Free Republic

With fatal terrorist attacks on the decline worldwide and al Qaeda apparently in disarray, it would seem a time for optimism in the global war on terrorism. But the war has simply shifted to a different arena. Islamists, or those who believe that Islam is a political and religious system that must dominate all others, are focusing less on the military and more on the ideological. It turns out that Western liberal democracies can be subverted without firing a shot. Nowhere is this more evident than in the educational realm. Islamists have taken what's come to be known as the...

An Islamic group has been banned from visiting classrooms in Seminole County schools after officials said it crossed the line between telling students about the Muslim culture and pushing its religion. The flap over the Academy for Learning Islam's visit to Lake Brantley High School also has caused the school system to re-evaluate who it lets into county classrooms to present educational programs and what they can talk about. By fall, teachers will have stricter guidelines. Speakers on religion, drugs, alcohol and nearly 50 other touchy topics will get closer scrutiny before they can speak on campuses, Superintendent Bill Vogel...

Quoting Scripture banned in library community room 'What next? Will board keep patrons from reading Bible?' Posted: June 10, 2008 9:33 pm Eastern © 2008 WorldNetDaily Quoting from the Bible has been banned in a community room at the public library in Clermont County, Ohio, and now a couple who sought to use the facility for a financial planning seminar have brought a court case.snip...However, when Cathy Vandergriff asked in person to use a meeting room for a financial planning meeting, the conversation with the library employee took an unwelcome turn. "When Mrs. Vandergriff indicated that the seminar would be...

Tuesday, June 10, 2008 Muslims are Attacking the Minds of our Children As I stated in a previous column, Muslims are attacking the minds of our children. They are doing this to brainwash them by putting a false positive spin on the religion of hate. This is an attempt to get our kids to accept Islam. Then unfortunately, one day in the future they will see they harsh reality of Islam. By then it just might be too late. This is also a violation of church and state, that is happening more and more. There CANNOT continue to be special...

(WARNING: This story contains graphic descriptions of artwork that is offensive.)(CNSNews.com) - Federal taxpayers are subsidizing a college in New York whose art school is currently displaying works that include a drawing of a man with a crucifix coming out of his rectum, a drawing of a man with a rosary coming out of his rectum, and rosaries decorated with penises. Over the last eight years, at least $4.6 million in federal tax dollars have been provided to the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, which is displaying the controversial artworks. Some of the money has come...

The Friendswood Junior High principal who outraged some parents by allowing an Islamic group to make a 40-minute presentation to students last month is now off the job. In a two-sentence statement sent late Wednesday, the school district said Robin Lowe "has accepted another administrative position effective immediately."

ANN ARBOR, MI — The Thomas More Law Center, a national public-interest law firm, based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, announced today that it has filed a federal lawsuit defending the Constitutional rights of a sixth grader to wear t-shirts to school that express his pro-life beliefs. The lawsuit was filed in the U. S. District Court for the District of Minnesota against the Hutchinson Middle School located in Hutchinson, Minnesota. The sixth grader, referred to in the lawsuit as “K. B.” because of his age, is a Christian who believes that abortion is the wrongful taking of an innocent life...

St. Sabina's website continues to go after political opponents: Criminalizing gun ownership encouraged, State Reps. and Senators who support Second Amendment are targeted 6/2/2008 12:00:00 PM -CCI In spite of the so-called "agreement" between Cardinal George and Rev. Pfleger, stating that the embattled pastor of St. Sabina's would refrain from all political activism, the web site for St. Sabina's continues to be engaged in politics. A long time opponent of the Second Amendment to the Constitution, Rev. Pfleger attracted national attention last year (which was his goal) when he and Jesse Jackson were arrested after invading a gun shop and...

