In the news - muslims......

[Soldier4Christ]

Richard Gere helped Hamas win power?
Terror group thanks U.S. actor for urging Palestinians to vote

Hamas has thanked U.S. actor Richard Gere for his efforts in urging Palestinians to vote in local municipal elections two years ago, which the terrorist group dominated by a large margin.

"We thank Richard Gere for his efforts in the historic election of the Palestinian Islamic resistance (Hamas)," stated Abu Abdullah, largely considered one of the most important operational members of Hamas' so-called military wing.

Abdullah and other Hamas leaders were quoted on the record thanking Gere in the new book "Schmoozing with Terrorists: From Hollywood to the Holy Land Jihadists Reveal their Global Plans – to a Jew!," by WND Jerusalem bureau chief Aaron Klein.

Working with One Voice, a leftist Israeli organization, Gere starred in a commercial urging voter turnout that was broadcast repeatedly on Palestinian television in January 2005. The local municipal Palestinian elections were one of the first since the late PLO leader Yasser Arafat held what was widely regarded as a sham vote three decades ago.

The elections were split between Hamas legislators and members of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party, which the U.S. considers moderate.

"Hi, I'm Richard Gere, and I'm speaking for the entire world. We're with you during this election time," said Gere in the commercial.

"It's really important: Get out and vote," continued the actor, his words simultaneously translated into Arabic.

Then, switching to Arabic, the star of such films as "Pretty Woman," "Primal Fear" and "American Gigolo," concluded: "Take part in the election."

Gere appeared in the commercial with Chief Palestinian Justice Taysir Tamimi and former Greek Orthodox Church spokesman Atallah Hanna.

Tamimi, interviewed in Klein's book, is a prominent justifier of suicide bombings who regularly delivers fiery sermons on Palestinian television calling for the downfall of America and Israel.

"Of course the Palestinians have the right to martyrdom attacks," stated Tamimi in "Schmoozing."

Gere's other co-star in the commercial, Hanna, was fired from his church position after Israel accused him of directly aiding terror organizations. He has held public solidarity meetings with leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah and appears regularly on Palestinian television urging children to engage in suicide attacks.

"We encourage our youth to participate in the resistance, to carry out martyrdom attacks," said Hanna during a recent interview.

Palestinians last year took Gere's advice and voted en masse, electing Hamas legislators by a large margin.

Hamas' Abdullah thanked Gere and urged the actor to "tell your American government that they should respect the democratic choice of the Palestinians in the elections that Gere promoted and that they should stop undermining the legitimate government of Hamas."

[Soldier4Christ]

 Jersey City worker triggerman in Pakistan assassination

A Jersey City grocery clerk had a secret life before he started stocking shelves: He was a Pakistani assassin wanted for a decade-old murder, law enforcement sources said.

Akhtar Hussain Muawia sneaked into the country under an assumed name less than a year after the murder of a top Shia leader, moved in with his sister and worked in his brother-in-law's Mashaallah Grocery, the sources said.

The NYPD unmasked Muawia several months ago when a 30-year-old civilian analyst discovered his true identity, sources said.

"If what you say is true, that was not a holy man," said an employee at the Sunni Rizvi Jamia mosque in Jersey City, where Muawia worshiped.

"They left and no one talked about them. No one said a word. I do not like thinking that was happening here," the worker said.

Muawia was arrested in May as the alleged gunman who killed Shia leader Mahmood Shah in Pakistan in 1997, sources said. He is in federal custody fighting deportation.

"It's 100% not true," said Muawia's lawyer Amy Nussbaum Gell. "They are using buzz words, like 'terrorist,' 'murder,' all because they think they can get away with railroading a Muslim kid," she said.

Gell said Muawia was cleared - in absentia - of the murder in a Pakistani trial in February. "They have nothing on this young man, other than he is Muslim," Gell said.

Immigration sources agreed with Muawia's lawyer.

"He was more of a lamb than a lion," said a federal immigration source familiar with Muawia's arrest.

But a law enforcement source countered that Muawia, 33, was never cleared in Pakistan, and did more than work the cash register at his brother-in-law's food store.

It's believed the three-aisle bodega laundered money for the terrorist organization Sunni Sipah-e-Sahaba/Pakistan (SSP).

Muawia was allegedly a favored assassin with the SSP, which has been blamed for the massacres of scores of Pakistani civilians as it pushed a pro-Sunni, anti-American agenda.

