Why the Negativity?

[Warrior-Mentor]

Why the Negativity?
By Thomas Paine
September 27, 2009

Exposing the negative aspects of islam are a necessary evil. It’ s impossible to have an educated citizenry if they don’t have all the information available. Once our citizens have all the information – the good, the bad, the ugly – they can accept or reject sharia…because that’s what islam wants for America.

For instance, perhaps most Americans don’t care that Muhammed married a 6 year old and had sex with her when she was only 9. [1] But Americans still have the right to know.

Perhaps Americans don’t care that islam endorses men marrying pre-pubescent girls, impregnating them AND divorcing them. [2][See quran 65:4] But Americans still have the right to know.

Otherwise, where do you draw the line? Who gets to decide what we, the People, should know? On this, there is no middle ground. We, the People, have a right to know. Just because islam (sharia) says you can’t speak negatively doesn’t mean we have to follow that rule – even if you can’t discuss islam at the United Nations (Google “united nations free speech” – see what you find out).

John Stuart Mill said that “Truth…has to be made the rough process of a struggle between combatants fighting under hostile banners.” [3] Paraphrasing: this is not a feel-good exercise, this is a pitched battle for control of We - the People, and ultimately the world. The stakes are high and the competition is fierce. The real issue should be whether or not we are presenting the information that is useful to our citizens. The tone of that information should be a secondary issue at best.

Adapting an argument from Professor John G. Geer [4] Why are the islamists so troubled by negativity? “Any deliberative process usually benefits from having criticism and debate…this is why islam prohibits questioning any aspect of it [5] and even makes the study of philosophy illegal. [6] Politics is rough and tumble…and religion is inseparable from state in islam.

Why isn’t it thought of in those terms?

Because islam attempts to hide it's politics behind a veil of religion, some are afraid to discuss the topic.

Why are we worried about “civility” while discussing such barbaric traditions, laws and customs? If some aspect of islam’s record is alarming, is it not important to raise that concern in an attention grabbing fashion?

Shouldn’t the public understand the seriousness of the problem?

Negativity plays an important and under-appreciated role in democracies. In fact, the practice of democracy requires negativity. The give and take of democratic politics demands that we know the good and bad points of issues and challenges. The opposition is well suited to discuss the weaknesses of the other side.

Therefore, in order to learn about the risks and problems associated with challenges, we need the opposition, in effect to “go negative.” When going negative, advocates can actually advance the debate, not undermine it. This simple point seems forgotten in many discussions about the subject.

There is an asymmetry between negative and positive debate appeals. For a negative appeal to be effective, the advocate of that appeal MUST MARSHALL MORE EVIDENCE, on average, than for positive appeals.

The public, like our legal system, operates on the assumption of “innocent until proven guilty.” An advocate of a position cannot simply assert their opposition is evil or wrong. They must provide some evidence for that claim. Which is why I constantly footnote so many of my posts – especially when referencing Islamic law.

Bottomline: NEGATIVITY PROMOTES DEMOCRACY.

Negativity can advance and improve prospects for democracy. Without negativity, no nation can truly think of itself as democratic.

John Stuart Mill said it best:
If the dissenting opinion is right, they are deprived of the opportunity of exchanging error for truth;
if wrong, they lose, what is almost as great a benefit, the clearer perception and livelier impression of the truth, produced by its collision with error.”

Criticism can increase the quality of information available to [people] as they make decisions. To make good decisions, people need to know the past record of islam to help understand what islam will propose and attempt to do in the future. A central part of that information involves understanding the shortcomings of the “religion.”

The bottom line is that criticism is important because We, the People, must have the right and ability to raise doubts about islam. Otherwise, the public does not have access to full information “about the relevant alternative civilization and their likely consequences.”

If the public wants to have accountability, someone has to do the accounting and that accounting is not done through positive, feel-good appeals, but through harsh political attack where people are made aware of the problems of islam.

ANY effort to curtail the negativity is far worse than enduring harsh rhetoric, since it means that the ability of the opposition to hold the other side accountable for their actions would be weakened.

