RUTHFULLY YOURS

On Wednesday, October 20, in Virginia, 20-year old Zachary A. Chesser pleaded guilty to providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization and encouraging violent jihadists to kill U.S. citizens. In a wrongly-dated press release from USDOJ, Assistant Attorney David Kris for the National Security Division is quoted as saying:

“The defendant attempted to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and used the Internet to incite violence.  Thankfully, his commitment to violence was outmatched by the dedicated work of the agents, prosecutors and analysts who worked tirelessly to bring this man to justice. Today’s guilty plea is a direct result of the partnership and cooperation between the National Security Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI.”

Neil H. MacBride, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, said:

“Zachary Chesser seriously endangered the lives of innocent people who will remain at risk for many years to come. His solicitation of extremists to murder U.S. citizens also caused people throughout the country to fear speaking out – even in jest – lest they also be labeled as enemies who deserved to be killed.  In admitting his guilt today, Mr. Chesser reminded us of the serious threat homegrown jihadists pose to this country, and I express my gratitude and admiration for the FBI agents who apprehended Mr. Chesser before he could endanger even more Americans.”

Chesser, who lived in Fairfax, Va., had drawn attention from the world’s media after he posted an entry on the radical website Revolution Muslim in April. Posing as “Abu Talhah Al-Amerikee,” Chesser had said of the creators of South Park that “what they are doing is stupid, and they will probably wind up like Theo van Gogh for airing this show. This is not a threat, but a warning of reality of what will likely happen to them.”

The posting was accompanied by a picture of the corpse of Theo van Gogh, who had been shot and stabbed to death on an Amsterdam street on November 2, 2004, after he had made a documentary about Islam’s poor treatment of women.

Chesser had been arrested on July 21 on charges of assisting the Somali terror group Al-Shabaab, which has links to Al Qaeda and was designated on February 29, 2008 by the U.S. State Department as a terrorist organization. Chesser, who used various online identities, had made a confession to investigators who submitted an affidavit before the U.S. District Court for the Federal District of East Virginia:

“Chesser, a/k/a Abu Talhah Al-Amrikee, volunteered to federal agents that he attempted on two occasions to travel to Somalia to join Al-Shabaab as a foreign fighter. After he was prevented from boarding a flight from New York to Uganda on July 10, 2010, Chesser allegedly admitted to agents that he intended to travel from Uganda to Somalia. Chesser had attempted to board the plane with his infant son, and court records allege that he brought his son with him as part of his “cover” to avoid detection of his intention to join Al-Shabaab in Somalia.”

The original posting that was made on RevolutionMuslim did not feature in the indictment made on July 21. The posting referred to the 200^th episode of South Park, in which Mohammed made an appearance, though firstly hidden inside a truck and then inside a bear suit. Trey Parker and Matt Stone had brought in “favourite” characters from the show’s history. Mohammed had first featured on South Park in July 2001, in the 68^th episode of the show. Here Mohammed had been presented as one of a group of superheroes that included Buddha and Moses, in a feature entitled “Super Best Friends.” That 2001 episode had brought no threats from the Muslim world, but it is obvious that now, at the end of the first decade of this Millennium, the world has changed radically.

The site RevolutionMuslim, hosted by Google “Blogger,” still exists. Unlike other Google blogs that have featured pornography or “hate-speech”, there is no warning portal. The site has openly supported terrorism. Colleen LaRose, aka Jihad Jane, regularly followed RevolutionMuslim’s  YouTube channel. Is it a coincidence that she is accused of plotting with others to kill Swedish artist Lars Vilks, who offended Muslims by portraying Islam’s prophet with the body of a dog?

RevolutionMuslim, like the Islamic Thinkers Society, is said to have close links to the British group Al-Muhajiroun, which had as its Amir the Syrian-born Omar Bakri Mohammed (real surname “Fostock”). According to the Anti-Defamation League:

Yousef al-Khattab and Younes Abdullah Muhammad created Revolution Muslim (RM) in 2007 to promote the ideas of Abdullah al-Faisal, a Jamaica-born Muslim preacher who served four years in a British prison for urging his followers to kill non-Muslims, including Americans, Hindus and Jews. Al-Faisal was deported from Britain to Jamaica in 2007.

On September 18, 2010, RevolutionMuslim had an entry on “Shaikh Faisal,” saying: “Live interview with Shaikh Faisal tonight at 11:30pm UK time in the Paltalk room ‘AuthenticTawheed’ regarding the recent CNN report Inshallah!!!!!!!” It was posted by “Sipa.”

