Editor’s Note: This is the first of two articles about the Prince William County Tea Party’s concern about the accuracy and fairness of Virginia school textbooks. The second article will run Friday.

While the Prince William County Tea Party raises concerns about a school textbook it says has a “Pro-Islamic bias,” a local Muslim leader says criticism of Islam comes mostly from people who don’t know enough about it.

The Tea Party’s accusations were included in an email sent to a distribution list on July 7 to promote a forum for female candidates for elected positions who line up with the Tea Party values. The email claims that a Virginia school textbook “favor(s) Islam in secular schools, revises history and obscures Sharia law including the treatment of non-muslims.”

The email cites one textbook on Ancient World History that has 22 pages for the Islam section, compared to eight pages on the origins of Judaism and six pages on early Christianity. The email also takes issue with several of the book’s statements about Islam and Sharia law, claiming the author revises history to present Islam in a better light.

Prince William County Tea Party Patriots Chairwoman Nancy Schiffman and her husband, Yale, who wrote the email, said the content of the email came from a group called Act for America and was intended to convince people to request a review of Virginia textbooks, not as an attack on the Muslim community.

“I never considered that this was an attack on the Islamic community,” Yale Schiffman said. “It was simply an examination of a specific textbook and a question of a lack of balance in the textbook. If people want to dispute what we said about that particular textbook, we’re certainly open to hearing what they’re presenting. But an attack on Islam, I don’t think so.”

Muslim Association of Virginia President Mohammed Mehboob said the email did not represent an attack on Muslims, but he dismissed the idea that textbooks are biased toward Islam. “I don’t know why the school board would favor Islam, and we would not want them to,” he said.

“Who are the people sitting on the school board? They’re Americans, and they have a good sense of responsibility,” Mehboob said. “They would not favor one group versus another.”

Mehboob declined to comment on the specifics of the questions regarding Sharia law, but said fears about Sharia are unfounded and misplaced. “We are all Americans and it is American law that we follow,” he said. “I follow Islamic tradition, but that’s for me. It’s not to be put on anyone else.” 

The Schiffmans said they are aware that other textbooks are used besides the one critiqued in the email, and they are trying to get volunteers to review Virginia textbooks and make recommendations to the Board of Education. Part of the purpose of the Women Candidates Program is to promote candidates who will present the Tea Party’s perspective of government officials and “deal with a variety of issues that undermine the Judeo-Christian principles that our country was founded on,” according to the email.

Nancy Schiffman said the Tea Party is concerned that school children will get an unbalanced perspective. “We want to see these topics taught in a responsible way so that our children are getting both sides of the issue,” she said.

“We want them to be open to all types of thought without having any one predominate over the other,” Schiffman added. “It’s not only Christianity, there are many, many religions in the world.” 

“We should be looking at Buddhism, Hinduism, they all have a value system that is worth looking at and studying,” Schiffman said. 

The Schiffmans said they do not believe the Board of Education is intentionally promoting Islam above other religions, but that it is a matter of what textbooks are available. “A lot of what the Board of Education does is to focus on the budget and how to make it balanced, and they may not be getting into the nitty gritty of reviewing the textbooks,” Nancy Schiffman said.

A Virginia Department of Education spokesman said that the rules for approving textbooks have recently changed to reflect a greater emphasis on accuracy. The state Department of Education responds to the Tea Party’s concerns in the second and final part of this series that will run Friday.

People who oppose Islam, Mehboob said, simply are not educated enough about it. “The only people who have problems are those who do not know what Islam is,” he said. “It’s basically the same religion as the Jews and Christians follow. One God, worthy of worship.”

Mehboob said that he does not think the Tea Party is against Muslims. He met recently with Tea Party outreach member Kevin McCarthy.  “We had such a wonderful time together,” Mehboob said.

Political rhetoric, Mehboob said, can lead people to overstate their case. “When people are trying to promote personalities, sometimes they go a little too far,” he said. “It’s called rhetoric. They’re trying to make their event successful.”

To read the full email from the Prince William County Tea Party Patriots, see the attached PDF file.

Islamic Banking Divides Nigerian Religious Leaders

Scott Stearns
| Lagos

Nigeria is introducing Islamic banking to bring more of the nation’s estimated 70 million Muslims into the economy. But many prominent Christian leaders say it will further inflame religious violence.

How it works

Islamic law prohibits paying or receiving interest or investing in businesses that provide goods or services that are contrary to Islamic principles.

That has led to the creation of interest-free, Islamic banking in more than 50 nations where customers share in profits and losses. In an Islamic mortgage, for example, the bank buys the house then resells it at a higher price, allowing the new homeowner to pay in installments.

Ziyad Muhammad of the Islamic Finance Institute of South Africa says Islamic banking is about creating wealth for the community.

“The ultimate objective is to ensure that anything that is introduced by the entrepreneur is done for the benefit of the community at large,” he said.

Muhammad took part in a Central Bank of Nigeria conference meant to counter Christian opposition to the introduction of Islamic banking.

