John R. Houk
© January 26, 2012
ACT for America sent a link to a story from a local ABC News affiliate from the Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota area relating to homegrown Islamic terrorism. The affiliate is Channel 5 KTSP. Jennie Olson reports on young Muslim Americans joining the Somali Islamic terrorist group al Shabab (which is in tune with al Qaeda) recruiting young Muslim Americans of which many appear to be from Somali decent. The link was sent without comment by ACT. Undoubtedly this is because the story itself is self-evident of the dark side of Islam. In full disclosure Olson portrays this Muslim-American flocking to al Shabab of Somalia as aberrant to Islam; nonetheless pay close attention to the organizations these Muslim Americans were members of in their college student days.
There are a couple of Muslim Americans focused upon in the article: Jehad Mostafa and Omar Hammami. Jehad Mostafa was President of the Muslim Youth Council of San Diego (MYCSD). The Olson article reports without the “why?” that the MYCSD no longer exists. I found an about MYCSD at Islamic Finder. Islamic Finder says this about the MYCSD:
MYCSD (Muslims Youth Council of San Diego) is a group of youth dedicated to providing positive outlets for Muslim youth in San Diego. We organize youth camping trips, Fiqh Lessons and other activities. MYCSD also works closely with MSA (Muslims Students Association) at Mesa College and other at Universities to provide Muslims students with tutoring and counseling. MYCSD is dedicated to showing the world that Islam is a religion of peace and Muslims are a peaceful and productive part of society. (SlantRight: Bold emphasis Mine)
So the MYCSD worked closely with Muslim Students Union!
The Muslim Students Association (MSA) of the United States and Canada was incorporated in January 1963, when members of the Muslim Brotherhood came together at the University2 of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with the goal of “spreading Islam as students in North America.”3 …
Al-Ikhwan al-Muslimun, or the Muslim Brotherhood, was founded in 1928 by Hassan al-Banna. It is a rigidly conservative and highly secretive Egyptian-based organization dedicated to resurrecting true Islamic governance based on Sharia law. According to al-Banna, “It is the nature of Islam to dominate, not to be dominated, to impose its law on all nations and to extend its power to the entire planet.”5 The motto of the Muslim Brotherhood, as elucidated by al-Banna, is, “God is our objective, the Quran is our Constitution, the Prophet is our leader, jihad is our way, and death for the sake of God is the highest of our aspirations.” This motto is often repeated by modern day Brotherhood figures around the world.
…
MSA promotes the Islamist ideology inspired by the Muslim Brotherhood, seeing itself as part of the global Islamic movement. As Larry A. Poston, a theologian from Nyack College, explains in his essay, “Da’wa in the West”:
The Ikhwan [Brotherhood] can be credited with forming several of the Islamic organizations in America. MSA, formed in 1963, has often been a collaborative effort of Ikhwan members from Egypt, Iraq, Syria, and the Sudan.
…
The missionary philosophies of al-Banna and Mawdudi have entered the North American continent by at least three different routes…The second avenue has been the Muslim Student Association, undoubtedly the most activist of the da’wa organizations in America. Many of the founding members of this agency were members of or had connections to one or the other of the two organizations in question [the Muslim Brotherhood or Jamaat-i-Islami] and it was through these persons that the ideologies of al-Banna and Mawdudi were integrated into the goals and philosophies of the… [MSA].9 (From: Muslim Students Association: IPT Dossier; 39pp)
It is a pretty good educated guess that Jehad Mostafa was Islamized via radical indoctrination. Omar Hammami was the President of the MSA Chapter at the University of South Alabama. To become the President of an MSA Chapter Hammami was radicalized somewhere along the line to the MSA.
The Muslim Brotherhood is infiltrating America and transforming the part of Islam that is peaceful to the dark part of Islam that is purist and desires to emulate the Prophet-Founder of Islam in Mohammed. Old Mo is considered the perfect man to be imitated in Islam whether the Muslim is moderate or radicalized. So when a Muslim tells you Islam is peace and love and Mohammed is the perfect example to follow, that Muslim’s perception is an honest evaluation even for a Moderate. A few years ago it had been said that Moderate Islam represents 90% of Islam while the other 10% is radicalized to terrorism.
