Hi Billy, What do you think is a healthy approach to Israel?
Surely there is some radical middle position between "death to Jews" and "divine Zionism"? Sent from my iPhone > On Dec 28, 2016, at 22:32, BILROJ via Centroids: The Center of the Radical > Centrist Community <[email protected]> wrote: > > US News & World Report > > > A Troubling Pick for Democratic Jews > Democrats are risking Jewish support and U.S.-Israel relations by courting > Keith Ellison for DNC chair > > By Lawrence J. Haas > > Nov. 29, 2016 > > After taking white working-class voters for granted in November, the > Democratic Party seems poised to do the same for Jews – and that could have > important implications for the already troubled U.S.-Israeli relationship. > > Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who > lead the party's progressive wing, are backing Rep. Keith Ellison, an > African-American Muslim with a long history of anti-Semitic leanings and > anti-Israeli positions, as the party's next chairman. So too is the incoming > Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, who is considered one of Israel's > strongest Democratic backers. > > Ellison's bid and high-level backing reflect the party's increasing leftward > drift on Israel-related issues, in which one-sided views about the Jewish > state – particularly related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict – are far > more acceptable as mainstream Democratic positions than a decade ago. > > That raises two major questions for the U.S.-Israeli relationship: > First, will a future Democratic president and Congress provide the party's > traditional support for Israel that dates to President Harry Truman's > recognition of the Jewish state just 11 minutes after it was created – > support that now includes America's generous military aid, its intelligence > sharing and its protection from anti-Israel resolutions at the morally > challenged United Nations? > Second, will U.S. support for Israel remain a bipartisan issue, or will it > increasingly fall victim to partisan politics – with Republicans aligning > themselves forcefully with Jerusalem while Democrats take a balanced approach > to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and broader Arab-Israeli relations? > > When it comes to Israel, high-level Democratic backing for Ellison is less a > sharp turn than a continuation of recent trends. > > Though the "strategic partnership" of U.S. aid and intelligence sharing > remained strong under President Barack Obama, U.S.-Israeli relations > nevertheless have been rocky due in part to Obama's pressure on Jerusalem to > take chances for peace with the terror-infected Palestinian leadership and to > the U.S.-led global nuclear agreement with Iran, which Israel's leaders > believe threatens their country's security. > > Other examples of the party's growing hostility to Israel abound. When, at > the 2012 Democratic National Convention, party elders moved to reinsert > language in the platform stating Jerusalem "is and will remain the capital of > Israel," the convention approved the change on a voice vote on which the > opponents seemed to have the louder voice. At this year's convention, > Sanders' appointees to the platform committee sought unsuccessfully to > include language that used the highly-charged terms "occupation" and "illegal > settlements" to describe Israel's West Bank policies and to delete language > that condemned the BDS (boycott, divest, and sanction) movement against > Israel. > > Ellison was one of Sanders' three appointees to the platform committee. His > election as party chairman, which Sanders is pushing and Obama is opposing, > would put an outspoken Israel critic atop the party's hierarchy, further > legitimizing views that seem increasingly popular among party activists. > > To be sure, Ellison has disavowed his work of earlier years in which he > collaborated with strident anti-Semites. After winning the Democratic primary > in 2006 to run for his House seat, he wrote a two-page letter to the Jewish > Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas, renouncing his work > in the 1990s for the Nation of Islam "due to its propagation of bigoted and > anti-Semitic statements and actions" by Louis Farrakhan and his assistant at > the time, Khalid Muhammad. > > Ellison had helped promote Muhammad, who said of the six million Jews that > Hitler exterminated, "nobody ever asked what did they do to Hitler." Ellison, > according to Tablet magazine, also defended a member of the Minneapolis > Initiative Against Racism who called Jews "the most