Salah Soltan, Jamal Badawi and Yusuf Qaradawi - Trifecta?

I spy with my little eye - Salah Soltan was denied US citizenship and has moved to Bahrain! Bravo!

I also spy with my little eye - a Salah Soltan/Jamal Badawi/Yusuf Qaradawi gathering in 2001, supporting Qaradawi's fatwa prohibiting American Muslim soldiers from fighting in Afghanistan.

As reported in CBNnews earlier this week in an article about radical Islamists in Columbus, Ohio, Salah Soltan's application for US citizenship was denied and he now resides in Bahrain.  Salah Soltan has portrayed himself as a moderate, attended interfaith events in Ohio, and was widely lauded as a moderate.  He set up shop in Columbus and started a number of Islamic organizations, including the Islamic Association University (recently opened a Boston branch), Sunrise Academy (K-8 Islamic school) and the American Center for Islamic Research.  But there's that problematic side to Soltan too, because he's the same man who:

• Claims that the 9/11 attacks were planned by the US government,
• Supports and promotes suicide bombings, Hamas, Hezbollah, and violent Islamic Jihad,
• Counsels Muslim women (even Americans) to accept that their husbands have taken second wives,
• Counsels Muslim women that they can't leave the house without their husband's permission,
• Reportedly claimed that Israeli soldiers made ash trays out of Palestinian fetus skulls, and
• Supports the violent destruction of Israel and the deportation of Jews from there.

Not so moderate, eh?  Soltan, BTW, has some local connections, as he was the featured speaker at an Al-Huda (of Revere, MA) fundraiser in October 2005 in Medford, and he spoke at the Islamic Society of Boston (ISB) in 2004.  Lately, Soltan has been busy with the Muslim Brotherhood and HAMAS, as diligently reported by Patrick Poole of Central Ohioans Against Terrorism. Here's what CBNnews reports on Soltan and his association with Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi:

"Poole said, 'I discovered that Dr. Salah Sultan (3rd from right in photo) --a very prominent international cleric who's closely associated with Yusuf Qaradawi (in red and white hat in photo)-- was living right around the corner from my own home.'  Sultan's relationship with Qaradawi is the first thing that caught Poole's attention. Qaradawi is listed by the U.S. as a specially designated global terrorist. He's openly advocated suicide bombings against Israeli civilians. He's also called on Muslims to fight U.S. troops in Iraq."

"Terrorism expert Steven Emerson has followed Sultan and Qaradawi's activities closely. 'Sultan is an acolyte of Qaradawi,' said Steven Emerson, of the Investigative Project on Terrorism. 'And Qaradawi is a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood who has called for killing Americans and killing Jews.'  Their relationship is so close that Sultan joined in honoring Qaradawi at a reception this summer. Emerson said, 'The fact that Sultan is hanging out with these men indicates exactly where he stands.' "

As our readers know very well, Yusuf Qaradawi is a proposed trustee of the Islamic Society of Boston (ISB), meaning that he can become a trustee at any time.  The ISB has tried to distance itself from Qaradawi, claiming in 2004 that the ISB has no "significant or long-standing relationship" with Qaradawi and that "any administrative or official connection to either individul that was in existence more than a decade ago has since been dissolved, long before either individual was identified as controversial or as an alleged participant in illegal activities."  I think not.  If anything, a new association has emerged between the latest ISB trustee Dr. Jamal Badawi and Yusuf Qaradawi.   

Here's a page from Qaradawi's website, an article by Salah Soltan, who spoke about Qaradawi at a recent conference.  Dr. Jamal Badawi was also at this conference, he was listed as one of the "luminaries" in attendance.  I had this page translated by a native speaker, and here's his summary:

Between The Master and the Student; Unforgettable Incidents

"Sultan begins by talking about many articles that were published in big cities like Boston, Chicago, Ohio, etc that put Qarazawi’s picture (seen at left) next to his and warn the American government and society about the Sheikh’s student and shadow in the U.S. This campaign went even further when the masterminds behind it asked the U.S. government to deport Sultan or suspend his citizenship application."

"The writer then cites the four incidents where he met Qarazawi, which 'are carved deep in my heart, and which affected my life enough that I think it is important to tell them to my colleges who love and respect the Sheikh.' The first was on June 25th, 2001 in Cairo International airport where Sultan was taken to a dark room for extensive searching only to find Qarazawi there too. While waiting for airport officers to finish their work, both sheikhs started planning for the meeting of the academic assembly of the American Islamic University in Detroit- Michigan."

"The second was in October 2001, where the sheikh issued a fatwa allowing the American Muslim soldiers to fight in Afghanistan. The Sheikh was relying on false information given by some Imams in the U.S. who have told him that Muslims would suffer a great deal if such a fatwa was not issued. So Sultan called the Sheikh with Dr. Gamal Badawi to tell him the truth. A week after, the Sheikh changed the fatwa to prohibit American Muslim soldiers from fighting in Afghanistan."

