Saturday, April 30, 2011

The Dearborn Islamist Political Machine and Pastor Terry Jones

 
The non-violent actions of Terry Jones are being claimed as the cause for the threat of violence by Dearborn Michigan’s Islamist political machine. This is a clever lie. Terry Jones’ trial in Dearborn illustrates how the Dearborn Islamist community tried to blame Terry Jones for their illegal threats and potentially violent behavior. The Dearborn Chief of Police, Ron Haddad and Prosecutor Kym Worthy, did the bidding of the Islamist majority in that city, by enforcing Islamic Blasphemy laws, and negating Terry Jones’ and Wayne Sapp’s Constitutional First Amendment rights.   Jones is the victim of a direct assault on his First Amendment right to free speech by a municipality that is 46% Muslim. The Dearborn Islamist political machine should itself be on trial, for using the threat of violence to achieve a political end, by silencing Pastor Terry Jones and Rev. Wayne Sapp.
 
The Dearborn Islamist Machine
 
 
 
 
Prosecutor Kym Worthy.
 
 
Hassan Al-Qazwini.
 
 
Mayor O’Reilly.
 
During cross examination at the Pastor Terry Jones trial on April 23, 2011, Dearborn Police Chief Ron Haddad testified that Imam Al-Qazwini of the Islamic Center of America said, “that for some members of his Mosque, burning the Quran was considered a crime.” Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor Robert Moran, stated at the trial that Al-Qazwini said, “burning the Qur’an is worse than 1000 deaths. That’s what the citizens of this society believe.”  
 
Robert Spencer writes,
 
“Liaquat Ali Khan teaches commercial law, arbitration and international law at Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas. He argues that Muslims should petition Congress to outlaw the burning of the Qur'an because doing so incites violence -- in contrast to the burning of the American flag, which, he says, the Supreme Court declined to outlaw because "no disturbance of the peace actually occurred or threatened to occur." 
 
Pastor Terry Jones, according to court testimony, received 300-400 death threats related to his scheduled protest in front of the Islamic Center of America. Four of those death threats originated from the Detroit area and one of those four was traced by law enforcement officials to the South End of Dearborn Michigan. These death threats were ignored as an important element of this story, as reported by the mainstream press.
 
The only threats of violence were from the Islamist community. During cross examination by Rev. Wayne Sapp, Dearborn Police Chief Ron Haddad begrudgingly testified, that Pastor Terry Jones gave him no indication they were going to burn a Qur’an or do anything provocative or violent. Court records indicate Jones testified his intention was not to protest the Mosque but to protest Jihad and Shariah (Islamic Law).
 
Who is really guilty of inciting violence, the Muslim community with their threats, or Pastor Jones, by his actions?   Because it would be self defeating, I do not endorse the burning or desecration of the Qur’an. There are enough incriminating revelations from Allah himself in the Qur’an if anyone opens the book and reads the text.
 
Pastor Jones burned a book that was his own property. Jones, to my knowledge, has never threatened or harmed anyone. According to court testimony, Jones has a clean record and passed a government security check to obtain his concealed weapons permit. The First Amendment guarantees Jones freedom of speech and the right to peaceably assemble. How the Dearborn community responds is the sole responsibility of the community and government officials.
 
How individuals react to someone exercising their free speech falls squarely on the individual’s shoulders, regardless of race, religion, sex, creed, or national origin. Each person must take responsibility for their actions, according to the law in the USA. Al -Qazwini states Jones’ burning the Qur’an is considered a “crime” by some in his community. During court testimony Police Chief Haddad said he denied Jones’ permit for fear Muslim violence would occur. Chief Haddad came to that conclusion through discussions with Al-Qazwini and upon learning of the 300+ death threats against Terry Jones.
 
Liquat Ali Khan got it right when he implied that if you want to stop an offensive action, just threaten violence.
 
Dearborn Police Chief Haddad, Wayne County Prosecutor Moran, and Judge Somers’ responses to the Islamist communities’ threats of violence, violated Jones’ first Amendment Rights. Al-Qazwini said that what Terry Jones is doing is a crime in “our society.” Good Islamists are duty-bound to avenge a crime against Shariah Islam. Al-Qazwini accused Pastor Jones of committing a “crime” against Shariah Islamia. Judge Somers chose to acquiesce and in doing so failed to uphold American laws, which are the Supreme Law of the Land, not Shariah.  The judge also failed to acknowledge the Dearborn Muslim communities’ responsibility to observe American law.
 
The crime Al-Qazwini was referring to is blasphemy. The Dearborn Islamists claimed to be defending insults against Muhammad and Allah, by Terry Jones. They also believed he might continue to do so in the future.  The Imam or Sheikh is the supreme leader of the community in matters both civil and religious. Most all good Muslims will blindly follow their Imams’ directives to remain in good standing. The individual Muslim is under great pressure to conform or unthinkably lose their honor and standing in the eyes of their family and community. 
 