racist white people." > > Ellison now says that he supports a two-state solution to the > Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and he's visited Israel often in recent years. > > But in the summer of 2014, as rockets from Gaza – which is run by the > terrorist group Hamas – were flying into southern Israel, Ellison was among > very few lawmakers who voted against additional U.S. funding for Israel's > Iron Dome anti-missile system. That summer, Ellison also wrote a Washington > Post op-ed in which he pressured Israel to end its blockade of Gaza – which > it imposes to prevent Gaza's terrorists from getting materials for war-making > – focusing far more attention on the suffering of Gazans than the security > needs of Israel. > > Finally, on a trip to Israel last summer, Ellison tweeted out a sign that he > passed on a walk through the West Bank town of Hebron that referred to > Israeli policy as "apartheid" – thus, implicitly endorsing that > characterization. > > For Jews with Democratic leanings and a Zionist conviction, the party's > courtship of Ellison should be troubling indeed. > > > =========================================== > > > > > Middle East Quarterly > > > Keith Ellison's Stealth Jihad > > by Denis MacEoin > Middle East Quarterly > Summer 2010, > > "Who is Keith Ellison?" There are no simple answers. Throughout a checkered > career, this liberal American politician has adopted many guises and > presented different messages. He is an African-American who has moved from > the fringe to the center of politics. He is a Democrat with a predictably > liberal voting record, yet he consorts with groups and individuals that > represent a threat to democracy and America. He is a convert to Islam but > challenges Islamic orthodoxy on numerous issues legislatively. He identifies > strongly with his faith, yet the details of his conversion and his current > sentiments as a Muslim are obscure. He considers himself a friend of > Israel[1] but, at other times, has appeared on the same platforms with > speakers vocal in their opposition to the Jewish state and their support for > terrorist groups that have murdered its citizens. > > > For many, he holds out hope of > increasing Muslim influence in the U.S. government. At present, he is only > one of two Muslims serving in Congress, the other being André Carson. He has > strongly encouraged his fellow Muslims to engage in politics saying, > Getting engaged, getting involved, running for office, helping people run for > office, organizing your community—these are the things that are going to make > a change come about. We have to build the kind of country that we want with > the help of some people who are like-minded. We cannot leave that > responsibility to anybody else.[2] > > Others, however, worry that he has too great a sympathy for Islamist > radicals, of being at best naïve in his associations, and at worst a fifth > columnist, someone whose status within the House of Representatives provides > cover for anti-American discourse and, possibly, anti-American actions. > > He is forty-six and a relative newcomer to Congress with the potential to be > reelected to office for some time to come. In due course, more Muslims will > stand for state and federal office, which will almost certainly lead to the > creation of a minority caucus in which Keith Ellison will be a senior member. > It is time to look more closely at Congressman Ellison and his history. > > The Nation of Islam > > Ellison was born in 1963 into a Catholic family in Detroit. Almost nothing is > known of his childhood and teenage years. He studied economics at Wayne State > University and in 1982, in his sophomore year, converted to Islam. He has > been extremely reluctant to reveal more than a glimpse of the motivations > behind his conversion: In a December 2006 interview (about one month after > his election to Congress), Ellison said, > > I have been a Muslim since age 19, and I am 43 now. Of course my faith > strengthens me and guides me. How I came to it is a deeply personal matter, > and I'm not ready to talk about it now.[3] > > However, in a more recent interview with Al-Jazeera's Riz Khan, he was more > forthcoming: > > I can't claim that I was the most observant Catholic at the time [of my > conversion]. I had begun to really look around and ask myself about the > social circumstances of the country, issues of justice, issues of change. > When I looked at my spiritual life, and I looked at what might inform social > change, justice in society … I found Islam.