Hillary’s Islamic Connections
August 04, 2005
Ready for another presidential election campaign? I’m not either, but Stella L. Jatras points out that Hillary is already running — and that it is not too early to take note of her pronounced dhimmi tendencies:
Talk is that Hillary “I can’t wait till 2008” Clinton may be planning a run for president in the next election. Following my comments is a copy of the 1996 speech that First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton gave to the American Muslim Council at the first White House Eid al-Fitr, the holiday which celebrates the end of Ramadan. But before that, a few observations of those who were present for this “historic occasion.”
One name Hillary mentions is that of Mr. Khaled Saffuri, the assistant director of the American Muslim Council. It is amazing what you can find on the internet; this is what I came across while surfing: an article entitled “Saffuri’s Ties to Terror Suspects; Is Khaled Saffuri, a prominent Palestinian activist with connections to terror suspects, exerting undue influence on the Bush administration, or is he getting a bad rap?” This article says in part:
[Grover] Norquist, the conservative fund-raiser and anti-pork president of Americans for Tax Reform, cofounded the Islamic Institute with Saffuri in 1998. Norquist insists that any attempt to tie Saffuri to terrorist supporters is “guilt by association.” Those who make such accusations, Norquist tells reporters, are “racists and bigots.”
Another distinguished guest was Rashid Chaudary, a millionaire who deals in diamonds and is Chairman and CEO of Raani Corporation (See “Clinton-Gore fund-raiser skirts coup plot” from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette – a “must read.”) I’m sure Chaudary will be right there with his wallet open for Hillary.
And let us not forget that also serving Allah is Major Abdul-Rasheed Muhammad, the first Muslim chaplain in the US Army. (See “The Chaplain Problem: What gives with imams in the military?” by Kate O’Bierne in National Review.)
Remember, this event was the first time in American history that a Muslim holiday was celebrated in The White House — and now it is trrrradition!
Now here, from the American Muslim Council Bulletin, is the First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton’s address at the White House Celebration of Eid al-Fitr on February 20, 1996:
Eid Mubarak. I want to welcome you all to the White House as you and Muslims all over the world celebrate the end of Ramadan. I am honored so many of you could take the time to share part of this holy month with us here.
This is an historic occasion — the first Eid celebration ever at the White House. It is only befitting that, just as children and families of other faiths have come here to celebrate some of their holy days, so you, too, are all here to mark this important Islamic tradition.
This celebration is an American event. We are a nation of immigrants who have long drawn on our diverse religious traditions and faiths for the strength and courage that make America great. For two centuries, we have prided ourselves on being a nation of plurastistic beliefs, united by a common faith in democracy.
As the fastest growing religion in this country, Islam will only continue to enrich our people and our society. And a greater understanding of the tenets of Islam in our national consciousness will help us build strength and resilience as a nation. That is why the President and I believe this is such an historic and overdue occasion.
Like many Americans, I have only recently gained a full appreciation of Islam. When I was growing up, there were no courses in Islamic history or religion in my schools and the Qur’an was not on too many bookshelves in American households.
Fortunately, that has changed as I know from my own family experience. I have to admit that a good deal of what my husband and I have learned has come from my daughter, who some of you who are our friends know took a course last year in Islamic history. When she and I traveled to South Asia, she provided me with a running commentary on everything we saw and visited.
There we met many Muslim families, some of whom were struggling to make ends meet. But despite their material poverty, the richness of their spiritual devotion — their faith was overwhelming. Their commitment to their families was impressive.
Last night you ended 30 days of fasting and prayer. During this month of self-denial you have each striven to become wealthier in spirit, to strengthen your commitment to God, to develop greater compassion for the poor, and to nurture your family relationships. The values which lie at the heart of Ramadan — of faith, family, community and responsibility for the less fortunate, and responsibility for the less fortunate — resonate with all the peoples of this earth. They are universal values.
But in this era of change, this age of endless possibility and great uncertainty, it is easy to forget our common priorities and shared values, and instead dwell on our divisions.
No matter what religion we follow, we must not allow extremists of any faith to manipulate the priorities and values of the majority of that religion’s followers. We have seen what tragedies can happen when religion whether it is Christianity, Judaism or Islam, is exploited for political gains. If we employ religion as an excuse for intolerance, divisiveness, or violence, we betray our purpose. Since coming to the White House, I have been privileged to meet some of the world’s great religious leaders, among them Roman Catholics, Protestants, and Orthodox Christians, Jews, Muslims and Buddhist. And despite their profound differences, each speaks from a deep well-spring of love that affirms life and yearns for men and women to open their hearts like children to God and to one another.
So, on this day, I encourage all of us to continue reaching out to both neighbors and strangers to help each other appreciate our faiths and to seek to understand the faiths of one another.
Here in America, it is gratifying to see the great contributions that Muslims have made and are making to this nation. Ramadan celebrates the time centuries ago when the Prophet Muhammad received the Qur’an from God. The Qur’an has touched and enlightened billions, including my own family. As I learn more about Islam and about all of the great religions, I am struck by the remarkable similarities among them. We know that we have so much more in common than what divides us if we seek to celebrate that.
May peace be with all of us, and may God grant us health and prosperity now and in the years ahead.
I would like to introduce some special guests who will take a few minutes to share their thoughts and prayers with us.
The first who will address us is a young woman, Marwa Alkhairo, age 11, who will tell us about the meaning of Ramadan.
