Day: August 5, 2009

Omar Jamal: “A twist of faith” indeed

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Note:  Before I launch into the latest from Omar, I need to mention that I am again way behind on the Missing Somali youth story.  More has been happening and I’ll try to catch you up tomorrow.

O.K.  I honestly don’t know what to make of this guy Omar Jamal, the head of the one man organization called the Somali Justice Advocacy Center .   We have been reporting on Jamal for a long time now.    I called him the ‘Somali Jesse Jackson’ last summer because when any Somali got in trouble for rape, or being involved with gangs, Jamal was always there.  He even blamed Bush and ‘no child left behind’ for the “community’s” troubles and dashed over to Denver to assure the FBI and the news media that the Somali who died with enough cyanide in his hotel room to kill a hundred people was just  a nut from Canada, not a terrorist.   (Search RRW for Omar Jamal and you will see what I mean).   Oh gee, how could I have forgotten, he even hurried over to Manhattan for the Somali pirate’s arrival in court there with plans to help protect his rights, but the judge didn’t let him in the courtroom.

Most troublesome is that he was convicted of immigration fraud and should have been deported a long time ago.  So why is he here and why is he in the middle of everything?

Yesterday the Minneapolis Star Tribune published an opinion piece by Jamal where he speaks out (for the hundreths time!) for the families of the missing youths, painting those who joined the Jihad as victims of unscrupulous Imams and other radical  “deranged”  indoctrinators twisting the faith.

Here are some segments of his opinion piece, see if you can figure out what he is up to.

Last winter, as I sat and talked with panic-stricken mothers whose sons had gone missing, each told a painful story about a boy for whom their families had great hopes. Their stories reflect the pain in the Somali community, which has been torn apart by a sheer twist of faith.

I had to laugh, did he mean ‘twist of fate’ which is a common phrase, or was it intentional to say ‘twist of faith’ which defintely applies in this case, but is his English that good to come up with such a clever play on words?

He tells us everything was going along just hunky-dory with the Somalis in Minnesota, the largest population of Somalis in North America he says and spreading out across the state, until the radicals got their hooks into the youth:

But at the same time, unemployment and stalled integration also led to an isolation and hopelessness for many young Somali men in Minnesota. The American dream became discouragingly far-fetched, and a gang lifestyle now is on the rise. The feelings of isolation, hopelessness and desolation have made the Somali community susceptible to deranged imams who can sway the opinion of the less-educated masses in any given direction with a single edict.

The call to a theocratic form of governance by a small group of radicals occupied a commanding voice in a community weary of a long civil war and mayhem. In order to bring an end to this ongoing, well-planned indoctrination and recruitment effort, not only in North America but also in Europe, we have to defeat this radical voice in the community, a voice that is manipulative, conniving, and bent on agitation and political madness.

O.K. already, we got the message, now just tell us who the well-funded evil doers are!

Somalia is now on the verge of collapse in the hands of Al-Shabaab, a terrorist wing of Al-Qaida in Somalia. What is more concerning is that Somali youths all over the world are still subject to more misleading indoctrination by an associated group well-funded to drive an already impoverished Somali community into more misery and suffering.

We must find a way to voice our opposition to the invasion and control of Somalis by outside forces, be it Al-Qaida or any other entity, in a way that does not permit our young men to be manipulated into becoming pawns to be killed in Somalia or to face prosecution for “material support for terrorism,” even when they are victims themselves from imams with long-term political ambitions.

Read the whole piece and let me know if you have any insight on what he is doing, besides stirring the pot.  I’m guessing he is probably right on the Imams, I don’t mean to diminish that likelihood, but all of this doesn’t seem to fit his past role in the “community.”  So what is he really up to?

IRC gets another Iraqi refugee sob story planted

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

I actually haven’t had an Iraqi sob story in a couple of weeks.  Readers may recall that the IRC (International Rescue Committee) put out a report back June in which they said they needed more money for the Iraqis who are being resettled in a big way into the US right now.

This story from 3 On Your Side in Phoenix follows the classic story model we see over and over again.  It begins with this grab-your-attention line:

It was once a dream but now Iraqi refugees are finding life in America is filled with harsh pitfalls.

