Posted on 07/01/2011 5:55:37 AM PDT by Pharmboy
The General Henry Knox Museum is honoring a representative of Al-Jazeera, the channel associated with various terrorist organizations, on July 28 on the stage of The Strand Theatre in Rockland, Maine. The museum says that an intimate Gala dinner and reception will follow at 7:30 p.m. at Camden National Banks historic Spear Block location in Rockland.
Knox played a significant role in the American war for independence from Britain and was close to General George Washington.
The idea of an American museum devoted to patriotism honoring a representative of a foreign-funded channel, described by Middle East experts such as Walid Phares as Jihad television, is not going down well in Maine and across the country. The most visible public face of Al-Jazeera Arabic is the anti-Semitic cleric, Sheik Yusuf al-Qaradawi, who approved suicide bombings against Israeli civilians and American military personnel in Iraq.
Oh Allah he preached in January 2009 to millions of Al-Jazeera listeners, count their numbers [the Jews], and kill them down to the very last one.
Dr. Judea Pearl said he once thought that Al-Jazeera could be a force for good in the world but came to believe otherwise, based on its track record in promoting anti-American and anti-Jewish propaganda. He has also warned of the expanding influence of Al-Jazeera English. Even if Al-Jazeera English waters down its sister networks alarmist content, it should still be seen as a potential threat, he says. It will bestow respectability upon the practices of its Arabic language network in Qatar, which continues, among other things, to broadcast Sheik Qaradawis teachings, frequently, consistently and prominently. Dr. Pearls son, journalist Daniel Pearl, was murdered by Al-Qaeda.
The grass-roots organization, Act for America, headed by Brigitte Gabriel, is mobilizing to oppose the appearance of Abderrahim Foukara, the Washington Bureau Chief of Al-Jazeera, at the event in Maine.
Gabriel is the author of two New York Times best sellers, Because They Hate: A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America, and They Must Be Stopped: Why we must defeat radical Islam and how we can do it. The recent Act for America conference in Washington, D.C. attracted hundreds of activists and featured speeches by such figures as Rep. Allen West, one of the most forceful advocates of resistance to the global jihad.
An Act for America chapter leader in Maine, who didnt want her name used publicly for fear of retribution from radical Muslims in the area, told Accuracy in Media that the event with Abderrahim Foukara is an outrageous affront to the mission of the museum itself. General Knox was an American revolutionary war hero, she said. Al-Jazeera is an anti-American propaganda channel that has served as a mouthpiece for Arab/Muslim terrorist organizations killing Americans in the Middle East. Al-Jazeera has the blood of countless American soldiers on its hands.
She noted evidence, publicized by Accuracy in Media in a special report, of Al-Jazeeras ties to terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda, Hamas, and Hezbollah. These are terrorist organizations that target Americans and Israelis for death for opposing the global Jihad. Under no circumstances should an American museum devoted to an American revolutionary war hero and General be honoring a representative of this terror channel.
Local activists want the board and trustees of the museum to cancel the appearance and offer a public explanation and apology for how this occurred.
AIM, which has campaigned against acceptance of Al-Jazeera, has argued that, in addition to serving as a mouthpiece for terrorist organizations, the channel has been shown to play a role in radicalizing Muslims abroad to make Americans into terrorist targets. Through Al-Jazeera English, the version of the channel being pushed for increased carriage in U.S. media markets, it could further stir up and inflame the Arabs and Muslims inside the U.S.
Abderrahim Foukara, the Washington Bureau Chief of Al-Jazeera scheduled to speak in Maine, has said, To be honest, I dont know what objective journalism means.
In an interview with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Foukara argued that the U.S. should engage in talks with Hamas, the terror organization committed to the destruction of Israel. Hamas representatives have appeared at several conferences sponsored by Al-Jazeera in Doha, the capital of Qatar.
Although the channel has been portrayed as independent and reliable, the coverage by Al-Jazeera of the so-called Arab Spring has not been directed at corruption by the authoritarian monarchy in Qatar, which owns and funds the channel. Cables released by WikiLeaks demonstrate that U.S. officials consider the channel to be a foreign policy instrument of Qatar. There is no freedom of the press in the country, and a blogger in Qatar demanding accountability from the ruling elite was recently whisked away from security forces and has not been heard from since.
If the government of Qatar funds Al-Jazeera with hundreds of millions of dollars annually, obviously its not a charity, Foukara acknowledged in an interview.
Nevertheless, a press release from the General Henry Knox Museum calls Foukara a Moroccan transplant to the United States who is well-versed in the history of the founding of his adopted country, and is able to weave that historical perspective into modern foreign relations.
The museum describes Henry Knox as a Self-made Man, Patriot and Entrepreneur. It says, Throughout most of the war he was by Washington's side, and eventually rose to Major-General. Following the war he was Washington's choice for the first Secretary at War. They remained life-long friends. Knox retired to the mid-coast area of Maine in 1795 to promote the settlement and economic development of the District of Maine.
It is not clear to local members of the Act for America chapter why the museum has decided to bestow the prestige of General Knoxs legacy on a representative of an Arab-government funded channel implicated in the murder of Americans. They are seeking answers from museum staff and members of the board.
