BEWARE OF FAKE MUSLIMS ESPECIALLY IN THE WESTERN COUNTRIES: THEY ARE SPYING ON YOU!
War against Islam, War on Islam or Attack on Islam, is a coined term to
describe a perceived campaign to harm, weaken or annihilate the
societal system of Islam, using military, economic, social and cultural
means. The campaign is alleged to be waged by non-Muslims and fake
Muslims.
The alleged perpetrators of the war include Western powers (especially
the United States with its “War on Terror”), pro-Western Muslim states,
and non-Western, non-Muslim states such as Serbia (Genocide in Bosnia),
Russia (for its actions in Chechnya and the Caucasus in general), and
India (for the conflict in Kashmir) as well as Myanmar (Rohingya Muslim
Genocide in Arakan).
by Syarif Hidayat
Islam is a beautiful religion, full of wisdom and harmony.Islam is a religion of love and peace. Love
is one of the noblest human principles and traits that cultivate the
spirit of interaction, solidarity, and cooperation and add affection to
human relationships and dealings. All heavenly and manmade religions
cherish love in its top-down (God-creation), bottom-up (creation-God),
and horizontal (interpersonal) dimensions.
We believe that Islam is the origin of true love in all its dimensions
(top-down, bottom-up, and horizontal) and forms, quite independent of
any other faith, except inasmuch as both come from the same source, as
established by historians. Many Qur’anic texts and Prophetic hadiths
undeniably prove the fact that love, in the broadest sense, is an
intrinsic ideal of Islam.
Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali said, “Love of Allah is the highest spiritual
attainment. Whatever follows it is an outcome of it (such as passion,
communion, fulfillment, etc.), and whatever precedes it is a step
towards it”. Allah says, {Say (O Muhammad), “If you really love Allah,
then follow me, and Allah will love you”}. He also says, {A people whom
He will love and who will love Him}. And He says, {But those who have
believed love Allah more (than anything else)}. All such verses show the
merit of love and tell that it has degrees.
In several hadiths, the Prophet established love as a prerequisite to
religiosity. Allah says, {And among people are some who would take
(i.e., associate) besides Allah rivals (to Him) whom they love as much
as they love Allah. But those who have believed love Allah most}. Ibn
Jazi Al-Kalbi wrote, “There are two types of love: imitation love and
hearty love. To me, the latter is indicated in the second Verse, while
the former is indicated in the first Verse”.
Heartfelt love is the greatest of loves. It brings forth ultimate
satisfaction and happiness. A Companion once told the Prophet, “I have
not prepared for it (i.e., the Hereafter) much Prayer or fasting, but I
love Allah and His Messenger”. The Prophet said, “One will (in the
Hereafter) be in the company of those he loves”. Anas commented, “I have
never seen Muslims delight at something, except for conversion to
Islam, more than they did at hearing this”.
Abu Ruzayn Al-`Uqayli asked, “O Messenger of Allah! What is faith?” The
Prophet replied, “It is to love Allah and His Messenger more than
everything else”. The Prophet also said, “None of you shall truly
believe unless when Allah and His Messenger are more loved to him than
everything else”. And he said, “No servant of Allah shall truly believe
unless when I become more beloved to him than his family, property, and
all people”. Another narration adds, “… and his own self”.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) strongly urged for love.
He said, “Love Allah for the graces He bestows upon you, and love me for
Allah’s love for me”. An authentic hadith tells us that, while
receiving the Shar`i penalty for being drunken, an alcoholic was cursed
by a Companion.
The Prophet blamed the curser, saying, “He (i.e., the penalized man)
loves Allah and His Messenger”. Noticeably, though addicted to a sinful
practice, the man still had something positive to commend: love. The
deeper that love grows, the more deserved forgiveness becomes. A poet
said, Indeed, my love for Umamah is not one that can be changed by
tale-bearing or passage of time
If this is true with romantic love, it will for sure be more applicable
to love of Allah, the Sovereign, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful,
Who has granted us His Graces, originated us with His Wisdom, provided
for us with His Generosity, and run our affairs with His Kindness. It
pleases Him when a servant repents and returns to His Obedience, as
pointed out in an authentic hadith. Allah says, {Indeed, Allah loves
those who are constantly repentant and loves those who are
self-purifying}.