An SSP cell was first discovered in New York City in 2003, when investigators raided a Brooklyn apartment and found recruitment documents and membership forms, sources said.

Another SSP member was deported after being caught in 2004 photographing the Brooklyn and Williamsburg bridges.

Federal immigration officials arrested Muawia's brother-in-law, Mumtaz Ahmed, 47, last October, as part of a money-laundering investigation, sources said. Muawia was arrested at the same time and charged with being in the country illegally. Ahmed was eventually deported, but Muawia was let go.

Aside from his brush with immigration, Muawia remained under the radar until the NYPD analyst began piecing together his history in February last year.

By March this year, the Ivy League analyst felt he had pulled together enough information to prove the Jersey City grocery clerk was the wanted assassin.

A month later, the NYPD tracked Muawia to Jersey City, and put him under surveillance. The NYPD contacted the Newark Joint Terrorism Task Force and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which arrested him in early May.

[Shammu]

Al Qaeda threatens Libya attack

CAIRO, Egypt (AP)  -- Al Qaeda's No. 2 figure harshly criticized Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi in a new audio tape Saturday, accusing him of being an enemy of Islam and threatening a wave of attacks against the North African country because it improved relations with the U.S.

 In the 28-minute audio tape called "Unity of the Ranks," Ayman al-Zawahiri also announced that the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group was joining ranks with al Qaeda.

"The Islamic nation is witnessing a blessed step ... The brothers are escalating the confrontation against the enemies of Islam: Gadhafi and his masters, the Washington crusaders," al-Zawahiri said in the audio tape.

The recording could not be independently verified, but it appeared on a Web site commonly used by insurgents and carried the logo of al Qaeda's media production house, as-Sahab.

The recording also carried a message from Abu Laith al-Libi, a Libyan al Qaeda commander in Afghanistan who accused Gadhafi of decades of tyranny.

"He is the tyranny of Libya and is dragging the country to the swamp," al-Libi said in the recording that also featured old video footage of him walking with other masked gunmen.

"After long years, he (Gadhafi) discovered suddenly that America is not an enemy ... and is turning Libya into another crusader base," said al-Libi, who has appeared in several recent al Qaeda videos.

For decades, the U.S. had regarded Libya as a pariah state after Gadhafi came to power in a military coup in 1969 and turned against the West.

Libya was demonized for sponsoring various terrorist groups and for trying to undermine pro-Western governments in Africa. Washington put Libya on a list of state sponsors of terrorism and imposed sanctions that barred American companies from doing business in the oil-rich country. In 1986, U.S. warplanes carried out airstrikes against Libya.

But the tide started to turn in 2003, after Gadhafi's surprise decision to dismantle Libya's clandestine nuclear program. That same year, Libya reached a $2.7 billion settlement with families of the victims of the 1988 Pan Am bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland, and the next year it paid $170 million in compensation to the families of the 170 victims of the 1989 bombing of a French UTA passenger jet.

The U.S. resumed full diplomatic relations with Libya last year and removed Libya from the State Department's list of terrorism sponsors.

The State Department also has praised Libya's cooperation in helping the U.S. in the search for al Qaeda and other terror suspects in the Middle East and North Africa.

Al Qaeda threatens Libya attack

[Soldier4Christ]

Pakistani President Musharraf declares emergency, replaces chief justice, cuts communications

Gen. Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency in Pakistan on Saturday, suspending the constitution, replacing the chief justice before a crucial Supreme Court ruling on his future as president, and cutting communications in the capital.

His leadership threatened by an increasingly defiant court and an Islamic movement that has spread to Islamabad, Musharraf's emergency order accused some judges of "working at cross purposes with the executive" and "weakening the government's resolve" to fight terrorism.

Seven of the 17 Supreme Court judges immediately rejected the emergency, which suspended the current constitution. Police blocked entry to the Supreme Court building and later took the deposed chief justice and other judges away in a convoy, witnesses said.

In an address to the nation late Saturday on state-run television, Musharraf said Pakistan was at a "dangerous" juncture, its government threatened by Islamic extremists. He said he hoped democracy would be restored following parliamentary elections.

"But, in my eyes, I say with sorrow that some elements are creating hurdles in the way of democracy," said Musharraf, who was wearing civilian clothes and spoke firmly and calmly. "I think this chaos is being created for personal interests and to harm Pakistan."

The order drew swift complaints from the United States and Britain — Musharraf's main Western allies. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged restraint on all sides and a return to democracy in Pakistan.