[4] > > As testimonies about conversion to Islam go, this is somewhat atypical as it > is rare for converts to have mulled over wide political and social issues > before conversion.[5] The spiritual dimension of Ellison's conversion > receives just a passing mention. Nothing seems to be known about what mosque > he attended, what books he studied, whether he went to Islamic classes or > conferences or engaged in any of the religious activities in which young > converts usually involve themselves. > > What is known is that, for several years, he associated with or belonged to > the Nation of Islam (NOI). Ellison himself denies that he was ever a member > of the NOI,[6] then as now under the leadership of Louis Farrakhan, an > anti-white, anti-Semitic, anti-establishment demagogue.[7] In a letter sent > in May during the 2006 congressional campaign to the Minnesota Jewish > Community Relations Council, Ellison claimed that his association with the > NOI had lasted for only eighteen months about the time of the Million Man > March in 1995.[8] However, there are problems with this assertion. > > On the death of NOI founder Elijah Muhammad, his son Warith Deen Muhammad > inherited the movement only to transform it soon after into a new group based > on authentic Sunni Islamic principles (later, the American Society of > Muslims). Louis Farrakhan remained with Warith Deen Muhammad's organization > for a few years, only to break away in order to reestablish the original > Nation of Islam in 1978. The NOI was widely condemned within the orthodox > Muslim community, which considered Farrakhan's organization to be so far from > doctrinal truth, it could not even be regarded as Islamic.[9] While NOI > converts have often later moved into normative Islam, there seems to be no > evidence of Muslim converts moving the other way; Ellison may be trying to > conceal the truth behind both his conversion and the length of his tenure > with the controversial NOI. > > Despite these disclaimers, Ellison's open support for the NOI for over a > decade is a matter of public record. After earning his economics degree in > 1987, Ellison moved to Minneapolis and enrolled at the University of > Minnesota Law School. While there, he wrote several columns under the > pseudonym Keith E. Hakim, in which he spoke respectfully of Farrakhan and > defended the NOI's national spokesman and Farrakhan's right-hand man, Khalid > Abdul Muhammad, notorious for his anti-white, anti-Jewish, and anti-gay > opinions.[10] Elsewhere, Ellison used other pseudonyms, including Keith X > Ellison[11] and Keith Ellison Muhammad.[12] > > Ellison's involvement with the NOI resurfaced in 1995. He helped to organize > the Minnesota contingent of Farrakhan's Million Man March and appeared > onstage alongside Khalid Abdul Muhammad, who, according to the Minneapolis > Star Tribune proclaimed, "If words were swords, the chests of Jews, gays and > whites would be pierced." Muhammad was already infamous by the time of the > march; indeed, by the 1970s and 1980s, his hate speech and Holocaust denials > were well known and continued into the 1990s.[13] Just two years before the > rally in a 1993 Kean College, New Jersey speech, Muhammad had described Jews > as "hook-nosed, bagel-eatin', lox-eatin' impostors,"[14] a speech that > elicited a 1994 resolution of censure from both houses of the U.S. > Congress.[15] In his 2006 letter to the Minnesota Jewish Community Relations > Council, Ellison wrote that he "did not adequately scrutinize the positions > and statements of the Nation of Islam, Louis Farrakhan, and Khalid Muhammed > [sic]."[16] As both men were nationally infamous, it is hard to lend credence > to Ellison's seeming ignorance. > > In fact, Ellison had defended Farrakhan in 1995. Writing as Keith X Ellison, > he published a column for Insight News, in which he condemned a Star Tribune > editorial cartoon lampooning NOI's leader as a role model for blacks because > of his anti-Semitism. Ellison wrote: > > Minister Farrakhan is a role model for black youth; however, he is not an > anti-Semite. He is a sincere, tireless, and uncompromising advocate of the > black community and other oppressed people around the world. Despite some of > the most relentless negative propaganda anyone has ever faced, most Black > people regard him as a role model for youth and increasingly, a central voice > for our collective aspirations.[17] > > Despite this spirited defense, Farrakhan's statements before and after this > column belie the claim.