Horizontal Love
Also, there is “charity” — unlimited loving-kindness toward all others.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) prayed, “Oh Allah! I ask you for (the
ability to do) good deeds… and love for the poor”. In a Hadith Qudsi,
Allah says, “And My servant will keep drawing closer to me by offering
supererogatory acts of worship until I love him”.
Love goes beyond living beings to include even nonliving things,
nature, as well as good words and deeds. The Prophet described Mount
Uhud saying, “This is a mount that loves us and is loved by us”. He
further said, “Allah is Beautiful, and He loves beauty”. Allah loves to
make things easy for people. The Prophet said, “Verily, Allah loves that
His Exceptional Permissions be implemented”. Allah says, {And He (i.e.,
Allah) loves good-doers}.
As early as his second speech after arrival at Medina, the Prophet
focused on love, as documented by Ibn Ishaq. He said, “Love what Allah
loves. Love Allah from the bottom of your hearts. Do not become weary of
reciting Allah’s Words and extolments… Love one another with the spirit
inspired by Allah among you. Verily, it angers Allah when His Covenant
is broken. And peace be with you”.
Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali said, “Let you know that the happiest of people in
the Hereafter are those who love Allah most, because they will win the
pleasure of meeting Him. The most blissful moment ever for a lover is
when he meets his beloved after many years of longing, knowing that they
will be together forever, without disturbance, restriction, or fear of
separation.
The pleasure depends on the degree of love: The stronger love is, the
greater joy will be felt. Love of Allah is acquired in life and is found
in every believer, because it comes from knowledge of Allah. However,
when love grows so overwhelming that it turns into some sort of
infatuation or extravagant passion, this elevated status is not found in
most people”.
Love is a human value. Everyone likes to be loved; hardly can there be
someone who finds it ok to be hated by others. Someone can clash with
others because they do not love him. He is reacting the wrong way; if
love is shown by both sides, there will remain no hostility.
Love involves feelings and behavior; it should be manifested in word
and deed. The Prophet said, “When one of you loves his brother, let him
inform him of this”. Why is love a value? Because it is seen as good by
everyone, even those who do not have it. This is the criterion for
value.
Philosophers used various terms to refer to inner pleasure, such as
“love of fate”, a term used by Nietzsche to describe an attitude in
which one sees everything that happens in one’s life, including
suffering and loss, as good. Moreover, it is characterized by an
acceptance of the events or situations that occur in one’s life.
Another example is “intellectual love of God”, a concept put forward by
Spinoza to describe the highest good with which we attain “our
salvation and blessedness and freedom”. It originates from God’s eternal
and infinite essence. It is, then, simply one particular mode of God’s
attribute. Intellectual love is also one part of God’s love for himself.
This does not mean that intellectual love is eternal, but it signifies
that essence of the human mind can be explained in the light of God’s
eternity.
And how to restore Islam’s true image of love and purity?
If our religion kindles the flames of love for all humanity, how come
we let its image be distorted due to some ignorant followers and lying
enemies? Paradoxically, Islam is depicted as a religion of hatred, while
the Prophet of Islam said, “Do not hate one another, do not turn your
backs to one another, do not raise prices (in business bargains) for one
another, and be brothers, O servants of Allah”. How to embody such
tridimensional love in our behavior, discourse, and relations? And how
to represent it in a friendly and likable manner despite false
allegations from opponents?
We should address a horde of misconceptions that form an ideological
barrier to mainstreaming Islam and Muslims worldwide, such as relations
with non-Muslims, which must be based on mutual acceptance, respect, and
peacefulness.
Another issue to deal with is the concept of Islamic jihad, which is
taken by many either excessively or slackly. What does jihad mean
lexically and technically? And what justification it has in the Qur’an?
In Arabic usage, jihad is the “exertion of the utmost effort to achieve
something that is probably desirable”.
Religiously, jihad has three types, as identified by Ar-Raghib in
Al-Mufradat (The Items): (1) jihad against a plain enemy, (2) jihad
against Satan, and (3) jihad against one’s own self. The last two types
are implied in several hadiths. For example, Imam Ahmad in his Musnad
and Abu Dawud in his Sunan reported Fudalah Ibn `Ubayd as narrating that
the Prophet said, “A true mujahid is the one who strives against his
own self in obedience to Allah, the Almighty”.