The United States "does not support extraconstitutional measures," Rice said from Turkey, where she was participating in a conference with Iraq's neighbors.

Musharraf claimed that 61 terrorists have been freed on order from the court — an apparent reference a case that has been led by the now-deposed chief justice to press authorities over suspects held by intelligence agencies without charge.

"Extremists are openly roaming," he said "And no one knows whether any of the these freed men were behind recent bomb attacks."

Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, a longtime rival of Musharraf who recently returned from eight years of exile, flew back to Pakistan from Dubai where she was visiting family. She left the airport under police escort; her house was surrounded by paramilitary troops.

After her arrival at Karachi's Airport, Bhutto said she did not believe there would be fair elections as long as emergency rule remained in place.

"Unless General Musharraf reverses the course it will be very difficult to have fair elections," she told Sky News television by telephone. "I agree with him that we are facing a political crisis, but I believe the problem is dictatorship, I don't believe the solution is dictatorship.

"The extremists need a dictatorship, and dictatorship needs extremists."

The government halted all television transmissions in major cities other than state-controlled Pakistan TV. Telephone service in the capital, Islamabad, was cut.

Musharraf said some independent TV channels had contributed to the uncertainty in the country.

In justification, the emergency order obtained by The Associated Press said "the constitution provides no solution for this situation, there is no way out except through emergent and extraordinary measures," it said.

Musharraf, who seized power in a 1999 coup and has been a close ally of the United States since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, has struggled to contain spreading Islamic militancy that has centered along the Afghan border and spread to the capital and beyond. Hundreds have died in recent weeks.

Pakistanis have increasingly turned against the government of Musharraf, who failed earlier this year to oust Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry — the chief justice replaced Saturday.

It was not clear whether U.S. officials had advance knowledge of Saturday's action.

Rice said that to her knowledge, U.S. officials had yet to hear directly from Musharraf after his declaration. She said she last spoke with Musharraf a couple days ago but that other U.S. officials had made the American position clear to him more recently.

Rice would not detail the conversations, but did say the U.S. told Pakistani leaders that "even if something happens, that we would expect the democratic election to take place because Pakistan has got to return to a constitutional order as soon as possible, and Pakistanis have to have a prospect of free and fair elections."

Crucial parliamentary elections meant to restore civilian rule are due by January. Musharraf himself was overwhelmingly re-elected last month by the current parliament, dominated by his ruling party, but the vote was challenged.

The Supreme Court has emerged this year as the main check on Musharraf's dominance and is due to issue a verdict on whether he could run for president while still serving as army chief before his current term expires Nov. 15.

Most analysts thought Musharraf was on shaky legal ground in his re-election by lawmakers last month — a vote that was boycotted by most of the opposition — but they still expected the court to rule in his favor to prevent further destabilizing Pakistan.

However in recent days some judges had made comments that they would not be swayed by threats from senior officials that an emergency might be declared if the court ruled against the general.

The seven Supreme Court judges rejected the declaration of emergency and ordered top officials, including the prime minister, and military officers not to comply with it. The two-page ruling said there were no grounds for an emergency "particularly for the reasons being published in the newspapers that a high profile case is pending and is not likely to be decided in favor of the government."

At least seven trucks brought armed police and paramilitary ranger troops to Constitution Avenue that passes in front of the court, Parliament and the official residences of the president and prime minister.

Paramilitary troops behind rolled barbed wire blocked access to an official compound housing lawmakers — barring even wives, children and even a ruling party senator from entering.

Bhutto, seen by many supporters as key to a possible return to democracy, went to Dubai after being targeted by assassins in Pakistan last month. Suicide bombers attacked her homecoming parade after eight years in exile, killing more than 140 people.

Musharraf's order allows courts to function but suspends some fundamental rights guaranteed by the constitution, including freedom of speech. It also allows authorities to detain people without informing them of the charges.

The emergency was expected to be followed by arrests of lawyers and other perceived opponents of the government, including civil society activists and possibly even members of the judiciary itself, a ruling party lawmaker said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

Private Geo TV reported the arrest of the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, Aitzaz Ahsan — a lawyer for Chaudhry in the case that led to his reinstatement in July.

With telephone lines cut, it was not possible to contact government spokesmen for confirmation.

Nawaz Sharif, a former prime minister who was deported in September as he tried to return from exile, condemned the emergency and said Musharraf should resign. He also urged the people of Pakistan to rise against Musharraf.