The curriculum at a charter school catering to Muslims complies with federal and state law, the state Education Department said Monday but it directed other changes be made in religious areas. The state said Tarik ibn Zayad Academy should change its busing schedule and its handling of Friday prayer services. The shorter prayer services on other days were found to be acceptable, but not the 30-minute service on school grounds on Muslim's holy day. The department said bus rides home should be available right after school ends; currently students must wait until after a voluntary after-school religious program. State law...

The state Education Department on Monday directed a Minnesota charter school to "correct" two areas related to religion at the school. Tarik ibn Zayad Academy, which focuses on Middle Eastern culture and shares a mosque with the Muslim American Society of Minnesota, came under fire after a teacher alleged that the school was offering religious instruction in Islam to its students. Charter schools in Minnesota are publicly funded and must be nonsectarian. The allegations first surfaced in an article by Star Tribune columnist Katherine Kersten. The Education Department subsequently began a review of the suburban Inver Grove Heights school and...

Madison, WI -- A University of Wisconsin Stevens Point student government leader is coming under fire for allegedly trashing a pro-life display on campus. Student senator Roderick King is said to have vandalized a display featuring crosses erected by the campus pro-life group to memorialize those babies killed in abortions. Full story at: http://www.lifenews.com/state3207.html

U.S. Muslims face growing movement to limit their public lives By Andrea Elliott April 28, 2008 Debbie Almontaser dreamed of starting a public school like no other in New York City. Children of Arab descent would join students of other ethnicities, learning Arabic together. By graduation, they would be fluent in the language and groomed for the country's elite colleges. They would be ready, in Almontaser's words, to become "ambassadors of peace and hope." Things have not gone according to plan. Only one-fifth of the 60 students at the Khalil Gibran International Academy are Arab-American. Since the school opened in...

The Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy, a public charter school in Inver Grove, MN that “offers tuition-free education to all students upon admission” is in full swing with Islamic centered traditions at taxpayer’s expense. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that the school serves halal food- Islamic permissible food-and that students participate in ritual washing and prayers. It offers Islamic studies and requires students to study Arabic as a second language. The school’s calendar also reflects that it is closed for an entire week in October in observance of the Muslim holiday of Ramadan.

An Inver Grove Heights charter school has received harassing and threatening calls in the wake of accusations that it blurs the line between religion and state by promoting Islam, the school's director said Friday. The city's police are investigating and will put extra patrols in the area as a precaution, said Police Chief Chuck Kleckner. He said the school's director contacted the department Friday morning. Asad Zaman, the director and founder of Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy (TIZA), said that he and the school received several derogatory phone messages and e-mails. The school came under fire last month after Star Tribune...

Texas Gov. Rick Perry plans to host a private dinner followed by fireworks near Austin on Saturday to honor the Aga Khan, a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad celebrating his 50th year as the spiritual leader of a Muslim sect. Earlier in the day, the leaders are expected to be on hand as the University of Texas signs an agreement with Aga Khan University, which has campuses in Pakistan and other countries, fostering student and teacher exchanges between the institutions.

A judge on Thursday dropped nearly half the charges against "private eye to the stars" Anthony Pellicano and a co-defendant at the request of prosecutors, who were preparing to rest their case in the wiretapping and bribery trial. The 28 counts against Pellicano and ex-Los Angeles police sergeant Mark Arneson were dismissed by U.S. District Judge Dale Fischer after federal prosecutors said that witnesses required to prove them could not be brought to court. Both men still face 35 counts in the case, which centers on accusations that Pellicano wiretapped telephones and bribed police and telephone company officials to run...

Dear Senator Obama: Our common denomination, the United Church of Christ, has a suddenly serious legal and financial problem with the Internal Revenue Service. You, personally, are the cause of this problem. Candidly? I think you owe it to those of us who are your fellow congregants to help repair the damage that you have done. ...UNSURPRISINGLY, ALL OF THIS resulted in a complaint being filed with the IRS following your presentation. In addition to your speech and the stories featured by the UCC's own website, the complaint cites numerous media accounts describing your appearance as a campaign event. This...

