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| Indicted head of "Islamic charity" slams book about radical Islam |
| 2007-02-15 |
| Taqiyya by the numbers A former director of an Islamic charity in Oregon has challenged portions of a book by a former Muslim convert who claims the charity helped promote a radical version of Islam. In an e-mail his Oregon attorney released to The Associated Press, Soliman al-Buthi criticized "My Year Inside Radical Islam" by Daveed Gartenstein-Ross as "full of falsehoods" -- a claim the author denies. Gartenstein-Ross worked for the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation chapter in Ashland for about a year, and his experiences formed the basis for the book, which he said Wednesday in an interview from Washington, D.C., was aimed at showing how beliefs can be shaped or changed by religious extremists. "The reason I wrote the book was to try to demonstrate how someone can accept a radical interpretation of Islam," said Gartenstein-Ross, who is Jewish but converted to Islam before he became a practicing Christian. "My religious journey is the backbone of the book," he said. "Unlike others who have left the faith, this book displays no theological lambasting of the Muslim faith." The Ashland chapter of the charity was closed after al-Buthi and chapter founder Pete Seda were indicted on federal tax charges in 2005. Al-Buthi said in his e-mail he is in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, while Seda is believed to be in his native Iran. The indictment still stands, meaning they are subject to arrest if they return to the United States, according to the U.S. Attorney's office in Portland. Al-Buthi criticized Gartenstein-Ross for suggesting that the Al-Haramain chapter in Ashland was linked to terrorism. "The charity has not been found guilty of supporting, encouraging, or funding terrorism or any other terrorism-related charges," al-Buthi said in his e-mail. But Gartenstein-Ross said the book is based on public records, including the federal indictment against al-Buthi, Seda and the Ashland chapter, which indicated the chapter sent money to Muslim fighters in Chechnya. "I took a very conservative approach to putting information forward because I wanted to make sure my book was airtight when it came to any factual allegations," said Gartenstein-Ross, who grew up in Ashland. He noted the parent charity based in Saudi Arabia has been accused of links to terrorism, leading to pressure on the Saudi government to close it down in 2004. Al-Buthi also criticized Gartenstein-Ross for singling out an essay about "jihad" included in an English translation of the Quran distributed by the Ashland chapter of Al-Haramain, suggesting it promoted a radical interpretation of Islam. The charity objected to the essay and requested that it be excluded from additional copies of the Quran translation after Gartenstein-Ross failed to raise any objections while he was working at the chapter, al-Buthi said. But Gartenstein-Ross said Wednesday that "radical themes virtually pervaded their literature," including the Quran translation. "What it featured was bracketed material and material not part of the Arabic text that was meant to guide the reader's interpretation," Gartenstein-Ross said. "And it uniformly guided the reader in a radical direction. This was their preferred interpretation." Al-Buthi accused Gartenstein-Ross of helping to promote "Islamophobia" and failing to understand "the fundamental tenets of the religion he once claimed was his own." Gartenstein-Ross, however, said the book has been well-received by Muslim groups and reviewers, who also are concerned about extremism. "It's this radical world view that was of greatest concern," Gartenstein-Ross said of the charity, "especially because that's exactly what Al-Haramain claims they were against. Their mission was to spread peace, but I saw no evidence of that." |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #3 Why does the Bush Govt (apart from the obivious Oil) put up with Official Saudi sponsored hatred/Wahabbism????? If they acknowledged that Wahabbism was the problem, they'd have to do something about it. That would lead to difficulties fightin in Iraq, since most supplies have to traverse the entire Persian Gulf before they get to Iraq. The idea was to have stable bases in Iraq and Afghanistan, then take on Syria, followed by Iran, and then cleaning up Soddy Rabida and pakistan. At least, that SHOULD have been the plan. Unfortunately, Bush never called for increased troop strength to do that, didn't fight hard enough, long enough for victory, and failed to get his plan put foward to the people that controlled the purse strings - the US Congress. Plus, he needed to fight both Congress and the bureaucracy, who were against ANY military involvement, anywhere. He completely lost that battle. We'll pay for it in the near future, I'm afraid. We have a totally screwed-up government, and it's not going to get better on its own. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2007-02-15 16:23 |
| #2 1 If there's Soddy money involved, there's a link to terrorism. 'Nuff said Why does the Bush Govt (apart from the obivious Oil) put up with Official Saudi sponsored hatred/Wahabbism????? |
| Posted by: Ebbolump Glomotle9608 2007-02-15 10:27 |
| #1 If there's Soddy money involved, there's a link to terrorism. 'Nuff said. |
| Posted by: Spot 2007-02-15 09:52 |