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Militant Islam Monitor > Satire > MAS/ICNA "attempt late FL vote dump" Muslim ' Voting is Power' thug storms into closed election office -intimidates official

MAS/ICNA "attempt late FL vote dump" Muslim ' Voting is Power' thug storms into closed election office -intimidates official

Voting as Jihad: Muslims in America vote to "snatch away every bit of power from the infidel"
October 11, 2004

'tMuslim Vote 2004

MIM: Muslim voters can bring "The United States of Allah" one step closer with ballots instead of bullets in 2004. From the Toledo Muslims website :

"The election is right around the corner, and before you know it, people will be asking you about the issues that are important to you.

As Muslims, we are interested in finding out which issues are important to other Muslims. In the 2000 presidential election, we offerred our opinion, and Mulsims voted. We feel that America's 8 million Muslims made a difference, especially with Florida's estimated 100,000 Muslims.

Do we regret the 2000 election recommendation? No, at the time it was the best recommendation we could offer. So what about today?

Once again, it's that time of year again, where we begin by taking surveys, discussing issues and taking polls. Please join the discussion now and help us to determine who our next president will be".

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MIM: Note that on the same page as the picture above, the Toledo Muslims webpage also offers a T- shirt for sale with the slogan "No. I'm not a Terrorist". TM assures their readers that the $19.99 T- shirt is "Made in the USA."

This shirt appears to be a big' hit' with Muslims. Just the thing to wear to polling stations this November .

The timely message could also prove reassuring to election officials when confronted by Muslim 'Voting is Power' thugs who burst into closed registration offices armed with boxes of incomplete voter registration forms shouting abuse , while demanding applications be accepted after the deadline.

Get your t-shirts now!

http://www.toledomuslims.com/Criterion/Article.asp?ID=209

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MIM:The media in Florida reported an attempted Muslim vote dump after the voters registration office was officially closed . The Muslim who appeared to be representing MAS and VIP forced his way into the office as some people were exiting and demanded that the voter registrations be accepted after the deadline. Upon examination the registrations were deemed "incomplete" and "dated in July". When polling station head Teresa La Pore told the man he could send the registrations if they were postmarked by midnight of that day he became abusive and shouted: "You are all alike" and "It was better in New York".

Below : At a press 'con'ference for Voting is Power /MAS director Mahdi Bray was reported as having "announced a seven point program designed to to activate the campaign" and inadvertantly revealed that this included "the production of the number of Muslim American voters nationwide".

Muslims have gleefully predicted that their population in America will double by 2010, so one can asume that the "production" of Muslim voters " in the 2004 election will be artificially stimulated by agressive tactics such as the storming of the registration center in Florida by a MAS /ICNA ' Voting is Power' 'activist' cum thug who demanded that incomplete registrations be accepted after the deadline . http://www.masnet.org/news.asp?id=351

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MIM: The monthly publication of the Muslim American Society publication entitled "The American Muslim" . The revealing cover clearly illustrates MAS/ICNA's "political activism" goals for the United States . http://www.americanmuslim.org/issue1.html

A Muslim is pictured looming next to the dome of the US Capitol casting a covetous eye on the US Capitol building which appears to symbolize " Islamic Washington" .

The photo of the dome of the Al Aqsa mosque is shown in the right hand corner with the caption " Islamic Jerusalem".

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Islamism merges with capitalism - The 'United States of Allah' envisioned by the Muslim American Society and the Islamic Circle of North America offers this banner as advertising space on their website.

Note that the cresent of Islam is superimposed on the stars and stripes and the dome and minaret in the right hand corner.

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By Jamshed Bokhari

WASHINGTON, Aug 12 (MASNET) – The Muslim American Society's Freedom Foundation (MAS Freedom) announced the launch of a nationwide voter registration and civic participation program aimed at enlarging the American Muslim voter franchise on Tuesday here at the National Press Club.

The campaign, dubbed "Campaign V.I.P.: Voting Is Power," seeks to not only register American Muslims, but all American citizens who have yet to register to vote and mobilize them for the 2004 election cycle.

