Fort Dix: The Backlash that Wasn't

FrontPageMagazine.com ^ | May 14, 2007 | Robert Spencer

[SJackson]

Fort Dix: The Backlash that Wasn't

By Robert Spencer
FrontPageMagazine.com | May 14, 2007

In the wake of the Fort Dix jihad plot arrests, the mainstream media featured numerous news articles focusing on the fears of other Muslims in America. Philadelphia’s CBS3 reported: “Muslims in the region are bracing themselves for a possible backlash in response to the terror plot arrests.” There was no shortage of Muslim spokesmen available to confirm these fears. “What we’re all afraid of is a new backlash,” said Hesham Mahmoud of the New Jersey chapter of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. An official of the South Jersey Islamic Center, the spiritual home of several of the jihadist suspects, also expressed fears that they “are going to face a backlash.” A Muslim in New Jersey, Tajwar Roomi, expressed fear for her family: “My husband works for the state. My son, my daughter, they all work. I do get worried about them because some people are nice, [but] some people are not.” As far away as Iowa, the imam of Des Moines’ Islamic Center, Ibrahim Dremali, said: “Some are afraid backlash may be coming. People are becoming cautious again. I’ve told them they have to be careful.” 

But none of the backlash reports included news of any actual backlash incidents, because four days after the arrests, there hadn’t been any. Richard Sparaco, the attorney for one of the accused jihad plotters, Serdar Tatar, came closest to actually reporting one. Sparaco said that the restaurant owned by Tatar’s father, Muslim Tatar, had suffered a sharp decline in business, and that someone kicked in his door and, according to New Jersey’s Star-Ledger, “shouted a racial slur.” Muslim Tatar, according to Sparaco, had also been threatened.

That was it, as far as backlash went. The contrast is stark: when cartoons of the Muslim prophet Muhammad appeared in a Danish newspaper, there were international riots, in which several innocent people were killed; when Pope Benedict XVI repeated a medieval emperor’s negative characterization of Muhammad, there were again riots and killings. When a mentally impaired Christian in Nigeria tore a copy of the Qur’an, rampaging Muslims burned ten churches to the ground. But when six Muslims in America were arrested for plotting to kill as many American soldiers as possible, there have been no killings. No mob action. No riots. No mosques have been torched, and no Muslims have been beaten or (with the possible lone exception of Muslim Tatar) harassed.

 

Of this Americans can justly be proud. The paucity of backlash incidents after the Fort Dix arrests and other jihad terror arrests – as well as after 9/11 -- shows that Americans are still essentially decent people who generally do not victimize people on the basis of their identity or associations. Yet statistics cited by the Des Moines Register painted a very different picture: “a nationwide survey by the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations…counted 1,972 incidents of anti-Muslim bias in 2005, up from 1,522 in 2004. The 2005 figure, from the group’s most recent tally, represents the largest number reported to the council, also known as CAIR, in its 12-year history.”

 

So are Muslims really facing an increasing climate of hostility and harassment in the United States? Unlikely. Daniel Pipes and Sharon Chadha studied an earlier CAIR hate crimes report in 2005 and discovered that “of twenty ‘anti-Muslim hate crimes’ in 2004 that CAIR describes, at least six are invalid.” These included one incident of a bombing outside a mosque for which no police report exists, and which seems not to have taken place at all; one of an arson attack against a mosque that police had determined was a simple robbery, with no “hate” motive; and two incidents of Muslim store owners destroying their own stores.

 

Why would CAIR trump up hate crimes? Because victimhood is big business. The Department of Homeland Security recently unveiled a $24 million grant program for non-profit organizations who are deemed high-risk for a potential international terrorist attack” – and CAIR immediately issued an “Action Alert” urging American mosques to apply for money for surveillance and security systems. What’s more, if CAIR succeeds in its attempt to portray Muslims in America as innocent victims of “Islamophobic” persecution, they will have deflected attention away from the question of whether or not the Fort Dix Six and other jihadists learned to hate and betray America in American mosques. Thus American mosques, seen as victims rather than as possibly abettors of seditious activity, won’t face any scrutiny over what they are doing, and not doing, to halt the spread of the jihadist ideology of Islamic supremacism among Muslims in America.