Christian criticism

The Christian Association of Nigeria says the move violates the country’s secular constitution and comes at a dangerous time when security forces are battling Islamic fundamentalists who are fighting for an independent nation ruled by Islamic law.

At the St. Peter Claver Catholic church, Father Paul Anyansi recognizes the potential economic benefits of Islamic banking but believes its dangers are far greater.

“We have too many religious tensions in terms of Islam against Christians. So it could stir up more. This is not the time for it,” he said. “The policies for Islamic banking are good in the sense where there is no loan and interest. It doesn’t go against the beliefs of the Islams. But what we are trying to say is that this country is not mature for it now.”

Father Anyansi says Christian leaders understand that Islamic banking works in other countries and might eventually work in Nigeria, but not right now.

“It could be as effective as it is England, as it is in America, as it is in Malaysia or countries where it is operated. But for now, we are still growing. A lot of people are not accepting their brother as their brother. They are not accepting the differences between religions. It will create more problems than more gains,” he said.

Secular vs Islamic

Human rights activist Oke Adheke says Nigeria can not run on both a secular system and an Islamic system.

“The moment they gave it a religious coloration it is not good for this country. Islamic banking by the name is not good for this country. Let them give us banking products that they believe are good for the ordinary man. The problem with this country is that we introduce too many funny things and tell stories about them, yet they don’t work,” said Adheke.

Banker Solomon Osiobe says people are afraid of Islamic banking because it is new, but he believes it can help the economy if everyone understands its rules.

“Let’s give it a chance because it has its advantages and disadvantages. If the rules are set out to be followed by the people who are to be served and there is public alertment, this banking system can go on,” he said.

Alternative

In this time of religious tension, Jaiz International Bank’s Mohammed Mustapha Bintube says, Nigeria needs an alternate method of financing based on fairness, equity, and transparency.

“Islamic banks also, deliberately, we don’t finance anything that is harmful to society. So we only look for projects that make positive impact in people’s lives,” he said.

Nigeria’s Conference of Islamic Organizations says opposition to Islamic banking is ignorant and insincere as it says some political leaders are trying to link Islamic financing to terrorism at a time when London and Paris are competing to be the center of Islamic banking.

The Christian Association of Nigeria says it will challenge the introduction of Islamic banking in court.

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Taking a page from the summer of 2010′s playbook, Herman Cain pays a visit to Murfreesboro and attacks plans for an Islamic center there:

Cain didn’t bring up the controversial facility in a campaign rally on Thursday, but told reporters afterward that he’s concerned about the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro.

“It is an infringement and an abuse of our freedom of religion,” he said. “And I don’t agree with what’s happening, because this isn’t an innocent mosque.”

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The new mosque has been the subject of protests …Opponents have used the hearings to argue that the mosque is part of a plot to expand Islamic extremism in the U.S. Cain appeared to agree.

“It is another example of why I believe in American laws and American courts,” Cain said. “This is just another way to try to gradually sneak Shariah law into our laws, and I absolutely object to that.”

The Murfreesboro mosque has been a political target before; in 2010, Tennessee congressional candidate Lou Ann Zelenik almost pulled off a GOP primary upset by campaigning heavily against the proposed facility. Cain’s comments fall within a pattern of over-the-top remarks on Islam, which at this point have probably done him more harm than good as he seeks to regain his footing in the campaign.

But you may recall that the liberal media tried to demonize King for even holding the hearings.

This is how the Post then reported on Bihi: “Abdirizak Bihi, a Somali American from Minnesota, described how a nephew turned radical and left to fight with an Islamic militia in Somalia. He said religious leaders had discouraged him from going to the authorities, warning that ‘you will have eternal fire and hell’ for betraying Islam.”

We noted at the time that the media, including the Post, had focused on Rep. Keith Ellison’s testimony, during which he broke down in tears, but that Bihi, Director of the Somali Education and Social Advocacy Center in Minneapolis, had been offering something more newsworthy — an indictment of Ellison, the first Muslim member of Congress, himself.

As noted in advance by the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, “Bihi has been publicly critical of Ellison’s handling of the disappearance of some 20 Somali youths recruited by a Jihadist group in their native country.”

Bihi’s nephew Burhan Hassan was killed in Somalia after traveling there to join al-Shabab, a terrorist organization working to overthrow the Somali government.

Ellison is the co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and a left-wing attorney once associated with the communist-front National Lawyers Guild. Ellison had been a vocal supporter — and attended a fundraiser for — Sara Jane Olson, a member of the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA), an off-shoot of the Weather Underground that is probably best known for kidnapping Patricia Hearst. Ellison had called Olson a “freedom fighter.”

We noted, “This notorious record suggests that if Ellison had trouble recognizing the nature of terrorism when the radical left carried it out on American soil, he may have a similar blind spot when it comes to members of his own religious group.”

What the Post failed to report on, at the time of King’s hearings, was Bihi’s statement, “The Extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community and that Community’s Response.”

