Wednesday, August 08, 2012

California lawmakers, law enforcement heads urged support for sharia law

creeping
via Expert: Officials ignorant on sharia (OneNewsNow.com).
An expert on Islam is concerned that some California politicians and city officials are ignoring the facts about sharia law.
A town hall meeting at the Islamic Society of Orange County earlier this year declared there is no conflict between sharia law, the U.S. Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. Several lawmakers and officials in The Golden State — including Democratic U.S. Congresswomen Maxine Waters and Loretta Sanchez; Los Angeles Police Department Deputy Chief Michael Downing; and Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca — urged support for sharia law. In several recently released videos from the event, officials said that sharia is not a threat to the United States.

Joe Carey, founder of Radical Truth, says that the statements made by the officials showed a lack of understanding the true nature of Sharia law.
“Michael Downing made this particular statement — he said, ‘The influence of natural laws described by Cicero are the foundational building blocks of Jewish law, Christian law, and sharia law or Islamic law,’” Carey tells OneNewsNow. “That is just outlandish. Sharia law does not recognize natural law and does not recognize human rights. These statements by our officials are just reprehensible, and they ought to be held to account for them.”
Carey contends it is clear that officials have no knowledge of sharia or Islam, and he is concerned that national security officials hold a “blissful” approach towards sharia law.
While many are ignorant of sharia (Muslims included), it is more likely that Baca – and others like him – are intentionally lying. Watch the ostentatious speech:


Occasional commenter here, Fousesquawk, was at the so-called Town Hall event and blogged on it, Town Hall at Islamic Center of Orange County:
During the presentations, a small notebook and pencils were passed among the audience for questions. It appeared there would be no opportunity for people in the audience to voice their questions. I managed to scribble my own question, which was directed to Imam Siddiqi. It went something like this:
“Dr Siddiqi,
“If you are a true moderate, why did you host the Blind Sheikh, Omar Abdel Rahman, at your mosque in 1992 and interpret his speech about violent jihad? Why did you participate in a demonstration in Washington in October 2000 along with Abdul Alim Musa and Abdurahman Alamoudi?”

Needless to say, that question never made it to the light of day, but one Arab woman was able to stand up and ask a question of the two law enforcement officers on the panel. She asked them as those who had taken an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States, what they would do in the case of a wife-beating by a Muslim man. That caused a lot of grumbling in the audience and some people told her to sit down and be quiet. Before Baca or Downing could answer, an agitated  Siddiqi stood up and stated that wife-beating was forbidden by the Koran. The questioner referred to Koran chapter 4 verse 34 (which refers to this issue). The woman also referred to the principle of abrogation. (This means that if there is a contradiction between two passages in the Koran, that which was written later in time abrogates that which was written earlier.) Siddiqi replied that he didn’t want to go into abrogation. At some point, Downing stated that in the case of wife-beating in his jurisdiction, the offender would be arrested. One other written question was taken from the audience, which concerned a National Security measure regarding arrests. Sanchez responded and told the questioner that if contacted, her office would send him or her a copy of the law. There were no other questions taken.

Once Chu concluded her remarks, the meeting adjourned because it was time for prayers.

Subsequently, I was able to chat with Mr. Birotte, Downing, and the aforementioned three LAPD officers. First, I introduced myself to Birotte as a retired DEA agent who had worled in the Central District of California (Los Angeles) for several years. I told him that I strongly agreed with his statements that all Muslim-Americans should not be painted with the same wide brush because of the terrorist and extremist acts of some. I then told him that I did have concerns about this place (the Islamic Center of Orange County) and Imam Siddiqi. I informed him that in 1992, Siddiqi had hosted the Blind Sheikh, Omar Abdel Rahman and had interpreted in real time Abdel Rahman’s speech on violent Jihad. I also told him of Siddiqi’s appearance in Washington DC in October 2000 at an anti-Israel protest, in which other speakers were Abdul Alim Musa and Abdurahman Alamoudi. I offered, if he would give me his card, to send him all the documents regarding Siddiqi. He agreed and gave me his card. Our conversation was very cordial.

Outside, I went over and introduced myself to the three LAPD officers who had accompanied Downing. Actually, I had met one previously at UC Irvine, a young officer who was born to a Muslim family in Pakistan. I repeated the same facts to them. I was met with some degree of skepticism. One officer stated that I should not blame Siddiqi for the statements of others, referring to the Washington appearance, but agreed that the information about the Blind Sheikh was troubling. Another officer asked me what evidence I had for my statements about the Washington appearance. I replied that it was on videotape and I had witnessed and reviewed the statements of Siddiqi, Musa, and Alamoudi. When asked what specifically Siddiqi had said, I replied that he had warned America not to risk the “wrath of God” by continuing to support Israel.