MAS Freedom Executive Director Mahdi Bray announced a seven-point program designed to activate the campaign, including canvassing mosques nationwide after Friday (jumaa) prayers, the ability to register online at MAS's website, the establishment of 35 voter empowerment centers nationwide, protecting the right to vote and the eventual production of the number of American Muslim voters nationwide. http://www.masnet.org/news.asp?id=351

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http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=40842

COUNTDOWN TO ELECTION DAY
Muslim group attempts
late Florida vote dump
Pushy activist brings box of 550 applications after close of county registration deadline


Posted: October 9, 2004
1:00 a.m. Eastern

A pushy Muslim activist demanded a county elections office worker accept a box of 550 applications to vote after the close of business on the last day to register in Palm Beach County, Florida.

According to a report in the Palm Beach Post, Theresa LePore attempted to close the office at 5 p.m. last Monday when a young man showed up 15 minutes after the deadline, insisting she accept a box of 550 applications on behalf of a group of Muslims determined to oust President Bush.

LePore said the applications were attached to slips of paper identifying them as having been collected by Voting Is Power, which goes by the acronym VIP and is an offshoot of the Washington-based Muslim American Society.

LePore had locked the door when the unidentified man showed up. She said she told him her office was closed, but that he could mail the forms as long as they were postmarked by midnight that night.

"He started hollering about disenfranchising people," said LePore, who took the box after he thrust it at her.

She examined some of the applications and noticed that some were incomplete and others dated in July. LePore told the man he should have turned them in on time so the potential voters could have cast ballots in the Aug. 31 primary or corrected missing information.

"Then he started saying, 'You're all alike,' or something to that effect, and 'It's better in New York,'" she said. "And I said, 'Why don't you go back to New York?' "

LePore, who said she also let a few individuals turn in single registration forms until 6 p.m., was surprised to learn that VIP's parent group is the Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation, an organization that has a federal 501(c)3 designation for religious non-profits. The group claims it is non-partisan, but its political action committee has formally endorsed John Kerry for president.

Florida is one of five battleground states Muslims have targeted for get-out-the-vote efforts, foundation Executive Director Mahdi Bray said Thursday. VIP recruiters in Florida registered about 7,000 new Muslim voters he hopes will go to the polls on Election Day and vote for Kerry, he said.

"This administration's policy of preemptive war has destabilized the region," Bray said Thursday. "Many of us who know the region know that this can of worms this administration has opened, this mistaken policy, will haunt the Muslim world for years to come."

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MIM: The organisation behind the attempted voter registration dump is the Muslim American Society/ Islamic Circle of North America. At a recent "activist seminar" participants were told that Muslims at a voter recruiter picnic were to reply that "suicide bombings were irrelevant " if the subject was broached by journalists .

The MAS ' activists' were advised to "convince the president of the local NAACP to speak to the mayor to obtain a Special Events permit".

MAS executive director Mahdi Bray, who was quoted in the article above stated that "Muslims have targetted" Florida for a "get out the vote effort".

Note that the MAS logo reveals their goal of a "United States of Allah".

A crescent which appears to be engulfing the whole world.

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MAS Activist Training Seminar a Success

The Muslim American Society (MAS) Activist Seminar held on Sunday, February 22nd was a success, Alhumdulillah. Fifty-five people attended the all-day conference held at Embassy Suites.

The conference featured three workshops on the fundamentals of government and politics, media relations, and outreach and coalition building. Two guest speakers came to host the conference. Br. Mahdi Bray and Br. Raeed Tayeh from the Washington, D.C. MAS office.

Highlighted at the conference was the planning of a MAS Youth Center. The MAS Youth Center will, inshAllah, provide services so that the Muslim youth of Tampa can maintain thier faith while having fun. A dinner on the MAS Youth Center in Tampa will be held on Sunday, March 7th, inshAllah.

MAS Tampa

The final seminar required the participants to be divided into three groups. Each group was assigned a different scenario. The final goal was to get publicity for the Muslim American Society (MSA) Civic Picnic where there would be a voting registration drive.

Group A: Hold a Press Conference informing the community what the picnic is about.
Key points: Make sure there are people who can answer the different questions and be prepared. Also, if a reporter decides to start asking questions that irrelevent to the picnic such as "What do you think of suicide bombings?", remain cool and remind the reporter that suicide bombings are irrelevent.

Group B: Have a meeting with the mayor and attempt to obtain a Special Event Use Permit so that a carnival could be brought in for the picnic.
Key points: Decide in advance if the women will shake hands with the male staff so at least there is consistency. If not, put your hand on your heart politely and tell him you do not shake for religious purposes. If possible, inform the staff in advance that the women do not shake. Be breif, no useless chit-chat, and remain on the topic. He/she has a tight schedule. Research the official's background so as to find his/her interests. If the official is a huge voting advocate, then emphasize the voting drive. Also, if there are other special interest groups (in this case, the NAACP) supporting the cause, be sure to mention it. Lastly, do not forget the staff (interns, managers, etc) because they are often the ones issuing the permits.

