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Extremist Mosque Fundraising For Outreach
Tom Olago, Prophecy News Watch — Islamic extremists have embarked on a strategy to reach and influence inmates serving their sentences in U.S prisons, using chaplains and literature. Ryan Mauro, in a publication of The Clarion Project, recently reported that the example of the Virginia-based Dar al-Hijrah Islamic Center, an extremist mosque attended by three of the 9/11 hijackers with extensive links to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, which is fundraising for its outreach to inmates.Dar Al-Hijrah announced on its website that it has been supporting the spiritual growth of Muslim inmates in the Washington, D.C jail, CTF [Correctional Treatment Facility] and youth offenders.
The request made on its site is specifically for donations to send 100 Qurans to the inmates. The approach seems targeted to inspire current Muslim inmates, quoting influential and radical political Islamist Ibn Taymiyya: “Let my imprisonment be a spiritual retreat”. The site also motivates the donors to give towards the spread of Islam in prisons, stating that “So many men and women accept Islam in America’s prison”.
The choice of Ibn Taymiyya as a spiritual and ideological mentor is what is most disturbing. The Clarion Project report quotes Atta Barkindo, a respected researcher on political Islam: “Some scholars suggest there is probably no other Islamic theologian, medieval or otherwise, who has had as much influence on radical political ideology of Islam as Ibn Taymiyya.”
This includes the leaders of Al-Qaeda such as the late Osama Bin Laden. The essence of Taymiyya’s preaching is said to insist that sharia must be the only form of governance and elevates jihad as the “sixth pillar” of Islam to be observed by millions of Muslims.
Concern has also been expressed about the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), a U.S. Muslim Brotherhood entity and unindicted co-conspirator in a Hamas-financing trial. The ISNA has a Chaplaincy Services Department that endorses chaplains for the Bureau of Prisons (and the U.S. military).
The ISNA has chosen not to distance itself from its prison chaplains who advocate or support terrorism, such as Warith Deen Umar, the administrative chaplain of the New York Department of Correctional Services who hired prison clerics.
In 2003, New York Senator Chuck Schumer expressed his concern about ISNA’s involvement in the prison system, and warned that the Islamist involvement in the prison system was part of an overall offensive. ISNA has senior officials within its ranks who are radical Islamists, such as Imam Siraj Wahhaj, an ISNA board member, and Bassam Osman, former director of the Koran Literary Institute in Illinois whose assets were frozen in 1998 because of evidence it was financing Hamas.
Further examples of the goings-on in the U.S prison system as a result of Islamist influence include:
• Islamic literature and videos by leaders of the Muslim brotherhood worldwide, such as Maulana Maududi, the founder of the Pakistani Islamist group, Jamaat-e-Islami, Sheikh Yousef al-Qaradawi, the terrorism-supporting spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood and Jamal Badawi, an ISNA board member and supporter of Hamas and “combative jihad.”
These, and many other similar findings, came out of research conducted by anti-Islamist Muslim Stephen Schwartz in 2008, when reviewing a list of all the Islamic literature and videos used by the Bureau of Prisons.
• A 2010 FBI report found that sermons of Anwar al-Awlaki, a former Dar al-Hijrah imam who led an Al-Qaeda affiliate in Yemen until he was killed by a U.S. drone strike, could be found in prison libraries across the country.
• The Nation of Islam, an extremely anti-American and anti-Semitic group, has a Prison Reform Ministry. In December, the ministry director visited seven institutions in Pennsylvania.
• Muslims of the Americas, a front for a Pakistani terrorist group named Jamaat ul-Fuqra, has a large number of ex-convicts as members. The group has 22 “Islamic villages” around the country and there is videotape of female members receiving paramilitary instruction at its headquarters in Hancock, New York.
• The Sankore Institute of Islamic African Studies International, a very radical Pennsylvania-based group that says jihad is obligatory and believes constitutional democracy is antithetical to Islam, says its curriculum is being taught to 400 Muslim inmates in two California facilities alone.
Ryan Mauro concludes: “The Islamists are paying attention to the prison system. So should we, before it is too late”. Certainly true, looking at it from the national security aspect. But is there anything else happening that would counter the spiritual influence of the Islamists? Could it be that many inmates are embracing Islamist ideology not because they are so inspired by it, but because they are yet to be offered a better way?Fortunately, many Christian organizations and churches are also rising to the challenge of meeting the spiritual needs of inmates. Prison Fellowship, is one such example of a ministry that attempts to holistically meet the needs of inmates and is representative of what many Christian prison ministries attempt to achieve. Their key stated mission objectives are: We believe that no life is beyond the reach of God’s power, and we envision a future in which countless prisoners, ex-prisoners, and their families, are redeemed, restored, and reconciled through the love and truth of Jesus Christ.
We equip local churches and thousands of trained volunteers to spread the Gospel and nurture disciples behind prison walls, so that men and women become new creations in Christ – not repeat offenders.
We prepare Christian inmates to become leaders of their families, communities, and churches once they are released back into the community.
We support inmates’ families, helping them become reconciled to God and one another through transformative relationships with local churches.
These initiatives typically include the donation of Bibles and other Christian literature as well as video and audio records, where permitted.
Anyone objectively comparing these goals, to the earlier stated objectives of Islamists indoctrinating inmates towards extremism, terrorism, racism and anti-Semitism once out of jail, can see that there is a clear need to maximize the opportunity to provide the message and doctrine that will benefit society as it receives ex-inmates. And while still in prison, converted Christians would then be best placed to reach other inmates with the truth and power of the incomparable gospel of Jesus Christ, while showing how love can conquer hatred.
Bible publishers such as the Bible League are also rising to the challenge by publishing Bibles designed for easy reading and understanding by prisoners. The Gideons also distribute Bibles in prisons and jails. One key challenge faced is that the battle for the souls of the prisoners is not just being fought between religious extremists and Bible believing groups. Atheists are also busy peddling their beliefs to prisoners unfortunate enough to receive them, while resisting Bible distribution in prisons in the process.
The Blaze.com in January reported that a secular group, the Centre of Inquiry, is implementing a coordinated plan to regularly send atheist literature to inmates in American prisons — a quest its members claim will counter the faith-based messages that are often touted by chaplains and faith leaders. A press release from the Centre of Inquiry states: ““The project offers donated books on atheism, humanism, science, and skepticism to prisoners who seek alternatives to the religious proselytizing and indoctrination that is often unavoidable within the prison system….It will also connect inmates with volunteer pen pals at CFI branches with whom they can connect and share ideas.”
With all the focused and planned deceptions out there, targeted to spiritually imprison inmates further, all the more reason there is to rush to fulfill the scriptural command “To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.” (Isaiah 42:7). » Full Article
About the Author
Tom is involved in Christian Ministry at various levels and is a regular contributor to Prophecy News Watch.
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