John Brennan’s “Al Quds” NYU Address - Providing Aid and Comfort to the Islamists

On February 13 at New York University, the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, John Brennan, delivered a 34 minute address.

Brennan’s remarks were made at an event entitled, “A Dialogue on our National Security” which was sponsored by the Islamic Center at NYU and the school’s Islamic Law Student’s Association. [see, White House website, Brennan Speaks at NYU]

Brennan was introduced by Dr. Ingrid Mattson, president of the Islamic Society of North America [ISNA]¹, an Islamist organization named as an unindicted co-conspirator in America’s largest terror funding trial, U.S. vs. Holy Land Foundation [HLF]. The trial, which resulted in the conviction of all of the defendants on a total of 108 charges, proved that HLF funneled over $12 million to the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.²

Brennan, acknowledging Mattson, thanked her "...for your leadership as an academic whose research continues the rich tradition of Islamic scholarship, and as the president of the Islamic Society of North America, where you have been a voice for the tolerance and diversity which defines Islam.”

The Assistant to the President then launched into his prepared text, selected passages of which appear below:

[approximately 5:40 into the speech]

[approximately 7:30 into the speech]

Overall, the speech emphasized the worst elements of “State Department speak,” especially reflective of an overly accommodative Arabist mindset. The choice of words [referring to Israel’s capital city of Jerusalem by its Muslim name, as well as delivering part of the speech in Arabic] tone [extraordinarily deferential to Muslim sensibilities, which always seem to be set on a hair-trigger] and political effect [another slap in the face to the concept of Israel as a Jewish state] all telegraph the unmistakable message from team Obama that the term “America’s ally, Israel,” is fading into distant memory, driven by a delusional sense of reality which pervades 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Regarding the controversy surrounding the ultimate status of Jerusalem, upon which Brennan’s Al Quds/Jerusalem reference turns, Dr. Daniel Pipes writes:

”...This parallelism of Mecca and Jerusalem offers the basis of a solution, as Sheikh Palazzi wisely writes:

In a sure sign that this matter has become a sensitive subject for the administration, sometime during the morning of May 21, Brennan’s NYU video links were removed. The Q & A portion of the event remains available on the Obama website...however it can only be accessed if one already knows its location. [see, Brennan Q & A at NYU]

When looking for signs of what these types of presentations encourage, opposite of White House claims of interfaith understanding and Muslim accommodation, we only have to note the second question posed at the event:

In answering Shahin’s query, Brennan - referring to the actions taken in the wake of the largest terrorist attack in the history of the United States - stated, “they were excessive...this is going to be tough...because, let’s face it a lot of people will have very ignorant feelings and will have prejudices and discriminations that we have to erode...”

He continues, “I was very concerned after the attack in Ft. Hood as well as the December 25th attack that all of a sudden there were people who went back into this fearful position that lashed out without thinking about what was reasonable and what was appropriate...”

It’s important to highlight the questioner, self-identified as Omar Shahin³, Chairman of the North American Imams Federation [NAIF].

A November 22, 2006 New York Times article stated:

The case became known as that of the “Flying Imams.” It represented what might be seen as an effort by radical Islamic leaders to provoke what could then be claimed as an over response by airport security officials, for the sole purpose of instigating a lawsuit.

Though, the imams were merely questioned at the airport and then released, aided by Islamist groups including the Council on American Islamic Relation [CAIR]⁴, legal action was filed. The case was eventually settled out of court, with an undisclosed amount going to the imams.

This outcome can’t help but make American airport security officials even more cautious in dealing with threatening actions taken by passengers who fit a Middle Eastern profile. As a result, the effect could very well be to minimize the range of actions that can be taken in the face of even extreme provocation.

Another important aspect of this case is that the passengers on the flight were initially named as defendants. Though they were eventually removed, the precedent making point was made.

At the time, Debra Saunders observed, in the San Francisco Chronicle:

Instead of giving at least some deference to these efforts, many self-proclaimed Muslim leaders devote themselves instead to stoking the mythology of Muslim victimhood to pressure the United States into further Shari’a compliance.

If America’s leaders continue to tack in this direction, might we find the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism delivering future addresses on his knees, head bowed, jizya⁵ in hand?

That such hard feelings persist - put on prominent display during Brennan’s act of supplication - despite being surrounded by radicals, speaking Arabic for effect to an American university audience accompanied by the ludicrous representation made by a non-Muslim [which verged on a recruiting - da’wa -pitch] that essentially characterized Islam as the religion of peace, truth, justice and the American way - does not surprise anyone familiar with Islamism.

The demands of radical Muslims can never be met, not with money, deeds or words. They can neither be placated nor can they be bought off; their version of peace consists of submission, towards which this administration edges ever closer.

Notes:

1. For a further discussion of the relationship between the Islamic Society of North America and Egypt’s terrorist Muslim Brotherhood, one of whose projects was the creation of Hamas, please refer to the Chicago Tribune’s pivotal and revealing expose A Rare Look at the Secretive Muslim Brotherhood, page 4 of which is excerpted below:

2. Partial transcript from Federal Judge Hands Down Sentences in Holy Land Foundation Case

In a May 24, 2010 article published in the Arizona Republic Ariz. Muslim leaders face increased FBI scrutiny imam Shahin is quoted as placing compliance with Shari’a over any requirement to follow “western law,” or by inference the laws of the United States, should it clash with Shari’a.

4. CAIR was also one of the American Islamist organizations named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Prosecution.

5. The jizya is the head tax, historically assessed by Muslim victors on conquered populations, a concrete measure of their subjugation. It had to be offered in a submissive manner, with head bowed and was often accompanied by the requirement of wearing tokens as identifiers of religious affiliation.

See, by way of reference Qur’an, Surah 9:29: