OOTDnews

Posted on April 28, 2011 by creeping

Hat tip Hyscience via NRO, With Dodging and More Dodging, Holder Admits DOJ Dumped CAIR Case:

U.S. attorney general Eric Holder has finally confirmed that Justice Department headquarters intervened to quash the prosecution of a top official of CAIR — the Council on American-Islamic Relations. The attorney general did not identify the CAIR official by name, although, at Pajamas Media, Patrick Poole reports that he is Omar Ahmad — who was in attendance at a 1993 meeting of what the FBI described as Hamas leaders, and who later founded CAIR, an Islamist organization designated by prosecutors as an unindicted coconspirator in a Hamas financing scheme.

(In the just released report by Steve Emerson’s Investigative Project on Terrorism, “The Case Against Omar Ahmad,” IPT notes that Ahmad actually “planned, convened and moderated an October 1993 meeting of the Palestine Committee [a Muslim Brotherhood front] in Philadelphia where members discussed ways to ‘derail’ a U.S.-led peace agreement between the Israelis and Palestinians. The group knew that their Hamas support was problematic. They agreed to reference the group as sister ‘Samah’ [Hamas spelled backward] and warned each other that the U.S. had just proposed legislation that would designate Hamas as a terror organization.”)

The ACT! for America Show, Episode 10 - Special Guest Hal We

Mosque denied in residential NJ neighborhood, legal jihad ensues

Posted on April 28, 2011 by creeping

An update on this previous post, via Mosque in Zone Fight – WSJ.com.

An Islamic group sued Bridgewater, N.J., for religious discrimination after the town changed zoning rules to block a mosque from opening in a residential neighborhood.

The Al Falah Center wanted to convert a former banquet hall located on a quiet side street into a mosque, day-care facility and community center for a diverse group of Muslim Americans who have been trying to find a home for the center more than a decade, according to the lawsuit filed on Tuesday in federal court in New Jersey.

But when the plans were making their way through the municipal channels, hundreds turned up to oppose the mosque. Though residents said their concerns were about traffic and other mundane quality-of-life issues, some people questioned where the group’s funding was coming from, and whether it had ties to terrorist organizations.

On March 14, the town agreed to limit houses of worship to certain main roads and other selected roads, including all areas where current churches and temples—including for Catholic, Protestant, Hindu, Sikh and Jewish congregations—were already located. Al Falah said the town deliberately jimmied with the process, pushing their planning-board application hearing until after the town changed the law, to block the mosque.

“This conduct is discriminatory and imposes a substantial burden on plaintiffs’ right to the free exercise of their religion in violation of federal and state constitutional and statutory requirements,” the lawsuit said.

An attorney for the town, Bill Savo, said he hadn’t yet seen the complaint. “The town always has a history of acting in good faith,” he said. “We believe we acted appropriately.”

The flare-up over the Bridgewater mosque came in the wake of other efforts around the country to block or close mosques, including the so-called Ground Zero mosque in New York.

But the underlying tone of the debate was different in Bridgewater. Residents said they were supportive of mosques in the town—just not on Mountain Top Road, a small, winding street, without sidewalks, where some of the many trees come practically up to the asphalt.

“We have every religion in Bridgewater you can think of, many religions represented,” Mr. Savo said. “It’s just a concern about traffic-safety issues.”

Attorneys from the Brennan Center at New York University and the Asian-American Legal Defense and Education Fund are among those representing Al Falah. Representatives from the Brennan Center said members of Al Falah declined to be interviewed about the issue.

The ACT! for America Show, Episode 9 - Special Guests Andy S

Palestinians throw another wrench in peace process

Thursday, April 28, 2011 | Ryan Jones

A year ago, the Palestinian Authority defeated American efforts to kick-start the peace process by refusing to sit at the negotiating table with Israel.

Since the start of this year, the Palestinians have been laying the groundwork for a unilateral declaration of independence backed by the UN General Assembly.

Now, the regime of so-called Palestinian "moderate" Mahmoud Abbas is determined to put the final nail in the coffin of the peace process by reconciling with blood-soaked terrorist organization Hamas.

On Wednesday, Hamas and Abbas' own Fatah faction signed a preliminary reconciliation agreement brokered by the interim government in Egypt. The document is meant to be a first step toward a Hamas-Fatah unity government.

If the two groups come together, the US Congress is threatening to cut off American financial aid to the Palestinians. US law forbids granting financial aid to recognized terrorist organizations.

Israeli Prime Minister says the move will effectively kill any chances of a bilateral peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.

Hamas agrees.

"Our plan does not involve negotiations with Israel or recognizing it," Hamas delegation leader Mahmoud Zahar told The Jerusalem Post. "It will be impossible for an interim government to take part in the peace process with Israel."

read more: http://www.israeltoday.co.il/tabid/178/nid/22765/Default.aspx