"Field Guide to American Politics" interviewing "Muslims Against Sharia"

The occasion of Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week seems like a good opportunity to redeem my promise to write a post on the podcast interview (episode 53) that Andrew Riley and Duane Lester of All American Blogger and "Field Guide to American Politics" on 10th October had with one of the people behind "Muslims Against Sharia", Khalim Massoud. Now, seemed a particularly auspicious time in the light of this exchange of pleasantries on Propeller: the type of inter-human discourse seems to typify the discussions surrounding the subject, of which the catch words seem to be denial, projection, paranoia and intolerance.

The producers of "Field Guide to American Politics" (hereafter FGAP) set themselves the task to find out if the assertions of the two main Doubting Thomases - "Free Thinker (since 1881)" and "Exposing Muslims Against Sharia (Muhairi8)" that "Muslims Against Sharia" (hereafter MASH) are nothing but a Joowish Neocon conspiracy, intent on bending the radical tendencies within Islam into a more modern, humanistic approach from the inside out - are justified.

To put this accusation in the proper perspective, the reader needs to be aware that for some obscure reason best known to themselves, the Left has claimed "idealism" as their own. Enter the reviled Neocons, who are said to have stolen it away from them. Owing to this inexcusable feat Neocons are whispered to have horns! After this, no further justification or motivation is required: the "Joowish Neocon conspiracy" accusation carries plenty of weight all by itself.

Asked what the overall reception of "Muslims Against Sharia" has been since its arrival on the blego scene around 9/11, a metallic ghostly voice (the result of a transforming device) - which we take to belong to Khalim Massoud - confirms the mixed reactions. An alternative attitude - especially from the Muslim side - has been accusations of apostasy and deviation.

MASH obviously don't propose to waste any time in trying to convert religious fanatics. Massoud: "We don't care what they think. People who support our goals don't question our faith. We try to give voice to people who are sick and tired of human beings murdered in the name of Islam".

Confronted with the question what MASH mean with their statement that "Islamophobia is alive and well", Massoud explains that apart of self-hatred, they point to Muslims and their advocates' confirmation of Western stereotyping. What he means is, it's rather like the implied racism in views that Muslims would be unfit, or not ready, for democratic government.

Asked why Islam needs to be reformed, Massoud posits that Islam in its present form is inconsistent with modern society. If the barbaric practices can be removed, and Islam can stop being a justification for terrorism, the clash of civilizations might be averted, and Islam can become part of the free and democratic world.

The answer to the question what the difference is, between Muslims and Islamists, is necessarily protracted. Islam is no monolith. Fundamentalists obviously do not represent all Muslims. The perception in America is, that all Muslims are terrorists and that moderate Muslims don't exist. Although FGAP dispute this statement, at a later point in the show, an interlocutor called Jim, makes precisely this point as he gets caught in a mesh of circular logic. He distrusts MASH as "all Muslims lie to Infidels as their faith prescribes; if they wouldn't lie, they wouldn't be Muslims."

Massoud asserts MASH aim at giving moderates a voice. A vocal Muslim advocacy group like CAIR is well organised and well funded from the Middle East; it is embraced by the American government despite its terrorist ties. But no one has heard of the "American Islamic Forum for Democracy", who represent moderate Muslims.

Asked specifically why Sharia Law is incompatible with Western civilization, Massoud gives the truly horrific example of a Saudi girls' school on fire, out of which no students were rescued since they were not properly attired at the time. All interlocutors agree that such an occurrence taking place in the West is unthinkable: even in the hypothetical case of the event occurring in a Christian fundamentalist equivalent of Saudi Arabia, rescuing lives would be the prime focal point rather than symbolic, religious considerations.

Islamists make no secret of their wish to replace the Constitution with Sharia Law. Massoud lists a number of public examples implemented in the name of diversity, multiculturalism, tolerance and free speech. He suggests that if you want America to become more like Saudi Arabia, you pack up and go there instead. Arguments for Sharia practises based on the freedom of speech are sheer folly: this just provides aid and comfort to the enemy, which - last time he checked - was a criminal offense.

The example of guide dogs not being accepted by Muslim taxi drivers as "unclean" is in violation of laws, protecting the disabled. Another example stems from Germany where a misguided, postmodern judge declared Sharia divorce laws applicable to a Muslim couple of which the wife claimed urgent handling on the basis of abuse by the husband. Equal before the law? Apartheid indeed!

When asked to provide an example of a typical country practicing Sharia, Massoud mentions Afghanistan under the Taliban. The FGAP presenter at this point subconsciously prompts a rather alarming oxymoron in claiming to have a hard time indeed imagining "a Taliban style democracy". Saudi Arabia would be another example of a Sharia country, but it is kept afloat on oil revenues. One wonders about the state of medical treatment for women.

Massoud's advice to moderate Muslims is to "speak up, get organised, start your own group or join an existing one. The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who do nothing against it. Act, before it is too late!"

FGAP point out that MASH are taking big risks by speaking out: if not for hiding their identities, surely their lives would be in grave danger. Jim just sees it as yet more proof of MASH' perfidity: were they for real, surely they would long have been killed by now! There's no arguing with the master of circular reasoning!

Enquiring how much time he's got, Massoud wraps up his heart felt plea for Islamic reform with a laundry list of complaints, that:

- the US government is embracing radicals, while ignoring moderates;
- the people who are supposed to protect Americans from terrorism, are actually in bed with terrorist fronts;
- the media are being skillfully manipulated by Islamists;
- the American educational system is teaching Islamist views;
- Islamist regimes are exercising control over American foreign policy;
- political correctness, rather than common sense is ruling domestic politics;
- Christians and Jews are afraid of their own shadows in dealing with Muslims;
- anyone speaking out against Islamo-Fascism is automatically labelled a racist.

Islamism has infiltrated almost every aspect of Western life, because it is well organised and well financed. Moderate Islam is the best antidote to radical Islam, but without making good use of it, the West prefer to ignore the problem.

Nazi Germany had ten years to arm itself to the teeth; Islamo-Nazism has an eight years' head start. The question is what the toll will be this time round?!

Amen to that, with our sincere blessings and endorsement!

Scheduled for 14th November, yours truly about the new clearinghouse cum political watering hole: Politeia.

Related:
- "Muslims Against Sharia issue Counter Bounty"
- "The Mystery Behind "Muslims Against Sharia"
- "Leftists For Sharia"
- "The Unholy Alliance: Conflating Three Great Isms"