Group C: Convince the local president of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) to support you in the picnic and to speak with the mayor so that it would be easier to obtain the Special Event Use Permit. Most importantly, invite him or a representative.
Key points: Remember to be amiable, but brief. Keep in mind the mutual causes (eg, voting) and if he can not make it, make sure a representative comes to the picnic. Also, ask him to speak.

Alhumdulillah, all who attended the conference left more educated and inshAllah with more charisma to help make the Tampa Bay community better.

InshAllah more opportunities like the MAS Activist Seminar will be made available in the Tampa Bay area. Please consider getting involved within our community so that inshAllah you can help to make a difference.

MAS Activist Training Seminar MAS Activist Training Seminar MAS Activist Training Seminar MAS Activist Training Seminar

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MIM: The MAS poster announcing the "activist training seminar" will show Muslims "the most effective groups to work with" ... " without comprising Islamic priniciples. "

What: MAS Freedom Foundation Activist Training Seminar
When: Sunday, February 22, 2004 from 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM
Where: Embassy Suites Hotel on Fowler Ave.
Registration Fee: $20 (Including Lunch) - $10 for Students

This seminar is an intensive day-long event that starts at 9:30 AM with registration, and ends at 5:30 PM. Within that time, attendees will participate in three workshops:

MAS Tampa

1) The fundamentals of government and politics - Attendees will have an introduction to the U.S. Constitution, the levels of government, an overview of political parties and interest groups, and practical tools for meeting with politicians.

2) Media relations - Here they will learn how the media works, how to do interviews with journalists, how to conduct a successful press conference, and how to write letters to the editor.

3) Outreach and coalition building - This workshop will teach people the importance of working with other groups to achieve common goals, and will identify the most effective groups to work with, and how to work with them without compromising Islamic principles.

MAS Activist Training Seminar

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MIM: Another reason that Muslims give for agressive voter registration drives is that they have been "provoked" by 9/11.

Several articles on the website of the American Muslim Voice - an Islamist site disquised with a red white and blue logo printed several articles explaining that Muslims should vote because they are the real victims of 9/11.

By KAUKAB J. SMITH

BOSTON - Provoked by what they see as civil-rights violations after the terrorist attacks of 2001, U.S. Muslims are growing more politically active and sophisticated. The number of Muslim delegates to this year's Democratic National Convention has grown by 60 percent. Forty Muslim delegates, including a Maryland woman, are representing 20 states at the 2004 convention, up from 25 Muslims at the Democratic convention four years ago. http://www.amuslimvote.amuslimvoice.org/html/muslims_grow_more.html

MIM: In 2003 the American Muslim Voice held a rally in support of Muslim civil rights. One of the demonstraters held up a sign in support of Osama Awadallah. (see :http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/126)

Osama Awadallah was arrested as a material witness and is suspected of having aided the 9/11 hijackers who lived in San Diego.

According to the 9/11 report , Awadallah supported Bin Laden and distributed his fatwa's against Americans from his home. Awadallah's telephone number was found in one of the hijackers cars which had been parked at an airport on the day of the hijackings.

Awadallah, who worked at a Texaco gas station, was reported to have met a group of Muslims there and told them , " It is finally going to happen" ,as the others celebrated by giving each other high fives". http://911.gnu-designs.com/Chapter_7.html

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The Muslim American Society also promotes the canard that Muslims have been victimised since 9/11, and then ironically predicts that Muslims in America are "going to make a difference"... http://www.masnet.org/news.asp?id=351

"On the timing and need for the campaign, Bray alluded to the backlash American Muslims faced after September 11, 2001, saying, "the Muslim community must continue to remain active, we are not going to be marginalized…and we are going to make a difference in 2004 and years to come."

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MIM: Zero degrees of separation between paintball and Muslims:

The webmaster of Toledo Muslims.org and general secretary of the United Muslim Association of Toledo is none other then Mohammed Alo who is also the founder and editor of "The Paintball Times" ! http://www.toledomuslims.com/umat/execs.htm

Note that under the same poster at the top of the page, found on the Toledo Muslim website Mohammed Alo and the staff apologize for their previous election recommendation to Muslim voters which one infers was Bush. Beneath the same poster on the paintball website Alo and staff informs us that they recommended Clinton and "called two elections correctly".