If negativity ever happened to disappear from our intellectual debates, we can safely assume that so would our freedoms and any chance we have to lay claim to being a democratic nation.
________________________________

Thanks to John Stuart Mill, Professor John G. Geer and Stephen Marks who were the inspiration for this article and are paraphrased heavily throughout.
________________________________
FOOTNOTES:
1. Bukhari, vol. 5, book 63, no. 3896; cf. Bukhari, vol. 7, book 67, no. 5158.

2. “If you are in doubt concerning those of our wives who have ceased menstruating, know that the waiting period shall be three months. The same shall apply to those who have not yet menstruated.” See Quran 65:4.

3. See a summary of “On Liberty” by John Stuart Mill at: http://www.publicbookshelf.com/publi...berty_cbe.html

4. “In Defense of Negativity” by Professor John G. Geer. Geer used political commentators, where I substituted islamists.

5. See “Reliance of the Traveller: A Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law.” Book R, “Holding One’s Tongue,” Paragraph r20.0.

6. See “Reliance of the Traveller: A Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law.” Book A, “Sacred Knowledge,” Paragraph a7.2(2).

7. John Stuart Mill in “On Liberty,” 79.

[T-Rock]

As a citizen of this Republic, I’m disappointed very few people are having dialogue about Islam except those of us who oppose it. The rest are just giving them whatever they want.
I feel we deserve to know the implications and the seriousness of this “Stealth Jihad” that’s taking place within our borders.

Last year I spent a fair amount of time with my daughter countering the skewed view of America, presented to her by her Muslim SS teacher - his main emphasis being the beauty of Shariah Law. A whitewashed view of Islam has crept into our children’s curriculum..
http://www.historytextbooks.org/islam.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6bARRmEpH8

[Richard]

But whose negativity is whose? And why is offering criticism a necessary evil? As I have neither the time nor desire to engage in what would assuredly become another overly lengthy e-debate on the theses of this editorial and its many leaps in logic - combined with such overtly negative language - which but lend themselves to challenge and criticism, I posit that histroical context is of great relevance when attempting to present any argument such as this one seeks to address, and will - therefore - only offer the following for those who may be interested in perhaps a better understanding of what Professor Telhami warns us of in his remarks to Congress:

It is primarily al-Qaeda and its allies as organizations that must be defeated. It is not terrorism broadly and it is not Islamism broadly.

<snip>

Given the deficient expertise in our bureaucracies in the languages, religions, and cultures of the Muslim world, we risk the chance of mistakes that could backfire, relying on locals who have their own agendas, and wasting precious resources. The strategy in the first place must remain focused on the operational and the logistical, not on what people say.

For instance, perhaps most Americans don’t care that Muhammed married a 6 year old and had sex with her when she was only 9. [1] But Americans still have the right to know.

Perhaps Americans don’t care that islam endorses men marrying pre-pubescent girls, impregnating them AND divorcing them. [2][See quran 65:4] But Americans still have the right to know.

At the time of Muhammad's birth, women in 7th century Arabia had few if any rights. Even the right of life could be in question, since it was not uncommon for small girls to be buried alive during times of scarcity. In the Qur'an, it is said that on Judgment Day "buried girls" will rise out of their graves and ask for what crime they were killed. Part of Muhammad's legacy was to end infanticide and establish explicit rights for women.

Islam teaches that men and women are equal before God. It grants women divinely sanctioned inheritance, property, social and marriage rights, including the right to reject the terms of a proposal and to initiate divorce. The American middle-class trend to include a prenuptial agreement in the marriage contract is completely acceptable in Islamic law. In Islam's early period, women were professionals and property owners, as many are today. Although in some countries today the right of women to initiate divorce is more difficult than intended, this is a function of patriarchal legislation and not an expression of Islamic values. Muhammad himself frequently counseled Muslim men to treat their wives and daughters well. "You have rights over your women," he is reported to have said, "and your women have rights over you."

Muhammad was orphaned at an early age. He once remarked that, "Heaven lies at the feet of mothers." As the father of four daughters in a society that prized sons, he told other fathers that, if their daughters spoke well of them on the Day of Judgment, they would enter paradise.