J.Mark Campbell filmed a juror who stated that the jury reached their guilty verdict by concluding that Jones’ protest, if allowed, could possibly be the spark that would ignite Dearborn’s Muslim community to violence or riot. The juror who said this was in violation of Judge Somers deliberation instructions.
 
Juror instructions by Judge Somers:
 
“Non violent expression of an unpopular or unwelcome political or religious belief, by itself, is not enough to find a Breach Of The Peace. Even if the expression of that belief causes someone else to react with anger or alarm.”
 
Judge Somers should have thrown out this case from the beginning. Judge Somers, Police Chief Haddad, Asst. Prosecutor Moran, Prosecutor Kym Worthy, should all be fired for violating their oaths of office to uphold the Constitution of the United States.
 
Terry Jones and Wayne Sapp knowingly or unknowingly exposed how far the city of Dearborn will go, to advocate on behalf of their Muslim majority. They did so by enforcing Shariah blasphemy laws because of fear, intimidation, and threats of violence. Terry Jones and Wayne Sapp challenged the Islamist machine in Dearborn, exposing how we must stand up against threats of violence to prevent a Shariah compliant outcome. Our Freedom of Speech is too precious and fragile to be disregarded and shredded by the Dearborn Islamist Political Machine.
 
The Thomas More Law Center is defending the First Amendment rights of Terry Jones and Wayne Sapp. The mainstream media and general public must demand that Islamists in Dearborn are held accountable for their threats of violence and riot. The strategic use of threatening violence by the Dearborn Islamist Political Machine to achieve a Shariah compliant political end, is the conversation we will have as this case moves forward.
 
 

Brotherhood to contest half of parliament’s seats

CAIRO — The once outlawed Muslim Brotherhood said Saturday its new political party will contest half of the seats in Egypt’s parliamentary elections in September, revealing plans to become a major force in the country’s post-revolution politics.

Egypt’s largest Islamic group and the best organized opposition movement during ousted President Hosni Mubarak’s three decades of autocratic rule sought to ease concerns that it is intent on bringing about an Islamist-dominated parliament.

( Khalil Hamra / Associated Press ) - Egyptian Secretary General of Muslim brotherhood Mahmoud Hussein, center, reads a statement in front of a banner that reads in Arabic “A press conference for the Muslim brotherhood about the decisions of the general Shura council” during a press conference in the Muslim brotherhood headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, April 30, 2011. The once outlawed Muslim Brotherhood says it will contest half of the seats in Egypt’s parliamentary elections in September, revealing plans to become a major force in the country’s post-revolution politics.
“This is not a religious party, not a theocratic party,” its newly named leader, Mahmoud Mosri, told reporters Saturday. He described the platform of his Freedom and Justice party as civil but with an Islamic background that adheres to the constitution.


read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/mubarak_to_face_death_penalty_if_convicted_of_ordering_shooting_of_protesters_says_minister/2011/04/30/AFqjHQKF_story.html?wprss=rss_homepage

Bill would ban courts from using 'foreign law'

- Staff Writer
 
RALEIGH -- A group of Republican legislators is backing a measure that would make it illegal for judges to consider "foreign law" when making rulings in North Carolina's courts.

Though the federal and state constitutions already guarantee the supremacy of U.S. law in domestic cases, primary sponsor Rep. George Cleveland said he is concerned that Shariah law could gain a foothold in American communities with sizable Muslim populations.

House Bill 640 makes no mention of the Islamic legal code. But Cleveland said Shariah would be defined as a "foreign law" under his bill, and therefore banned from North Carolina's courtrooms if the legislation he proposes is approved.


read more: http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/04/28/1159062/bill-would-ban-courts-from-using.html

Texas to consider Sharia Law ban

Shortly after the Texas Legislature convened in 2011, a bill was introduced to ban Sharia Law from consideration in the settlement of disputes. This ban will find its way to the ballot as a constitutional amendment in November, if passed by the Legislature.
Mike Williamson Sr.
Several other states in the union have passed, or are passing, similar laws to prevent the incursion of Sharia Law into our society. While the United States Constitution declares it to be the “supreme law of our land,” there have been no fewer than 11 court cases upholding Sharia Law agreements; even if the agreements were contrary to our Constitutional laws. To be fair, several of these lower court rulings were overturned on appeal, but the mere fact that any American judge would uphold Sharia Law agreements contrary to our own Constitution is cause for concern. read more: http://www.ennisdailynews.com/?p=10576

Florida pastor cuts Michigan protest short


DEARBORN, Michigan | Fri Apr 29, 2011
DEARBORN, Michigan (Reuters) - A controversial Florida pastor banned last week from protesting at a Detroit-area mosque on Friday cut short a demonstration at a city hall largely drowned out by counter-protesters.
Terry Jones, 59, had vowed to return this week, saying that his ban on demonstrating in front of the landmark Islamic Center of America in heavily muslim Dearborn had violated free speech protections of the Constitution.