Election 2004 Voter Guide

http://www.paintballtimes.com/Article.asp?ID=144

"The election is right around the corner, and before you know it, people will be asking you about the issues that are important to you.

As paintball players, we are interested in finding out which issues are important to paintball players. In the 2000 presidential election, we offerred our opinion, and paintballers voted. We feel that America's 25 million paintball players made a difference. Especially, Florida's estimated 600,000 players.

Back in 1996, we ran an special article on the election in our print magazine about the election. We correctly predicted that the Midwestern states (we were not a national magazine) would overwhelimingly support Bill Clinton over Bob Dole. So we have called two elections correctly. Will our staff get this one right?

Once again, it's that time of year again where we begin by taking surveys, discussing issues and taking polls. Please join the discussion now and help us to determine who our next president will be."

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Managing Editor: Mohammed S. Alo
Mohammed has been playing paintball since 1990 and is a writer for many local newsletters and newspapers...Without his management and leadership, the Splatter would not be where it is today. ..He is also the Information Technology supervisor.

http://www.paintballtimes.com/staff.asp

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Mohammed Alo's is the registrant, technical and administrative contact for the Toldeo Muslim website which could account for why the "No, I'm Not a Terrorist " T-shirt is for sale on virtually every page of Toledo Muslims.com.

Domain Name: TOLEDOMUSLIMS.COM
Administrative Contact :
Alo, Mohammed

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MIM: For those who may have trouble differentiating between bullets and ballots The Muslim American Society offers a "Paintball" event intended to "separate the guns from the toys" -"the real ones from the things that just make noise".

MIM Note : The Muslim American Society which agressively seeks publicity in the guise of 'Voting is Power' grew media shy when it comes to advertisments for their paintball events. Within a day after MIM placed the poster it appears that MAS has blocked access to their website .

MAS Paintball flyer

http://www.mastampa.org/youth/paintball/paintball.htm

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Dr. Daniel Pipes answers the question :

Islamist Paintball, Anyone? When Muhammed Aatique pleaded guilty on Sept. 23, 2003 to being part of northern Virginia jihad network, he acknowledged that the paintball games played by him and his fellow jihadists were "conducted as sort of a military training." Another member of the network, Nabil Gharbieh, told the court how Muslims regarded paintball as a form of jihad.

http://www.danielpipes.org/

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MIM: Information about MAS from their website:

The Muslim American Society/ICNA aims to "bring the call of Islam to the masses all over and reestablish Islam as a way of life ". http://www.mastampa.org/

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MiM: According to their own description, "The Muslim American Society traces it's historical roots to the all of the prophet Mohamed"... "and ... to the Islamic revivalist movement that started evolving at the turn of the twenties (sic) century ".

The Islamic revivalist movement's, main proponent was Sayyid Quytb The movement was the precursor of the Muslim Brotherhood ,part of which morphed into Al Qaeda in the 1980's. Abdullah Azzam, one of it's leaders, was Bin Laden's mentor. Yusuf Qaradawi who is presently the chief cleric of Qatar ,was also a prominent member of the MB. Qaradawi is on the board of trustees of MAS and heads their Islamic American University.

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Dr. Daniel Pipes explains the goals of 'The Brotherhood' in his article "The Islamist States of America"

"Over the last 40 years, small groups of devout Muslim men have gathered in homes in U.S. cities to pray, memorize the Koran and discuss events of the day. But they also addressed their ultimate goal, one so controversial that it is a key reason they have operated in secrecy: to create Muslim states overseas and, they hope, someday in America as well. …

Brotherhood members emphasize that they follow the laws of the nations in which they operate. They stress that they do not believe in overthrowing the U.S. government, but rather that they want as many people as possible to convert to Islam so that one day—perhaps generations from now—a majority of Americans will support a society governed by Islamic law.

This Brotherhood approach is in keeping with my observation that the greater Islamist threat to the West is not violence – flattening buildings, bombing railroad stations and nightclubs, seizing theaters and schools – but the peaceful, legal growth of power through education, the law, the media, and the political system."

http://www.danielpipes.org/article/2100

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MIM: MAS in their own words:

Subscribe to MAS email list
and Youth events

First Imam/Parents/youth Paintball trip (10/10/04)

MAS Youth Retreat May , 2004 Photos
MAS Olympics 2004 See tons of PIC[click here]

What is MAS?