 

CAIR’s Nihad Awad recently told a Muslim audience: “There were 196 cases reported by the Justice Department for Muslims in civil rights cases. There were over 1008 cases reported by the Jewish faith. We need to do a much better job not only in recognizing our civil rights but also in reporting it to the government. Which is very critical and very important.” Important for the victimhood game: winners receive torrents of money, favorable media coverage, and moral authority that must never be questioned. In this effort Awad can count on the help of the mainstream media, which continues in the wake of the Fort Dix arrests to report on Muslim fears of backlash, as if those fears in themselves constitute an indictment of American society.

 

It’s worthwhile in light of this to step back and consider some of the media reports we are not seeing. Amid the steady stream of backlash articles, there has not been even one article about Muslims pledging to redouble their efforts to teach against the jihad ideology in American mosques. While many have reaffirmed that Islam is a religion of peace and scolded authorities for linking Islam with militancy, no Muslims have explained how this peaceful religion keeps being so outrageously misunderstood by those who are often its most devout adherents, or what they propose to do to keep this from happening in the future. No reporters – consumed as they are with their search for backlash incidents -- are even asking questions like this.

 

And that makes it likely that the Fort Dix jihad plotters will not be the last Muslims in America to “misunderstand” their religion and think it enjoins them to commit acts of violence against unbelievers.

[SteveMcKing]

Heck, it was a Muslim who informed. That’s a brave man.

[mtbopfuyn]

There was no shortage of Muslim spokesmen available to confirm these fears. “What we’re all afraid of is a new backlash,”

They really need to get over themselves.

[muawiyah]

I would hope these pukes "construe" their own religion correctly and go after the "hypocrites" in their midst FIRST.

They have enough divisions that'd keep them quite busy for a while and then there'd only be a couple of Moslems left in the country.

[MarkeyD]

But when six Muslims in America were arrested for plotting to kill as many American soldiers as possible, there have been no killings. No mob action. No riots. No mosques have been torched...

But if they had been successful it might have been a different story.

[SJackson]

If you'd like to be on this middle east/political ping list, please FR mail me.

High Volume. Articles on Israel can also be found by clicking on the Topic or Keyword Israel. or WOT [War on Terror]

----------------------------

[2banana]

“So are Muslims really facing an increasing climate of hostility and harassment in the United States?”

Try this on....

Saudi Arabia - Conversion by a Muslim to another religion is punishable by death. Bibles are illegal. Churches are illegal. It is punishable by death for a non-mulsim to enter the “holy” muslim cities of Medina and Mecca.

Yemen - Bans proselytizing by non-Muslims and forbids conversions. The Government does not allow the building of new non-Muslim places of worship.

Kuwait - Registration and licensing of religious groups. Members of religions not sanctioned in the Koran may not build places of worship. Prohibits organized religious education for religions other than Islam.

Egypt - Islam is the official state religion and primary source of legislation. Accordingly, religious practices that conflict with Islamic law are prohibited. Muslims may face legal problems if they convert to another faith. Requires non-Muslims to obtain what is now a presidential decree to build a place of worship.

Algeria - The law prohibits public assembly for purposes of practicing a faith other than Islam. Non-Islamic proselytizing is illegal, and the Government restricts the importation of non-Islamic literature for distribution. The country has passed the “Regulation of Religious Practice” law, which stipulates a punishment of two to five years’ imprisonment and heavy fines for anyone convicted of urging a Muslim to change his religion.

Syria - The constitution requires the president to be a Muslim and specifies that Islamic jurisprudence is a principal source of legislation. Sharing your Christian faith is discouraged as “posing a threat to the relations among religious groups” and carries a penalty of up to life in prison. A Christian is not allowed to proselytize – ever. Churches who want to hold an extra service must get a government permit. Sermons are routinely monitored, as is church fundraising.

Jordan - Has the death penalty for any Muslim selling land to a Jew.

Sudan - Conversion by a Muslim to another religion is punishable by death.

Pakistan - Conversion by a Muslim to another religion is punishable by death. Bans proselytizing by non-Muslims. Christians regularly put in prison for charges of blasphemy. Islam is the state religion, and in a court of law the testimony of a Christian carries less weight than that of a Muslim. Section 295(c) of the Penal Code calls for a death sentence for anyone who defiles the name of the Prophet Muhammad and requires the testimony of four Muslims for a conviction. This fosters an environment in which Muslims can feel free to use intimidation and violence against religious minorities for personal gain.

Qatar - Islamic instruction is compulsory in public schools. The government regulates the publication, importation, and distribution of non-Islamic religious literature. The government continues to prohibit proselytizing of Muslims by non-Muslims.