In a weak hadith reported by Al-Bayhaqi, Jabir narrated that, upon
return from his last conquest Tabuk, the Prophet said, “We have returned
from the minor jihad to the major jihad”. He interpreted it as meaning
to resist one’s whims.
In fact, taking care of one’s parents is a sort of jihad. The Prophet
said, “Then let your taking care of them be your jihad”.
Ibn
Taymiyyah defined jihad saying, “It encompasses all sorts of worship,
inward or outward, including love of Allah, devotion to Him, reliance on
Him, submission of one’s soul and property to Him, patience,
asceticism, and continuing remembrance of Him. It takes all possible
forms — physical, spiritual, mental, verbal, etc.”
The issue of Wala’ (loyalty to whatever belongs to Islam) and Bara’
(renunciation of whatever contradicts with Islam) is widely used in the
literature of Takfir (i.e., accusation of blasphemy or unbelief)
movements, which generalized it to encompass economic, commercial,
political, military, and security relations with countries that cherish
peace, provide technology, and promote development.
In fact, the concept of Wala’ and Bara’ has to do with partisanship in
the domain of creed or faith — that is, it depends whether one is
believer or unbeliever. However, interaction with non-Muslims within the
context of everyday dealings, good relations, and peaceful coexistence
is not objectionable.
The notion and fatwas of Takfir are unduly exaggerated. They contradict
with the Islamic culture of peace, whose basics are found in many
Islamic texts. For example, Allah says, {Allah does not forbid you from
those who have not fought you due to religion}. He also says, {And say
to people good words}.
The Prophet said, “Keep dutiful to your (non-Muslim) mother”. He also
said, “And say greetings to those you know and those you do not know”.
And he said, “And treat people with kindness”.
Other examples include the hadith on Hilf Al-Fudul (i.e., Alliance of
the Virtuous), the Charter of Medina, the permission for Christians to
perform their prayers at the mosque, and many other traditions, which
range from authentic to good to weak.
Broadly, they imply specification of the generalization, permitting
dealings with non-Muslims as may be necessary for people’s benefit and,
at the same time, warding off harm and evil by regulating the applicable
contexts and outcomes.
In fact, improving the image of Muslims is a basic Shar`i objective, as
indicated by the questions of building the Kaaba on the same bases
founded by Abraham and abstention from killing the hypocrites.
The subject at hand is open for further study and contemplation, and
the above is just a brief discussion on the culture of consolidated
values, which can make the world a better place where love prevails and
war comes to an end.
Religious tolerance is an essential principle of Islam
Tolerance is the attitude that should govern the dealings of all people
with one another. Religious tolerance is an essential principle of
Islam and Muslims are ordered to have good relations with people of all
religions and be kind and courteous to everyone.
Muslims are ordered by the Qur’an to uphold their promises and
agreements with non-Muslims and not betray or transgress against them.
The lives, families, properties and honor of non-Muslims must be
protected under any government that claims to apply Islamic law.
Non-Muslims are also guaranteed the right and freedom to practice their
own religions in an Islamic state.
Islam is a religion of mercy and justice. It teaches its adherents to
interact with all people and to cooperate with them for the betterment
of mankind. More than ever today, Muslims need to work together with
other groups that oppose oppression, bloodshed, corruption, promiscuity
and perversion.
They should also cooperate with non-Muslims in upholding truth and
combating falsehood, in supporting the oppressed, and eliminating such
dangers as pollution and disease.
Only enemies who harbor hatred and contempt against Islam are addressed
by those Quranic verses that warn Muslims against taking them as
intimates and allies. Muslims are compassion as members of the human
brotherhood.
They are always to behave kindly toward any non-Muslim who are not
hostile, whether by offering financial help, feeding the hungry, giving
loans when needed, or interceding in connection with permissible
matters, even if only by speaking kindly and advising them. The Quran
addresses believers, saying:
”
Allah does not forbid you from those who do not fight you because of
religion and do not expel you from your homes – from being righteous
toward them and acting justly toward them. Indeed, Allah loves those who
are just.” (Quran, 60: 8 )
Thus, it is not permissible under any circumstance for Muslims to
mistreat a non-Muslim who has not committed any aggression against them;
they are not allowed to harm, threaten or terrorize him, steal his
wealth, cheat him or deprive him of his rights. It is obligatory upon
Muslims as well to honor whatever lawful treaties and agreements are
made with non-Muslim parties.