Muslim American Society (MAS) is a charitable, religious, social, cultural, educational, and not-for-profit organization. It is a pioneering Islamic organization, an Islamic revival, and reform movement that uplifts the individual, the family, and the society
Who are we?

* We are not just an organization; we are a pioneer movement of comprehensive reform.
* We aspire to live and preach Islam as well as to serve and save mankind
* We understand Islam as a mission and a way of life.
* We believe that reform is necessary and mandatory, and requires collective and organized efforts.
* We emphasize action, tolerate differences, seek cooperation, and avoid argumentation.
* We believe that our worst enemies are: despair, fear, confusion, materialism, lack of purposefulness, and ignorance about Islam


When and where it all started?

Muslim American Society (MAS) traces its historical roots back to the call of the Prophet Muhammad ( Peace be upon him). Its more recent roots, however, could be traced to the Islamic revival movement that started evolving at the turn of the twenties century. This movement brought the call of Islam to Muslim masses all over the reestablish Islam as a total way of life. The call and the spirit of the movement reached the shores of North America with arrival of Muslim student's and immigrants in the late 50's and early 60's.

These early pioneers and Islamic Movement followers established in 1963. Muslim Student Association (MSA) of U.S and Canada as the rallying point in their endeavor to serve Islam and Muslims in the North America scene. Other services and outreach organization soon followed, such as North America Islamic Trust (NAIT), Islamic Medical Association (IMA), Muslim Arab Youth Association (MAYA) and Muslim Youth of North America (MYNA), to name a few. Twenty years later, Islamic Movement followers and sympathizers in North America launched the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) as an outgrowth of the Muslim Students Association (MSA) to serve the needs of the ever-growing number of indigenous Muslims and immigrants who had opted to reside permanently in North America.

Since its inception, ISNA and other organizations affiliated with it have been working diligently under the leadership of many future MAS founding members towards the advancement of the cause of Islam and Muslims in North America. Mindful of the dynamic changes that are taking place within the Muslim community and its surroundings and keeping an eye on the future, a number of Islamic workers and Islamic movement followers decided in 1992, after a painstaking slow and tedious process of soul searching and consultation. to launch the Muslim American Society (MAS) to complement the work that has been accomplished in the last three decades and to lay the ground for the Islamic work needed to face the challenges of the next century.


Objectives

* To present the message of Islam to Muslims and non-Muslims and promote understanding between them.
* To encourage the participation of Muslims in building a virtuous and moral society.
* To offer a viable Islamic alternative to many of our society's prevailing problems.
* To promote family values in accordance with Islamic teaching
* To promote the human values that Islam came to emphasize: brotherhood, equality, justice, mercy, compassion, and peace.
* To foster unity among Muslims and Muslim organizations and encourage cooperation and coordination

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MIM: In August 2004 the Muslim American Society and the 'Voting Is Power' group were blamed for a deluge of late and invalid registrations which required that election officials work overtime at the taxpayers cost .

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Voter Registration Swamps County Office

Broward election officials chided community groups for turning in voter application forms at the last minute. Several thousand new voters won't be eligible for the Aug. 31 primary.

Ericka Bolstad

Miami Herald

Get-out-the-vote groups dropped off so many voter registration applications that the Broward elections office will be hard-pressed to get identification cards to the new voters before the Aug. 31 primary.

All summer, organizers from a Muslim group called "Voting is Power" have been sending workers door to door through low-income and minority neighborhoods of South Florida. They've signed up 3,000 new voters, whose forms they proudly dropped at the Broward Supervisor of Elections office the day the books closed on the voter roll for the primary.

The huge stack of applications forced the elections office to pay workers overtime to process them, and some new voters may not get voter ID cards before the election.

"They'll probably get there, but it's going to be very close," said Broward Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes. "They've really put our backs against the wall."

Thousands of registrations are streaming in from grass-roots voter organizations hoping to mobilize high turnout among like-minded people on Nov. 2. The organizations often hold on to the registration forms long enough to enter them in their own database. That way, they can call or visit people before the elections and urge them to vote.

ACORN, the organization supporting the statewide campaign to raise the minimum wage, dropped off 2,400 voter registration forms three days after the Aug. 2 deadline.

Those new voters won't be able to vote in the primary, Snipes said, and it's unlikely they will get voting cards until just before the Nov. 2 election.

