War of ideas' homefront

Washington Times ^ | Frank Gaffney

[dervish]

It is generally accepted that the conflict we are in is as much a war of ideas as a military one. Sadly, the United States has largely failed to wage this ideological struggle against adversaries who both understand its vital importance to the outcome and who often, like most ideologues, are very skilled in its ways.

This is bad enough overseas, where adherents to one strain or another of the ideology best described as Islamofascism use various organizations, media and educational institutions to recruit and indoctrinate young people. The failure to recognize the danger such activities represent, let alone to counter them effectively, is among the most serious shortfalls in the Free World's response to our Islamist enemies.

Even more alarming is accumulating evidence we are also failing to appreciate the inroads being made by those promoting a similar agenda on this war's homefront — here in the United States. In fact, Islamists have been assiduously waging the war of ideas for decades, in American mosques and prisons, on military bases and college campuses across the country and, increasingly, in the public square. The infrastructure that has made possible such ideological inroads has largely been built by various Saudi institutions, charities, princes and businesses. The Islamofascists' success in these areas owes as much to our indifference, political correctness and cognitive dissonance as to their zeal.

[dervish]

A case in point is a new school that New York City seeks to initiate this autumn with public funding. The so-called Khalil Gibran International Academy (KGIA) will start small — a single sixth-grade class lodged temporarily inside an existing public school in Brooklyn. According to Garth Harries, an official in the city's Department of Education, the KGIA's purpose will be to "offer a challenging multicultural curriculum ... [that] integrates intensive Arabic language instruction and the study of Middle Eastern history and historical figures to enliven learning across all subject areas."

'snip'

A Group has started to prevent this school from opening:

Stop The Madrassa: Protecting Our Public Schools from Islamist Curricula

link

[dervish]

US Madrassa alert

[sageb1]

“Public Schools Chancellor Joel Kline has promised to “shut [the school] down” if it assumes a religious, political or national character inconsistent with a public school”

Disingenuous statement.

[sageb1]

Thanks for the link.

[SJackson]

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[neverdem]

thanks, bfl

[dervish]

your welcome.

The planned Madrassa in Brooklyn is in the right place - the place where Ari Halberstasm was shot by a Muslim terrorist, where the blind Sheik Abdul-Rahman preached Jihad from the Al Farooq Mosque prior and post WTC 1 attack.

Really great idea Bloomberg and Klein.

[dervish]

Related thread:

Saudi in the Classroom (K-12 education in the United States)

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1871409/posts