Obama's Dubious Mosque Choice
IPT News
February 2, 2016
http://www.investigativeproject.org/5144/obama-dubious-mosque-choice#

Barack Obama is scheduled to visit the Islamic Society of Baltimore (ISB)
Wednesday, his first visit to a U.S. mosque since becoming president.

ISB leaders have amassed a record of support for radical Islamic causes over
the years, including endorsing the Chechen jihad and Palestinian suicide
bombings. Its former imam was active in a charity later linked to terror
financing including Hamas, the Taliban, and for providing "hundreds of
thousands of dollars" to Osama bin Laden.

More recently, a resident scholar described homosexuality as a threat to
societal health, in stark contrast to the president's views on the issue.

It's safe to assume the White House vetted the ISB and found it an
acceptable venue for a presidential appearance despite this history. And
that is not surprising. The Obama administration has repeatedly embraced
contact with the Muslim Brotherhood, repeatedly meeting with its officials
during and after the Arab Spring while ignoring secular democracy advocates.
It praised the early tenure of Brotherhood member Mohamed Morsi when he
briefly served as Egypt's president. The administration also helped a
Brotherhood delegation skip routine screening by U.S. Customs and Border
Protection upon landing in America.

And, as we reported in December, a White House meeting also aimed at
standing by the Muslim-American community featured representatives of
Islamist groups, including some with consistent records of opposing U.S. law
enforcement counter-terrorism efforts.

ISB officials have worked closely with one of those groups, the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). In 2014, two ISB officials joined with
CAIR in a news conference blasting Israeli military actions in Gaza. The
conflict, known as Operation Protective Edge, started when Hamas operatives
kidnapped and murdered three Israeli teens and continued its incessant
campaign of firing rockets with the hope of killing Israeli civilians.

Those rockets were fired from densely populated areas, including near
schools and houses of worship.

But Hamas' murders and ongoing efforts to carry out more were never
mentioned by the CAIR and ISB officials. Instead, they blamed Israel when
raids aimed at rocket launchers and other Hamas targets inadvertently killed
and injured civilians.

ISB President Muhammad Jameel recklessly invoked "genocide in the name of
self-defense" and said that, "as an American I am ashamed to stand here."

Abid Husain, the ISB's general secretary, joined Jameel in calling for the
U.S. to pressure Israel into opening Gaza's borders, ending an embargo that
was enacted to stop the flow of weapons and materials used to make them.

"The U.S. government must not remain silent about Israel's indiscriminate
assault and unjust use of force," Husain said. "The right of a nation to
defend itself does not extend to unrestrained aerial bombardments of
civilian populations and must be condemned."

Far from genocide, which is the systematic elimination of a people, and from
an indiscriminate attack, Israel campaign against Hamas "went to
extraordinary lengths" to minimize civilian casualties, said Gen. Martin
Dempsey, then-chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff. Israel dropped
leaflets and called residents of buildings targeted for bombing in hopes the
residents would heed the warnings and seek safer locations.

After the conflict ended, Dempsey sent a team of senior officers to learn
from Israeli military leaders to study the tactics in Gaza to minimize
civilian casualties. "In this kind of conflict, where you are held to a
standard that your enemy is not held to, you're going to be criticized for
civilian casualties," he said.

Another ISB official, resident scholar Yaseen Shaikh, sermonized against
homosexuality as a mental disorder and "something which we despise." The
talk is dated May 2013, just weeks before he joined the ISB.

The Quran says "harm them" to those who engage in homosexuality, he said.
"What does this mean? If it was not an aberrant act, if this was not a
despised act, why would Allah ... say, 'Harm them'? Allah then says,
'[Several Arabic words],' 'If they repent and they reform and they transform
themselves and change, then let them be."

As the Daily Caller reported, a past ISB imam worked with an Islamic charity
later shuttered by the Treasury Department for supporting terrorists.

Mohamad Adam El Sheikh was a regional representative for the Islamic Africa
Relief Agency (IARA) in Baltimore the same time that he was an ISB imam and
director.


An archived ISB action alert says that the "Islamic Society of Baltimore was
recently visited by an IARA representative who brought the attached pictures
of atrocities committed by Russians against the Muslims in Chechnya."

Although links to several pictures from the Chechen jihad are still
available on ISB's archived web page, the actual pictures are no longer
accessible.

"Despite all of this, by the grace of Allah, the Mujahidin in Chechnya have
been able to defend themselves and remains a formidable threat to heavily
armed Russian Army. However, it is also our responsibility as Muslims all
over the world to help them in their Jihad effort," the action alert added.

The action alert further solicited donations "to help the Refugees and
Mujahidin in their struggle."

In 2004, El-Sheikh justified Palestinian suicide bombings, saying they are
acceptable when "certain Muslims are to be cornered where they cannot defend
themselves, except through these kinds of means, and their local religious
leaders issued fatwas to permit that."

Another page on the ISB's archived "Official English Site" links to a
feature on the "Jihad in Chechnya" on the Azzam Publications website. Azzam
publications was an al Qaida-tied website that was "one of the most
well-known supporters of jihad, or holy war, on the internet." The site is
replete with material promoting jihad and martyrdom operations and includes
a photo and link to a biography of Osama bin Laden's mentor, Abdullah Azzam.

Just after 9/11, the ISB hosted speakers who would become prominent
advocates of jihad, including American-born al-Qaida cleric Anwar al-Awlaki,
who was killed in a 2011 U.S. drone strike. Awlaki's online sermons remain
some of the most watched, most effective terrorist recruiting material
online.

A page from ISB's archived website links to the homepage of Muslim
Brotherhood spiritual leader Yusuf Qaradawi. Qaradawi has issued fatwas or
religious rulings in support of terrorism and described suicide operations
as "heroic martyrdom operations." In a 2004 fatwa, Qaradawi called abducting
and killing Americans in Iraq is "a [religious] duty."

At a 1995 conference held by the Muslim Arab Youth Association (MAYA) in
Toledo, Ohio, Qaradawi called for the "conquest" of Europe and America
through Dawa, or proselytizing. "We will conquer Europe, we will conquer
America! Not through sword but through Dawa," he said.

The ISB's leaders have had connections with radical Islamists and espoused
extreme viewpoints throughout its history. Like a lot of mosques, it
continues to segregate men and women during prayer, something
American-Islamic Forum for Democracy President Zuhdi Jasser called "gender
apartheid."

During an appearance on Fox News Monday, Jasser said he was insulted by the
president's choice of the ISB. It continues an administration policy of
working with Islamist groups and ignoring Muslims like him who stand against
theocracy.

"It's disgraceful that this is one of the mosques – or the mosque – that
he's picked to be the first visit," he said. ISB's website looks like "a
covert operation. There's no name on it. It basically has pictures of
individuals, but no names."

For an event that is expected to focus on tolerance, diversity and
inclusion, Obama made a puzzling choice in the ISB. Its leaders sympathize
with terrorists, hate homosexuals and treat women as less than equal.