Malaysia - Under Malaysian law, any convert to Christianity must apply to a shariah (Muslim law) court to legally renounce Islam. Many Christians prefer to remain silent converts rather than take their battle to the shariah courts, where apostasy or conversion out of Islam is punishable by whipping, fines, imprisonment and—in the most extreme application—death.

The Maldives - In the island paradise visited by tens of thousands of tourists each year, Christianity is simply not tolerated. While local Christians – said to number around 300 out of a total population of 300,000 – do get together to worship, they do so at the risk of imprisonment or worse if discovered by the Muslim authorities. Bibles are banned, and tourists can be arrested for trying to bring them into the country.

http://www.state.gov/g/drl/hr/

[el_texicano]

While they do need to "get over themselves", I would suggest there is a deeper reason they fear a backlash. Possibly would it be guilt that is driving this fear. Guilt because they know deep down their religion is not about peace, but conquest, about subjugation.

I submit those who howl the loudest about "backlash" or the fear of such, are like fish in a clear stream when spooked. When they sense danger, the whip their tails and stir up the muddy bottom to hide themselves.

All this noise and protestations is just cover for their guilty arses. Incarcerate, convict, and deport their jihadist a$$es back to the countries where they belong.

If these jihadist t#rds ever are successful at pulling off their evil designs, say in a school, there will be serious hell to pay. They then could only hope for just a "backlash".

[Badeye]

Dick Morris and O’Reilly made a very persuasive arguement that the MSM is intentionally downplaying these incidents, so as the ensure the Democrats aren’t caught up talking about ‘terrorism’ in the 2008 election cycle.

After thinking about it, and then watching some of the coverage (Olbermann at MSNBC insisting these guys were all ‘morons’ for example) its hard to conclude otherwise.

[Verloona Ti]

But when six Muslims in America were arrested for plotting to kill as many American soldiers as possible, there have been no killings. No mob action. No riots. No mosques have been torched...

But if they had been successful it might have been a different story.

I have to wonder...How many moslems, here and abroad, look at this very lack of "tribal retaliation" as a sign of weakness or even of the acceptance of dhimmitude on our part? As a sign we 'feel ourselves to have been subdued' as the koran puts it?

No, I am not suggesting there SHOULD be violent retaliation against any passing moslem-that's (group guilt, tribal politics) not part of Western tradition-but I do think it's fair to wonder just how many moslems perceive our very forbearance. We see it as a "reason to be proud", but how do they see it? I expect second or third generation "cultural moslems" see it quite differently than do recent somalis foolishly allowed in-and again, while I do not want to see mass attacks on moslems in this country, I do wonder if the lack of such mob action doesn't encourage more 'amateur jihadism'. How would (eg) somali moslems in their own countries respond to similar attacks plotted by Christians or Jews existing in their countries? That's what third world moslems understand, and what they see as the correct behavior, so how are they perceiving our forbearance? (And let us hope we never learn first hand if your hypothesis is correct...)

[Muzzle_em]

REALLY?!!!

[ANGGAPO]

But when six Muslims in America were arrested for plotting to kill as many American soldiers as possible, there have been no killings. No mob action. No riots. No mosques have been torched...

Don’t worry, we will get around to it, keep it up.

[pandoraou812]

I thought they weren’t releasing any info on the informant? How do you know it was a Muslim? Are you speaking about the video store clerk? ~P~

[prognostigaator]

‘’...... there has not been even one article about Muslims pledging to redouble their efforts to teach against the jihad ideology in American mosques.’’

[kidd]

Heck, it was a Muslim who informed

I haven't heard this. Do you have a link or a source?

[SteveMcKing]

Not the clerk, someone in the group who was cooperating. I could be mistaken, I think that’s what I heard on the radio...

[SteveMcKing]

It would have been O’Reilly or maybe Jay Severin. Not sure.

[wideawake]

Sparaco said that the restaurant owned by Tatar’s father, Muslim Tatar, had suffered a sharp decline in business

The fact that the decline in business has not been 100% is a disgrace.

[highlander_UW]

Well, I did read of one bit of “backlash”. Apparently the soldiers at Ft. Dix aren’t patronizing the pizza business that one of these guys ran and his father is complaining that his business is sunk. Go figure.

[Leftism is Mentally Deranged]

Excellent article. It’s only in the USA that an ideology can fly planes into buildings and then gain privileged victim status.

If they would stop the murders, throat-slittings, mall shootings, sudden jihad syndrome killings, kidnapping and torture of children, stoning, rioting, shooting, and train bombing they would be really nice people.