Coexistence does not mean that we cease to promote our positive values.
As an aspect of their kindness and concern for humanity, Muslims are
expected to invite non-Muslims o the truth of Islam with words of
wisdom, sound arguments and a pleasant manner. This is a debt owed by
Muslims to the peoples of the world in gratitude to God for his guidance
and countless blessings.
Islam is against Terrorism and Killing!
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. “Because
of that We ordained for the Children of Israel that if anyone killed a
person not in retaliation (in legal punishment) of murder, or (and) to
spread mischief in the land – it would be as if he killed all mankind,
and if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of all
mankind. And indeed, there came to them Our Messengers with clear
proofs, evidence, and signs, even then after that many of them continued
to exceed the limits (e.g. by doing oppression unjustly and exceeding
beyond the limits set by Allâh by committing the major sins) in the
land!” - Al Qur’an, Surah Al-Maidah, Verse 32.
War on Terror is War on Islam
On the breakup of USSR, a US general was questioned by a journalist of
any further utility of NATO. The general was sharp to reply, The enemy
has changed from red to green, and hence NATO will stay. NATO
was created to counter Warsaw pact countries that had a decisive
strength to overrun Europe thus all the countries of the Western Europe
and America were brought together in this alliance on both sides of
Atlantic.
NATO as per its charter had no justification to be outside of Europe
but it was brought to Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan and Libya (the next
could be Syria or Iran) to further the aims of Zionist dominated West
that gets its legal cover for any military adventurism from the Security
Council of the UN.
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. More than 1.400
years ago, the God Almighty Allah SWT warned Muslims: “Never
will the Jews nor the Christians be pleased with you (O Muhammad Peace
be upon him ) till you follow their religion. Say: “Verily, the Guidance
of Allâh (i.e. Islâmic Monotheism) that is the (only) Guidance. And if
you (O Muhammad Peace be upon him ) were to follow their (Jews and
Christians) desires after what you have received of Knowledge (i.e. Al
Qur’ân), then you would have against Allâh neither any Walî (protector
or guardian) nor any helper.” (Al Qur’an, Surah Al-Baqara,Verse: 120)
The alleged perpetrators of the war include Western powers (especially
the United States with its “war on Terror”), pro-Western Muslim states,
and non-Western, non-Muslim states such as Serbia (Genocide in Bosnia),
Russia (for its actions in Chechnya and the Caucasus in general), and
India (for the conflict in Kashmir) as well as Myanmar (Rohingya Muslim
Genocide in Arakan).
The global war on terror has become a thinly veiled excuse to wage a
global war on Islam with increased arrests of Muslims, calls for regime
change in Muslim countries and racial profiling, according to a leader
with a national Islamic organization.
“The tactic of terrorism—and yes it is a tactic, not an ideology—has
been deployed by a multitude of groups of different religions,
ethnicities and ideologies and yet the Islamic faith, unlike any other,
is erroneously and incessantly associated with terrorism,” said Dr.
Parvez Ahmed, a national board member of the Council on American Islamic
Relations. “The association of a faith practiced by 1.2 billion people
worldwide to terrorism creates the perception that the George W. Bush
War on Terror (GWOT) is a war against Islam.”
Around the world since 2001 there have been increases in the arrest and
detention of Muslims. Dr. Ahmed explained that right after 9/11 World
Trade Center attacks, the federal government subjected 80,000 Arab and
Muslim immigrants to fingerprinting and registration, sought out 8,000
Arab and Muslim men for FBI interviews and imprisoned over 5,000 foreign
nationals in anti-terrorism preventive detention compounds.
“These arrests and detentions did not result in the conviction of a
single person for a terrorist crime. Thus the U.S. government’s record
for the largest ethnic profiling campaign stood at 0 for 93,000,” he
said.