[18] > > In 1997, two years after the Million Man March, Ellison continued to defend > the NOI while displaying further tolerance for hate speech. In October of > that year, Joanne Jackson, executive director of the Minnesota Initiative > Against Racism (MIAR), created an uproar by saying to a group meeting held in > Temple Israel Synagogue that she considered Jews "the most racist white > people I know."[19] At a subsequent MIAR board meeting, according to the Star > Tribune, Ellison defended Jackson on behalf of the Nation of Islam, stating, > "We stand by the truth contained in the remarks attributed to [Ms. Jackson], > and by her right to express her views without sanction."[20] > > His Record in Congress > > A year later in 1998, Ellison ran for the Democratic-Farmers-Labor Party > nomination for state representative, going by the name Keith > Ellison-Muhammad. In this, his first outing, he was unsuccessful, but in > 2002, having dropped Muhammad from his name, he was elected to the Minnesota > House of Representatives and reelected in 2004. As a state representative, he > showed signs of a more balanced attitude, something that was later to emerge > more clearly when he became a national representative. For example, in 2004, > he led an ethics complaint against State Rep. Arlon Lindner after Lindner > made remarks in the state congress, saying homosexuals had not died in the > Holocaust.[21] Ellison was backed by sixty other members of the Minnesota > State House and by U.S. Senator Norm Coleman.[22] In the end, the vote on the > motion of censure failed in a 2-2 draw in the Minnesota House Ethics > Committee.[23] Lindner was eventually denied the Republican nomination in the > 2004 elections; for his efforts, Ellison picked up support from the local > Jewish publication,American Jewish World.[24] > > In 2006, Ellison ran for the U.S. Congress and won with 56 percent of the > vote in Minnesota's fifth congressional district.[25] His election was > controversial, sparking some extreme reactions to the fact that he was a > Muslim[26] and asked to be sworn into office on a Qur'an.[27] > > Ellison's record in Congress has been in line with broad Democratic and > liberal policy, and he has made no attempt to use his position to advance > projects with an overtly Islamic or Islamist bent. Sometimes, in fact, he has > done quite the opposite. For example, on March 21, 2008, on the eve of the > summer Olympics to be held in Beijing that year, he issued a statement > criticizing both the Chinese and Sudanese governments over their policies in > Tibet and Darfur[28]; many a Muslim would not have openly condemned a Muslim > country such as Sudan in this way. Ellison has praised religious freedom in > the United States, saying, "Religious tolerance has a much longer pedigree in > America than some of the intolerance we've seen lately."[29] This perspective > would run counter to the viewpoint, embodied in much Muslim jurisprudence, in > which restrictions on nonbelievers are a doctrinal and legal requirement.[30] > > Ellison defies Islamic norms in other ways. He is pro-choice, not just for > the first trimester, but beyond. Most Muslim jurists do not permit abortion > after four months; some not at all.[31] He supports emergency contraception > for those serving in the armed forces while most Muslim scholars permit > contraception only in limited circumstances and not for what may be deemed a > licentious purpose.[32] He permits interest on credit cards; Islam forbids > the taking of interest under any circumstances. He opposes job discrimination > based on sexual orientation despite the fact that homosexuals are > discriminated against by Islamic law in an extreme way and approves of > same-sex marriage, something unthinkable in Islam. He has called for the > enforcement of laws on anti-gay hate crimes while Islamic law demands the > execution of homosexuals.[33] He opposes the death penalty, which is a > regular punishment under Shari'a law and supports the regulation but not the > banning of online gambling: In Islamic law, all forms of gambling, even > insurance, are prohibited. He has also voted to support federal funding for > homeland security, which some elements in the Muslim community denounce as a > thinly-veiled assault on the umma (Islamic nation).[34] > > On a personal level, when in Minneapolis, Ellison attends the Masjid an-Nur > mosque,[35] whose imam, Makram El-Amin, he has known since 1996.[36] El-Amin > has a reputation as an advocate of interracial harmony and, in particular, > interfaith relations. In addition, Ellison has publicly denounced the > architect of Muslim extremism, Sayyid Qutb (1906-66), calling him one of > several theorists "responsible for what we would regard today as violent > extremism with what I call a Muslim veneer."