Youssef al-Khattab had posted a link to the site on September 7, 2008, again using exclamation marks, in which the support for “Shaikh Faisal” is unconcealed:

Shaikh Faisal is still in Africa – back in the South having completed his Dawa Tour of Nigeria. He is looking to get married and working on sending REVOLUTIONMUSLIM some of the taped efforts, including his address to a crowd of 5,000 in Nigeria. He reports that all is well. We at Revolution Muslim request that you remeber us this RAMADAN with your sadaqah. We implore you to donate to institutions like ours that are working to restablish the dignity and justice of Islam under the banner of ahlul-sunnah so that we can continue to progress with the work we do and we invite all who would like to donate time, supplies, or talent as well to keep the notion of Revolution in the Ummah of Muhammad (SAWS) alive. Inshallah, we may continue as we embark upon completing our first year as an organization. Please keep us in your Dua and continue to support us. The contribute button is located on the home page at REVOLUTIONMSULIM.COM. We thank you for your support. Ramadan Kareem!!!

Your Brother in Deen,

Yousef Al-Khattab

Lest one forget, it should be recalled that Abdullah el-Faisal was a supporter of terrorism. Jamaican-born Faisal had attended Imam Ibn Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and had been paid by Saudi funders to preach in Britain. He was jailed for soliciting murde, and he had preached murder of Jews, Christians and Hindus. He also hated America. He had said:

“You all have to strike against America anywhere in the world you are. Is that clear? You have to learn how to shoot, to fly planes, to drive tanks and you have to learn how to load your guns and to use missiles.”

“You can use chemical weapons to exterminate the non-believer. If you have cockroaches in your house you can spray them, yes with chemicals, chemicals. Who has more dignity, the cockroach or the unbeliever? If you spray the cockroach, spray the Hindu.”

“Liberty can never be achieved by democracy. The way forward can never be the ballot; the way forward is the bullet. Islam was spread by the sword, today it has got to be spread by the Kalashnikov.”

There is a confluence of thinking that links el-Faisal, Al-Muhajiroun and certain terrorists. Asif Muhammad Hanif was a British suicide bomber who killed 3 people and injured 60 at Mike’s Place, a bar on the waterfront at Tel Aviv, Israel. He had frequently visited the London offices of Al-Muhajiroun. Five men from Al-Muhajiroun were convicted of trying to carry out a major terrorist attack in Britain on April 30, 2007. They had been arrested in March 2004 and had been in charge of a large quantity of ammonium nitrate (the same substance that brought down the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma in 1995). I wrote a brief overview of Al-Muhajiroun’s terrorist links for Family Security Matters here, and an earlier account of the terror cell in 2007. Omar Khyam, the leader of this subgroup of Al-Muhajiroun, had several meetings at the start of 2004 with Shahzad Tanweer and Mohammed Sidique Khan, who went on to be ohalf of the team that killed 52 people in suicide attacks in London on July 7, 2005. And closing teh circle, a Home Office report claimed that Germaine Lindsey, another of the four 7/7 suicide bombers, had been deeply influenced by recorded sermons of “Shaikh Faisal.”

According to a 2009 document from the British Centre for Social Cohesion (pdf), one in every seven terror-related convictions in Britain is linked to Al-Muhajiroun.

The website of RevolutionMuslim yesterday published an entry promoting audio sermons by Al Muhajiroun member Sayful Islam, who comes from Luton in England. His activities helped to spur an anti-Islamic “backlash” in Britain that led to the creation of the controversial English Defence League (EDL). Sayful Islam (pictured), aka Ishtiaq Alamgir, loudly protested outside the British Houses of Parliament when Geert Wilders was allowed to visit in the spring of this year.

RevolutionMuslim claims that its posts do not reflect views reflected in articles that appear on the site, However, it is strange that on Monday this week, again, Sayful Islam’s audio sermons on his website – which promotes Islamic supremacism – are again shown to be promoted on the RevolutionMuslim website. A character called Izharudeen is posting these entries, and the name of Sayful Islam’s website is also Izharudeen. It is a safe bet that Izharudeen and Sayful Islam are one and the same – making a direct link between the British activists of Al-Muhajiroun and the RevolutionMuslim website.