Then it’s followed by a sad story from an Iraqi family or two that is now struggling to survive in the US.   And, by the way, some have returned to the Middle East in disgust.

We do learn some new information, the Iraqi refugee numbers will be sliced in 2010 (that fiscal year begins Oct. 1, 2009).

The family is five of the 257 Iraqi refugees settled in Phoenix last year, according to a recent report by the International Rescue Committee (IRS) [Edit, that is funny! IRC!].  That is up dramatically from just eight in 2006, and 47 in 2007. But because of the nations’ sharp economic downturn, the IRC’s Iraqi resettlement numbers are declining with even fewer expected in 2010.

IRC spokesperson Katherine Ried says that with the U.S. job pool shrinking, it is becoming more difficult to resettle refugees because they are expected to find jobs within a month of arrival.

Then comes some boiler-plate-guilt-tripping talking points.

Upon arrival, each refugee is granted a $900 stipend by the government, an amount the IRC says does not even begin to meet basic needs, like food and rent.

Aysar asks, “How do you expect a person, he came from empty pockets to pay $800 next month?” Ried adds, “So we’re seeing that people are struggling a lot more to be able to pick up where we leave off.” 

[….]

Refugees can apply for some additional funding but the IRC maintains the U.S. resettlement program is still dangerously underfunded, adding that many immigrants are here for helping American troops.

“They put their own lives at risk, the lives of their families at risk and so we really need to be supporting them in coming to this country,” says Ried.

Now you should feel sufficiently guilty for the IRC to come in with their standard plea for money.   They never tell you that the money likely will pass through them and to their affiliates to distribute to the downtrodden!

The IRC is calling for Congress to allocate more money for refugees facing poverty and eviction.

Suggestion to IRC, why not try modeling your program after these folks in Wisconsin instead of relying on more taxpayer funding for your corporate structure.

Australian terror case update: outburst in court

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

I’ve got a couple of update reports from Australia (thanks to reader B.L)  on the story we posted two days ago, here.   The suspected Somali/Lebanese terrorists are now going before a magistrate.   Wissam Mahmoud Fattal shouted that he was not a terrorist and refused to stand in court.  Here is the first update from the Sydney Morning Herald.

One of the Melbourne men charged with preparing a terrorist act directed an angry outburst at the magistrate hearing his case this morning.

Wissam Mahmoud Fattal, 33, told the Melbourne Magistrates Court he was not a terrorist and accused Australian troops of killing innocent people overseas.

“You call me a terrorist but I’ve never killed anyone in my life,” Fattal told magistrate Peter Reardon. 

Fattal, who was already in custody on unrelated matters and is charged with conspiring to prepare a terrorist act, refused to stand before Mr Reardon, saying it was against his religious beliefs. But the magistrate did not accept the principle that it was a religious act.

For more details about the terror plot bust and its aftermath, here are a couple more articles.  See here and here.

Farooq Kathwari, “true internationalist” and chairman of the Board of Refugees International

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

This is a post simply to save more biographical information on an important mover and shaker in the refugee industry.   We have reported on Mr. Kathwari on several previous occasions including here and here.

This is from a fluffy-puffy piece entitled, “View from America: Wisdom of the ages,”  from something called The Dawn Media Group.

There are many prosperous American-Pakistanis who make individual and corporate donations to charities back in Pakistan. The one name that gets mentioned to me often is that of Farooq Kathwari. The Srinagar-born Kashmiri is the CEO of one of the largest US furniture chains called Ethan Allen. He’s been heading it for 22 years. According to Nafis Sadik, Kathwari gave a substantial donation to DIL (Developments in Literacy*) an NGO in Pakistan which is actively engaged in educating the poor and disadvantaged children in underdeveloped regions of Pakistan.

Kathwari’s son was a Jihadist, and I thought it was interesting to see that Kathwari’s involvement with the Muslim separatist movement in Kashmir has angered the Indian government and gotten him banned from Indian-controlled Kashmir.

