The right-wing coalition behind Wilders’ US visit

Wilders CNNThe fiercely anti-Islam Dutch MP Geert Wilders has been traveling through the U.S. this week on a highly-publicised trip to meet with politicians, promote his controversial film “Fitna”, and raise money for his legal defence back home.

Although Wilders’s stated goal has been to campaign for free speech, his trip has been sponsored and promoted by an unlikely coalition of groups united primarily by their hostility towards Islam. His backers include neoconservative and right-wing Jewish groups on the one hand and figures with ties to the European far right on the other.

Since he was charged with incitement to hate and discrimination in the Netherlands in January and denied entry to Britain earlier this month on public safety grounds, Wilders has become something of a cause celebre for the U.S. right.

This week, he gave a private viewing of his 17-minute anti-Islam film in the U.S. Senate, where he was hosted by Senator Jon Kyl, an Arizona Republican. He also appeared on Bill O’Reilly’s and Glenn Beck’s popular right-wing TV shows, met privately with the Wall Street Journal editorial board, and hobnobbed with former U.N. ambassador John Bolton at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).

On Friday, he capped his busy week with an appearance at the National Press Club. At the event, he reiterated his calls for a halt to immigration from Muslim countries and pronounced, to raucous applause from the audience, that “our Western culture based on Christianity, Judaism, and humanism is in every aspect better than Islamic culture”.

His chief sponsors during the trip have primarily been neoconservative organisations such as Frank Gaffney’s Centre for Security Policy, David Horowitz’s Freedom Centre, and Daniel Pipes’s Middle East Forum, which is also helping to raise money for Wilders’s legal defence.

An event he held at a Boston-area synagogue was sponsored by the Republican Jewish Coalition, an influential group whose board members include casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer, and neoconservative writer David Frum, who attended Wilders’s Friday event in Washington.

His trip has also been heavily promoted by conservative blogger Pamela Geller, who sponsored a reception for him in Washington on Friday. Geller is perhaps best known for alleging during the 2008 presidential campaign that now-President Barack Obama is the illegitimate child of the late Nation of Islam leader Malcolm X; she also continues to argue that Obama is a secret Muslim.

A less well-known but key backer of Wilders’s trip has been the newly-formed International Free Press Society (IFPS), which is headed by Danish journalist Lars Hedegaard and upon whose advisory board Wilders sits. The IFPS has been instrumental in promoting Wilders’ case as a free-speech issue, joining him in calling for an “International First Amendment”, and it was a co-sponsor of Friday’s event at the National Press Club.

While the IFPS has strong ties to neoconservatives – its staff includes members of Pipes’s and Gaffney’s organisations – it also has ties to the European far right, and specifically the Belgian rightist party Vlaams Belang (VB), or Flemish Interest.

The IFPS’s vice president Paul Belien is married to Vlaams Belang MP Alexandra Colen, and has been a fierce defender of the party against its critics. And in 2007, Hedegaard and Belien – along with IFPS board members Bat Ye’or, Andrew Bostom, Robert Spencer, and Sam Solomon – appeared with VB leader Filip Dewinter at the CounterJihad conference in Brussels. Although “the VB did not organise the conference, it provided an important part of the logistics and the security of those attending,” according to Belien.

Inter Press Service, 28 February 2009

See also “Synagogue hails Dutch lawmaker as a hero”, Jewish Telegraph Agency, 27 February 2009

More anti-Muslim propaganda from discredited Islam ‘expert’

Denis MacEoinSome Islamic schools in Britain were today accused of teaching “fundamentalist” views in a new report which warns they could undermine the country’s social cohesion.

The report, by Right-wing think tank Civitas, claims pupils are being told to shun chess, music, cricket and even Harry Potter in material posted or linked to school websites.

It says the teaching risks encouraging some Muslim children to “despise British culture” and prepare them to live “separate lives” in “Muslim enclaves” distant from the rest of society.