"If you don't do it today, it will too late then," he told Geo TV from Saudi Arabia.

[nChrist]

The time bomb in Pakistan appears to be lit. We just don't know how long the fuse is and whether or not it can be cut.

[Soldier4Christ]

I think that someone is behind the times. It has been known for sometime now that they are not only in Mexico but also in the U.S.


 US fears Hamas, Hizballah setting up shop in Mexico

Washington believes the Palestinian terror group Hamas and the Iranian-backed Lebanese terrorist militia Hizballah are looking to set up operations in Mexico with the aim of eventually infiltrating the United States, according to a former CIA counter-terrorism official.

Robert Grenier, who until recently was head of the CIA's counter-terrorism center, told a press conference in Mexico last Thursday that the Muslim terrorist organizations see the illegal immigration and drug trafficking networks in the Latin American nation as the most effective way to move people and equipment into the US.

Grenier said that the Bush Administration fears both Hamas and Hizballah may already have sleeper cells operating in Mexico.

Hamas and Hizballah have both threatened in the past to extend their war against Israel to include the United States.

[nChrist]

Brothers and Sisters,

Realistically, we should all know that there are already armies of terrorists among us. That's the cost of dereliction of duty and failure to secure our borders in a time of war. Further, our government already knows this, and they don't care.

Personal agendas and being politically correct is simply more important than our sovereignty and security. The cost will be horrible when it starts, and the innocent will pay that cost while those responsible are sitting in bunkers. All this takes is a tiny bit of common sense to figure out, and we can be sure that the terrorists have figured it out.

SO, what's the answer? It's too late, and there is no answer. We simply take our lumps for being stupid! We'll just have to see how many thousands of lives it will take to wake them up - IF EVER! By the way, it could easily be MILLIONS this time. I'll guess it will be dirty bombs and chemical weapons. It's a very simple matter of just connecting the dots, and the puzzle is one for beginners.

[HisDaughter]

When you said that there were probably sleeper cells in Mexico already, my first thought was that it wouldn't knock me over to find that there are sleeper cells here.  And it does make sense that they could enter the US very easily from Mexico.

Realistically, we should all know that there are already armies of terrorists among us. That's the cost of dereliction of duty and failure to secure our borders in a time of war. Further, our government already knows this, and they don't care.

Personal agendas and being politically correct is simply more important than our sovereignty and security.

This is as true a statement as I've ever heard!
And yes, there is no answer.  It is too late.  And we are going to take our lumps because our government is greedy and because of that greed has sold out her own people.

Hamas and Hizballah have both threatened in the past to extend their war against Israel to include the United States.

Without a doubt.  Being a friend of Israel makes us an enemy to many.  My hope and prayer is that if America never does another thing right, that she will not sell out Israel.  And WOE to her if she does!

[Soldier4Christ]

When you said that there were probably sleeper cells in Mexico already, my first thought was that it wouldn't knock me over to find that there are sleeper cells here.  And it does make sense that they could enter the US very easily from Mexico.

The organization of Hamas actually originated here in the U.S. under a different name. There are numerous cells already here and they are recruiting many more followers. The following map is just a listing of those that are currently known by "The Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT) is a non-profit research group founded by Steven Emerson in 1995. It is recognized as the world's most comprehensive data center on radical Islamic terrorist groups. For more than a decade, the IPT has investigated the operations, funding, activities and front groups of Islamic terrorist and extremist groups in the United States and around the world."


http://www.investigativeproject.org/maps.php

[Shammu]

Muslim women face worse struggles

By FRANK JORDANS, Associated Press Writer Thu Nov 8, 9:02 AM ET

GENEVA - Women in predominantly Muslim countries are struggling to compete for jobs, win equal pay and hold political office, falling behind the rest of the world in eliminating discrimination, a report said Thursday.

Nordic nations, by contrast, received the best overall grades for gender parity in education, employment, health and politics, according to the review of 128 countries compiled by the World Economic Forum.

The United States received mixed marks.

"The purpose of the rankings is to bring out where a country stands in terms of dividing the resources that are available between women and men," said Saadia Zahidi, one of the report's three co-authors.

Sweden, which has more women than men holding high political office, topped the list, followed by fellow Nordics Norway, Finland and Iceland. New Zealand, Philippines, Germany, Denmark, Ireland, and Spain round out the top 10.

Zahidi said religious and cultural reasons are important in understanding why men have economic, political, education and health advantages over women in much of the world.