Beginning from the time of Muhammad's marriage to his first wife Khadijah, women played an important role in his religious career. According to Muslim sources, Khadijah was the first person Muhammad spoke to about his initial, terrifying experience of revelation. She consoled him and became the first convert to Islam. She remained a confidant and source of support throughout their entire marriage. Though men commonly took more than one wife in 7th Century Arabia, Muhammad remained in a monogamous marriage with Khadijah until her death, when Muhammad was in his fifties.

By then, Muhammad was working to establish a new community. In that context, over the next 10 years, he married several women. In some cases, these marriages occurred in order to cement political ties, according to the custom of the day. In some cases, the marriage provided physical and economic shelter to the widows of Muslims who had died or who had been killed in battle, and to the wife of a fallen foe. Of all his marriages, only one appears to have been controversial, and it was to the divorced wife of his adopted son.

Only one of his wives had not been previously married. Her name was Aisha, the daughter of one of his closest companions. Aisha was betrothed to Muhammad while still a girl, but she remained in her parents' home for several years until she reached puberty. Years later, when absent from Medina, Muhammad often recommended that, if religious questions arose, people should take them to his wife Aisha. After Muhammad's death, Aisha became a main source of information about Muhammad, and on medicine and poetry as well.

Aisha's assertion that Muhammad lived the Qur'an became the basis for Muslims ever since to emulate his example.

Muhammad's daughters also played an important and influential role, both in his life and in the establishment of Islam. Most notable was his daughter Fatima, who is still revered by all Muslims, particularly Shiite Muslims.

Following the Battle of Uhud (625), in which scores of male combatants died leaving unprotected widows and children, Muhammad and the Qur'an decreed that, in order to protect the orphans of such families, men might take up to four wives. The permission itself is surrounded with language that discourages the very thing it permits, saying that unless a man can treat several wives equally, he should never enter into multiple marriages. The usual supposition in the modern monogamous West-that Islam institutionally encourages lustful arrangements-is rejected by Muslims themselves as an ill-informed stereotype. At the same time, Muslim feminists point out that in various cultures at different economic strata the laws of polygamy have frequently operated to the clear detriment of women. Polygamy is an uncommon occurrence in the modern Muslim world.

Today, Islamic legal and social systems around the world approach and fall short of women's rights by varying degrees. Muslims themselves generally view Islam as progressive in these matters. Many Muslim feminists hold the view that the problems presently hindering Muslim women are those that hinder women of all backgrounds worldwide- oppressive cultural practices, poverty, illiteracy, political repression and patriarchy. There is a strong, healthy critique of gender oppression among Muslim feminist authors and activists worldwide.

It would be anachronistic to claim that Muhammad was a feminist in our modern sense. Yet the same present-day barriers to women's equality prevailed in 7th century Arabia, and he opposed them. Because in his own lifetime Muhammad improved women's position in society, many modern Muslims continue to value his example, which they cite when pressing for women's rights.

http://www.pbs.org/muhammad/index.shtml

Richard's $.02
__
BT

[Warrior-Mentor]

Originally Posted by Richard

At the time of Muhammad's birth, women in 7th century Arabia had few if any rights. Even the right of life could be in question, since it was not uncommon for small girls to be buried alive during times of scarcity. In the Qur'an, it is said that on Judgment Day "buried girls" will rise out of their graves and ask for what crime they were killed. Part of Muhammad's legacy was to end infanticide and establish explicit rights for women.

Child Marriage. This photo wasn’t taken in the 7th Century.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_lmw6-zrPSi...fghanistan.jpg

http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/....5870970c-500wi

According to UNICEF, 57 percent of marriages in Afghanistan involve girls below sixteen years of age. [1][2]

Originally Posted by Richard

Islam teaches that men and women are equal before God.

Stop. “The indemnity for the death or injury of a woman is one-half the indemnity paid for a man. The indemnity paid for a Jew or Christian is one-third of the indemnity paid for a Muslim.” [3]

In fact, by Islamic law:
“The husband may forbid his wife to leave the home.” [4]
“Men are already destroyed when they obey women.” [5]
When a wife commits rebelliousness, he (her husband) “may hit her, but not in a way that injures her, meaning he may not break bones, wound her or cause blood to flow.” [6]

And “A husband possesses full right to enjoy his wife’s person (A: from the top of her head to the bottoms of her feet, though anal intercourse is absolutely unlawful) in what does not physically harm her.” [7]

It would be easy to go on, but you can already see that this is simply not the case – women aren’t equal under Islamic law.