The Association of Muslim Schools said the report was based on flawed research. Dr Mohamed Mukadam, the association’s chairman, said: “The author has pieced together bits of information from the internet. He hasn’t set foot in a single Muslim school or spoken to a teacher or pupil.”

Evening Standard, 19 February 2009


Well, what can you expect, given that the author in question is none other that Denis MacEoin, who was responsible for the discredited Policy Exchange report The Hijacking of British Islam.

See also Civitas press release, 19 February 2009

And if you can be bothered ploughing through 150-odd pages of MacEoin’s “study”, Music, Chess and Other Sins, it can be downloaded (pdf) here.

It would appear that this is the report that was originally going to be entitled When Worlds Collide, but even Civitas baulked at MacEoin’s assertion that 60 per cent of Muslim schools in the UK had “extremist links” and refused to publish this claim, leading MacEoin to complain indignantly, via Damian Thompson’s Holy Smoke blog, that he had been censored.

Still, let’s be fair, MacEoin does have his admirers – Daniel Pipes, for example, who has announced that MacEoin will take over as editor of the Middle East Quarterly later this year.

Wilders to incite hatred in USA

Geert Wilders Extremist2A member of the Dutch Parliament who was banned last week from entering the United Kingdom because of his inflammatory anti-Islamic views is about to be welcomed to the United States by some notable conservatives.

Geert Wilders – who has publicly compared the Koran to “Mein Kampf” – is scheduled to make public appearances in Washington next week, including a Feb. 27 press conference at the National Press Club. Wilders is seeking to promote his movie “Fitna,” an incendiary short documentary film that depicts Islam as a religion of terrorists.

The chief sponsor of Wilders’s National Press Club event is Frank Gaffney, a former Reagan administration Pentagon official who now runs the Center for Security Policy, a prominent neoconservative think tank. Others who hope to meet with Wilders include David Horowitz, a well-known conservative activist who promotes campaigns to fight Islamic extremism.

But Wilders’s U.S. tour seems to be testing the limits of free speech even among hard-core conservatives. Some seem to be keeping their distance – apparently fearful of associating with a right-wing political figure widely seen in Europe as a dangerous extremist and self-promoter. The organizers of next week’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington – a splashy gathering with prominent speakers like GOP Chair Michael Steele and former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee – have yet to decide whether Wilders will be welcome to speak.

David Keene, the president of The American Conservative Union and an organizer of the conference, at first told NEWSWEEK that he could not accommodate Wilders because all the speaking slots were booked. But after conferring with Gaffney over the weekend, he said he would seek to find time for a brief presentation. “If we can free up five or 10 minutes, we’ll see if we can let him speak,” Keene said.

Newsweek, 17 February 2009

Tennessee: Islamic subversion alleged by speaker

A former FBI special agent told law enforcement and Homeland Security personnel that a network of Islamic organizations are working to incrementally implement Islamic law in the United States.

During a presentation at the Bedford County Emergency Management Agency, former FBI agent John Guandolo briefed members about groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, which he claims is working with other Islamic groups to slowly implement Shariah, also known as Islamic law, which encompasses all areas of life.

Every major Muslim organization is controlled by the Muslim Brotherhood, the former FBI agent said, which he said was formed to overthrow America and establish Islamic law.

“They’re having great success of implementing Shariah law, I could give you a thousand examples,” Guandolo said. He said small concessions like installing foot baths, and colleges forced to have separate swimming times for Islamic men and women so not to offend Muslims, are other parts of the strategy.

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Australian wildfires could fuel ‘forest jihad’ terrorists, experts say

Australian+bushfire

Firefighters and homeowners aren’t the only ones keenly watching Australia’s massive wildfires, responsible for killing at least 173 people in the southern part of the continent. Terrorism experts suspect Muslim extremists are watching closely, too – and taking note of the devastation.

While Australian authorities have revealed no evidence linking the wildfires to extremists, terrorism experts say the large death toll, the huge swath of destruction and the massive financial blow to the country are proving to Islamic terrorists that arson can be a highly effective – and simple – tool of holy war.