Somehow the 90% of Moderate Muslims have convinced themselves that the violent, bloody and female degrading examples of Mohammed were examples of peace and love. That perception is warped because it simply is not true!
JRH 1/26/12
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Americans Rise in Rank Inside Somalia Jihadi Group
By: Jennie Olson
01/13/2012 1:35 PM
ACT for America sent:
1/26/2012 9:04 AM
The October al-Qaida video shows a light-skinned man handing out food to families displaced by famine in Somalia. But the masked man is not Somali, or even African - he's a Wisconsin native who grew up in San Diego.
A handful of young Muslims from the U.S. are taking high-visibility propaganda and operational roles inside an al-Qaida-linked insurgent force in Somalia known as al-Shabab. While most are from Minnesota, which has the largest Somali population in the nation, al-Shabab members include a Californian and an Alabaman with no ancestral ties to Somalia.
"They are being deployed in roles that appear to be shrewdly calculated to raise al-Shabab's international profile and to recruit others, especially those from the United States and other English-speaking countries," said Anders Folk, a former assistant U.S. attorney who prosecuted suspected al-Shabab supporters in Minnesota.
Officials fear another terrorist attack in East Africa. Kenya announced on Jan. 7 that it had thwarted attempted al-Shabab attacks over the holidays. The same day, Britain's Foreign Office urged Britons in Kenya to be extra vigilant, warning that terrorists there may be "in the final stages of planning attacks."
More than 40 people have traveled from the U.S. to Somalia to join al-Shabab since 2007, and 15 of them have died, according to a report from the House Homeland Security Committee. Federal investigations into al-Shabab recruitment in the U.S. have centered on Minnesota, which has more than 32,000 Somalis.
At least 21 men have left Minnesota to join al-Shabab in that same time. The FBI has confirmed that at least two of them died in Somalia as suicide bombers. A U.S. citizen is suspected in a third suicide bombing, and another is under investigation in connection with a fourth bombing on Oct. 29 that killed 15 people.
The star of the al-Qaida video was Jehad Mostafa, 30, a Californian who handed out food using the name Abu Abdullah al-Muhajir, according to the SITE Monitoring Service. The Washington Post reported last year that Mostafa served as top lieutenant to Saleh Nabhan, a senior al-Qaida operative killed by Navy SEALs in a helicopter attack inside Somalia in 2010.
Mostafa and the Alabaman, Omar Hammami, 27, are among about a dozen men who have been charged in federal court in the U.S. and are believed to be in Somalia.
The Americans appear to have been motivated by the Ethiopian army's intervention in Somalia in 2006, which they saw as an invasion. However, many experts believe it's only a matter of time before al-Shabab turns its wrath on the U.S., which in February 2008 designated it as a terrorist organization. The group killed 76 people in terrorist bombings in Uganda in 2010 during the World Cup final.
U.S. military commanders fear that Americans inside al-Shabab could train as bombmakers and use their U.S. passports to carry out attacks in the United States.
E.K. Wilson, the agent overseeing the FBI's investigation in Minneapolis, said he cannot comment on whether there is an outstanding order to capture or kill Americans fighting for al-Shabab. The FBI has publicly said the Americans should return to the U.S.
It's a mystery what caused Mostafa, a young man whom many remember as mild and friendly, to join an extremist group.
Mostafa grew up in San Diego and graduated from the University of California San Diego. Imam Abdeljalil Mezgouri of the Islamic Center of San Diego, the city's largest mosque, said Mostafa was a respectful teen and good student.
"He was a very quiet, very loving boy. He didn't talk too much but when he did talk, people liked him," said Mezgouri.
Mezgouri said Mostafa got married in his early 20s to a woman he believed was from Somalia.
Public records show Mostafa was the president of the now-defunct Muslim Youth Council of San Diego, or MYCSD. The former organization's Web site says the group was "dedicated to showing the world that Islam is a religion of peace and Muslims are a peaceful and productive part of society."
Mostafa's father, Halim Mostafa, a Kurdish Syrian, is a prominent figure in San Diego's Muslim community who has tried to build bridges with non-Muslims. He made a low-budget film released in 2008 called "Mozlym" to show how the true meaning of Islam is often lost amid the misconceptions of non-Muslims in America, according to the film's Web site.