[37] All in all, Ellison could be > viewed as a garden variety liberal politician, someone whose youthful > associations have been jettisoned in favor of a more sober but still > progressive approach to American governance and efforts to achieve social > justice. > > The CAIR Connection > > But things are not as simple as they look, and Ellison may not be quite the > reformed public official that he appears to be. Not long after sending the > 2006 letter to the Minnesota Jewish Community Relations Council, Ellison > received major funds to help finance his imminent election campaign from > several Muslim organizations and individuals, including the Council on > American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).[38] The donated money included thousands > of dollars raised by Nihad Awad, CAIR's executive director (a man with a > history of support for movements including Hamas).[39] > > Founded in 1994, CAIR is ostensibly an advocate for religious pluralism and > civil liberties, especially as applied to America's Muslim community. Its > public image is that of a liberal, human rights-based group that seeks to > bridge American Muslims and the secular democracy of the United > States.[40]The council's many critics have argued, however, that it is a > front for the Palestinian wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas. CAIR had > close links to the Holy Land Foundation,[41] an Islamic charity that > channeled millions of dollars to Hamas and which was found guilty in 2008 on > charges including conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign > terrorist organization, providing material support to a foreign terrorist, > and conspiracy to commit money laundering. In 2008, the FBI cut off contacts > with CAIR over concerns that the organization had its roots in a > Hamas-support network.[42] Ellison has continued to defend the group, but > even before the FBI severed relations with CAIR, it had achieved such a level > of notoriety that Ellison could not pretend to be unaware of problems with > the organization. > > CAIR's two founders, Nihad Awad and Omar Ahmad, were formerly officers of the > Islamic Association of Palestine, an organization intimately linked to the > senior echelons of Hamas.[43]Awad has repeatedly shown support for Hamas and > its military actions against Israel, has acted as a member of the Muslim > Brotherhood's Palestine Committee, and has often defended Islamist > organizations, including the Holy Land Foundation, against U.S. attempts to > investigate and, where possible, indict them.[44] Ahmad is perhaps best known > for a statement made before a crowd of Californian Muslims in 1998 and > reported in the San Ramon Valley Herald: "Islam isn't in America to be equal > to any other faith, but to become dominant. The Koran, the Muslim book of > scripture, should be the highest authority in America, and Islam the only > accepted religion on earth."[45]Although the statement has been denied by > Ahmed and CAIR over the years, Daniel Pipes has provided much evidence as to > its veracity.[46] Ahmad has also served as president of the Islamic > Association of Palestine, a fund-raising organization for Hamas.[47] Another > donor and CAIR national board chairman, Parvez Ahmed, has also supported > Hamas and Hezbollah.[48] > > Thus, any connections Ellison might have to CAIR are, at best, unwise for a > politician seeking to improve the nation's understanding of Islam and at > worst an indication of his true sentiments. On October 14, 2006, shortly > before the national congressional elections, Ellison appeared as the keynote > speaker at a closed-door meeting of CAIR in Pembroke Pines, Florida.[49] > While attending CAIR-Tampa's sixth annual banquet in 2008, Ellison called on > listeners to a local Tampa radio station to support Sami al-Arian. Arian, a > former professor at University of South Florida, confessed two years earlier > to conspiring to supply goods and services to Palestinian Islamic Jihad,[50] > a terrorist organization responsible for numerous suicide attacks on Israel. > > In 2009, after the FBI cut off contact with CAIR, Ellison spoke at no fewer > than three fundraising dinners for the organization and gave videotaped > statements at others and has also appeared with CAIR officials at meetings on > healthcare reform and Eid festival celebrations.[51] In October 2009, he > rebuked four House of Representatives Republican members who called for an > investigation of CAIR for infiltration of government committees.