Here are his exact words. (The below videos come from the Investigative Project on Terrorism.)
“Siddiqui: We want our government to stop feeding the Israeli war machinery. We want to awaken the conscience of America. America has to learn that. Because if you remain on the side of injustice, the wrath of God will come. Please! Please all Americans, do you remember that, that Allah is watching everyone. God is watching everyone. If you continue doing injustice, and tolerating injustice, the wrath of God will come.” (Video by Investigative Project on Terrorism- Al Quds Day rally Washington DC, October 28, 2000)

The man in black standing over Siddiqi’s left shoulder is radical imam Abdul Alim Musa formerly Clarence Reams, who served prison time for drug trafficking. He is virulently anti-American, anti-Israel, anti-Jewish, and pro-Iran. He tells his audiences that Islam will “take over” America, something he said at UC Irvine in my presence a few years ago. Here is what he said in Washington on October 28, 2000:
Below is a link to a video of Alamoudi’s words that day in Washington:
Alamoudi is serving 23 years in prison based on his conspiring with Libya to murder a Saudi prince.

At some point, Chief Downing came over, and I repeated the same concerns I had to him. As to Siddiqi, he stated that over time some people change. He asked me if I was a member of any organization, and I replied that I was not. I also asked him if he knew about people like Zuhdi Jasser and Stephen Schwartz. He seemed not be aware of them, but asked if they were connected to people like Steve Emerson and David Horowitz. I replied that as far as I knew, they were not. I did elicit one telling comment from Downing. When I told him that I had concerns about leading Islamic organizations in the US like CAIR, MPAC, ISNA, ICNA etc, he stated that “CAIR is problematic.”

It should also be mentioned that after the meeting, one man handed an LAPD officer a flyer, which the officer proceeded to tear up in front of him.

For what was advertised as a town hall meeting, there was no room for anything other than the narrative provided by the speakers. The theme was that hate-filled right-wingers (and Republicans) are targeting Muslim-Americans, and that Sharia law is perfectly compatible with US law. The program was timed to preclude any meaningful discussion or debate. The one person who raised the issue of wife-beating, herself, an Arab, was not treated with respect.
As for our law enforcement representatives, I got the distinct impression that were not interested in hearing the other side of the issue or the disturbing history of Muzammil Siddiqi and his associations with Islamic jihadists in the US. In the case of the LAPD, these four officers are part of the counter-terrorist unit. Yes, they have a responsibility to maintain contact with as many elements of the Muslim community as possible, develop sources and contacts while protecting their civil liberties. I just wonder whether their eyes are really open, or they are simply bowing to political correctness. It is worrisome. One thing I learned during my nearly 30 years in law enforcement; when someone offers you information, you consider it and evaluate it. You don’t just tear it up before reading it.

I also believe that it was inappropriate for two high-ranking police officials to sit on a panel with three partisan politicians who turned their presentations into attacks on a rival political party while attacking other law enforcement agencies (NYPD-FBI).

Guest Comments:
  1. The ignorance is so boggling the thought crosses my mind that in order to enter the lions dens of shariah and expansionist islam, the police fake it by becoming pseudo lions themselves.
    Then I wake up.
    • You wake-up to find that the police are NOT faking it…right! That they are in-fact part of the Sharia movement already underway in our nation…yeah! it has me worried, also!
  2. OMG!…it must be something in the water supply out there in california! i was born there & spent over 20 years there but i don’t thinkl it was as nutty as it is now. i still have relatives there who are appalled at the way CA has gone. even the “republican” gov, arnie the maid boffer, didn’t help…he was merely an austrian kennedy!
  3. For the entire history of islam they have used deception and intimidation
    to destroy civilised countries. Have you wondered why there are so
    many seemingly insane decisions for sharia? Government officals at
    all levels are corrupted by the choice of injury to their family or makeing
    huge fortunes in the stock market via tips from the blackrock group of companies.
  4. Should I mention that it’s illegal for any other law to be used other than our Constitution in any court? Not that sharia proponents care, but still.
    There is no law other than the Constitution. Period. End of discussion. Any public official who states otherwise should be removed from office immediately.

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