According to researchers in Paris, nearly 60 to 70 percent of all
inmates are Muslim even though they only make up about 12 percent of the
population. The Open Society Institute found that in the Netherlands 20
percent of adult prisoners and 26 percent of all juvenile offenders are
Muslim while the country is only 5.5 percent Islamic.
In Belgium, researchers found Muslims from Morocco and Turkey make up
at least 16 percent of the prison population, though just two percent of
the general population. In the United Kingdom, 11 percent of prisoners
are Muslim, though Muslims are only 3 percent of the population.
“The Secret Services are stretched to capacity just in monitoring
Muslims,” said Hillary Muhammad, student minister of Muhammad Mosque No.
1 in London. “Islam is the fastest growing religion in Europe. It’s
like a fad here. Everyone young wants to be Muslim. When people are
arrested they go in one way but they come out Muslims,” he said.
“Jail is becoming the breeding ground for Islam especially for Black
and Asian teens. People migrate from war torn countries like Eritrea and
Sudan as asylum seekers. The young members of the family share Islamic
philosophy. They are converting people to Islam right and left.”
Frank Cillufro, vice president of the Homeland Security Policy
Institute at George Washington University told the media May 6 at the
National Press Club that America has to recalibrate her response to
terrorism.
“We can’t kill and capture our way to victory. We can’t arrest away the
problem. The solutions to this problem must come from within. I want to
see more Islamic scholars be a part of the solution. They have to show
how extremists are taking the dialogue out of context. “America has to
win the hearts and minds of the people,” he said.
Suicide bombings are the product of modern political violence
“Suicide bombings are the product of modern political violence. Suicide
bombings by Muslims are not the result of any Islamic ideology, but
rather they are the result of the sociopolitical conditions of
occupations (such as Palestine, Chechnya and Iraq) and the outcome of
proxy wars fought in Afghanistan, where America not only armed the
mujihadeen, but also enabled a culture of drugs and violence,” he said.
Dr. Ahmed also noted that terrorism is a word generally applied to
“one’s enemies or those with whom one disagrees.” “Hence the decision to
call someone or label some organization ‘terrorist’ becomes almost
unavoidably subjective, depending largely on whether one sympathizes
with or opposes the person/group/cause concerned,” he said.
“If one identifies with the victim of the violence, for example, then
the act is terrorism. If, however, one identifies with the perpetrator,
the violent act is regarded in a more sympathetic, if not positive (or
worst, an ambivalent) light; and is not terrorism,” Dr. Ahmed said.
“In all aspects of this war we need a position of humility noting our
own actions of the past,” said Dr. Douglas Johnston, of the
International Center for Religion and Diplomacy. “They (violent groups)
are using scripture out of context. Religious legitimacy trumps
everything. The answer to bad theology is good theology.
“One person, one vote was the last thing on people’s minds in Iraq.
They wanted the ability to practice their religion. We missed the bet by
not having religious leaders at the table. They’re deemed as being
absolutists and not willing to negotiate. We have to deal with the
religious leaders. They are the moral authority. They have to feel
ownership because they have unrivaled influence at the grassroots
level.”
Fake Muslims
A Muslim convert, Morten Storm, has unveiled that he was an undercover
agent for the Danish intelligence service (PET) and the CIA.
He told Jyllands-Posten
daily that he was recruited by PET in 2006 to track down extremists in
the Scandinavian country. He also said that he led the CIA to Al-Qaeda
leader in Yemen Anwar Al-Awlaki, who was killed in a drone attack last
year.
The convert moved to Luton in 1999, where he told community leaders
that he wanted to start a new life after a history of extremism.
However, he started to propagate his radical ideas in an effort to lure
young Muslims into his line. “Certain people here propped him up, such
as Al Muhajiroun,” Baksh said, referring to an outlawed Islamist group
in Britain, which has an office in Denmark.
“They made him their scholar.” The Muslim leader said that the
undercover had tried hard to spread his radical ideas in the Muslim
community. “He tried very hard to spread mischief in the community,” he
said. “He would come to us and tell us his views, and we would send him
away with his tail between his legs.”
Peaceful Muslims
Baksh said the radical ideas championed by the undercover largely fell
on the deaf ears of most Danish Muslims. “He was running around here,
there and everywhere, with a corrupt version of Islam, and leading
people astray,” he said. “There are extremist jihadists in Luton and he
was propagating their thoughts among young people, spreading lies about
Islam.