Recently, I wrote about Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy (TIZA), a K-8 charter school in Inver Grove Heights. Charter schools are public schools and by law must not endorse or promote religion. Evidence suggests, however, that TIZA is an Islamic school, funded by Minnesota taxpayers. TIZA has many characteristics that suggest a religious school. It shares the headquarters building of the Muslim American Society of Minnesota, whose mission is "establishing Islam in Minnesota." The building also houses a mosque. TIZA's executive director, Asad Zaman, is a Muslim imam, or religious leader, and its sponsor is an organization called Islamic Relief.

Muslims students at the University of Miami have organized for the Islamic call to prayer, broadcasted each Friday afternoon this month from Richter Library's clock tower in commemoration of Islamic Awareness Month. The call to prayer, or Adhan, is spoken in Arabic and is meant to resonate throughout the area. "It serves as constant reminder of when we have to pray, because prayer itself is a reminder of our religion and how we practice it," said Selima Jumarali, the vice president of the organization. According to the teachings of Islam, Muslims are to pray five times a day. In Muslim-majority...

Historical facts clearly prove the murderous evils of atheism and big government At a minimum, atheist dictators in the Soviet Union, Red China, Cambodia, North Korea, Vietnam, and Yugoslavia murdered 105 million people in the 20th Century, more than 60% of the mass murders, genocide and political murders in that time. In comparison, only about 2% of the 169 million examples of democide in the 20th Century were due to religious conflict. Also in comparison, the Crusades murdered only 1 million people over several centuries, the Spanish Inquisition only murdered 350,000 people over several centuries, and the witch hunts added...

A convert to Islam stands an election victory away from becoming the second Muslim elected to Congress and a role model for a faith community seeking to make its mark in national politics. Political newcomer Andre Carson is the Democratic nominee in a March 11 special election to succeed his late grandmother, Julia Carson, representing Indiana's 7th District. She died in December of lung cancer, and her grandson is seeking to fill out the rest of her sixth term, which expires at year's end. If Andre Carson wins the Democratic-leaning Indianapolis district over a freshman Republican legislator and a long...

A Muslim imam's opening-day prayer at the Iowa Legislature has sparked controversy over statements he made. They're statements that at least one northwest Iowa lawmaker says are like a "terrorist call" to harm Americans. It's a ritual Iowa state representatives follow every morning the convene in Des Moines. A daily prayer. But, it's this prayer that's caused some concern at the capitol. "I can't sit here while jihadist statements are made from the rostrum of the people's House of Iowa," said Rep. Gary Worthan, (R) Storm Lake. Worthan said he was angered by one specific line in the prayer offered...

Federal authorities say a high-level Muslim Pentagon aide, who led a campaign to silence a Pentagon intelligence analyst for taking a hard line against Islam, is running an "influence operation" on behalf of U.S. Muslim groups fronting for the radical Muslim Brotherhood. Hesham H. Islam (left), Muslim aide to the deputy secretary of defense, with Muslim military chaplain Abuhena M. Saifulislam (right) Hesham H. Islam, a special assistant to deputy Defense secretary Gordon England, recently criticized Maj. Stephen Coughlin, one of the military's leading authorities on Islamic war doctrine, for making the connection between the religion of Islam and terrorism....

A conservative group must abide by campaign finance laws if it wants to run ads promoting its anti-Hillary Rodham Clinton movie, a federal court ruled Tuesday. Citizens United had hoped to run the television advertisements in key election states during peak primary season. The court ruling means the group must either keep its ads off the air or attach a disclaimer and disclose its donors. Lawyers for the group had argued its 90-minute "Hillary: The Movie" was no different from documentaries seen on television news shows "60 Minutes" and "Nova." That prompted skepticism and, at one point, outright laughter from...

