"We are told America's foreign policy is based on racist neo-imperialism; we are taught that national security is a foul epithet to be reviled; we are told the Jews and Israel are to blame for the hatred against us".
The first gulf war was viewed by many Islamic scholars as a just war because it liberated Kuwait, but Islamist leaders do not preach the same with US intervention in Iraq, Afghanistan or Pakistan.
How does that affect otherwise normal Muslim Americans who are also soldiers?
"Some return exhausted and traumatized from their tours, only to hear at their local mosques that they will go to hell for "killing Muslims," said Qaseem A. Uqdah, the executive director of the American Muslim Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs Council.
Nidal Hasan is not a random criminal. The murders he committed at Ft. Hood are yet another example of Islamist extremism rooted in an ideology. These murders were a natural result of speeches, writings and outreach by Islamists in the US, whether they specifically advocate violence or not. The angst, emotional confusion and divided loyalties men like Hasan eventually feel is foreseeable and can easily be connected to the words of not only clerics, but community representatives like Ingrid Mattson as well.
Such oversimplification by Islamists of global issues is not limited to ISNA. Such simplification was reinforced rather than combated on an Oct. 4, 2009, Islamic news show by Dalia Mogahed, President Obama's appointee to his Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.
She made no effort to separate herself from extremist positions offered by fellow guests like a representative from Hizb-ut-Tahrir, or the Islamic Liberation Party. HT members want Islamic law applied globally, and agitate for it with conferences like, "The Fall of Capitalism, the Rise of Islam" presented in Chicago a few months ago.
Jafar Siddiqui is a third example Islamist extremism in the US. Jafar "Jeff" Siddiqui of Lynnwood, Washington, became the first known Islamist to cast an electoral vote when the Electoral College convened on December 15, 2008. As David Rusin, of Islamist Watch, reported:
"Siddiqui - a real estate agent, former chairman of the Islamic School of Seattle, and founding member of the American Muslims of Puget Sound activist group - was named a Democratic elector after his impromptu speech at the state party convention, in which he pledged to fight "the hate and bigotry that are being promoted in this country." The Post-Intelligencer gushed, "His mission is to counteract the image of Muslims as fanatical terrorists and extremists that, he believes, is propagated in the media, popular culture, and even the government."
Yet Siddiqui has a long record of airing his own extreme views in local papers and the American Muslim magazine, a truth that was noted by an alert blog but predictably ignored by the mainstream press at the time of his appointment. As detailed below, Siddiqui is a textbook "lawful" Islamist who dreams of imposing at least one element of Shari'a on the West: curbing speech that is critical of Islam.
In keeping with the Islamist modus operandi, he also paints opponents of radical Islam as Nazis, portrays America as oppressive, denies the religious rationale of Muslim terrorists, and insists that Muslims are victims even when they take part in violent aggression. These factors should have more than disqualified him for the privilege and responsibility of serving on the Electoral College, a key safety valve in the selection of the commander-in-chief".
Is Nidal Hasan's behavior really surprising then? Or Mattson's arrogant response to his actions in a national newspaper?
Mr. Uqdah, clearly a more responsible American Muslim than Ms. Mattson, finished his statement by arguing that Muslim groups must work harder to help their communities end extremism. Unfortunately for Mr. Uqdah, you assume they would want to.
(Supna Zaidi is assistant director of Islamist Watch, a project at the Middle East Forum and editor of Muslim World Today.)