Snipes said she appreciated the hard work put into signing up new voters, but the volume of paper was overwhelming her staff at the last minute...

"I'm very concerned that they might not get their voter registration cards," said Bret Wask, the South Florida director of the Voting is Power campaign.

The group, which is affiliated with the Muslim American Society, has a door-to-door campaign designed to get out the vote among Muslims. They're focusing on states with large Muslim populations as well as battleground states such as Florida

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/states/florida/counties/broward_county/9386992.htm

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MIM: For Muslims, voting is another form of waging Jihad.

"... it incumbent on Muslims to "snatch away every bit of power they can" from the "infidel..."

The Islamic Urge to Vote by Amir Tahiri

http://www.nypost.com/postopinion/opedcolumnists/31582.htm

October 11, 2004 --

It is a rather surprising by product of the War on Terror: For the first time, a consensus seems to be emerging among Islamic authorities worldwide that Muslims in the West should participate in democratic politics.

Before taking credit for this, President Bush might note that these authorities tend to favor votes for his opponent. But Sen. John Kerry's pleasure in that must be tempered by the awareness that those authorities favor him only because they are quite sure he will permit the undoing of Bush's work in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The emerging consensus could become a turning point for Islamic theology. It drives a hole in the cardinal concept of "association and exoneration" (al-wala'a wa al-bara'a), which means that Muslims should steer clear of non-Muslims, and associate only with fellow believers.

The consensus also challenges the classical Islamic division of the world into two parts: the House of Faith (Dar al-Iman), meaning Muslim countries, and "The House of War" (Dar al-Harb Dar), meaning countries ruled by the "infidel." The emerging view, it seems, would allow for a third category of countries to be recognized as the "House of Truce" (Dar al-Sulh), of which the United States would be one.

By declaring participation in Western elections "licit" (yajuz), Islamic theology is abandoning two traditional positions:

* Muslims, although allowed to spend time in non-Muslim lands for trade and/or missionary activity, should not settle in countries ruled by non-Muslims. Muslims owe no loyalty to a non-Muslim authority which is, by definition, an expression of "un-belief" (kufr). A Muslim is not allowed to pay taxes to an "infidel" government or fight in its army.

* Islam, while encouraging consultation and consensus, rejects lawmaking by mortals, and is opposed to any election in principle.

Both positions have been undermined by events. Almost 300 million Muslims, a quarter of the world total, now live in countries under "infidel" rule, including an estimated 6 million to 9 million in the United States.

The first fatwa (religious edict) allowing Muslims to vote in non-Islamic countries was issued at Aligarh, India, in 1947. Since then, Muslims, 16 percent of India's population, have played am active part in all elections.

For American Muslims, taking part in elections was declared "licit" at the 1999 Islamic Summit in Detroit, Mich. A year later the European Islamic Council for Fatwa and Research issued a similar fatwa. As the debate has heated up in recent months, more and more fatwas have been issued. Some theologians have gone so far as to declare that taking part in elections is not only "licit" but an "obligation" (wajib) for Muslims in non-Islamic lands.

The theologians who say taking part in elections is "licit" include the Egyptian Ali Jad al-Haq, the Lebanese Muhammad-Hussein Falallah, the Iraqi Abdul-Karim Zaydan and the Saudi Muhammad-Saleh al-Munjed.

Their argument is that, though Muslims owe no loyalty to non-Islamic states, they must be free to decide when their participation in elections serves the interests of Islam. "What matters is whether or not any action is good for Islam," says al-Munjed. "No vote should be cast unless the voter is certain that it will benefit the faith and his Muslim brethren."

Theologians insisting that voting is an "obligation" include Yussuf al-Qaradawi (an Egyptian based in Qatar), the Lebanese Faisal al-Mawlawi and the Iranian Makarem Shirazi. Their argument is that Muslims living in non-Muslims lands should regard themselves as missionaries whose task is to convert the citizenry to Islam and, in time, establish an Islamic state. Thus if taking part in elections is a means of achieving those goals, it is incumbent on Muslims to do so.

"Wherever they are, Muslims should work towards the day when humanity is united in the only true faith, which is Islam," says Qaradawi. "If taking part in elections is one way of achieving that, it is an obligation."

Some theologians claim that the Koran, which contains all possible and imaginable knowledge of the past, the present and the future, has anticipated and answered the question.