Mostafa's father declined to talk.
"I just don't want to get involved. I'm really sorry I cannot say anything. God bless you," he said.
Edgar Hopida, a spokesman for the San Diego chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said Halim Mostafa believes in the most liberal interpretation of Islam and noted that "it's ironic if his son is involved with al-Shabab."
Mostafa is believed to have met American militant Anwar al-Awlaki about a decade ago at a San Diego mosque, according to The Washington Post. He went to Somalia in 2005. Federal officials declined to comment.
Mostafa was indicted in August 2010 on terrorism charges sts 43 Christian churches and not a single Islamic congregation in Daphne.
The son of a Christian mother and a Syrian-born Muslim father, Hammami attended Daphne High School. Then-assistant principal Don Blanchard recalls Hammami as generally well liked.
"Omar I would not classify as a troubled kid," said Blanchard.
Hammami enrolled at the University of South Alabama, where he was president of the Muslim Student Association. Following the 2001 terror attacks, Hammami spoke to the student newspaper.
"Even now it's difficult to believe a Muslim could have done this," The Vanguard quoted Hammami as saying.
Hammami went to Somalia in 2006. He was indicted in 2007 on terrorism charges, and faced more charges in 2009 for providing material support to terrorists.
Hammami, who wears a long beard and often raps in al-Shabab videos, released a nearly 50 minute lecture in October to commemorate five years with the group. He spouts hatred for "Western oppression." In the video, provided to AP by the IntelCenter, he compares his upbringing in America with his life in Somalia, where he says a microwave - "or even a normal oven" – is a rarity.
The English speaker serves as a recruiter and fund-raiser and is one of the top people in charge of al-Shabab's foreign fighters, Kohlmann said.
Hammami attends morning fighting drills and motivates new recruits, former al-Shabab fighter Abdi Hassan told AP. Hammami avoids mobile phones for fear intelligence agencies will trace him, and uses pseudonyms on the Internet.
"He sometimes cries with emotion, which makes others cry with him," said Hassan. He added, "Every new American is asked to convince his friends to come. The Americans' suicide attacks and speeches are meant to attract other Americans."
A handful of young Muslims from the U.S. are taking high-visibility propaganda and operational roles inside an al-Qaida-linked insurgent force in Somalia known as al-Shabab. While most are from Minnesota, which has the largest Somali population in the nation, al-Shabab members include a Californian and an Alabaman with no ancestral ties to Somalia.
"They are being deployed in roles that appear to be shrewdly calculated to raise al-Shabab's international profile and to recruit others, especially those from the United States and other English-speaking countries," said Anders Folk, a former assistant U.S. attorney who prosecuted suspected al-Shabab supporters in Minnesota.
Officials fear another terrorist attack in East Africa. Kenya announced on Jan. 7 that it had thwarted attempted al-Shabab attacks over the holidays. The same day, Britain's Foreign Office urged Britons in Kenya to be extra vigilant, warning that terrorists there may be "in the final stages of planning attacks."
More than 40 people have traveled from the U.S. to Somalia to join al-Shabab since 2007, and 15 of them have died, according to a report from the House Homeland Security Committee. Federal investigations into al-Shabab recruitment in the U.S. have centered on Minnesota, which has more than 32,000 Somalis.
At least 21 men have left Minnesota to join al-Shabab in that same time. The FBI has confirmed that at least two of them died in Somalia as suicide bombers. A U.S. citizen is suspected in a third suicide bombing, and another is under investigation in connection with a fourth bombing on Oct. 29 that killed 15 people.
The star of the al-Qaida video was Jehad Mostafa, 30, a Californian who handed out food using the name Abu Abdullah al-Muhajir, according to the SITE Monitoring Service. The Washington Post reported last year that Mostafa served as top lieutenant to Saleh Nabhan, a senior al-Qaida operative killed by Navy SEALs in a helicopter attack inside Somalia in 2010.
Mostafa and the Alabaman, Omar Hammami, 27, are among about a dozen men who have been charged in federal court in the U.S. and are believed to be in Somalia.