“Could [militants] do this? Yes,” said Steve Emerson, executive director of The Investigative Project on Terrorism. Perhaps more troubling, Emerson said, is that there is very little authorities can do to prevent terrorists from setting deadly wildfires. “It would be absolutely impossible to protect against,” he said. “Airport parameters are hard enough to protect. Imagine trying to protect something 100,000 times as big.”

If extremists did have had a hand in the wildfires, Emerson said, it would be “very disturbing”. “It would indicate a new area of jihadist attacks, that is, attacking natural resources,” he said. “And given the devastation of these fires, it certainly could instill new terror ideas in other areas like the food supply chain or in the environmental realm.”

Fox News, 9 February 2009


Yes, that would be the same Steve Emerson who told CBS News in 1995 that the Oklahoma City bombing showed “a Middle Eastern trait” because it “was done with the intent to inflict as many casualties as possible”.

Meanwhile, here in the UK, the fascists of the BNP pose the question: “Australian death fire: was it jihad?

Update:  The Daily Mail has reproduced the Fox News article almost word for word, complete with Emerson’s idiotic remarks.

California Muslim denied service at bank over hijab

Amal HersiA woman who wore an Islamic head scarf to a local bank said she was turned away and singled out, and is a victim of discrimination. Amal Hersi and her family moved to the U.S. from Somalia in search of freedom. Hersi said she’s had the freedom she’s wanted, up until last Saturday. “I felt like a criminal. I felt humiliated. I fell ashamed,” said Hersi.

Hersi said she was waiting in line at the Navy Federal Credit Union in Mission Valley when she said she was stopped by an employee. “So she goes, ‘Ma’am, could you follow me?’ And at that point I was like what did I do wrong?” said Hersi. Hersi said the reason was because she wore a traditional Muslim scarf.

Even after telling the employee she wore the scarf for religious reasons, she was asked to remove it. She compares herself to any other person wearing a garment, like a Jewish man wearing a Yarmulke or a Catholic nun wearing a habit.

Many banks have policies like this in order to deter bank robbers, a representative from the Navy Federal Credit Union said. “In the interest of security and safety for our members and employees, hats, hoods and sunglasses must be removed when entering the branch office,” Navy Federal Credit Union said in a statement.

10News.com, 2 February 2009

CAIR asks FBI to probe harassment of Florida Muslims

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today called on the FBI to investigate possible civil rights violations by a “biblical group” that allegedly harassed worshipers yesterday at a Florida mosque.

More than 20 people used bullhorns to shout slurs against the faith of Islam and Islam’s Prophet Muhammad at those attending the Islamic Society of Tampa Bay Area. They also handed out anti-Muslim literature and, according to a mosque official, frightened children attending weekend school at the facility. The group was apparently in Tampa for today’s Super Bowl. Police were called to the scene.

CAIR press release, 2 February 2009

Muslim plot against tiny tots – now Nintendo game says ‘Islam is the light’

Baby PalsKNIGHTSVILLE, Ind. —  Months ago, Rachel Jones was shocked to discover her 4-year-old’s baby doll seemed to have a hidden message: Islam is the light. Imagine her surprise when a game for her 8-year-old daughter’s Nintendo DS had the same message.

Rachel said she bought the Nintendo game, Baby Pals, as a gift for her 8-year-old daughter after a good report card. She had no idea the game also contained the hidden message “Islam is the light.”

“We were sitting in the kitchen, and she was playing it,” said Jones. “All of a sudden she looked at me, and I looked at her and she said, ‘Mom, I think my baby said something.’ And so I played it back, and it says ‘Islam is the light’.”

The Nintendo game has an “E” rating, which means it’s suitable for any age. In a virtual reality setting, the child playing the game can feed the baby or teach it to crawl, among other things. It’s only when the child gives the baby a bath that it repeatedly seems to say “Islam is the light.”

Jones said she’s angry this is the second toy she’s had to take from her children. “Not just my daughters’ toys, but we have a son too,” said Jones. “Now I feel like I need to listen to all of his little toys to make sure they’re not saying it.”

