicalized in
Minnesota, one of 20 Somali men who disappeared from the state.

 • May 2009 – Four Muslims in New York
were arrested as they attempted to bomb two New York synagogues and
shoot down military planes in New York State. Three of the four
terrorists converted to Islam in a U.S. prison.

• June 2009 – A Muslim convert, Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad,
gunned down two men outside an army recruitment office in Little Rock,
Arkansas. One young soldier was killed. The terrorist said the shooting
was in retaliation for the mistreatment of Muslims in the wars in Iraq
and Afghanistan.

• July 2009 – An organization called Hizbut-Tahrir, a
politically extreme Islamist group that is banned in Russia and Germany
for inciting violence and preaching anti-Semitism, held a recruitment
conference at the Hilton in Oak Lawn Illinois. Hizbut-Tahir openly
claims Sharia Law should replace the U.S. Constitution and aims to
restore the Caliphate as it was during the Ottoman Empire in Turkey.

• July 2009 – Daniel Patrick Boyd,
his two sons, and four other North Carolina men were arrested and
accused of plotting "violent Jihad" through a series of terror attacks
abroad. Also included in the charge sheet are claims that the group
visited Israel in 2007 with the intent of waging "violent Jihad." They
returned home, unsuccessful in their mission.

• September 2009 – An al-Qaeda terror cell
was busted in New York. Najibullah Zazi, a 24 year old Afghan-born
immigrant who drives a shuttle bus at the Denver airport, was arrested
as part of this cell and charged with "conspiracy to use weapons of
mass destruction." This is the first operating al-Qaeda cell to be
uncovered inside the U.S. since the 9-11 attacks.

• September 2009 – Hosam Maher Husein Smadi,
a 19-year-old Jordanian illegally residing in the U.S., was arrested
for attempting to use weapons of mass destruction. He parked an SUV he
believed to be loaded with explosives in a parking lot outside the
60-story Fountain Place building in downtown Dallas. Smadi expressed
his allegiance to Osama bin Laden and says he came to the U.S. to wage
Jihad against America.

• October 2009 – Luqman Ameen Abdullah,
the imam of Detroit's Mosque of Truth, was killed by FBI agents as they
were trying to arrest him on charges of conspiracy, receipt of stolen
goods, firearms offenses and more. According to the indictment,
Abdullah was preaching "offensive jihad" in his mosque, and the
establishment of a Sharia state (Islamic law) in North America.

• October 2009 – Faleh Hassan Almaleki,
an Iraqi man living in Arizona, ran down his daughter with his car
because she had become "too westernized." She died as a result of her
injuries. He was able to flee the country through Mexico and fly to
London where he was denied entry and returned to Phoenix.

• November 2009 – Major Nidal Malik Hasan
opened fire at Fort Hood Military installation in Texas, killing 13 and
wounding 42. The U.S.-born Muslim of Palestinian descent shouted
"Allahu Akbar" as he began shooting. Hasan had been the subject of
terrorism probes, but Federal authorities dropped the inquiry after
deciding that his communications to radical imams and al-Qaeda
warranted no further action.

• November 2009 – Federal prosecutors
seized five buildings including mosques, schools and a Manhattan
skyscraper because of their alleged financial ties to Iran. Prosecutors
claim that the Alavi Foundation, a Muslim organization that owns the
buildings, is engaged in money-laundering – sending the cash back to
Tehran.

• November 2009 – Federal authorities in Philadelphia
announced charges against four men for their alleged participation in a
two-year plot to funnel money and weapons to the terrorist group
Hezbollah. Authorities say these men are linked to additional support
networks in Brooklyn and the Bronx.

• December 2009 –  Umar Faruk Abdulmutallab,
a 23-year-old Nigerian man educated in London, attempted to blow up a
Northwest flight headed from Amsterdam to Detroit. He had explosives
attached to his leg which he ignited toward the end of the flight. He
was apprehended by passengers and crew after they heard what sounded
like fireworks and saw his leg and the wall of the plane on fire.
Abdulmutallab claimed that he was carrying out the act for al-Qaeda. 

Waking Up

There is an abundance of evidence that suggests that America is
indeed under attack and that Muslim terrorists have declared war on the
U.S. Charles Jacobs, named by the Forward as one of America’s top 50
leaders, notes that "These are extraordinary times. We face daunting
challenges for which there are no known answers. Chief among them are
Islamic anti-Semitism and the global jihad that pose enormous,
unanticipated threats to Jews around the world."

There are too few among us who are willing to connect the dots of
these events and honestly acknowledge the gravity of our situation. Now
is the time to band together and educate ourselves and our communities
– before it is too late. 

The methods of dealing with this threat must be elevated to a
priority national debate. But in order to do so, the first step is that
we must all -- in the words of renowned historian Bernard Lewis in the
must-see documentary film on this issue, The Third Jihad -- “Wake up!”

 The Third Jihad can be seen at www.TheThirdJihad.com