by albion » Tue Apr 04, 2006 8:37 pm
Hey all, thought I'd give a heads-up to an ongoing blog face-off involving some right-wingers and Sheikh Mubarik Ali Hasmi Shah Gilani and his organization Jamaat al-Fuqra, aka Muslims of America. "Pir" Gilani is a Pakistani cleric who has been rumored or alleged to have been associated with<br><br>-"Shoebomber" Richard Reid<br>-"Serial Sniper" John Muhammad<br>-Clement Rodney Hampton-El ('93 WTC bombing, Afghan Mujahideen)<br>-Osama bin Laden<br>-the murder of Daniel Pearl<br>-drugs and weapons trafficking<br><br>Gilani has also suggested (to Dan Rather, no less) that terrorism should be blamed on <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>jinni</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> (traditional muslim trickster entities). The best piece on that is certainly <!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.snant.com/fp/archives/i-dream-of-jinni/">this</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--> Fantastic Planet post.<br><br>Anyway, a couple of right-wing blogs have been doing some google-type research into Gilani & co.; they've also hooked up with a private investigator who's done some footwork. The main blog appears to be <!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://politicsofcp.blogspot.com/">The Politics of CP</a><!--EZCODE LINK END-->. Links to other sites there.<br><br>I've been following this off and on for a few months with some interest, but have been kind of reluctant to post about it because the bloggers in question are, frankly, right wing nut jobs. Anti-muslim bigots, complete with links to Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Daniel Pipes, Michael Ledeen, Oliver North, etc.<br><br>I know, Really Bad. Hence my trepidation.<br><br>But I reckon in the last couple days it's gotten particularly interesting. Gilani has responded to some of the the claims made against him. He denies any connection with Richard Reid or Daniel Pearl, and goes off about "Quranic miracle healing" with water "that contained special prayers and Divine Words." Claims he's just a peaceful Sufi. Etc.<br><br>There's also a link to a brand new blog written by an "ex-Fuqra member and Gilani follower" who says he spent 9 years with Gilani, and is not happy about it.<br><br>If these bloggers are anything other than the outraged patriots they present themselves as, I have yet to see it any evidence of it. I will say, some of them are pushing the "Clash of Civilizations" line <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>awfully</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> hard. They've gotten some coverage on FOX and WorldNut. And yet, Gilani and his crew are pretty suspicious also. The whole damn thing's suspicious. I won't attempt to adjudicate all the claims and counter-claims, just provide the link with caveats.<br><br>In short, take it with buckets of salt, but take it. <br><br><!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>Monday, April 03, 2006<br><br>A Response to Gilani's Claims<br><br>As noted in a recent post, Sheik Mubarik Ali Gilani, widely known as the founder of Islamist militant group Al Fuqra and its front organization Muslims of America (MOA), has issued a response to the investigative report that was released last month by the Northeast Intelligence Network and myself.<br><br>In his rambling 14-page diatribe, Gilani makes numerous ridiculous claims and merely reinforces the radical label that has been placed upon his name. If his attempt was to deflect attention away from the accusations against him, he failed miserably. By publicly releasing this report, he has surely placed himself under even more scrutiny. Notoriously secretive, silence was likely his best policy up to this point.<br><br>His claims of having “mystical powers” do not particularly appeal to most rational people. That tends to set off the majority of tinfoil hat detectors. To quote Jack Nicholson from a movie years ago, “Go sell crazy somewhere else. We’re all stocked up here.”<br><br><br>[...]<br><br>=======================================================<br>See the response from the Northeast Intelligence Network - HERE.<br><br>Check out The Canadian Sentinel's response - HERE.<br><br>Peakah has some thoughts as well - HERE.<br><br><br>And don't miss the new blog, "Shedding Some Light", written by an ex-Fuqra member and Gilani follower - HERE<br><br>posted by CP | Permalink <br><hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--><br><br>The full post, with links to more in the sidebar: <!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://politicsofcp.blogspot.com/2006/04/response-to-gilanis-claims.html">link</a><!--EZCODE LINK END-->.<br><br>on edit: Deleted most of quoted post. You can click over to it. <p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p216.ezboard.com/brigorousintuition.showUserPublicProfile?gid=albion@rigorousintuition>albion</A> at: 4/5/06 12:27 am<br></i>