Bottom line: Richard’s quote would only be correct if it was listed as “Islam teaches NON-MUSLIMS that men and women are equal before God.”

Originally Posted by Richard

It grants women divinely sanctioned inheritance, property, social and marriage rights, including the right to reject the terms of a proposal and to initiate divorce.

Let’s look at just one of the rights listed above, marriage “rights.” For women in Islamic law Per Islamic law, the wife’s marital obligations include: “it is obligatory for a woman to let her husband have sex with her immediately when: a. he asks her, b. at home, c. and she can physically endure it. [8] But the wife does have the right to intercourse: “One should make love to one’s wife every four nights, as is fairest, since the number of wives on may have is four…” [9]

Originally Posted by Richard

The American middle-class trend to include a prenuptial agreement in the marriage contract is completely acceptable in Islamic law. In Islam's early period, women were professionals and property owners, as many are today. Although in some countries today the right of women to initiate divorce is more difficult than intended, this is a function of patriarchal legislation and not an expression of Islamic values.

A reading of Book N “Divorce” in Reliance of the Traveller will show why this isn’t accurate. Islamic law is strictly derived from the Koran, sira and hadith. To say that Islamic law doesn’t reflect Islamic values simply isn’t correct. In fact, once scholarly consensus exists, the ruling becomes a part of sacred law – obligatory to obey and not lawful to disobey.[10] Further, “to deny any verse of the Koran or anything which by scholarly consensus belongs to it, or add a verse that does not belong to it…” entails apostacy from islam. [11]

Originally Posted by Richard

Muhammad himself frequently counseled Muslim men to treat their wives and daughters well. "You have rights over your women," he is reported to have said, "and your women have rights over you."

Muhammad was orphaned at an early age. He once remarked that, "Heaven lies at the feet of mothers." As the father of four daughters in a society that prized sons, he told other fathers that, if their daughters spoke well of them on the Day of Judgment, they would enter paradise.

Beginning from the time of Muhammad's marriage to his first wife Khadijah, women played an important role in his religious career. According to Muslim sources, Khadijah was the first person Muhammad spoke to about his initial, terrifying experience of revelation. She consoled him and became the first convert to Islam. She remained a confidant and source of support throughout their entire marriage. Though men commonly took more than one wife in 7th Century Arabia, Muhammad remained in a monogamous marriage with Khadijah until her death, when Muhammad was in his fifties.

Irrelevant. So what? He was a nice guy by only having one wife until he was 50? What has this got to do with our discussion?

Originally Posted by Richard

By then, Muhammad was working to establish a new community. In that context, over the next 10 years, he married several women. [12] In some cases, these marriages occurred in order to cement political ties, according to the custom of the day. In some cases, the marriage provided physical and economic shelter to the widows of Muslims who had died or who had been killed in battle, and to the wife of a fallen foe. Of all his marriages, only one appears to have been controversial , and it was to the divorced wife of his adopted son.

This is the previously footnoted marriage to a 6 year old girl Aisha. But is suppose if you’re married at 9 years old, it’s not statutory rape. I know, I know – statutory rape didn’t exist back then. My point is, we – humanity – has evolved since then. Islam hasn’t. What was once good for islam will always be good for islam – for all time.

Originally Posted by Richard

Only one of his wives had not been previously married. Her name was Aisha, the daughter of one of his closest companions. Aisha was betrothed to Muhammad while still a girl, but she remained in her parents' home for several years until she reached puberty. Years later, when absent from Medina, Muhammad often recommended that, if religious questions arose, people should take them to his wife Aisha. After Muhammad's death, Aisha became a main source of information about Muhammad, and on medicine and poetry as well.