Younes Abdullah Mohammed is the only one of the original founders of RevolutionMuslim to still be involved in the leadership. In 2009, CNN had an interview with him, which is included in the video below. At around 2 minutes and 2 seconds, he states: “We are commanded to terrorize the disbelievers. And this is a religion like I said…” When asked about this, he states: “The Koran says this very clearly in the Arabic language – Korhibuna – This means ‘Terrorize them.’ It’s a command from Allah.”

Younes Abdullah Mohammed qualified his statement. He said: “You define terrorism as going out and killing an innocent civilian. That’s what your – I define terrorism as making them fearful, so that they think twice before they go rape your mother, or kill your brother, or go into your land and try to steal your resources.”

He is being disingenuous – the fear is promoted not against violent antagonists, but against anyone who is merely for being critical of Islam or its founder. This is a technique that has been used by Al-Muhajiroun for years. Officially Omar Bakri Mohammed disbanded Al-Muhajiroun in October 2004, but with the assistance of Anjem Choudary (pictured with sword) the group began to use aliases. Names for Al-Muhajiroun clones have included “The Saved Sect” “The Saviour Sect”, “Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jammah,” “ASWJ,” “Islam4UK.”

In its incarnation of “Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jammah”, Choudary organized the famous demonstration in London on February 3, 2006 against Danish cartoons, where people carried banners calling for the beheading of people who insulted Islam. Choudary would only be fined 500 UK pounds for organizing an illegal demonstration, though the publicity from that event continues to circulate across the internet. The cost of mounting the demonstration has brought dividends that have benefited Choudary’s friends, and also benefited the international jihadist movement.

Fear is used by the Al-Muhajiroun group. On Saturday September 28 2008 an attempt was made to firebomb the London home of a publisher, Martin Rynja. The man’s home was targeted because he had offered to publish a novel about Aisha – the child bride of Mohammed the prophet. On July 28, 2009, three men were convicted. The ringleader was a man called Ali Beheshti, who had been a member of AL-Muhajiroun. Beheshti had also attended Choudary’s February 3, 2006 demonstration against Danish cartoons. He had brought his 20-month old daughter Farishta, who was sporting a hat with the slogan “I love Al-Qaeda.”

At the same time as Choudary’s 2006 Danish cartoon protest, a text appeared on the website of the Al-Muhajiroun group called Al-Ghurabaa (the strangers). The official leader of Al-Ghurabaa at that time (before it was officially banned) was Anjem Choudary. The full text is called “The Lion Roars Again: Kill Those Who Insult the Prophet Muhammad (saw),” but this is a fragment:

At the time of the Messenger Muhammad (saw) there were individuals like these who dishonoured and insulted him upon whom the Islamic judgement was executed. Such people were not tolerated in the past and throughout the history of Islam were dealt with according to the Shariah. Ka’ab ibn Ashraf was assassinated by Muhammad ibn Maslamah for harming the Messenger Muhammad (saw) by his words, Abu Raafi’ was killed by Abu Ateeq as the Messenger ordered in the most evil of ways for swearing at the prophet, Khalid bin Sufyaan was killed by Abdullah bin Anees who cut off his head and brought it to the prophet for harming the Messenger Muhammad (saw) by his insults, Al-Asmaa bintu Marwaan was killed by Umayr bin Adi’ al-Khatmi, a blind man, for writing poetry against the prophet and insulting him in it, Al-Aswad al-Ansi was killed by Fairuz al-Daylami and his family for insulting the Messenger Muhammad (saw) and claiming to be a prophet himself. This is the judgement of Islam upon those who violate, dishonour and insult the Messenger Muhammad (saw).

Shortly after these incidents the people began to realise that insulting the Messenger of Allah (saw) was not something to be taken lightly and that by doing so would mean that you would be killed for it, a concept that many have seem to forgotten today.

The insulting of the Messenger Muhammad (saw) is something that the Muslims cannot and will not tolerate and the punishment in Islam for the one who does so is death. This is the sunnah of the prophet and the verdict of Islam upon such people, one that any Muslim is able execute. The response of the Muslims all over the world shows us the inability to deal with such people, the kuffar are attacking our Messenger and are allowed to get away with it whilst the Muslims have no power to do anything about it. The leaders of the Muslim world have no care for the deen of Islam as they are busy cementing their seats content with their power and wealth. Where are the Muhammad ibn Maslamah’s of our ummah who will defend the honour of our beloved Messenger and rise the banner of Tawheed high.

