American Islamic Forum for Democracy president M. Zhudi Jasser has responded to attacks from bloggers who are opposing his potential involvement in Rep. Peter King’s hearings on Islamic radicalization. But these critics of Jasser — a moderate Muslim leader — aren’t Islamists but, instead, activists who say they oppose Islamism:
Witnesses have yet to be called and King’s mere mention of me as a possible witness to Politico incited a vicious attack, published right here at American Thinker on January 20 by blogger Pamela Geller. That attack was later amplified and perpetuated by among others Robert Spencer at Frontpage Magazine.
While I appreciate the fact that honest disagreements are par for the course in this intensely difficult and controversial issue, Geller’s attacks go far beyond ideology, employing a mixture of fabrications and libelous character assassination.
In a column for the American Thinker, Geller wrote that “Jasser’s Islam does not exist. He does not have a theological leg to stand on. His mosque threw him out. Whatever he is practicing, it’s not Islam, and he speaks for no one but himself.”
She also said that Jasser tried to prevent Geert Wilders from attending a meeting on Capitol Hill, referred to Israel as “occupied territory,” and denied the existence of Islamic anti-Semitism — allegations that Jasser denies.
The argument that Jasser’s Islam “does not exist” is similar to the one used by terrorists like Osama bin Laden and Anwar al-Awlaki — that there is no alternative to violent political Islam. This argument is also used to radicalize Muslim youth and encourage acts of terrorism.
Even more problematic is what happens when this idea is taken to its logical end. As Jasser writes, this “genre is headed in only one direction — declaring an ideological war against one-fourth of the world’s population and expecting to neutralize the Islamist threat by asking Muslims to renounce their faith.”
Muslims like Jasser and the Abadiyya community are crucial allies in the fight against radical Islam. Their voices will be a powerful addition to the King hearings, and it’s important that those truly concerned with radicalization support them.