Ex-Soviet nations with a Muslim majority, such as Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan, were in the middle of the field, but nearly all countries in the Middle East place in the bottom third. Pakistan, Chad and Yemen were at the bottom.

Women living on the Arabian peninsula receive nearly as much education and health benefits as men there, Zahidi said, "but they're held back on political participation and economic empowerment."

The annual study does not take into account a country's overall level of economic development: women in Sri Lanka, South Africa, Cuba and Lesotho all fared better — relatively speaking — than women in industrialized nations such as Japan, Switzerland and the United States, which fell eight places from last year's study to 31st.

The U.S. scored lower because the percentage of female legislators, senior officials and managers fell in 2007, and the pay gap between women and men widened, the report said.

The world's most populous nations — China and India — were hurt in the study by the preference of many parents for boys, which has led to abortions and infanticide being directed primarily against girls.

Muslim women face worse struggles

[Shammu]

Muslim Rivalry Hits New York Prisons

BY JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN - Staff Reporter of the Sun
November 7, 2007

The rivalry and violence between Sunni and Shiite Muslims isn't just limited to Iraq. It is increasingly found in one place presumed shut off from the influence of faraway sectarian politics: New York's state prisons.

In the last two decades, the state's Muslim inmates, who number 7,987, have been increasingly identifying as either Sunni or Shiite, a phenomenon that prison chaplains elsewhere say is most pronounced in New York. Shiite inmates, who make up less than 4% of the Muslims incarcerated here, have long reported religious persecution by the Sunni-dominated Muslim chaplaincy employed by the state. The Sunni-Shiite divide has played a role in at least one stabbing between inmates in 2004, e-mails by prison officials show.

Shiite inmates have long demanded their own chaplains and a separate place to pray on Fridays, apart from other Muslim inmates. A little-noticed federal court ruling improves the prospects that Shiite inmates will see their demands met.

The recent ruling by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals opens the way for a trial in which jurors will weigh the demands of Shiite inmates seeking a separate Friday prayer service against the staffing and logistical concerns of prison officials. The court ruling overturns a court decision by a federal judge in Syracuse, Paul Magnuson, who ruled last year that Shiite Muslims could either pray individually from their cells or join the general Muslim service, which Shiite inmates say is Sunni-dominated. Noting that at least five Shiites are needed for a prayer quorum, Judge Magnuson said there even weren't likely enough participating Shiite inmates at any facility to constitute a valid communal prayer.

The 2nd Circuit's decision asks Judge Magnuson to look closer at whether joint prayer with Sunnis impinges on Shiite beliefs and at the prison system's capacity to accommodate separate prayer services. The three federal judges who sent the case back to Judge Magnuson were Roger Miner, Jose Cabranes, and Paul Crotty.

One chaplain said he was not aware of any other state prison system currently offering a separate Shiite service.

"I've not heard of that being a big issue in other places," a vice president of the American Correctional Chaplains Association, A.J. Sabree, said.

Imam Sabree, who is a Muslim chaplain in Georgia's state prisons, questioned why a prison system should distinguish between the two Muslim denominations when inmates from a variety of Protestant groups routinely pray together.

"That would be similar to Baptists saying they didn't want to worship with United Methodists," he said.

The New York State Department of Correctional Services offers a general Catholic and Protestant service, as well as occasional Greek Orthodox, Jehovah's Witness, and Seventh-day Adventist services, a prison spokesman, Erik Kriss, said. The state offers services for Jewish inmates, but does not distinguish between the various movements within Judaism. Services are also offered for inmates who follow Nation of Islam, Rastafarianism, and Native American religions.

But New York State has argued that a separate Shiite service in addition to the generic Muslim service would not be feasible because of space considerations and the funds required for staff to supervise another set of services. The official tally of Shiite inmates is 60, a prison spokesman, Erik Kriss, said, adding that the prison system estimated between 200 and 300 inmates identified as Shiite.

The prison system began counting Shiite inmates in 2001, although some refused to cooperate in the count. Doing so required filling out a "Change of Religious Designation Form," which, according to court papers, bothered some inmates, who said it was the prison's tallying system, not their religious beliefs, that had changed. In a given prison facility, there might be between three and seven Shiite inmates, according to several estimates.

The Friday prayer service of the two groups is generally similar in content. The most noticeable difference may be visual: Sunnis generally cross their arms during prayer, while Shiites leave them by their side.

One plaintiff, Antwon Dennis, who is serving a life sentence for murder, said in a deposition that he needs a separate service led by a Shiite inmate or chaplain for his prayers "to be valid."