Now, if one looks at an article that appeared on RevolutionMuslim’s “Official daily blog” on April 22 this year, a week after the South Park episode was aired:

…as Muslims we do not define speech which has no place in a moral society as “free speech.” Furthermore, we will never tolerate the mocking or insulting of any one of the prophets, peace be upon them, from any source even if it was the Caliph (leader) of the entire Muslim world. It is truly sad that we did not speak out when they first insulted ‘Isa (Jesus), Musa (Moses), or even the first time they mocked the final prophet Muhammad, peace be upon them all. However, simply because they have done something in the past and there was no outcry does not justify our silence in the present.

As for the Islamic ruling on the situation, then this is clear. There is no difference of opinion from those with any degree of a reputation that the punishment is death. Ibn Taymiyyah a great scholar of Islam says, “Whoever curses the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) -a Muslim or a non Muslim- then he must be killed…and this is the opinion of the general body of Islamic scholars.”

Likewise Ibn Mundhir, another classical scholar, said, “It is the consensus (ijma’) of our scholars that the one who curses the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) should be executed!”

This is also the opinion of Imams Malik, al-Laith, Ahmed, Ishaq, Shafi’i, and Numan Abu Haneefah.

This shows that taking this stance is virtually obligatory, but it does not mean that our taking this stance is in some way an absolute call toward the requirement that the creators of South Park must be killed, nor a deliberate attempt at incitement, it is only to declare the truth regardless of consequence and to offer an awareness in the mind of Westerners when they consider doing the same thing.

The politics of fear, those which had been promoted forcefully by Al-Muhajiroun, are here being promoted again. Recently there have been plans by Al Qaeda to “make an example” of the Jyllands-Posten newspaper that originally published the Danish cartoons on September 30, 2005. The plots have been truly international in scope.

Even if only one person is murdered, the West has gone along with the culture of fear. On May 13, 2010, in the leftist Huffington Post, a commentator called Shahed Amanullah wrote an article on “Everybody Draw Mohammed Day”, suggesting that the Facebook event was “Collectively Punishing American Muslims.” Amanullah wrote:

Imagine for a moment if an African-American blogger complained about an unfair stereotype in a cartoon in the same crass manner as the Revolution Islam folks. Would free speech advocates respond by hosting a contest to draw as many vile stereotypes of blacks as they could?

Everybody Draw Mohammed Day was about drawing Mohammed the Prophet, not about drawing Muslims, but Amanaullah is blinded by his perspective, making the statement:

But the participants shouldn’t claim any sort of moral high ground in doing so. In fact, unless they are willing to push the same limits of free speech with respect to other minorities, they are nothing but hypocrites that apply collective punishment to a vast majority that did them no harm and wished no ill on South Park, and are letting their thinly-veiled hatred show in the process.

No other minorities have members who will literally try to kill people for depicting their heroes, or groups who actively try to promote fear.  Now that Molly Norris, the Seattle cartoonist whose comment inadvertently inspired the Facebook “event” that so upsets Amanullah, has been forced into hiding on the advice of the FBI, the comments of Amanullah appear more than crass.

The media has refused to depict images of Mohammed, so the campaigns of fear and intimidation have worked. The latest event in this shameful cycle of acquiescence to bullies and cooperation with the destruction of freedom of speech involves Juan Williams. He honestly voiced his fear of people who make a big deal about their Muslim apparel. He said:

“When I get on a plane…if I see people…in Muslim garb and I think…they are identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous.”

For this moment of honesty, he was sacked from his post at National Public Radio, though he has now been rewarded with a $2 million contract at Fox. The shame of this event is that NPR has joined with the oppressors like Useful Idiot. This is Stockholm Syndrome writ large, and an insult to the values that built America. The cowards in the American media who never had the cojones to stand up to Islamists, have become bullies by proxy.

It is of little surprise that CAIR, the dyed-in-the-wool opponents of genuine American exceptionalism, have been involved in the campaigning to have Juan Williams removed from his post, just as they did earlier with Michael Savage before their support for funding Hamas – exposed at the HLF trial –  discredited them. The attacks upon American freedom of speech are coming thick and fast, and soon, that freedom of speech may be only the freedom to whisper in quiet corridors….

And for the supporters and enablers of terrorism, such as the friends of Zachary Chesser and their fellow travellers in the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR, the public humiliation of Juan Williams is a victory which is bound to make them smile.

Adrian Morgan

The Editor, Family Security Matters