"We are here today to speak out on issues that pertain to all American citizens," Jones said, using a wireless microphone at a podium set up at the top of the city hall steps.

Separate barricaded zones were created for Jones' protest on the steps of city hall and for counter-protesters across Michigan Avenue, a busy four-lane street. Jones' 75 supporters were outnumbered by about five-to-one.

Police were a visible presence on both sides of the street and on two rooftops across the street from city hall.
About an hour into his protest, Jones walked down the steps of city hall and approached Michigan Avenue, raising his arms as he continued his speech. About 150 people broke past a barrier and approached Jones and his group.

Some 30 police wearing helmets and protective gear stood shoulder-to-shoulder along the street in front of city hall and the event ended about 15 minutes later.

Dearborn Mayor John O'Reilly Jr. told reporters afterward that the event was stopped for security reasons.
"They asked him not to step toward the barricade and he did," O'Reilly said. "Our job is to serve and protect our community and that's what we did."

Three people were taken into custody and are expected to face misdemeanor charges, a Dearborn Police sergeant said.

Jones had scheduled three hours for the demonstration, but it ended after about 75 minutes and he was escorted by police to a waiting car. Dearborn Police had also picked Jones up at Detroit Metro Airport on Thursday.

Jones told reporters as he left he would return to Dearborn. He also said he had wanted the counter-protesters to join him in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

Counter-demonstrators chanted "Terry Jones go home" and as Jones began speaking the driver of a large truck stopped in traffic on Michigan Avenue sounded its foghorn, setting off a cacophony of car horns that drowned out Jones' speech.

A largely unknown pastor until he courted publicity last year with threats to burn the Koran at his tiny fundamentalist church in Gainesville, Florida, Jones had said his planned protest last week was aimed at "radical Islam."

In March, Jones and Wayne Sapp, 42, staged and videotaped a mock "trial" for the Koran and burned a copy of the holy book, a gesture that prompted riots in Afghanistan and widespread condemnation in the U.S. and around the world.

On April 22, Jones and Sapp were jailed briefly after they refused to pay a $1 bond as ordered by District Court Judge Mark Somers. Somers also barred them from the vicinity of the Islamic Center mosque for three years.

Police in Dearborn denied Jones a permit to protest in front of the Islamic Center. He was tried under an obscure Michigan law dating to 1846 requiring people judged to present a risk to public order to post a "peace bond."

Dearborn's city hall was one of a handful of "free speech zones" where city officials indicated they would allow Jones to hold events. It is more than four miles from the Islamic Center, the largest mosque in the United States.

He has appealed the court's ruling and is represented in litigation by attorneys from the Thomas More Law Center, which is "dedicated to the defense and promotion of the religious freedom of Christians, time-honored family values, and the sanctity of human life," according to its web site.

The conservative law center has also represented Christian missionaries who were arrested in Dearborn last year.

(Additional reporting by Teri Murphy; Writing by David Bailey. Editing by Peter Bohan)


http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/30/us-protest-mosque-idUSTRE73S7MN20110430

ACLU Battles Wal-Mart Again over Medical Marijuana

Fri, Apr 29, 2011 1:21 pm





In November 2009 Joseph Casias was fired by Wal-Mart for testing positive for marijuana, which he uses legally to manage pain resulting from sinus cancer and an inoperable brain tumor.
 
Even though Casias is a legal medical marijuana patient in Michigan, Wal-Mart refused to rehire their former Associate of the Year.
 
Last summer the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) filed a suit against the company on Mr. Casias’ behalf, stating at the time, “No patient should be forced to choose between adequate pain relief and gainful employment, and no employer should be allowed to intrude upon the private medical choices made by employees in consolation with their doctors.”
 
The lawsuit against Wal-Mart stoked a debate over how employers should handle legal medical marijuana patients. However, in February, 2011, Casias’ suit was dismissed by a U.S. District Judge who ruled that Michigan’s law only protects patients from arrest, but fails to regulate private companies’ drug policies.
 
But the ACLU is not giving up. On Wednesday, The American Civil Liberties Union asked a federal appeals court to re-instate Casias’ lawsuit against Wal-Mart, stating, “The lower court’s ruling failed to uphold the will of Michigan voters, who clearly wanted to protect medical marijuana and facilitate its use by very sick people like Joseph Casias.”
 