“We thought he was probably being watched by the security services.”
The
Muslim leader said that the behavior of the convert had raised
suspicions in the community. “Early on I had my suspicions about him,
but I didn’t have clear evidence,” Baksh said. “We know the CIA do
conduct sting operations.”
The CIA and FBI are used to use fake operations to trap what they say
“potential terror” suspects. But the technique has sparked anger among
US Muslims, who accuse the two agencies of trapping young Muslims into
terrorism. In 2009, Muslim groups had threatened to suspend all contacts
with the FBI over its tactics of sending informants into mosques to
trap worshippers.
“The vast majority of Muslims just want to get on with their lives and
practise their religion in peace,” Baksh said. Denmark is home to a
Muslim minority of 200,000, making three percent of the country’s 5.4
million population. The Scandinavian country was the focus of Muslim
anger in 2005 after a newspaper published cartoons lampooning Prophet
Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him).
Following the cartoons crisis, Muslims worldwide took many initiatives
to remove widely circulated stereotypes about Islam in the West.
Danish
Muslims established the European Committee for Honoring the Prophet, a
grouping of 27 Danish Muslim organizations, to raise awareness about the
merits and characteristics of the Prophet.
US Muslims Haunted by Mosque Infiltration
“The community feels betrayed,” Shakeel Syed, executive director of the
Islamic Shura Council of Southern California, an umbrella group of more
than 75 mosques, told the Washington Post.
As the uproar over the FBI’s attempts to trap US Muslims into plots
continues, Muslims in Southern California still bitterly recall how the
FBI agents in early 2006 instructed an informant to infiltrate their
mosques in quest for potential extremists.
The FBI provided the informant, a convicted forger named Craig
Monteilh, the undercover name Farouk al-Aziz, a French Syrian, with code
name “Oracle.”
“They got a guy, a bona fide criminal, and obviously trained him and
sent him to infiltrate mosques,” Syed said. Working out his way,
Monteilh, a non-Muslim, chose the Islamic Center of Irvin, close to his
house, where he pretended to took shahada, the Muslim declaration of
faith, before worshipers.
To the surprise of Muslims at the mosque, he replaced his western
clothes, in only 10 months, with a robe, a white skullcap and sandals.
“We started hearing that he was saying weird things,” said Omar Kurdi, a
Loyola Law School student who knew Monteilh from the mosque and gym.
“He would walk up to one of my friends and say, ‘It’s good that you guys
are getting ready for the jihad.’ “
But Monteilh’s mission as an informant backfired as the mosque
community had felt uneasy with the informant’s attitude and rhetoric.
Muslims informed the FBI that Farouk was urging Muslim youth to take part in attacks.
“They said Farouk had told them he had access to weapons and that they
should blow up a mall,” Hussam Ayloush, executive director of the Los
Angeles chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said.
Moreover, the mosque went to Orange County Superior Court in June 2007
and obtained a restraining order against Monteilh. “They were convinced
this man was a terrorist.”
Islam Threat
Monteilh’s infiltration backfired after the ties soured between the FBI
and their spy. “When things went sour, they ditched him and he got
mad,” says Syed. “It’s like a soap opera, for God’s sake.”
Monteilh has even gone public, suing the FBI, revealing their secret
methods and charging that his “handlers” trained him to entrap Muslims
and infiltrate their mosques, homes and businesses.
“She asked if I wanted to infiltrate mosques,” he told the Post,
recalling first time an official from the FBI asked him to target
Muslims. In a later session, Monteilh said, the FBI agent told him that
“Islam is a threat to our national security.”
He was asked to report on a daily basis on the slightest details
concerning the mosque congregation, including who opens the mosque for
the fajr (dawn) prayer.
They even asked him to date Muslim women if it gained him intelligence.
The informant even helped build a terrorism-related case against
Ahmadullah Sais Niazi, an Afghan-born Arabic-language instructor, who
was accused of planning a terror attack.
The Justice Department recently took the extraordinary step of dropping
charges against Niazi, who Monteilh had caught on tape agreeing to blow
up buildings, law enforcement officials said.