Stockholm Syndrome anyone? [13]

“It had been recognized many years before and was found in studies of other hostage, prisoner, or abusive situations such as:
- Abused Children
- Battered/Abused Women
- Prisoners of War
- Cult Members
- Incest Victims
- Criminal Hostage Situations
- Concentration Camp Prisoners
- Controlling/Intimidating Relationships”

Clearly Aisha, a young and impressionable young girl subjected to years of abuse, fits several of these categories.

Originally Posted by Richard

Aisha's assertion that Muhammad lived the Qur'an became the basis for Muslims ever since to emulate his example.

Now there’s an example to follow:

Pedophile. An adult who is sexually attracted to a child or children. [14] Already discussed with Aisha.

Statutory Rape. Sexual intercourse by an adult with a person below a statutorily designated age. [15]

Psychopath. A person with an antisocial personality disorder, manifested in aggressive, perverted, criminal, or amoral behavior without empathy or remorse. [16] “The Prophet cut off the hands and feet of the men belonging to the tribe of Uraina and did not cauterise (their bleeding limbs) till they died.” [17]

Highway Robber, Thief. “The Apostle had gone out to meet the caravans of Quraish, but Allah caused them (i.e. Muslims) to meet their enemy unexpectedly.” [18]

Polygamist. One who practices having more than one spouse at one time.

Originally Posted by Richard

Muhammad's daughters also played an important and influential role, both in his life and in the establishment of Islam. Most notable was his daughter Fatima, who is still revered by all Muslims, particularly Shiite Muslims.

Irrelevant fluff. Thanks for wasting our time.

Originally Posted by Richard

Following the Battle of Uhud (625), in which scores of male combatants died leaving unprotected widows and children, Muhammad and the Qur'an decreed that, in order to protect the orphans of such families, men might take up to four wives. The permission itself is surrounded with language that discourages the very thing it permits, saying that unless a man can treat several wives equally, he should never enter into multiple marriages. The usual supposition in the modern monogamous West-that Islam institutionally encourages lustful arrangements-is rejected by Muslims themselves as an ill-informed stereotype. At the same time, Muslim feminists point out that in various cultures at different economic strata the laws of polygamy have frequently operated to the clear detriment of women. Polygamy is an uncommon occurrence in the modern Muslim world.

This is part of the inflexibility of islam. You see, it’s in the books. It’s legal and once it is ijthad (a legal ruling), verified by scholarly consensus, it is an absolute legal ruling which cannot be contravened or annulled. [19]

(continued)

[Warrior-Mentor]

Originally Posted by Richard

Today, Islamic legal and social systems around the world approach and fall short of women's rights by varying degrees. Muslims themselves generally view Islam as progressive in these matters. Many Muslim feminists hold the view that the problems presently hindering Muslim women are those that hinder women of all backgrounds worldwide- oppressive cultural practices, poverty, illiteracy, political repression and patriarchy. There is a strong, healthy critique of gender oppression among Muslim feminist authors and activists worldwide.

It would be anachronistic to claim that Muhammad was a feminist in our modern sense. Yet the same present-day barriers to women's equality prevailed in 7th century Arabia, and he opposed them. Because in his own lifetime Muhammad improved women's position in society, many modern Muslims continue to value his example, which they cite when pressing for women's rights.

Really? Richard, you believe this?

FOOTNOTES:
___________________________
1. http://www.stolenchildhood.net/entry...ild-marriages/
2. http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1079316.html
3. Reliance of the Traveller: A Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law, Book o “Justice,” see Paragraph o4.9
4. Reliance of the Traveller: A Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law, Book m “Marriage,” see Paragraph m10.4
5. Reliance of the Traveller: A Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law, Book p “Enormities,” see Paragraph p28.1(1)
6. Reliance of the Traveller: A Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law, Book m “Marriage,” see Paragraph m10.12
7. Reliance of the Traveller: A Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law, Book m “Marriage,” see Paragraph m5.4
8. Reliance of the Traveller: A Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law, Book m “Marriage,” see Paragraph m5.1
9. Reliance of the Traveller: A Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law, Book m “Marriage,” see Paragraph m5.2
10. Reliance of the Traveller: A Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law, Book b “The Validity of Following Qualified Scholarship,” see Paragraph b7.2
11. Reliance of the Traveller: A Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law, Book o “Justice,” see Paragraph o8.7(7)
12. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/polygamy
13. http://counsellingresource.com/quizz...olm/index.html
14. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/pedophile
15. http://legal-dictionary.thefreedicti...Statutory+Rape
16. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/psychopath
17. Hadith, Volume 8, Book 82, Number 795; Narrated Anas.
18. Hadith, Volume 5, Book 59, Number 287; Narrated Kab bin Malik.
19. Reliance of the Traveller: A Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law, Book b “The Validity of Following Qualified Scholarship,” see Paragraph b7.2