WTHI, 27 January 2009


For the earlier dastardly attempt by militant Islamists to bend the minds of innocent American children via the “Cuddle and Coo” doll, see here, here and here.

In connection with the current “Baby Pals” controversy MAMA asks: “Is it a coincidence? Or is there a concerted effort to invite young American girls to join Islam?”

And the inimitable Debbie Schlussel comments: “Last year, I told you about the Fisher Price doll that says, ‘Islam is the light’. Now, it’s Nintendo. But no-one seems to care that dolls and games are being used to propagandize American kids. Don’t buy Nintendo DS Baby Pals for your kids.”

Update:  Unlike the people who ran the above story GamePolitics actually bothered to contact the publishers of the game, Crave Entertainment, who have stated:

“In creating the Nintendo DS game ‘Baby Pals’, the game developer Brain Toys / InXile used sounds files to simulate the life like baby noises and babbling. The sounds are publicly available for license. It is a recording of a 5 month old baby babbling non-intelligible phrases. In over 200 hours of testing the product, no recognizable English words or phrases were discernable.

“The sound in question of this babble may sound like the words night, right or light, but it is only coincidence as the baby recorded was too young to pronounce these words let alone a whole grammatically correct phrase.”

GamePolitics comments: “Crave’s explanation that it licensed the baby talk sound file helps make sense of how ‘Islam is the Light’ plagued the Little Mommy Cuddle and Coo doll as well. Fisher-Price probably licensed the same audio.”

US Right witch-hunts Ingrid Mattson

Ingrid_MattsonFor at least the second time since last summer, those close to President-elect Barack Obama are defending the selection of the leader of a Muslim group, linked by the U.S. government to terrorists, to play a leading role in an ecumenical religious service.

Ingrid Mattson, president of the Islamic Society of North America, is one of several religious leaders scheduled to speak at the inaugural prayer service Wednesday at Washington’s National Cathedral.

As WND reported in August, Mattson spoke at the Democratic National Convention’s “interfaith gathering” in Denver. At the time, Fox News reported ISNA was suspected of having ties to radical terrorism worldwide and during last year’s Holy Land Foundation terrorism trial was regarded as an “unindicted co-conspirator” by the U.S. government.

The government alleged documents show ISNA is supported by the Muslim Brotherhood, which has called for “jihad” against the West. Frank Gaffney of the Center for Security Policy told Fox the Muslim Brotherhood seeks “our destruction.”

World Net Daily, 18 January 2009


Mark Pelavin, director of inter-religious affairs for the Union for Reform Judaism – another organization participating in the prayer service – called Mattson “a really important voice denouncing terrorism.”

“Clearly, Dr. Mattson has been welcome throughout the government,” he said. “I haven’t found anyone anywhere who’s found anything Dr. Mattson has said that’s anything other than clearly denouncing terrorism in quite explicit Islamic terms.”

Pelavin’s group has a partnership with the Islamic Society to encourage members of mosques and synagogues to build ties nationwide.

Associated Press, 17 January 2009

Update:  Over at Front Page Magazine Robert Spencer of Jihad Watch claims that Ingrid Mattson is a defender of Osama Bin Laden who has “endorsed al-Qaeda’s goals”, is an apologist for Wahhabism and has “tried to set Jews and Christians against once [sic] another”.

Seattle report: men hit, told to ‘speak English’

Seattle police say they’re looking for a pickup truck driver who became so angry when he heard a man speaking a language other than English that he attacked the man and a friend.

Police described the victims in the Monday afternoon attack as African men. One stepped outside a store on Rainier Avenue South to talk on his cell phone. The man heard a pickup truck driver stopped in traffic yell at him to “speak English.”

According to the police report, the driver grew angrier when the man with the phone tried to say he didn’t speak English very well. Police say the driver got out of his truck, called the victim a Muslim, using a slur, and told him to “go back home.”

Police say the driver grabbed the victim and punched him twice. When the victim’s friend came out of the store, he was punched in the eye.

Associated Press, 14 January 2009