She will be followed by Chaplain Muhammad, the first Islamic chaplain to serve the United States military, who will offer a prayer.
Mr. Khaled Saffuri, the assistant director of the American Muslim Council, which is sponsoring this reception, will bring our program to a close.
I also want to thank two dear friends of ours, Mr. Rashid Chaudary and Kamran Khan, for all their help on this occasion.
Now it gives me great pleasure to introduce Marwa to you.
A portrait of The First Lady accompanies her speech, which shows the First Lady holding the Qur’an during the Eid celebration of February 20, 1996. Muslim children are standing in the background.
One can find little fault with The First Lady’s speech (although, perhaps with her sincerity). She makes nice-nice with a “Can’t we all just git along?” appeal. Now, for a contrasting view of Islam, I leave you with the following, from the Atlantic Monthly of April/May 1995: The Lucifer Principle, an excerpt of the book by Howard Bloom:
Some readers will be outraged by my presumption. How dare I regard any group as barbaric? What appalling ethnocentrism! there are no barbarians. There are simply cultures we haven’t taken the time to understand. Cultures to whom we haven’t given sufficient aid.
Cultures in need of development. Beneath the skin, all men and women are the same. They have the same needs, the same emotions, and the same ideals. If you simply took those folks you speak of so contemptuously out for a cup of coffee, you would discover that they are just like you and me.
But there are barbarians–people whose cultures glorify the act of murder and elevate violence to a holy deed. These cultures portray the extinction of other human beings as a validation of manliness, a heroic gesture in the name of truth, or simply a good way to get ahead in the world. Islamic societies tend to be high on this list. Holiness, righteousness, and even day-to-day propriety in Islamic cultures are based on the example of Mohammed. Though Islamic literature praises Mohammed as a man of peace, he was anything but.
In A.D. 624, the Prophet announced the concept of the jihad-the holy war. He said in the blessed book the Koran, “Kill those who join other gods with God (e.g., Christians) wherever you shall find them, and seize them and slay them, and lay in wait for them with every kind of ambush.” In the next nine years, the man of peace ordered at least 27 military campaigns, personally leading nine of them.
It is not surprising that Moslem jurists would later declare that there are two worlds; the world of Islam, Dar al-Islam, and the non-Islamic World, Dar al-Harb. These two territorial spheres, explained the Moslem scholars, are in a state of perpetual war. According to the Koran, any leader who fails to “make wide slaughter” in the land of the infidel is committing a sin. A statesman is only allowed the temporary expedient of peace if his forces are not yet strong enough to win. This may explain why Elias Canetti, in his Nobel Prize-winning book “Crowds and Power,” calls Islam a killer religion, literally a religion of war.
In the West, we think of scholars as meek little men with glasses, leading peace marches. In the lands of Islam, famous scholars often spent years studying every nuance of their Koran, then rounded up an army, and went out to make war in the name of Allah.
In the thirties, one of them labored diligently to become an Islamic scholar. He poured over the Koran for years. As he demonstrated his superior knowledge of Allah’s pronouncements, he rose in the ranks of Iranian holy men. Finally, he achieved the penultimate title – ayotollah (roughly equivalent of a Catholic cardinal). His name was Ruhollah Khomeini, and he wrote books, pamphlets, and even taped and distributed his speeches to inspire the citizens of Iran with sacred virtue. The ayotollah’s words roused Iranians to overthrow the shah and usher in a government based on strict Islamic doctrine.
What did the ayatollah’s pronouncement say? Among other things, that infidels are like dogs. Their existence is an affront to Allah. Here’s how the ayatollah himself put it:
“Moslems have no alternative…to an armed holy war against profane governments…Holy war means the conquest of all non-Moslem territories…It will…be the duty of every able bodied adult male to volunteer for this war of conquest, the final aim of which is to put the Koranic law in power from one end of the earth to the other.
“The leaders of the USSR and of England and the president of the United States are … infidels … Every part of the body of a non-Moslem individual is impure, even the hair on his head and his body, his nails, and all the secretion of his body. Any man or woman who denies the existence of God, or believes in His partners (the Christian Trinity), or else does not believe in His Prophet Mohammed, is impure (in the same way as are excrement, urine, dog, and wine).
Concluded the ayatollah (Ruhollah Khomeini), “Islam does not allow peace between…a Moslem and an infidel.”
(From here, only excerpts are posted because of its length)
The ground is ripe for worldwide Islamic fundamentalist expansion. Mohammedanism is currently the fastest-growing religion on the planet. There are a billion Moslems and that number is increasing daily.
For six hundred years after the fall of the Crusader states, Islamic forces returned to the attack, capturing Greece and chunks of eastern Europe, raiding towns in Sicily and the Italian coasts for goods and slaves, preying on Mediterranean shipping, chaining Europeans like Miguel Cervantes to the oars of their galleys, and until 1826 forcing the Christian citizens of Yugoslavia and Albanian to give up their children to Moslem overlords (who brought up the males on the Koran, then turned them into soldiers known as Janissaries).
Allah is rapidly equipping Khomeini’s followers with a sword to carry out their master’s wishes. He has offered Islam the fire in which the Koran says those who follow false faiths are destined to burn: nuclear weaponry. He has also provided the long-range missiles needed to use it. According to the late imam’s logic, there may be only one just and righteous thing to do; employ this technology to wipe out recalcitrant heathens like you and me. [Adapted from The Lucifer Principle: a Scientific Expedition Into The Forces of History by Howard Bloom (Atlantic Monthly Press).]