"The third time was in the conference of league of Shria’a Sheikhs in November 1999, which was the last time for Qarazawi to come to the US. Although the Sheikh was sharply attacked by another sheikh, whom Sultan refused to mention, Qarazawi did not reply and only concentrated at the original purpose of the conference: to discuss the problems of the Islamic minorities in the West."

"Sultan then mentions another incident where he met Qarazawi in winter 2003 in Dublin. Sultan was very sad for reasons he did not mention, but all this went away when he talked to Qarazawi. Also, Qarazawi encouraged him to learn English, and Sultan states that he speaks fluent English now. "

I've discussed Dr. Jamal Badawi before.  By all appearances, he is a gentle, learned man, with many supporters who say that he is a wonderful person who is trying to modernize Islam.  But if Badawi is in Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi's inner circle - which means the Muslim Brotherhood's inner circle - then I don't belive that Badawi is the gentle moderate Muslim that he appears to be, any more than Soltan is. 

The Islamic Society of Boston apparently continues to bring in radical Islamists to their leadership, despite the claim that they are "free of extremism."  Why is Badawi, someone apparently close to Qaradawi - who openly calls for suicide bombings - a trustee for the ISB? 

On Soltan and Badawi's counsel, Sheikh Qaradawi issued a fatwa prohibiting American Muslim soldiers from fighting in Afghanistan, against fellow Muslims.  Is this not treasonous? 

Comments

[Jill]

Miss Kelly,

You are better than any journalist in compiling a first record of jihadist and jihadist sympathizers in Boston. You put them all to shame.

[Muslims Against Sharia]

Emerson, a Jew who gets it
A perspective of a moderate Muslim

At the risk of sounding anti-Semitic, I want to say this: either American Jews are completely clueless about the internal struggle inside Islam or they are so cowardly, that they are even afraid to voice their opinion. Or maybe it's a combination of both.

Every time there is a development that involves radical Islam, be it a Mayor of New York attending an Islamist parade, DOJ's officials attending an Islamist conference, or a protester being sued for having the balls to expose an Islamist-sponsored event at an amusement park, the American Jewish community is as quiet as a church mouse. It's like it is not even there.

The effect of this silence is devastating. Not for the Jewish community, not yet. That time is still to come. The silence affects the American Muslim community. Every time moderate Muslims are ignored and Islamists are legitimized (by either direct support from government representatives or silent support of the ADL), radicals gain ground. In the current PC climate, moderate Muslims have pretty much no choice but to keep their mouths shut.

Luckily for us, not everyone in the Jewish community is like that. There are some Jews that are speaking out. One of them is Steven Emerson, who has been warning the West about the dangers of Islamic fundamentalism since before PanAm 103. Most of his current work is focused on exposing the radicals masquerading as the moderates – those radicals who are embraced by the DOJ and the Pentagon, by the mayor of New York Bloomberg (Rudy would never get into bed with terrorist supporters) and the Treasury Department, by the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security, by the Congress and the White House.

There is a war of ideas within Islam, and moderate Muslims are losing. Most of Muslim clergy and Muslim establishment are paid for by the Wahhabis. Moderate Muslims are being run out of Mosques and community centers, and in many cases are physically threatened. Moderate Muslims have no place in the media or public debate, because the place reserved for Muslims is filled by Islamic radicals, who attempt to make criticizing anything Islamic a taboo. According to the Islamists, a Muslim can do no wrong.
1. When a non-Muslim criticizes Islam or Muslims, he/she is an Islamophobe.
2. When a Muslim criticizes Islam or Muslim, he/she is not a real Muslim, therefore see #1.

This is a tactic used by "moderate" Muslims, the darlings of the government and the media. But how can you call someone who praises bin Laden, or has ties to Hamas, or calls for the elimination of Israel, or wants to replace the Constitution with the Koran a moderate? They are anything but moderates, however nobody except for a few people like Steven Emerson seems to notice that. But even when the Emersons of America appeal to the public, they are often being dismissed as alarmists and racists. Well, they are anything, but. You don't have to be a clairvoyant to predict the future when it comes to expansion of radical Islam and extinction of moderate Muslims. All you need to do is get your heads out of the sand.

Why our government is so forgiving and forgetful when it comes to individuals or organizations with known terrorist ties and anti-American views is beyond me. Why the Jewish leaders are so timid when it comes to the subject of radical Islam is incomprehensible.

I thank God every day for people like Steven Emerson, because they are the last glimmer of hope for moderate Muslims.

K.M.

http://muslimsagainstsharia.blogspot.com/2007/11/emerson-jew-who-gets-it-perspective-of.html - Original post

[nobody]

Nobody was put in shame Miss Kelly. Nobody is pissed of that you think any of those guys are terrorists, Because all of you guys are not saying the truth, all of you guys don't even know it. these are the most happiest and richest people all over the world and in the hereafter.I can guarantee that any one of you guys is not happy, and if had a a little bit of there happiness you would want more. and I'm forced not to say my name because i could be called a terrorist.