Salah al-Din Sultan, who has devoted a book to the subject, quotes verses from two of the Koran's most famous Surahs, The Cow (al-Baqarah) and The Banquet (al-Ma'edah), to show that voting should be regarded as a form of "bearing witness" (shihadah) to what a believer regards as right. A similar view is expressed by the Iranian Ayatollah Muhammad Yazdi. He sees elections as a method of "commanding the Good and combating evil," an Islamic duty.

Both recall a fatwa by Al-Izz bin-Abdul-Salam that makes it incumbent on Muslims to "snatch away every bit of power they can" from the "infidel."

British Muslims have used that fatwa to inflict defeat on candidates from Tony Blair's Labor Party in a number of recent local and by-elections. The idea is that, facing the possibility of losing the next general election as a result of Muslim votes for the opposition, Blair would be forced to abandon his alliance with the United States in the War on Terror.

One problem remains, however. It concerns the attitude of Muslims towards laws that contravene Islamic jurisprudence (shariah). Most theologians, whether they regard voting as merely "licit" or an "obligation," agree on one thing: Muslim voters should not vote for legislation that contravenes the Shariah and, if such is passed, have a duty to disregard or, when necessary, actively oppose it. "The believers should do what is good for Islam," says Shirazi. "There could be no ambiguity [about that]."

The debate has generated much excitement among American Muslims, who are reportedly registering to vote in record numbers. According to the latest polls by John Zogby, almost 60 percent of them intend to vote for Kerry.

Arab newspapers are full of editorials urging American Muslims to "throw Bush out of the White House" as a prelude to "kicking the United States out of Iraq and Afghanistan."

"We may not be able to throw the American army out of Afghanistan and Iraq," says Hassan Nasr-Allah, leader of the Lebanese Hezbollah (Party of God). "But we can throw George W. Bush out of the White House."

Muslim support for Kerry is not inspired by any love for the senator but by the perception that he would withdraw from Iraq and Afghanistan , thus allowing the establishment of Islamic regimes in Baghdad and Kabul.

"Both Kerry and Bush represent corruption and tyranny," says theologian Farid al-Nasar. "Neither is acceptable to true believers. The difference is that Bush is aggressive, and Kerry is not."

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MIM: The Palm Beach Post reported on the MAS vote dump"Muslim -get- out -vote -unit pushes deadline " and related that the 'Voter is Power' thug who pushed his way into the Florida voter registration office:

"...did not identify himself and Bret Wask, whose name was on the VIP labels attached to the forms, did not return numerous telephone calls to The Palm Beach Post.

LePore, who said she also let a few individuals turn in single registration forms until 6 p.m., was surprised to learn that VIP's parent group is the Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation, an organization that has a federal 501(c)3 designation for religious nonprofits. Although the group claims it is nonpartisan, its political action committee has formally endorsed John Kerry for president.

Florida is one of five battleground states Muslims have targeted for get-out-the-vote efforts, foundation Executive Director Mahdi Bray said Thursday. VIP recruiters in Florida registered about 7,000 new Muslim voters he hopes will go to the polls on Election Day and vote for Kerry, he said.

Florida has about 120,000 Arab American voters, of whom about 15 percent are Muslim, according to pollster James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute in Washington. The other states VIP has targeted are Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan, which has 235,000 Arab American voters, the largest in the country.

----------------------

MIM: Note that Zogby polls have been documented as unreliable and that results are easily manipulated for political propaganda purposes.

"... pollster John Zogby is notorious in the polling community for being, well, a shyster. He keeps his methods an absolute secrecy, contrary to the stipulations of the major polling organizations..."

"... The Christian Science Monitor hosted a breakfast with John Zogby (the pollster) and James Zogby (president of the Arab American Institute). Low and behold, the Zogby poll is described as being run by BOTH of them, not just by the pollster, and the discussion of it on TV has involved both of them - John talking about the poll itself, then a quick tag to James who rails against U.S. foreign policy..."

http://www.hfienberg.com/kesher/2002/04/impressions-of-america-poll-zogbys.html

MIM: Although non Muslim, the Zogby brothers have close ties to Saudi Arabia and Wahabist groups which are being investigated for Al Qaeda funding . James Zogby is the director of the Arab American Institute, and his brother John Zogby heads the national polling organisation. The Zogby brothers Islamist affiliations make any poll a 'foregone conclusion' which is inadvertently revealed by the T shirt available on the Zogby website which reads " If I wanted your opinion I'd ask for it".