The Post now seems to be taking the problem seriously. It reports:

“There have been 51 homegrown jihadist plots or attacks in the United States since Sept. 11, 2001, according to law enforcement reports, and their frequency is increasing. Nowhere else is the problem of radicalization so concentrated as in Bihi’s section of downtown Minneapolis, where about 10,000 Somali immigrants live in a collection of faded apartment towers bordering the freeway. At least 25 young men have disappeared from here to fight for al-Shabab in the past three years, and dozens more are being investigated on suspicion of recruiting or fundraising on behalf of the terrorist organization. None so far have tried to attack in the United States, but intelligence gathered by law enforcement suggests that they will.”

Notice how the number of missing youth has gone from 20 to 25.

Yet, in its Sunday follow-up article, there is no mention of the role of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) in discouraging a legitimate inquiry and solution to the problem in America’s Muslim communities.

Bihi had testified:

“Just as we continued to make progress in laying out the realities to our community, powerful organizations such as CAIR stepped into our community and stifled whatever progress we had made by trying to tell our Somali American community not to cooperate with law enforcement. CAIR held meetings for some members of the community and told them not to talk to the FBI, which was a slap in the face of the Somali American Muslim mothers who were knocking on doors day and night with pictures of their missing children and asking for the community to talk to law enforcement about what they know of the missing kids. It was a slap in the face for community activists who had invested time and personal resources to educate the community about forging a good relationship with law enforcement in order to stop the radicalization and recruitment of our children. We held three different demonstrations against CAIR, in order to get them to leave us alone so we can solve our community’s problems, since we don’t know CAIR and they don’t speak for us. We wanted to stop them from dividing our community by stepping into issues that don’t belong to them.”

The Post’s omission of CAIR in its lengthy article about Bihi is significant because Josh Gerstein of Politico reported that Attorney General Eric Holder has confirmed that the Department of Justice decided not to prosecute a key leader of CAIR. Rep. Peter King had said that he was informed that the decision not to prosecute came over “the vehement and stated objections of special agents and supervisors of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as well as the prosecutors at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Dallas, who had investigated and successfully prosecuted the Holy Land Foundation case.”

Judge Jorge Solis declined an attempt by CAIR to remove the organization’s designation as an “unindicted co-conspirator” in the Holy Land Foundation lawsuit, saying that the government “has produced ample evidence to establish the associations” of CAIR with Hamas, an officially designated foreign terrorist organization.

Judicial Watch has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Justice (DOJ) for failing to respond to its request for public records under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) relating to the decision by the DOJ not to prosecute CAIR and its co-founder Omar Ahmad.

The Post reports that “Bihi guesses that as many as 25 more will fall prey to al-Shabab recruiters before school begins this fall.” He says, “Unless we figure out a way to stop this soon, we are headed for disaster.”

July 12th, 2011 10:43 am by Andy Birkey

Jan Markell, an end-times preacher and longtime friend of Michele Bachmann, defended anti-Islam statements by Lynne Torgerson, Rep. Keith Ellison’s first announced challenger for the 2012 election. In late-June, Torgerson launched her campaign at Tea Party Nation by calling Ellison a “radical Islamist” who “fails to oppose banning Islamic Sharia law in the United States.” Ellison responded by accusing her of running a campaign “based on hate, division, and fear.” In an interview on Friday, Markell defended Torgerson.

She said that Ellison’s faith has made Minnesota conservatives uncomfortable.

“And it stems from his association with Islamic groups that are questionable, including organizations like [the] Council on American-Islamic Relations,” Markell told OneNewsNow. “But Torgerson has been asking Keith Ellison to make a bold statement that the U.S. Constitution trumps Sharia Law.”

In 2006, Ellison became the first Muslim elected to the U.S. House.

“I guess I wouldn’t say I’m not particularly proud of that, but I’m certainly not going to go to war over it either,” Markell said of Ellison’s accomplishment. “But Torgerson has every right to question Keith Ellison and not be charged with intolerance.”

The media outlet Markell spoke with, OneNewsNow, is run by the American Family Association, an organization the Southern Poverty Law Center has named a hate group.

Markell raised concerns in 2008 when a talking Mattel doll appeared to be spouting pro-Islam messages in its prerecorded babbling. Mattel insisted that the babbling was simply that — sounds that a baby might make.

Markell is not a stranger to bringing her end-times message to the political world. Bachmann has been a frequent guest on her radio show, including a 2009 appearance when she and Markell joked that conservative Christians had become the new Taliban.

Bachmann appeared on Markell’s radio many times in 2004 and 2005 to speak out against gays and lesbians, a theme that Markell has frequently discussed in addition to anti-Islam commentary.

Markell insinuated — as did many other conservative Christian leaders — that a tornado hit downtown Minneapolis in August 2009 because Lutherans had voted to allow gay and lesbian clergy in the church.

Torgerson ran against Ellison in 2010, garnering 3 percent to Ellison’s 69 percent.

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