Obama's Church Obama mentioned his church during his appearance with Oprah. It's the Trinity Church of Christ. I found this interesting. Obama's church: Please read and go to this church's website and read what is written there. Click on the link below: This is the web page for the church Barack Obama belongs to: www.tucc.org/about.htm It is very alarming. Barack Obama is a member of this church and is running for President of the U.S. If you look at the first page of their website, you will learn that this congregation has a non-negotiable commitment to Africa. No where is...

A proposed Kwanzaa celebration at the County Commission chambers caused an e-mail war among Shelby County employees earlier this week. Now it has also prompted a lawsuit. Probate Court Clerk Chris Thomas filed a complaint in Chancery Court Friday to block the Kwanzaa celebration set to be hosted by County Commissioner Henri Brooks on Dec. 26. “The reason I filed the lawsuit is because of the discrimination against Christians, Jews and other faiths by allowing the Kwanzaa celebration to happen and by not allowing us to have a ceremony,” Thomas said. “I’ve asked Mayor (A C) Wharton to stop it...

“You say you want a revolution, well you know, We all want to change the world...” – The Beatles, Revolution Ironic, if one reads all of the lyrics to The Beatles Revolution: Despite being left-leaners for their time, the tune almost sounds like something a conservative music artist might write today. Snapshot of America: For the moment, we are still “allowed” to believe and say what we wish. I am not saying this to underscore my right to say what follows, but to acknowledge the right of those with whom I vehemently disagree to believe and say what we wish....

Last week, I visited a Muslim place of worship. A schedule for Islam's five daily prayers was posted at the entrance, near a sign requesting that shoes be removed. Inside, a barrier divided men's and women's prayer space, an arrow informed worshippers of the direction of Mecca, and literature urged women to cover their faces. Sound like a mosque? The place I'm describing is the "meditation room" at Normandale Community College, a 9,200-student public institution in Bloomington.

Last week, I visited a Muslim place of worship. A schedule for Islam's five daily prayers was posted at the entrance, near a sign requesting that shoes be removed. Inside, a barrier divided men's and women's prayer space, an arrow informed worshippers of the direction of Mecca, and literature urged women to cover their faces. Sound like a mosque? The place I'm describing is the "meditation room" at Normandale Community College, a 9,200-student public institution in Bloomington. A row of chest-high barriers splits the room into sex-segregated sections. In the smaller, enclosed area for women sits a pile of shawls...

Last week, I visited a Muslim place of worship. A schedule for Islam's five daily prayers was posted at the entrance, near a sign requesting that shoes be removed. Inside, a barrier divided men's and women's prayer space, an arrow informed worshippers of the direction of Mecca, and literature urged women to cover their faces. Sound like a mosque? The place I'm describing is the "meditation room" at Normandale Community College, a 9,200-student public institution in Bloomington. Until recently, the room was the school's only usable racquetball court. College administrators converted the court into a meditation room when construction forced...

Only weeks after voting for a resolution that "recognizes the Islamic faith as one of the great religions of the world," nine Democrats in the U.S. House refused to vote for a Christmas resolution that condemns the worldwide persecution of Christians. U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., was on the list of those who endorsed the statement recognizing Islam but refused to support the Christmas resolution that noted the holiday "is celebrated annually by Christians throughout the United States and around the world." The Christmas resolution, like the Ramadan resolution, decried the violence that targets religion around the world. A spokesman...

“It is unconstitutional for the government and the public schools to include endorsements of the Christian religion.” So goes the conventional propaganda that has gradually permeated much of the judiciary of the United States in the last half century. The result is an ongoing and systematic elimination of allusions to God, Christ, and the Bible in the public life of America. In order to see the falsity of this contention, all one need do is spend a little time examining the utterances of the Founders themselves. The indications of the Founders’ attachment to Christianity, and the necessary inclusion of its...