The Americans appear to have been motivated by the Ethiopian army's intervention in Somalia in 2006, which they saw as an invasion. However, many experts believe it's only a matter of time before al-Shabab turns its wrath on the U.S., which in February 2008 designated it as a terrorist organization. The group killed 76 people in terrorist bombings in Uganda in 2010 during the World Cup final.
U.S. military commanders fear that Americans inside al-Shabab could train as bombmakers and use their U.S. passports to carry out attacks in the United States.
E.K. Wilson, the agent overseeing the FBI's investigation in Minneapolis, said he cannot comment on whether there is an outstanding order to capture or kill Americans fighting for al-Shabab. The FBI has publicly said the Americans should return to the U.S.
It's a mystery what caused Mostafa, a young man whom many remember as mild and friendly, to join an extremist group.
Mostafa grew up in San Diego and graduated from the University of California San Diego. Imam Abdeljalil Mezgouri of the Islamic Center of San Diego, the city's largest mosque, said Mostafa was a respectful teen and good student.
"He was a very quiet, very loving boy. He didn't talk too much but when he did talk, people liked him," said Mezgouri.
Mezgouri said Mostafa got married in his early 20s to a woman he believed was from Somalia.
Public records show Mostafa was the president of the now-defunct Muslim Youth Council of San Diego, or MYCSD. The former organization's Web site says the group was "dedicated to showing the world that Islam is a religion of peace and Muslims are a peaceful and productive part of society."
Mostafa's father, Halim Mostafa, a Kurdish Syrian, is a prominent figure in San Diego's Muslim community who has tried to build bridges with non-Muslims. He made a low-budget film released in 2008 called "Mozlym" to show how the true meaning of Islam is often lost amid the misconceptions of non-Muslims in America, according to the film's Web site.
Mostafa's father declined to talk.
"I just don't want to get involved. I'm really sorry I cannot say anything. God bless you," he said.
Edgar Hopida, a spokesman for the San Diego chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said Halim Mostafa believes in the most liberal interpretation of Islam and noted that "it's ironic if his son is involved with al-Shabab."
Mostafa is believed to have met American militant Anwar al-Awlaki about a decade ago at a San Diego mosque, according to The Washington Post. He went to Somalia in 2005. Federal officials declined to comment.
Mostafa was indicted in August 2010 on terrorism charges sts 43 Christian churches and not a single Islamic congregation in Daphne.
The son of a Christian mother and a Syrian-born Muslim father, Hammami attended Daphne High School. Then-assistant principal Don Blanchard recalls Hammami as generally well liked.
"Omar I would not classify as a troubled kid," said Blanchard.
Hammami enrolled at the University of South Alabama, where he was president of the Muslim Student Association. Following the 2001 terror attacks, Hammami spoke to the student newspaper.
"Even now it's difficult to believe a Muslim could have done this," The Vanguard quoted Hammami as saying.
Hammami went to Somalia in 2006. He was indicted in 2007 on terrorism charges, and faced more charges in 2009 for providing material support to terrorists.
Hammami, who wears a long beard and often raps in al-Shabab videos, released a nearly 50 minute lecture in October to commemorate five years with the group. He spouts hatred for "Western oppression." In the video, provided to AP by the IntelCenter, he compares his upbringing in America with his life in Somalia, where he says a microwave - "or even a normal oven" – is a rarity.
The English speaker serves as a recruiter and fund-raiser and is one of the top people in charge of al-Shabab's foreign fighters, Kohlmann said.
Hammami attends morning fighting drills and motivates new recruits, former al-Shabab fighter Abdi Hassan told AP. Hammami avoids mobile phones for fear intelligence agencies will trace him, and uses pseudonyms on the Internet.
"He sometimes cries with emotion, which makes others cry with him," said Hassan. He added, "Every new American is asked to convince his friends to come. The Americans' suicide attacks and speeches are meant to attract other Americans."
________________________________
Radical Islam is Alive in America
John R. Houk
© January 26, 2012
_____________________________
Americans Rise in Rank Inside Somalia Jihadi
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Copyright 2012 - KSTP-TV, LLCA Hubbard Broadcasting Company
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