FBI officials, however, deny Monteilh’s story, and say that the case
does not represent their relations with Muslim community, praised as a
reliable source for critical information.
They further confirmed infiltration cases only in case of having
evidence of crime, denying reports of targeting people based on religion
or ethnicity.
“[FBI agents may] conduct an activity that might somehow involve
surveillance in and about a mosque,” said Steven Martinez, assistant
director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office.
Monteilh’s case is not the first to reveal the FBI tactic of sending
informants into mosques. Last year, Muslim groups threatened to suspend
all contacts with the FBI over sending informants into mosques.
US Muslims are particularly wary of the FBI’s history of targeting
members of their community. Since 9/11, Muslims, estimated between six
to seven million, have become sensitized to an erosion of their civil
rights, with a prevailing belief that America was stigmatizing their
faith.
“The FBI wants to treat the Muslim community as a partner while
investigating us behind our backs,” said Kurdi, the Loyola student.
“They can’t have it both ways.”
Undercover Police Anger British Muslims
“It’s alarming, you’ve got one community that is being targeted,”
Yasmin Dar, a member of the Greater Manchester Police (GMP) Mosques and
Community Forum, told the BBC.
“I’ve not heard of any cases of undercover officers going into churches
or synagogues, so why a particular faith? Relations with the police
have hit rock bottom. “It’s created a lot of mistrust with the police.”
Relations between the Muslim and police were strained following an
investigation by the North West Counter Terrorism Unit in which officers
posed as Muslims inside mosques. The police informants attended prayer
meetings and services at a dozen mosques in Manchester.
During such visits, they befriended four Muslim men for more than a
year after which three of the men, Munir Farooqi, 54, Israr Malik, 24,
and Matthew Newton, 29, were convicted of terrorism charges in
September. Another man was acquitted.
The court heard Farooqi had tried to recruit the undercover policemen
to go to Afghanistan to fight British soldiers. Farooqi was given four
life sentences, Newton was jailed for six years and Malik was given an
indeterminate sentence and told he would serve at least five years.
Moreover, the police decided to confiscate the home where Farooqi’s
family live, leading to all 15 members of the Mosques and Community
Forum walking out of a meeting with the police earlier this month.
At the meeting they had called on the Chief Constable Peter Fahy to
reconsider the decision to apply to court for a forfeiture order. Facing
British mistrust, Britain’s two million Muslims have taken full brunt
of anti-terror laws since the 7/7 attacks.
They have repeatedly complained of maltreatment by police for no
apparent reason other than being Muslim. A Financial Times opinion poll
has showed recently that Britain is the most suspicious nation about
Muslims.
Society Scar
The covert nature of the operation has led to tensions between Greater
Manchester Police and its Islamic advisory group. “Mosques are a special
place for Muslims and when people were told that this had happened they
just felt betrayed,” Rabnawaz Akbar, another Forum member, said.
“It’s left a scar on the good relations that had been built over the years.”
Imam
Habib-ur-Rehman, the imam of the Madina Mosque in Levenshulme, says
that he feels insulted by the fact that non-Muslims pretended to be part
of the faith.
Members of the Islamic communities were angered when they heard that
police officers had posed as Muslims, he said. “We will never welcome
such people who record our messages secretly, not such undercover
activities, definitely not. We will never support them,” the imam said.
“We were disappointed and angry but at the same time we remained
peaceful, we tried to remain law abiding – an angry person can do
anything.”
The Muslim Safety Forum (MSF) represents more than 30 Islamic
organizations including the Muslim Council of Britain, Muslim
Parliament, Federation of Student Islamic Societies, and mosques.
It offers advice to the Metropolitan Police and Association of Chief
Police Officers (ACPO) on Islamic issues. Its counter terrorism
spokesman Shamiul Joarder argues Muslims are already taking the lead in
the fight against extremism.
“We’ve seen it through Finsbury Park Mosque – it was the Muslims who
took out Abu Hamza.” He says the authorities need the support of the
Muslim community in order to counter terrorist activity effectively.
“The police haven’t managed to foster positive relationships with
the Muslim community, otherwise they could use these channels to get
the information they need. “This kind of infiltration is not the way
forward.”
(HSH)
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