SEPTEMBER 8, 2017 1:56 PM BY STEPHEN M. KIRBY

Imagine, if you will, an organization is to be headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, and will have its national convention there in 2018. The organization has a history of supporting anti-Semitism and anti-Jewish/anti-Israel remarks. The organization has supported convicted terrorists who hate Jews and want to destroy Israel. The new chairman of the organization was specifically involved in supporting one of those convicted terrorists, and an organization he founded some decades ago was later listed as a member-organization of a group founded in Libya with the intent to "smash Zionism." And with one exception, the major Iowa media has looked the other way or provided superficial coverage with a "nothing to see here" attitude. The entire Iowa State Legislature has been made aware of this organization, but at this point, only a very few have spoken up. There are some in the Des Moines Jewish community who are very concerned about this organization, but there has been general silence from the leadership.

The organization is the American Muslim Alliance (AMA), and its new chairman is Iowa State Representative Ako Abdul-Samad.

I first wrote about this a couple of months ago in Jihad Watch: "Support for Jihadists coming to the Heartland?" In August, I completed the first in-depth examination of the AMA: "Looking into the Heart of the American Muslim Alliance." During early August, the AMA website was taken down, along with the pictures showing support and affiliation with convicted terrorists and anti-Semites; fortunately, I had taken screenshots, links to which were included in my in-depth article.

The one exception to the major Iowa media's indifference or superficial coverage was Tamara Scott of "Truth for our Time." In July, she devoted the bulk of her hour-long radio program to having me talk about the AMA. She then made repeated attempts to have Representative Abdul-Samad join me on a future program to discuss the AMA; he declined. He also declined my invitation for both of us to address the AMA on "Truth for our Time." Abdul-Samad even stood-up one of my friends, who had set up a lunch meeting with him specifically to talk about the AMA.

In the middle of August, another friend sent information about the AMA and my articles to the entire Iowa State Legislature, including Representative Abdul-Samad, and some influential folks in the Des Moines area. I became involved after one of the Democrat state representatives, whom I had never met, replied to everyone with an email attacking my character and credibility as a writer. I appreciated the subsequent support I received from among the Republicans (one state senator and a number of state representatives). Unfortunately, there has been only silence from the legislative leadership and Abdul-Samad.

I have had e-mail and verbal discussions with a number of folks involved in the Des Moines Jewish community. Some of these folks are very concerned about the AMA and its history, and want the still-silent community leadership to take a stand about the AMA. Other folks prefer to wait until the AMA is established in Des Moines, and then try to work things out. My response to those folks was that, given the already-known history of the AMA, if there wasn't the will to address the AMA before it gets established, there will certainly be no will to address it once it is established.

Imagine, if you will, that an organization with the same history as the AMA was coming to be headquartered in Des Moines and hold its national conference there in 2018, but it had a name along the lines of the "American Neo-Nazi Alliance." Can you imagine there would be such indifference by most of the major Iowa media and the state legislature? Can you imagine the Des Moines Jewish community would be so divided and silent?

But the reality is that the name of the organization includes the word "Muslim," not "Neo-Nazi." Dhimmitude has arrived in Des Moines.

https://www.jihadwatch.org/2017/09/dhimmitude-comes-to-des-moines

This item is available on the Militant Islam Monitor website, at http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/7591