Kathwari, 64, lost his eldest son, Irfan, in 1992. Irfan was a medical student at Harvard and had gone to Afghanistan to fight with the mujhaideen. Farida, his wife of 41 years, co-founded Funkar International, which promotes Kashmiri classical music. As a peace activist Kathwari demands of India that Kashmiris live in dignity and honour. ‘By showing Americans what was really going on in Kashmir, Kathwari angered Indians. At about the time the (Indian) government made it clear he was no longer welcome (in Indian-held Kashmir)’ wrote the USA Today some years back. The Kashmir Study Group that he founded in 1996 has since been bringing together former diplomats, academics and American politicians to set up a framework for discussion between Indian and Pakistani negotiators ‘sparring about control of the region.’The only time I met Farooq Kathwari was at a Pakistan Day reception hosted by the then Pakistan ambassador to the UN Munir Akram several years ago in New York.

Kathwari came across as an intensely serious person focused on the fate of Kashmir. He seemed disinterested in small talk. ‘He’s so intellectually curious and has more interests outside his work than any CEO I’ve ever known,’ said Tracy Mullin, CEO of the retail federation. ‘Farooq is a true internationalist.’

Note in this article they are all busy setting up more NGO’s throughout this region of the world.  No doubt you, the taxpayer, will be contributing to their ‘good will’ gestures.  And, then who knows where the money is really going!

* Developments in Literacy, hummm!, I thought that rang a bell.  Here is some information I found about them almost a year and a half ago!

According to the Muslim Observer article. Mr. Jafari is also involved with an organization that sends money to kids in Pakistan.  It’s called Developments in Literacy and is headquartered in Long Beach, CA.  A check of its 2006 Form 990 shows that they raised $1,548,683 to help schools in Pakistan.    $879,971 was spent for “conferences, conventions and meetings.”    There was a hotel bill for $154,000 and dinner entertainment for $46,000.  Maybe the IRS gives no category for reporting money to Pakistan so accountants must place it in the “conferences” category.  How much went to kids?  Who knows?   Another story?

Greeley Group plans anti-sharia protest Saturday

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Citizens of Greeley, CO, fed up with the stealth jihad they see going on with Muslim employees of the Swift & Co. meatpacking plant there (demanding religious accommodations during Ramadan) are planning to protest Saturday.  Long-time readers will recall that we followed the Somali protests and subsequent firings there last year.   For new readers  (and others who need a refresher), please see our entire category(69 posts) on the subject here.

Jerry Gordon writing at New English Review yesterday tells us what is being planned, here.   One of the most fascinating and ironic aspects of what is happening in Greeley is that Greeley is considered instrumental in the historical development of the radical Islamic ideology that spawned Osama bin Laden.

On Saturday, August 8th, a Greeley, Colorado pro-Israel Christian Zionist group, The Celebration Congregation will protest a Somali effort to impose Sharia in this Front Range community in the foothills of the Rockies. They are doing this to take a stand against creeping Islamization in their home community and America. They have done this before in protests against anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian groups at a Denver area Presbyterian Church and the University of Denver in 2005 and 2006.

Greeley, Colorado, as Lawrence Wright, Pulitzer Prize winning author of “The Looming Tower” has written, is the birthplace of Al Qaeda. That is where in 1948, an Egyptian foreign exchange student, Sayyid Qutb, was so offended by American culture, especially ‘obscene’ close slow dancing which he witnessed at a Church social, that he resolved to fight it by returning to the roots of Jihadist Political Islam and Sharia. His book “Milestones” chronicled his spiritual epiphany in Greeley. Subsequently he was jailed, tried and hung by the late Egyptian President and dictator, Gamal Abdel Nasser. His writing was the foundation of what became the Al Qaeda movement headed by Osama bin Laden, the perpetrator of 9/11.

So it is ironic that the legacy of Qutb has returned to Greeley in the form of Somali immigrant workers at the JBS Swift & Company meat packing plant there.

Gordon also discusses the ethnic conflicts going on at this plant between long-time Hispanic workers and the Somali refugee workers brought in by the US State Department.  To learn more, read on.

Also for new readers:

The US State Department has admitted over 80,000 Somali refugees to the US in the last 25 years and then last year had to suspend family reunification because widespread immigration fraud was revealed through DNA testing.