While Zogby cannot blatantly subvert results certain polling methods can be employed to slant results which could result in a shift of opinion caused by pollster manipulation.

It would no doubt be in the best interests of AAI ,which counts billionaire George Soros among their donors, to show polling results which make their wealthy Saudi and international benefactors believe their millions of dollars in investments in the AACI's anti Bush and pro Kerry propaganda efforts are paying dividends.

------------------

MIM: The Foundation for Defense of Democracies carried an item labelling Zogby " a publicity agent "...for Wahabi extremism".

http://www.defenddemocracy.org/in_the_media/in_the_media_show.htm?doc_id=180206&attrib_id=7377

In 2003... " James Zogby (who is even slicker than al-Jubeir) appeared as representative of his Arab American Institute (AAI), in a joint presentation with Saleh al-Wohaiby, secretary of the World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY, an official arm of the Saudi government).

They announced that AAI and WAMY will "take up the cases of some 13,000 Arabs and Muslims, some of whom have been targeted by the U.S. government for possible deportation."

What is WAMY? Simply, the Saudi equivalent of the Hitler Youth: a hate-mongering, ultraextremist group preaching, among other niceties, that Shia Muslims are not real Muslims, but products of a Jewish conspiracy. It is under continuing investigation for involvement in al Qaeda funding."

http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=8466

----------------------

MIM: Link to PBPost article excerpted above:

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/politics/content/local_news/epaper/2004/10/08/s1d_ELECT_1008.html

------------

MIM: For more on Muslim voter recruitment drives and the Islamist organisations participating see:

U.S. Muslims Form Task Force for Elections

http://www.americanmuslimvoter.net/images/special/U.S.%20Muslims%20Form%20T%20F%20%20Elections.htm

American Muslim Task Force Election Plan 2004

http://www.amaweb.org/amtelection.html

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The election poster at the top of the MIM page is from the Toledo Muslims.com website run by Mohammed Alo who is also the webmaster of The Paintball Times.com.

------------------------------

toledomuslims.com

Registrant:
Alo, Mohammed
(29828219I)
131 Janata Blvd
3B
Lombard, IL 60148
US
Phone: (630) 932-4797
Fax: 999 999 9999
Domain Name: TOLEDOMUSLIMS.COM
Administrative Contact :
Alo, Mohammed
(29828219I)
[email protected]
131 Janata Blvd
3B
Lombard, IL 60148
US
Phone: (630) 932-4797
Fax: 999 999 9999
Technical Contact :
MOHAMMED, ALO
(AMO73)
[email protected]
4940 HOMERDALE AVE
TOLEDO, OH 43623-2931
US
Phone: 419-472-6613
Record expires on 11-Nov-2007
Record created on 11-Nov-1999
Database last updated on 07-Jul-2004
Domain servers in listed order: Manage DNS
NS1.LIVEDNS.CO.UK
NS2.LIVEDNS.CO.UK
Show underlying registry data for this record

Current Registrar: NETWORK SOLUTIONS, LLC.
IP Address: 213.171.218.70 (ARIN & RIPE IP search)
IP Location: UK(UNITED KINGDOM)
Record Type: Domain Name
Server Type: Indeterminate
Lock Status: ACTIVE
DMOZ 2 listings
Y! Directory: see listings
Secure: No
E-commerce: No
Traffic Ranking: 4
Data as of: 26-May-2004

---------------------------------------------------
paintballtimes.com

Registrant:
Alo, Mohammed
(29828219I)
131 Janata Blvd
3B
Lombard, IL 60148
US
Phone: (630) 932-4797
Fax: 999 999 9999
Domain Name: PAINTBALLTIMES.COM
Administrative Contact :
Alo, Mohammed
(29828219I)
[email protected]
131 Janata Blvd
3B
Lombard, IL 60148
US
Phone: (630) 932-4797
Fax: 999 999 9999
Technical Contact :
Network Solutions, LLC. (HOST-ORG)
[email protected]
13200 Woodland Park Drive
Herndon, VA 20171-3025
US
Phone: 1-888-642-9675
Fax: 571-434-4620
Record expires on 02-Dec-2006
Record created on 02-Dec-1999
Database last updated on 07-Jul-2004
Domain servers in listed order: Manage DNS
NS1.PAINTBALLTIMES.COM 69.93.227.154
NS2.PAINTBALLTIMES.COM 69.93.227.155
Show underlying registry data for this record
---------------

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