The prison system's "failure to recognize that Shiite and Sunni Muslims have unique religious traditions, practices, and beliefs is incomprehensible," a lawyer for the plaintiffs, Claire Coleman of Brune & Richard LLP, said.

Depositions and an interview with one former inmate suggest that some Muslim inmates started identifying as Shiite while in prison beginning in the late 1980s. Several of the five Shiite plaintiffs were Sunni at one point. One plaintiff, Hussein Razi-Bey, 57, sentenced for attempted murder and kidnapping, found Shiite Islam after trying several other religions. During sentences in Minnesota and Missouri in the 1960s, Razi-Bey converted first to Nation of Islam, then to Catholicism, then to Baptism. Later, after several years with the Moorish Science Temple, he embraced Shiite Islam while incarcerated in New York, according to his deposition.

Inmates learn about Shiite Islam from other inmates and through mail order books received from publishing houses as far away as Iran, one former inmate, who asked not to be identified, said.

The plaintiffs say the more than 40 Muslim chaplains employed by the state are predominately Sunni and influenced by the Saudi Arabian movement of Wahhabism.

"In the places where it's been most tense, a lot of times the chaplains have been at fault," a Muslim chaplain who retired in 2006 from the prison system after 18 years, Dawoud Adeyola, said. He is not connected to the lawsuit.

The Muslim prison chaplaincy has been under scrutiny since a 2003 Wall Street Journal article disclosed that after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, two New York chaplains spoke in support of the attacks.

The state prison system has reached out to Shiite leaders in the city for help in hiring Shiite chaplains for inmates, but those efforts have run into difficulties. An early candidate to be the prison's first Shiite chaplain was terminated during a try-out period after he was found trying to bring a knife into the Sing Sing Correctional Facility, one source said. The only Shiite prison imam, Muhammad Abdulmubdi, currently employed by the state is in an unusual position: He is barred from entering any prison pending the outcome of an internal investigation into whether he broke an undisclosed regulation, a source said. Mr. Kriss, the spokesman would not comment, and further details were not available.

Muslim Rivalry Hits New York Prisons

[Soldier4Christ]

D.C. imam declares Muslim takeover-plan 
Washington-based cleric working toward 'Islamic State of North America' by 2050

A Washington, D.C., imam states explicitly on the website for his organization that he is part of a movement working toward replacement of the U.S. government with "the Islamic State of North America" by 2050.

With branches in Oakland, Los Angeles, San Diego, Sacramento and Philadelphia, the group As-Sabiqun – or the Vanguard – is under the leadership of Abdul Alim Musa in the nation's capital.

Musa's declaration of his intention to help lead a takeover of America was highlighted by noted Islam observer Robert Spencer on his website Jihad Watch.

Spencer told WND that figures such as Musa should not be ignored, "Not because they have the power to succeed, but because they may commit acts of violence to achieve their purpose."

Musa's website declares: "Those who engage in this great effort require a high level of commitment and determination. We are sending out a call to the believers: Join with us in this great struggle to change the world!"

Musa launched the group in the early 1990s at the Al-Islam mosque in Philadelphia. His group says it is influenced by the writings and life work of Muslim thinkers and leaders such as Muslim Brotherhood founder Hasan al-Banna, Sayyid Qutb and Iranian revolutionary Ayatollah Khomenei.

The writings of Al-Banna and Qutb figured prominently in al-Qaida's formation.

Musa's organization says its leadership "has delivered numerous speeches in the United States and abroad, contributing their analyses and efforts to solve contemporary problems in the Muslim world and in urban America."

"The paramount goal of the movement is the establishment of Islam as a complete way of life in America," the group declares. "This ultimate goal is predicated on the belief – shared by many Muslims worldwide – that Islam is fully capable of producing a working and just social, political, economic order."

The groups says it does not "advocate participation in the American political process as an ideal method for advancing Islamic issues in the U.S.; instead, it believes in a strong and active outreach to the people of the U.S."

Spencer told WND he does not know of any direct influence Musa has on prominent Muslim leaders or on U.S. policymakers, but he says it's "unclear how much 'mainstream' Muslim leaders harbor similar hopes – because no one dares question them about it."

As WND reported, the founder of the leading Islamic lobby group CAIR, the Council on Islamic-American Relations, reportedly told a group of Muslims in California they are in America not to assimilate but to help assert Islam's rule over the country. CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper also has said, in a newspaper interview, he hopes to see an Islamic government over the U.S. some day, brought about not by violence but through "education."