A controversial Church of Scientology treatment used on World Trade Center emergency responders is being used in Utah to "detoxify" cops who raided methamphetamine labs in the 1980s and 1990s. The Utah Meth Cops Project is treating around a dozen former and current police officers at taxpayers' expense, using a regime devised by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard at a Bio-Cleansing Centers of America facility in Orem, Utah. State Attorney General Mark Shurtleff brought the project west after seeing it used to treat emergency workers in New York who were injured working at Ground Zero following the Sept. 11, 2001,...

EAGLE POINT — A first-grader was suspended Tuesday for drawing a stick figure shooting another in the head with a gun and allegedly threatening students. Little Butte School officials sent 6-year-old Ryan Weathers home after receiving complaints from parents saying he threatened their children, said Douglas Weathers, the boy's father. "He's not a violent kid," Weathers said. "He did not mean any harm." School district officials declined to comment. State law bars them from discussing disciplinary actions against specific students. The disciplinary report given to Weathers stated the reason for the suspension was the boy "threatened to shoot two girls...

Organizers claim they didn’t intend to come off as secretive "It won’t happen again." Given the uproar over a closed-door meeting in which Clinton delegates gathered at the Parkway Ballroom on Wednesday for a pep talk from former President Bill Clinton, I’ll bet it won’t. Traci Otey Blount, a spokeswoman for the Hillary Clinton campaign, moved swiftly to douse the fire storm caused when media were locked out of a meeting billed as a “People’s Rally.” A gaggle of cameramen and reporters were forced to stand in chilly temperatures for three hours across the street, while a predominantly black crowd...

- Editor’s Note: In Part One, we discussed how the American Textbook Council compared the content of seven widely adopted world history textbooks to determine how Islam was being studied in our schools. What the comparison revealed were content distortions and inaccuracies that have not occurred by accident. Here is what the textbooks say. What the Textbooks Say The coverage of Islam in world history textbooks has expanded and in some respects improved, offering students a detailed look at the Muslim world through the centuries, one that explains its origins and tenets, including the difference between the Sunni and Shiite...

What Ramadan Is Really About: Atonement and Renewal By M. Zuhdi Jasser In honor of our Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the ninth month in the Muslim lunar calendar, the U.S. Congress passed H.R. 635 on October 2, 2007. The bill was introduced by Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson and co-sponsored by thirty other House Democrats including Keith Ellison, Gregory Meeks and Dennis Kucinich. The legislation passed unanimously with a vote of 376-0. The legislation was met with effusive congratulatory remarks from CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations), MPAC (Muslim Public Affairs Council), and the State Department. CAIR has been working on...

Musician Dawud Wharnsby believes everyone has their own way of making a difference in the world. "Some people are able to donate their money to good causes; some people are able to donate their time," he said. "For me, music and expression through song has always been the tool that I use." The French Canadian singer-songwriter, who converted to Islam in 1993, on Thursday brought his musical message of peace to the cafetorium at Columbus Manor Elementary School in Oak Lawn, performing guitar and percussion-based songs for the schoolchildren. "Music has been a crucial part of who I am and...

So much for the NAACP actually becoming a respectable organization again. I had hope for a while there because they had been settling down a bit. The NAACP "seemed" to be getting away from the Jackson/Sharpton ideology. Oh well, it looks like they are back in full force. The NAACP, along with a couple of oversensitive neighbors, blew a simple Halloween decoration waaaay out of proportion. The Star Ledger: Chesla Flood couldn't believe her eyes. A hangman's noose circled the neck of a black-hooded, jeans-clad dummy suspended from the chimney of a house in Madison. Flood called her mother, Millie...

It caused some controversy, but it was supposed to. Now, one man is headed to municipal court for burning a Mexican flag in protest in front of the Alamo. The city is charging 46-year old David Bohmfalk with burning without a permit, even though no one gives permits to burn a flag. "I was raised to respect my country," Bohmfalk said. All the rallies and talk of amnesty for undocumented immigrants in May 2006 lit the fires of patriotism for Bohmfalk, he said. "I just got angry," he said. "I decided I had to do something, make my statement, and...

