November 3, 2009
Dangerous Spin – Islamists' Irresponsible Response to FBI Shooting
Steve Emerson
Last week's shooting death of a radical Detroit imam as FBI agents tried to arrest him is unfortunate. Responsible parties should study what happened to identify any lessons in how to avoid a repeat occurrence.
Sadly, those lessons are not the ones being emphasized by Islamic advocacy groups that present themselves as moderate. While many details remain undisclosed, basic facts about the incident are public and show that Luqman Abdullah's actions triggered the events that led to his death. Thus, he is a poor example for alleging FBI malfeasance.
Abdullah was charged in a criminal complaint with conspiring to sell stolen goods, violating weapon laws and other crimes rooted in his leadership of a Detroit area mosque. Given his record of encouraging his followers to keep armed and to resist law enforcement, he was considered armed and dangerous by arresting agents.
Abdullah was shot and killed when he fired first, killing an FBI dog.
Four other defendants who were with Abdullah in a warehouse when agents stormed in last week were arrested unharmed after surrendering. The bottom line is one guy fired his weapon. One guy got shot. Nothing happened to the others. That's not a sign of recklessness by the authorities.
Critics have disparagingly focused on the dog's death, as if the fire returned was based on a moral judgment equating a human life with an animal's. The dog, a Belgian Malinois named Freddy, will be honored on the FBI's memorial wall.
Where he aimed is less an issue than the fact that Abdullah fired his weapon during that tense moment in which agents were ordering suspects considered armed and dangerous to surrender.
Abdullah was a protégé of Jamil Al-Amin, the former Black Panther born H. Rapp Brown. Al-Amin is serving a life prison sentence for the 2000 killing of a Fulton County Sheriff's deputy who came to serve him with an arrest warrant. Al-Amin maintains his innocence but his appeals since his 2002 conviction have gone nowhere.
Abdullah helped raise money for Al-Amin's legal expenses and, according to the criminal complaint, adhered to Al-Amin's ambition of creating a state within the U.S. governed by Islamic law.
Abdullah preached offensive jihad and used his mosque for training in martial arts and with firearms. He was recorded in a 2004 sermon yelling, "Police, so what? Police die too! Feds die too!" and "Do not carry a pistol if you're going to give it p to police. You give them a bullet."
He also vowed he would not go peacefully should law enforcement ever come to get him. Arresting agents knew this when they cornered Abdullah last week.
With that as context, the hyperbolic reaction emanating from supposedly sober, reliable partners of law enforcement is troubling.
The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) issued a statement that was an exercise in double-speak. First, it stressed its support for law enforcement "and finds no justification for resisting duly executed arrest warrants. It further calls on all Muslims to reject any attempts that aim at undermining the rule of law or subverting the constitution."
Having said that, it demanded a full investigation into the shooting, saying the Muslim community "must be persuaded that FBI agents do not use excessive force or act out of an unfounded suspicion and exaggerated fear."
It might be persuasive for ISNA to say that, based on the available information, Abdullah harbored a deep hatred of the police, vowed not to go down without a fight and seems to have made a horrible decision which ended his life.
At least ISNA's statement had a measure of balance. Dawud Walid, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Michigan office, has been in the forefront of those seeking to turn Abdullah's actions into an indictment of the FBI. A Detroit columnist offered this quote about the episode:
"'Is this the kind of excessive force that we black Americans are all too familiar with?' Walid asked. Walid is also troubled by the use of informants and what he called agent provocateurs who entice people into criminal activities."
In a word, no. The kind of "excessive force" he refers to usually involves beatings and shootings of unarmed suspects. It's a legitimate issue that is not connected to this case. These concerns would resonate more deeply had Abdullah been unarmed, or had laid down his weapon and chosen to fight the allegations against him in court and still been gunned down. But that's not what happened.
The American Muslim Task Force on Civil Right and Elections (AMT) also has called for "an independent investigation of Imam Luqman Ameen Abdullah's death [to] make public the exact circumstances in which he died."
