This item is available on the Militant Islam Monitor website, at http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/3129
August 27, 2007
KGIA Supporter Warns NY Of "A deeply alienated generation of Arabs and Muslims, a dangerous situation not easily remedied" If Madrassah Doesn't Open
By Beila Rabinowitz and William Mayer
August 27, 2007 - San Francisco, CA - PipeLineNews.org - Last week the NYPD issued a warning on the rising threat of domestic terrorism, releasing a report which followed the process of indoctrinating two young Queens men [charged in the Ft. Dix case] among others, showing how "unremarkable" citizens can be transformed into violent terrorists on domestic soil.
The report, "Radicalization in the West: The Homegrown Threat," charts the path of dozens of accused terrorists who turned to religious fanaticism after growing disillusioned with their lives in America, Canada and parts of Western Europe.
"We think it's very real," said Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly when asked last week of the threat posed by homegrown terrorists. "It's just as much of a threat as the one that comes from overseas."
The NYPD's Intelligence Division released the study to help law enforcement officials identify warnings of an attack in local Muslim populations and pre-empt any locally hatched plots in the future. [source, http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18741624&BRD=2731&PAG=461&dept_id=574901&rfi=6]
The prospect that this process of radicalization will become institutionalized in facilities like KGIA has caused concerned citizens to oppose its creation.
Thomas More Law Center President Richard Thompson in announcing plans to oppose the school, characterized it as, "nothing more than a thinly disguised incubator for Islamist radicalization."
Adem Carroll is Board Chairman of the Muslim Consultative Network, serving alongside Board member Dhabah Almontaser, the school's ousted principal. Carroll, an enthusiastic supporter of the KGIA, typifies the attitude of the school's Islamist boosters, which was in full display in a letter to the editor, published in the Brooklyn Paper. The brief five paragraph statement contains a thinly veiled threat, an apologia for the Intifada Palestinian terror campaign against Israeli civilians as well as a disturbing reference to "reassessing the merits of dialogue and civic engagement."
It is truly deplorable that the Department of Education has forced out Debbie Almontaser from the Gibran Academy, a project she helped to initiate. Sadly, Debbie was smeared in the media and hounded from her job because she defined the meaning of "intifada" accurately as "throwing off oppression," while also clearly indicating that she opposes violence. Apparently that is not good enough for the powers that be here in New York City.
Almontaser's statement was hardly incorrect - defining the Arabic meaning of "intifada" is what educators do. Moreover, Debbie was clear in her condemnation of violence. The city has completely failed in objectivity in this matter. Instead, schools Chancellor Joel Klein blamed the victim, who is clearly Almontaser.
The extreme right has consistently attacked the Gibran Academy. By giving in to such negative forces, the city has taught a terrible lesson to the students and families.
As a colleague active with Debbie in interfaith dialogue, I know I am not alone in currently reassessing the merits of dialogue and civic engagement. Debbie is very well known for her interfaith work on the grassroots level in Brooklyn.
If New York is remain an open, tolerant and vital city, we cannot allow leaders to be harassed and hounded. You will find yourself with a deeply alienated generation of Arabs and Muslims, a dangerous situation not easily remedied.
Adem Carroll, The Bronx, The writer is head of the Muslim Consultative Network" [source, http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/30/33/30_33letters.html]"To the editor,
The continuing outrage over the ouster of Almontaser has led to an increased level of intemperate rhetoric among KGIA supporters, which has stoked the growing opposition to the school.
With groups such as CAIR now taking obvious and public lead roles in pushing this badly conceived Arabic school, it has become apparent that the Islamist and confrontational world view of many of the key proponents of KGIA will make it a constant source of concern. http://www.pipelinenews.org/index.cfm?page=carroll82707%2Ehtm
This item is available on the Militant Islam Monitor website, at http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/3129