[52] Although > the congressmen were focused on the question of CAIR's role, Ellison cast the > inquiry as a modern-day witch hunt, declaring: "The idea that we should > investigate Muslim interns as spies is a blow to the very principle of > religious freedom that our Founding Fathers cherished so dearly."[53] Soon > afterwards, he attended a CAIR fundraising event in Washington and called for > CAIR supporters to apply for jobs in the incoming Obama administration.[54] > > Associations with Other Islamist Groups > > Muslim American Society: Ellison's connections to other groups such as the > Muslim American Society (MAS) reinforce questions about where he stands. MAS > was founded in 1993 following an arrangement reached between Muslim > Brotherhood leaders in America and Egypt. MAS is, in fact, the Brotherhood's > American chapter.[55] That the Brotherhood (Al-Ikhwan al-Muslimun) represents > a significant threat to Western civilization is made clear from this excerpt > from a 1991 briefing captured by the FBI: > > The process of settlement [of Islam in the United States] is a > "Civilization-Jihadist" process with all the word means. The Ikhwan must > understand that all their work in America is a kind of grand Jihad in > eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and > "sabotaging" their miserable house by their hands and the hands of the > believers so that it is eliminated and Allah's religion is made victorious > over all religions. … It is a Muslim's destiny to perform Jihad and work > wherever he is and wherever he lands until the final hour comes.[56] > > In December 2002, for example, MAS used its website to denigrate non-Muslims, > speaking of "the degenerate moral condition of the Jews and Christians" and > declaring: "If you gain a victory over the men of [the] Jews, kill them," and > "May Allah destroy the Jews."[57] It also issued statements endorsing > terrorism and praising Hamas.[58] According to an extensive dossier prepared > by the Investigative Project on Terrorism, MAS has links to Al-Qaeda, Hamas, > and Islamic Jihad. Its websites have praised Muslim Brotherhood ideologue and > godfather of modern Islamism, Sayyid Qutb, and provided links to several > extremist and terrorist organizations. Mahdi Bray, executive director of the > MAS Freedom Foundation and the public face of the society, has claimed that > the United States is engaged in a war against Islam and has defended a long > list of terrorism-linked organizations and individuals. The MAS magazine, The > American Muslim, often contains references to suicide bombings as "martyrdom > operations" and to terrorists as "freedom fighters" while condemning U.S. > antiterrorism actions. At MAS conferences, extremist speakers address their > audiences while Islamist and jihadi literature is on sale.[59] > > It is, then, disturbing to see that one year after his first election to > Congress, Ellison was the keynote speaker at MAS-Minnesota's fourth annual > convention in May 2007.[60] The following spring, Ellison was again the > keynote speaker at the MAS-Minnesota convention, appearing alongside Siraj > Wahhaj, an unindicted coconspirator of the 1993 World Trade Centre > bombing.[61] > > Islamic Society of North America: Ellison also enjoys a relationship with the > Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), an organization that has been linked > by several agencies to support for terrorism. In December 2003, U.S. senators > Charles Grassley and Max Baucus of the Senate Committee on Finance formally > identified ISNA as one of twenty-five American Muslim organizations in a > probe into groups that might "finance terrorism and perpetuate > violence."[62]More recently, in July 2008, Federal prosecutors in Dallas > filed documents showing a link between ISNA and Hamas.[63] In an account of > the 2008 conference, Dave Gaubatz, coauthor of Muslim Mafia, writes: > > In 2008, ISNA had several booths with anti-American slogans on shirts, along > with pro-Hamas, pro-Palestinian, and anti-Israel garments … It was easy to > find DVDs, books, manuals, and pamphlets calling America a terrorist > organization and for the destruction of our country and Israel. It was very > easy to find material calling for killing innocent men, women, and children > in American [sic] who did not believe in an Islamic Ummah (Nation) worldwide > and under Sharia law. … If you wanted Muslim Brotherhood material, this was > the location to obtain the intelligence you desired.