Being Careful Is a Virtue
Keith Ellison, the only Muslim member of U.S. Congress, went to Mecca (for pilgrimage) in December of 2008. Going to Mecca, as so many Muslims have done for 1400 years or so, is one of the biggest dreams of every single Muslim in the world, albeit especially of those living in the West – traveling to Mecca is expensive and the pilgrimage takes weeks. Most cannot take the time off or spare the money to go (although it is one of the five pillars of Islam, one only has to go on Hajj if one can afford it).
Ellison, being no else than most Western Muslims, had trouble collecting money for the pilgrimage, so he was thrilled when an American Muslim organization told him they were willing to pay the trip for him. His pilgrimage would, the organization and Ellison both believed, send a powerful message to Muslims everywhere about the United States and its attitude towards Muslims: America is so free and tolerant that Muslims can reach great heights.
Sadly for Ellison, however, the organization that sent him, Muslim American Society of Minnesota which is one of the 55 branches of MAS nationwide, is not exactly uncontroversial. Experts and counterterrorism officials consider it an organization founded and dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood in America, and they believe that the organization functions as a PR and recruiting organ for fundamentalist Muslims, who rationalize terrorism and extremism.
Whether the Congressman did or did not know that MAS has such a bad reputation among experts is irrelevant; he should have known. He should have done research (or let one of his trusted staffers do it for him). When the inevitable conclusion would have been reached, Ellison should have told MAS that he had to decline the offer.
Politicians, Muslims and especially Muslim politicians should do everything in their power to isolate rather than legitimize extremists. If reports about the MAS are correct – I am no expert on Muslim organizations in the United States – he made a terrible mistake, for which he should be held accountable, so as to ensure he will not repeat this mistake again.
I’m confused by the “trouble collecting money for the pilgrimage” part. Is it required to “collect money”. His salary is $169,000 plus
No, it’s just incredibly expensive. Not a bit, but very much. Most cannot afford it.
$169,000 a year should be enough, though, unless one spends everything on it on a home.
Why is it so expensive? You mean just the travel itself, or are there other fees involved?
Christine; yeah, the traveling, but also the hotel, etc. It’s more than $20,000 if I am not mistaken. Some Dutch Muslims help each other pay for it. “You go,” and they give money.
Wow, that is expensive. How long do you stay there?
four weeks
Here’s the real crime. Democrats on the House Ethics committee approved the trip.
So here we are 7 years after being attacked by a Muslim terror group and our congress is approving a trip for a US Congressman that is being funded by a group with known terrorist sympathies.
Given the confusion surrounding this “transformational event” where Rep. Ellison ‘forgot he was an American’ the question is:
What did the House Dems know about Keith’s hajj and when did they know it?
Did they know who paid for it when the trip was approved?
Did they know the members of his so-called delegation?
Did they know who this delegation was going to be meeting with?
Did they wonder what their colleague thought when the Ayatollah Khamenei called for?
“…the defeat of warmongers in America in the political and economic arenas and Muslim minorities’ regaining their true identity and dignity in most of the Western countries. These are all clear indications of the triumph and advancements of Islam in its struggle against its enemies in this century that is the 15th century of Lunar Hegira.
Brothers and sisters! These victories are all the fruits of jihad and sincerity…The wounded enemy is now resorting to anything and will spare no effort to strike back. We need to be resourceful, wise and to take advantage of opportunities. This way all the efforts of the enemy will fail. In the last thirty years, the enemies, mostly the US and Zionism, have been utilizing all their capacities but have failed miserably. The same thing will happen in the future, too, inshallah.”
Did they know that Representative Ellison attended the Disavowal of Pagans ritual, where the following statement was issued?
“The pilgrims condemned the U.S. hegemonic and war-mongering policies as the manifestation of state terrorism, the axis of evil, and the root cause of waging wars, creating insecurity and economic crises throughout the globe.
They denounced occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan by the U.S. forces as well as massacre of defenseless people and torture of innocent prisoners.
Expressing their hatred towards International Zionism, the ralliers condemned the rule of the Zionist regime over the occupied Palestinian territories, Israeli stockpiling nuclear arsenals in the region, conspiracies and interference of that regime in other countries’ affairs and its practices of genocide against Palestinians.”
Well, did they?
We’ll never know because the MSM is strangely incurious and evidently, so are our representatives.
Actually, there is another Muslim congressman, Rep. Andre Carson of Indianapolis IN. Andre’s main qualification is that his grandmother, the late Rep. Julia Carson, held that seat for many years.
http://carson.house.gov/
You guys are here to either discuss news not only in ?different moderate perspectives? but also in a fair intelligent manner or the purpose of this blog is vain. Or maybe its true main goal is simply to add to the flow of undercover anti-muslim propaganda?! Still a vain goal in my opinion for many reasons on which i won?t elaborate here.
But in a time post-9/11 accusing a student organization of collusion with any terrorist organization, be it the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt or Al Qaeda or any other, is a sign of either utter naivety or total ignorance of the way our intelligence community works in the States. In either case, this ?piece of news? is neither one, nor is its analysis and perspective different from that which the now infamous Gayle Quinnell would have on the news and politics!
The only difference is that she might claim genuine innocent ignorance, but with your studies in Law and in the American Society Michael, you can?t.