In London last summer, as WND reported, Muslims gathered in front of the London Central Mosque to applaud fiery preachers prophesying the overthrow of the British government – a future vision that encompasses an Islamic takeover of the White House and the rule of the Quran over America.

Musa says he wants to avoid what he calls an "absolutist" outlook on "the advancement of Muslims."

His group's philosophy is to stress unity between the various streams of Islam "in the attainment of common goals."

Although As-Sabiqun is a Sunni movement, it has publicly voiced support for Shia movements and organizations such as the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran and the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah, which waged war on Israel in the summer of 2006.

Musa, the group says, repeatedly has "stressed that the tendency by some Muslims to focus on the differences between Sunni and Shia Islam at this juncture in history is counterproductive to the goals of the Islamic movement as a whole."

The group says it encourages social-political advancement concurrent with a program of spiritual and moral development according to the Quran and Sunnah, compilations of stories from the life of Islam's prophet Muhammad.

The group says it has a six-point plan of action which is implemented at each location where a branch of the movement is established.

    * Establishing a mosque "as a place to worship Allah in congregation and as a center of spiritual and moral training."

    * "Calling the general society" to embrace Islam.

    * Establishing a full-time school "that raises children with a strong Islamic identity so they can, as future Islamic leaders, effectively meet and deal with the challenges of growing up in the West."

    * Establishing businesses to "make the movement financially stable and independent."

    * Establishing "geographical integrity by encouraging Muslims of the community to live in close proximity" to the mosque.

    * Establishing "social welfare institutions to respond to the need for spiritual and material assistance within the community as well as the general society."

In addition to daily classes, each mosque in the movement "also provides youth mentorship, marriage counseling, a prison outreach program, and employment assistance for ex-convicts."

As-Sabiqun says its branch in Los Angeles "was instrumental in creating a free health clinic in cooperation with other Islamic groups. The headquarters branch in D.C. has developed scout programs for young members of the community."

The group says the inspiration for its name comes from Quran, 9:100:

    "The vanguard (as-Sabiqun) of Islam – the first of those who forsook their homes, and of those who gave them aid, and also those who follow them in all good deeds – well-pleased is Allah with them, as are they with Him: For them hath He prepared Gardens under which rivers flow, to dwell therein forever: that is the supreme Felicity."

[Soldier4Christ]

Inspector general slams watch list's weaknesses

A multiagency effort headed by the FBI that maintains the government's terrorist watch list continues to have significant weaknesses and its information is neither complete nor fully accurate, a Justice Department official said yesterday.

Inspector General Glenn A. Fine told the House Homeland Security Committee that although the Terrorist Screening Center (TSC) has made progress to ensure the quality of its watch-list information, it is "critical" that further efforts be made to improve the data's accuracy and remove inaccurate information.

"These weaknesses can have enormous consequences," Mr. Fine said. "Inaccurate, incomplete and obsolete watch-list information can increase the risk of not identifying known or suspected terrorists, and it can also increase the risk that innocent persons will be stopped or detained."

Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, Mississippi Democrat, said although the TSC has "stopped some really bad people from getting into our country," serious issues must be resolved if the watch list is to expand.

"We can do better, and we have to do better," he said. "An accurate watch list keeps our nation safe and keeps the bad guys out. An inaccurate and incomplete watch list creates more and more misidentifications — which in turn creates fear and frustration."

"If there is accountability, [the American people] will trust it"s being done right, not fear that they"re being monitored by Big Brother," he added.

Mr. Fine said a review of the TSC operation found instances where known or suspected terrorists were not appropriately watch-listed on databases that front-line screening agents — such as U.S. Border Patrol agents and visa-application reviewers — use to identify terrorists and obtain instructions on how to deal with them.

"Even a single omission of a terrorist identity or an inaccuracy in the identifying information contained in a watch-list record can have enormous consequences," he said.

Two weeks ago, the Government Accountability Office said the watch list had grown to include more than 750,000 names of suspected or known terrorists, and it raised questions about its size and effectiveness. The GAO also said some terrorists had boarded international flights bound for the U.S. because the government was not using its watch list effectively.

Because of technological differences and capabilities of the various systems used in the watch-list process, Mr. Fine said, the TSC maintains two interconnected versions of the watch-list database. Although the two databases should be identical in content and contain the same number of records, he said, they had differing record counts.

