Robert Spencer, Director of the Muslim hate site, Jihad Watch, said the following in regards to the recent arrest of a Latino convert to Islam who is charged with terrorism:
Every other story I have seen about this arrest identifies the man who was arrested only as Jose Pimentel, an "Al-Qaeda sympathizer," as if he were a non-Muslim who somehow had gotten the idea that Al-Qaeda was great, and thought he might detonate a bomb. But actually he was Muhammad Yusuf, yet another convert to Islam who somehow misunderstood his new, peaceful religion. Yet one thing is certain in the wake of this arrest: no one will be calling for an investigation into what mosques are teaching to converts. Anderson Cooper will not be on it. Bill Maher will pass. Chris Matthews will take no notice. And no other media outlet mentions his Muslim name because they don't think it is important. He is a terrorist, but his Islamic faith is unconnected to that. Coincidental. That it likely forms his motivations and goals in this plot is not a possibility they are willing to consider.
1. Notice how Spencer automatically assumes that this guy learned to do what he did at a mosque. There's no evidence that I have read that says that this guy learned extremism at a mosque. In fact, the reports so far tend to suggest he learned his anti-American extremism online - not at a mosque.
2. "He is a terrorist..." Guilty! He's been charged for a crime, not convicted. But for someone like Spencer, due process of law is just a nuisance. I swear, this guy swears to love America, but it's fools like him who would trash the Constitution in a second to push his anti-Muslim agenda forward.
3. Spencer continuously comments upon Muslim converts who end up becoming part of terror plots. He assumes that it is Islam that is causing them to become radicalized. Certainly, it's a possibility.
However, there are somewhere between 3-7 million Muslims in the United States and only a couple of dozen Muslims have been tried/charged for terrorism crimes. Many Muslims have been charged with terrorism related crimes only to have those charges dismissed and be convicted of lesser charges like illegal immigration or some other non-lethal offense.
Yet for Spencer, he never notices the glaring elephant in the room in most if not all of these convert-becomes-terrorist cases: the alleged terrorist is almost always committing the crime because of U.S. policies overseas.
This is not an excuse, just an explanation for the motivation of the alleged perp. I, too, dislike our country's foreign policy towards many Muslim nations, but I'm not going to kill anyone over it. I, too, like these alleged terrorists, believe in Islam. Yet my Islam doesn't lead me to want to kill anyone over it. But it doesn't occur to Spencer that the "vast majority" of Muslims in the U.S. never engage in terrorism, but only a tiny percentage do.
If Islam were the problem then wouldn't we see many more Muslims engaging in terrorism?
Spencer's reply would be something like, "well, many Muslims are not practicing their faith with devotion like these terrorists do." The terrorist Muslims are the better followers of Islam in Spencer's view.
Spencer doesn't seem to know the many Muslim Americans who are devout to their religion. Who pray, give charity, fast, never tell a lie, never curse or swear or use foul language, who read the Qur'an everyday, who attend their mosques for morning and evening prayers, and who never would consider killing others to retaliate for the oppression of their religious brethren overseas.
But the converts who end up becoming terrorists, who have only an iota of knowledge of their new faith, are somehow the standard bearers of Islam for Spencer and his Islamophobic friends.
Nor does he know of the many converts who are upright and outstanding citizens of this country. Meh, it doesn't fit the Islamophobic talking points so just ignore it.
2. "He is a terrorist..." Guilty! He's been charged for a crime, not convicted. But for someone like Spencer, due process of law is just a nuisance. I swear, this guy swears to love America, but it's fools like him who would trash the Constitution in a second to push his anti-Muslim agenda forward.
3. Spencer continuously comments upon Muslim converts who end up becoming part of terror plots. He assumes that it is Islam that is causing them to become radicalized. Certainly, it's a possibility.
However, there are somewhere between 3-7 million Muslims in the United States and only a couple of dozen Muslims have been tried/charged for terrorism crimes. Many Muslims have been charged with terrorism related crimes only to have those charges dismissed and be convicted of lesser charges like illegal immigration or some other non-lethal offense.
Yet for Spencer, he never notices the glaring elephant in the room in most if not all of these convert-becomes-terrorist cases: the alleged terrorist is almost always committing the crime because of U.S. policies overseas.
This is not an excuse, just an explanation for the motivation of the alleged perp. I, too, dislike our country's foreign policy towards many Muslim nations, but I'm not going to kill anyone over it. I, too, like these alleged terrorists, believe in Islam. Yet my Islam doesn't lead me to want to kill anyone over it. But it doesn't occur to Spencer that the "vast majority" of Muslims in the U.S. never engage in terrorism, but only a tiny percentage do.
If Islam were the problem then wouldn't we see many more Muslims engaging in terrorism?
Spencer's reply would be something like, "well, many Muslims are not practicing their faith with devotion like these terrorists do." The terrorist Muslims are the better followers of Islam in Spencer's view.
Spencer doesn't seem to know the many Muslim Americans who are devout to their religion. Who pray, give charity, fast, never tell a lie, never curse or swear or use foul language, who read the Qur'an everyday, who attend their mosques for morning and evening prayers, and who never would consider killing others to retaliate for the oppression of their religious brethren overseas.
But the converts who end up becoming terrorists, who have only an iota of knowledge of their new faith, are somehow the standard bearers of Islam for Spencer and his Islamophobic friends.
Nor does he know of the many converts who are upright and outstanding citizens of this country. Meh, it doesn't fit the Islamophobic talking points so just ignore it.
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