The board of the museum is chaired by Gregory A. Dufour, president and chief executive officer of Camden National Corporation and Camden National Bank in Rockport, Maine.
Maine Senator Susan Collins, the top Republican on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, has warned of radicalized extremists working to do us harm from within our borders and stated that I am alarmed at the growth of homegrown terrorist plots.
She added, Between May 2009 and November 2010, there were arrests made in 22 homegrown plots by American citizens or legal permanent residents. By comparison, in the more than seven years from September 11, 2001, through May 2009, there were 21 such plots.
AIM has argued that what is needed is a congressional inquiry into whether Al-Jazeera, through its exposure to some Americans through the Internet and YouTube and some cable systems, is playing a role in this carnage.
Knox was indeed a favorite of The General. Head of our artillery, learned about it reading books from his store in Boston.
General Knox was a big guy
The RevWar/Colonial History/General Washington ping list...
This article is unbelievable. Just goes to show how naive liberals are...
W | T | F |
The board of the museum is chaired by Gregory A. Dufour, president and chief executive officer of Camden National Corporation and Camden National Bank in Rockport, Maine.
“Abderrahim Foukara, the Washington Bureau Chief of Al-Jazeera ..... a press release from the General Henry Knox Museum calls Foukara a Moroccan transplant to the United States who is well-versed in the history of the founding of his adopted country, and is able to weave that historical perspective into modern foreign relations. “
Had to read thru 1/2 the article to find out who the guy is.
The grass-roots organization, Act for America, headed by Brigitte Gabriel, is mobilizing to oppose the appearance of Abderrahim Foukara, the Washington Bureau Chief of Al-Jazeera, at the event in Maine.
Perhaps he was going to tell the good people of Maine that the Barbary Pirates were misunderstood, and President Jefferson acted too impulsively.
"In an interview with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Foukara argued that the U.S. should engage in talks with Hamas, the terror organization committed to the destruction of Israel."
......a press release from the General Henry Knox Museum calls Foukara a Moroccan transplant to the United States who is well-versed in the history of the founding of his adopted country, and is able to weave that historical perspective into modern foreign relations......
Here’s Foukarka’s career history—working for the Serbophobic, anti-Israel, and hard-left media organizations BBC and NPR:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abderrahim_Foukara
And as a muslim, he has NO WAY of understanding the American concept of freedom, no matter how much American history he thinks he knows. Only leaving islam (especially conversion to Christianity) could change that! But then he would be fired from Al-Jazeera and targeted for death!!
Foukara is a muslim fifth columnist, pure and simple!!!!
Some Mainers think that they have to suck up to islam, because of the growing population of Somalis in that state. However, Somali muslims are barbarians (at best) who do not belong in our country. Mainers should show the true spirit of Henry Knox, and stand up to islam and the New World Order!!!!
Her name is Wafah Dufour. She uses her mother's maiden name. Wonder if there's any relationship to Gregory Dufour?
Uh-huh. Are ye now.
Oh. Wait. She's probably talking about Tea Partiers.
Thanks for your research, Dr S; and thanks for the interesting potential connection, mewzilla.
Interesting thought...
Gregory A. Dufour, president and CEO of Camden National Corporation and Camden National Bank in Rockport, Maine should be worried that locals will withdraw their money from his bank.
Camden National Bank Named SBA's Top 7(a) Lender of the Year
The SBA's 7(a) Loan Program offers financial help to small businesses with special requirements, including businesses that handle exports to foreign countries....
Ping
Local activists want the board and trustees of the museum to cancel the appearance and offer a public explanation and apology for how this occurred.
~ That would be a good start.
All in all, this is a very informative article. Thank you for posting it.
I only picked up the story since I have a google alert for "Revolutionary War."
I read this a month ago and it bothered me that a Houston native reported on the State Dept. and the Pentagon for Al Jazerra, from the press room in the State Department. Somehow, all this "coziness" just doesn't feel right.
[excerpt] WASHINGTON It is not unusual to hear Al-Jazeera reporter Rosiland Jordan expound on French philosophy, then throw in a "y'all" for good measure.
The native Houstonian has worked for local TV and radio stations all over the country, and is now at the international network that New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman called "the biggest media phenomenon to hit the Arab world since the advent of television."
Sitting in one of two cubicles that make up Al-Jazeera's operations in the press room at the State Department, Jordan, 45, explains how she went from her big family in Houston to the network's new English operation.
"You know, I've always been fascinated with the world," Jordan said. "In a way, Texas wasn't big enough."
Jordan, who covers the State Department and Pentagon for Al-Jazeera, says her taste for news and politics started early, when she listened to her parents debate current events. Her father would take her and her five siblings to a newsstand and let them pick anything they wanted until the total came to $20.
"I guess because I have five very opinionated sisters and brothers who will tell me I am getting too big for my breeches, that keeps me grounded," Jordan said of her siblings, most of whom still live in the Houston area.
She was born at St. Joseph's Hospital and attended Lanier Middle School, the same junior high as another successful Houston broadcaster: Walter Cronkite. When she interviewed him many years later, they joked about both being "Purple Pups." [end excerpt] Source
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.