Executive Director of ACLU Michigan Kary L. Moss believes, “This appeal is an important development for patients who use marijuana as prescribed by a doctor in the 15 states and the District of Columbia where laws provide protections for them … Patients across the country who rely on this medication for pain relief are watching this case.”
 
 
 
http://hightimes.com/news/mike_hughes/7082

Hamas leadership to relocate from Syria to Qatar

  • Published 08:59 30.04.11

  • After years in exile in Damascus, the Hamas political leadership, headed by Khaled Meshaal, will leave the Syrian capital for the Arab emirate city just days after historic Fatah-Hamas reconciliation deal.

    By Haaretz  
      Hamas' Syria-based leader, Khaled Mashaal and other senior Hamas officials are planning to relocate from Syria to the Arab emirate city of Qatar, Army Radio reported on Saturday.

    Quoting London-based Arab daily Al-Hayat, Army Radio reported that Qatar had agreed to host the leaders after Egypt and Jordan denied the request, but refused to host the party's military leaders.



    Khaled Meshal AP June 2010 Hamas' exiled political chief Khaled Meshal
    Photo by: AP


    More than 15 members of Hamas's Political Bureau have been operating in exile in Damascus since 1999.
    According to the report, Hamas' military echelon will relocate to the Gaza strip. There was no mention of a reason for the relocation, which will come just days after Hamas and the leading West Bank party Fatah signed an historic reconciliation deal.

    On Wednesday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement hammered an historic reconciliation deal with the rival Hamas group, agreeing to form an interim government and fix a date for general election within the year.

    The deal, which took many officials by surprise, was thrashed out in Egypt and followed a series of secret meetings.

    Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar insisted that Hamas was united in its move toward a unity government, however, it is still unclear how widespread that agreement is.

    Abbas has been making a heavy push for reconciliation with Hamas, with which it held a unity government that collapsed during a five-day civil war in 2007 and ended with the Islamic militant group seizing power in the Gaza Strip. Fatah had already signed the reconciliation agreement in October 2009, but Hamas had until now refused to give up on demands it had set before the rival group.

    Restoring Palestinian unity is seen as crucial to reviving any prospect for a Palestinian state based on peaceful co-existence alongside Israel. Fatah, the mainstream Palestinian movement until a 2006 election victory by Hamas, backs negotiated peace but the Islamists reject it.


    http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/report-hamas-leadership-to-relocate-from-syria-to-qatar-1.358956

    News Bulletin - 04:35GMT update

    Jihadists Worldwide Emboldened by Backdoor Sharia Successes in Britain and France

    By Christine Williams on 04/20/2011

    Osama bin Laden has threatened terror attacks on France for banning of the face veil, while Islamic extremists in Britain are threatening to kill women who do not wear a head scarf.   From the stealth Jihad perpetrated by the Muslim Brotherhood to violent Jihad, Islamists have and continue to impose Sharia law on Western soil, becoming increasingly emboldened.  Note Bin Laden’s warning to France:
    If you unjustly thought that it is your right to prevent free Muslim women from wearing the face veil, is it not our right to expel your invading men and cut their necks?”

    France is to be applauded for its stance.  Westerners that will defend the rights of women to wear the veil and defend the right of Muslims to practice their faith in contradiction to Western values have provided the fertile soil for the seeds of creeping Sharia to grow.

    Three years ago, Islamic law was officially adopted in Britain to oversee Muslim civil cases in Sharia courts which have continued to multiply, while Canada (in the province of Ontario) narrowly escaped it. Here’s how it almost happened, but failed:  In 1991, Ontario changed its Arbitration Act to include faith-based arbitration to settle family disputes, such as divorce, inheritance and custody issues, outside the court system. CAIR-CAN was pleased and in 2004, released a statement that this was “a form of accommodating the needs of religious minorities within a multicultural society”.

    Shortly after, the Islamic Institute of Civil Justice pushed the envelope by stating that it wanted this faith-based arbitration based on “Sharia Law.”  The proposal was met with stiff resistance from women’s groups and the Muslim Canadian Congress, which put an end to this drive.  The congress argued:
    [S]haria is flawed because it does not view women as equal and therefore cannot provide equal justice to all parties in a dispute especially on issues of divorce, child custody and division of property.
    Five months ago, Oklahoma passed a ballot initiative—70-30%– to forbid state courts from relying on Sharia in what was dubbed a “pre-emptive strike” by supporters. Yet Farhana Khera, executive director of Muslim Advocates, commented, “The Oklahoma ballot initiative struck us as silly and absurd — a proposed solution chasing a problem that doesn’t exist.”  He added that the initiative “underscores the deep level of misunderstanding of Muslims and Islam in America.”

    The conjoined twins of violent jihad and stealth jihad


    Update: Gaddafi refuses to leave