The AMT faulted the complaint against Abdullah and 11 other men for citing the religious justification used in the group's alleged criminal activity.
We're used to seeing these same players criticize and seek to undermine counter-terror investigations by labeling them as anti-Muslim witch hunts or rife with other flaws. In this case, they're not only deflecting attention away from the allegations in the complaint, they're casting federal law enforcement as trigger happy killers.
"This is to intimidate the rest of the Muslim community. The Muslims in America are under a lot of pressure and the masjids, the Muslim centers, the community centers are full of government infiltrators, spies, and saboteurs who try to break the back of this wonderful Islamic movement in North America.
So what the government is doing by assassinating Imam Luqman is trying to intimidate the Muslim community, especially the black community."
A New York Times story on the brewing controversy did find one clear-eyed religious leader who pinpointed the motivation behind it. Eide A. Alawan, director of the office of interfaith outreach at the Islamic Center of America, told the newspaper:
"This is not the first time in history that someone has used a religion to do some harm in the name of faith. Now is an opportune time for some to show their militancy. It gets attention. But it's no different than the Ku Klux Klan in the 40s and 50s using the cross."
An FBI team is in Detroit investigating the shooting. Because it took place in Dearborn, police there also have jurisdiction and are investigating, too. Regardless of their findings, don't expect those stirring the pot to express satisfaction with the outcome.
The elements here are simple and the lesson is clear. An ideology of confrontation with the authorities does not end well. Some fringe elements are calling Abdullah a martyr and no doubt many will view him that way.
In doing so, they will serve only to harden more hearts and foster future violence. That's quite a legacy.
The self proclaimed moderates are my focus here. For those who claim islam is a religion of peace, I'd like to point out that in the end, the masses of muslims we allow into this country will show their loyalty to their religion far ahead of being american. But, we are stuck on stupid with political correctness and we will keep allowing them in, and influence our country. I am glad to have lived the best years that this country has offered and believe it's now in irreversable decline.
posted by: tom dashel
Wednesday, November 4, 2009 at 08:21 AM
I totally agree with you, Tom - there loyalty is to Islam, not America and they are not the only ones. We have ruined this country letting immigrants both legal and illegal not pay allegiance to America while retaining their heritage. Instead, they maintain their allegience to their homelands and use our laws against us and the liberal PC idiots are letting it get worse and worse. I am an American with allegience to no other!!
posted by: Lib
Wednesday, November 4, 2009 at 01:19 PM
In the past immigrants came here to become Americans, to embrace our language and culture and ideology, to swear their loyalty, to be come one of us.
Now, they reject our language and culture, embrace hostile ideologies, engage in deliberate apartheid and form no-go zones in our cities, and swear their loyalty to nations and movements determined to destroy the Nation. They live among us yet despise us.
Immigration has degenerated into colonization. It is time to shut the door. Enough Trojan Horse, Islamist immigration.
posted by: Stephen
Thursday, November 5, 2009 at 12:56 AM
Tom, Lib, Stephen, you are all right on it. I just don't understand how this has been allowed to happen in our country, and even all across europe. I am sure the founding father's idea of freedom of religion does not extend to a religion that seeks only to destroy ALL other religions! The movie "Obsession" should be shown on every station across the country. The truth about Islam MUST be told, and not hidden behind the mask of the "Peaceful Muslim Religion" They have only one goal, and that is to dominate the world. And we are helping thm do it.
For anyone out there on the fence about this issue, I urge you to check out "Obsession", (Feel free to verify anything you doubt yourself, as it is set up so you may do just that) and check out thereligionofpeace.com as well. Go first to the FAQ in case you think it ias just a site to bash Muslims. It is anything but... Learn the truth for yourselves, for there are no grey areas within Islam. They want us dead, and they will never stop.
I too already miss my country
posted by: Tcow
Tuesday, November 10, 2009 at 09:19 PM