He also said the number of duplicate records in the TSC database has significantly increased, that not all watch-list records were being sent to downstream screening databases, and that the TSC did not regularly review the contents of the consolidated database to ensure that only appropriate records were included.

Mr. Fine made 18 recommendations to improve the watch-list process and the quality of the data. They include increasing the quality of watch-list data and revising the FBI"s watch-list nominations process.

[Soldier4Christ]

LAPD plan to map Muslim communities angers some
ACLU: 'We are going down a dangerous road'

A plan by the LAPD counterterrorism bureau to create a map detailing the Muslim communities in that city was reported Friday to be angering civil rights groups.

At least three major Muslim groups and the American Civil Liberties Union sent a letter Thursday to top city officials raising concerns about the plan, The New York Times reported.

"When the starting point for a police investigation is, 'Let's look at all Muslims,' we are going down a dangerous road," attorney Peter Bibring of the ACLU of Southern California told the newspaper in an interview.

Some Los Angeles-based Muslim groups were critical of the approach.

"For the LAPD or any police department to assume that one group is more terrorist or violent than another because of their religion alone, that's a very scary phenomenon in our country," a Muslim advocate group representative said.

One representative brought up past incidents, comparing them to the recent developments regarding the map.

"It arouses suspicions in the minds of Muslims that, 'Here we come again,'" a Muslim Public Affairs Council of Southern California representative said. "They wanted to study us, to classify us, to map us."

The objections started after LAPD Deputy Chief Michael P. Downing, who heads the counterterrorism bureau, testified before a U.S. Senate committee on Oct. 30 that the LAPD was combining forces with an unidentified academic institution and looking for a Muslim partner to carry out the mapping project of Muslim neighborhoods, the Times reported.

He testified that the project would determine the geographic distribution of Muslims in the Los Angeles area and take "a look at their history, demographics, language, culture, ethnic breakdown, socioeconomic status and social interactions."

The idea, Downing told the Times, would be to determine which communities might be having problems integrating and thus might have members susceptible to carrying out attacks.

The estimated 500,000 Muslims living in the Greater L.A. area, including Orange and Riverside counties, represent the second-biggest U.S. concentration outside New York City.

Not all area Muslim groups object to Downing's idea.

Salam al-Marayati, executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, which is considering being the LAPD's partner in the project, told the Times he supported anything that would help integration, as long as it safeguarded civil liberties.

But other groups argue that the mapping idea is no better than racial profiling.

The letter sent Thursday suggested that representatives of groups opposed to the project meet with Downing to discuss it, the Times reported. Signatories included Muslim Advocates, a national association of Muslim lawyers, and the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California, an umbrella organization for mosques.

On Friday, LAPD Chief William Bratton addressed the issue at a police academy graduation ceremony.

"I think what we got hung up on unfortunately was a word -- mapping," Bratton said at a police academy graduation ceremony. "And that unfortunately conjures up partially the concerns in this country we have about profiling, whether for religious purposes or racial purposes -- this is about community engagement."

The engagement is necessary to identify extremist elements, the LAPD said. They referenced European cities as examples where detached Muslim communities are fertile breeding grounds for terrorist recruitment.

Local Muslims disagreed with the comparisons.

"I don't think that American Muslims are very susceptible to that because we enjoy a certain degree of economic prosperity in this country," a woman said.

Muslim groups have scheduled a meeting with LAPD officials next week.

[Soldier4Christ]

Busted L.A. drug ring linked to Hezbollah
'This was a classic case of terrorism financing, and it was pretty sophisticated'

A seemingly small-time drug ring busted this week in Los Angeles was actually targeted for funding the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah, the Daily News has learned.

Prosecutors left out the terror tie when they announced Tuesday that federal agents and local cops had arrested a dozen people for allegedly peddling cocaine and counterfeit clothing in Bell, Calif.

But several sources familiar with the investigation said the predominantly Arab-American gang was believed to have smuggled its crime cash to the Iranian-backed terror group.

"This was a classic case of terrorism financing, and it was pretty sophisticated how they did it," a source close to Operation Bell Bottoms told The News.

The defendants once crammed $123,000 in money orders into a stuffed animal flown to Lebanon, an indictment alleged.

The Justice Department's national security division and an FBI counterterrorism agent have signed all the court filings.

Because information linking the gang to Hezbollah came from classified intelligence, the alleged ringleader and "his siblings and associates" face criminal charges instead of a terror rap.