[64] > > Despite these troubling connections, Ellison has spoken at ISNA's 2007, 2008, > and 2009 conventions, events estimated to be the largest annual Muslim > gatherings in the Western hemisphere.[65] In 2008, Ellison spoke on > "mobilizing the Muslim political machine."[66] > > Muslim Public Affairs Council: Ellison also spoke in December 2006 to the > sixth annual convention of the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC),[67] a > seemingly moderate body that seeks to conceal its strong anti-Semitic,[68] > pro-Hamas, and pro-Hezbollah views.[69] Again, he addressed a town hall forum > during MPAC's "Activate '08 Election Campaign," at one of the Council's "Rock > the Muslim Vote" events.[70] > > North American Imams Federation: He also addressed the North American Imams > Federation (NAIF) at their November 19, 2006 conference in Minneapolis.[71] > Many of NAIF's imams, in charge of mosques across the United States, are > trained through an institution called the American Open University (AOU), a > distance-learning medium for Muslims wishing to train as clergy. The AOU is a > radical school that emphasizes the paramount role of Shari'a law in an > American context. Its chairman Jaafar Sheikh Idris regards democracy as "the > antithesis of Islam," arguing that human beings have no right to make their > own laws. "No one," he claims, "can be a Muslim who makes or freely accepts > or believes that anyone has the right to make or accept legislation that is > contrary to the divine law."[72] He also declared that no Muslim elected to > Congress can swear to uphold the U.S. Constitution and remain a Muslim "for > in order to pledge loyalty to the constitution, a Muslim would have to > abandon part of his belief and embrace the belief of secularism—which is > practically another religion."[73] That Keith Ellison supports an institution > linked to someone who holds views in such deep conflict with normative > American values is deeply troubling. > > Conclusion > > Once, in an interview with CNN's Glenn Beck, Ellison said, "There's no one > who is more patriotic than I am. And so, you know, I don't need to prove my > patriotic stripes."[74] Judged by his legislative record, he is well within > the mainstream of American life. But he has taken an oath to uphold the > Constitution despite the fact that he fundraises for groups whose leadership > would replace that Constitution with the laws of Islam. > > Does Ellison simply display poor choice in his associates as he did when > younger? Or should his motives be questioned at a higher level? Are there no > moderate Muslim groups he can speak to or support? Why does he return again > and again to address and support Islamist organizations, some with ties to > terrorism? > > What politician, careful of the press and the generality of his constituents, > does not trouble himself or his staff to check out the bona fides of a group > he may be speaking to, all the more so if that group already has a less than > savory reputation? Ellison's constituents, the American public, and his > fellow congressmen, deserve answers to the many questions his curious > bipolarity raises. The mixed messages he gives may be an expression of > deep-seated contradictions. Few politicians hold self-contradictory views for > long and often abandon those they recognize to be potential irritants to > voters. Ellison's worrisome affiliations have drawn little criticism from the > mainstream media. It is possible that this reluctance to expose comes from a > combination of a dislike to criticize Muslims and an ignorance of what links > to CAIR, MAS, and other bodies and individuals really imply. > > It is also not at all improbable that Ellison is aware of and makes use of > the Islamic doctrine oftaqiyya, the principle that it is permissible for a > Muslim to lie in order to protect Islam and its reputation from harm, or to > do so as part of waging jihad with nonbelievers. From CAIR to ISNA to MPAC, > Muslim groups in the United States claim to be victims of discrimination or > outright persecution at the hands of state agencies or individuals. They have > mastered the art of being, in a British phrase, "economical with the truth." > Keith Ellison may well be among them. > > Denis MacEoin is editor of The Middle East Quarterly. > > > > > > > -- > -- > Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community > <[email protected]> > Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism > Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org > > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. 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