Congress refuses to print a certificate to recognize a veteran's love of God, but they will pass a resolution telling us how great Islam is to America. Courtesy of your Nancy Pelosi Congress, the most ethical in history. God bless.

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) hailed Sunday the United States Congress's passage of a resolution recognizing the commencement of Ramadan as the holy month of fasting and spiritual renewal. In a statement on its website (www.luwaran.com), the MILF described the US Congress' resolution as an "epoch-making" act that will help stop bigotry and racism against 1.5 billion Muslims worldwide. “This is indeed an epoch-making for the rest of the world to follow suit and recognize this holy month observed by fasting by more than one billion Muslims all over the world," said Sheikh Mohammad Muntassir, chairman of the MILF...

Political Correctness On Display In Washington As U.S. House Passes First-Ever Resolution Honoring Islam and Ramadan An Important Message from Brigitte Gabriel Dear David, For the first time ever, the U.S. House of Representatives, on a 376 – 0 vote, passed a resolution honoring the Islamic holiday Ramadan and commending Muslims for their faith. Congressman Tom Tancredo, one of 42 voting “present,” in a press release after the vote cited the resolution as "an example of the degree to which political correctness has captured the political and media elite" in America. He further stated: “I am not opposed to commending...

They’re watching you right now. They counted every beer you drank during last night’s Red Sox [team stats] game.They see you sneaking out to the garage for a smoke.They know if you’ve got a gun, and where you keep it.They’re your kids, and they’re the National Security Agency of the Nanny State.I found this out after my 13-year-old daughter’s annual checkup. Her pediatrician grilled her about alcohol and drug abuse.Not my daughter’s boozing. Mine.“The doctor wanted to know how much you and mom drink, and if I think it’s too much,” my daughter told us afterward, rolling her eyes in...

OAK LAWN, Ill. Parents in Oak Lawn sounded off Tuesday night about what they see as an assault on traditional American celebrations. At issue is whether Halloween and Christmas celebrations are insensitive to school children who are Muslim. As CBS 2's Derrick Blakley reports, the school board held an emergency meeting Tuesday night. Almost a month before Halloween, some Oak Lawn homes are already decorated with pumpkins, ghosts and goblins. But rumors that Ridgefield School District 122 may soon ban in-school Halloween and Christmas have infuriated many parents and area residents. "They're trying to take away holidays and stuff for...

Ben Stein: Gestapo Tactics Got Larry Craig Tuesday, September 4, 2007 7:39 PM Former Sen. Larry Craig didn't do anything illegal and was railroaded with "Gestapo tactics," says actor and commentator Ben Stein. Appearing recently on Your World With Neil Cavuto program, Stein remarked: "I don't like the idea that people are sitting in the next stall from you at a public bathroom listening to whether or not you tap your foot. This is, as I said, Gestapo tactics. Gestapo, Gestapo, Gestapo. It's not America." Stein says Craig, who was arrested June 11 by Minneapolis police and pled guilty to...

Startling.

What's your reaction to the opening of a publicly funded madrassa -- an Islamic religious school -- in New York City? It's no big deal It's 'politically correct' It's got to be stopped Where's the ACLU when you need 'em?

NEW YORK (AP) -- A public school principal accused of performing religious rituals with candles, incense and chicken blood in an attempt to cleanse her high school of negative energy has been reassigned and will be fired, the Department of Education said Tuesday. Maritza Tamayo, principal of the Unity Center for Urban Technologies, paid a woman named Gilda Fonte to lead several Santeria rituals at the Manhattan school during midwinter break in 2006, when students were not there, according to Richard Condon, the special commissioner of investigation for city schools. Tamayo coerced staff members to participate in and help pay...

August 6, 2007 -- Activists with ties to the principal of the city's controversial new Arabic-themed school are hawking T- shirts that glorify Palestinian terror, The Post has learned.