[jw74]

Having read the Koran a couple of times I'm with WM on this one.

[Richard]

Astounding.

Richard
__
BT

[Team Sergeant]

Originally Posted by Richard

But whose negativity is whose? And why is offering criticism a necessary evil? As I have neither the time nor desire to engage in what would assuredly become another overly lengthy e-debate on the theses of this editorial and its many leaps in logic - combined with such overtly negative language - which but lend themselves to challenge and criticism, I posit that histroical context is of great relevance when attempting to present any argument such as this one seeks to address, and will - therefore - only offer the following for those who may be interested in perhaps a better understanding of what Professor Telhami warns us of in his remarks to Congress:
It is primarily al-Qaeda and its allies as organizations that must be defeated. It is not terrorism broadly and it is not Islamism broadly.

<snip>

Given the deficient expertise in our bureaucracies in the languages, religions, and cultures of the Muslim world, we risk the chance of mistakes that could backfire, relying on locals who have their own agendas, and wasting precious resources. The strategy in the first place must remain focused on the operational and the logistical, not on what people say.


Richard's $.02
__
BT

It is primarily al-Qaeda, sure it is.... forget the other hundred or so islamic terrorists groups that have been wreaking havoc the last 40 years.....

AFGHANISTAN

NAME: al Qaeda

DATE STARTED/FIRST ACTIVE: Established by Osama bin Laden in the late 1980s.

GOALS: Establish a pan-Islamic Caliphate throughout the world by working with allied Islamic extremist groups to overthrow regimes it deems "non-Islamic," and expelling Westerners and non-Muslims from Muslim countries.

MAIN ANTI-U.S. ACTIVITIES TO DATE: Is suspected of involvement in the October 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in Aden, Yemen. Conducted the bombings in August 1998 of the U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, that killed at least 301 persons and injured more than 5,000 others. Claims to have shot down U.S. helicopters and killed U.S. servicemen in Somalia in 1993, and to have conducted three bombings that targeted U.S. troops in Aden, Yemen, in December 1992.

STRENGTH: May have several hundred to several thousand members.

OPERATIONAL LOCATIONS: Al Qaeda has a worldwide reach with cells in a number of countries, and benefits from its ties to Sunni extremist networks. Bin Laden and his top associates reside in Afghanistan, and the group maintains terrorist training camps there.

AFFILIATIONS: Serves as the umbrella organization for a worldwide network that includes many Sunni Islamic extremist groups, such as Egyptian Islamic Jihad, some members of al-Gama'at al-Islamiyya, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, and the Harakat ul-Mujahidin.

COMMENTS: Bin Laden is the son of a wealthy Saudi family, and uses his inheritance to finance the group. Al Qaeda also operates moneymaking front organizations, solicits donations, and illicitly siphons funds from donations to Muslim charitable organizations.


ALGERIA


NAME: Armed Islamic Group (GIA)

DATE STARTED/FIRST ACTIVE: 1992.

GOALS: GIA aims to overthrow the secular Algerian regime and replace it with an Islamic state.

MAIN ANTI-U.S. ACTIVITIES TO DATE: None.

STRENGTH: Unknown, probably several hundred to several thousand.

OPERATIONAL LOCATIONS: Algeria.

AFFILIATIONS: Algerian expatriates and members of the Salafi Group for Call and Combat (GSPC) splinter group abroad, many of whom reside in Western Europe, provide financial and logistic support. In addition, the Algerian government has accused Iran and Sudan of supporting Algerian extremists.

COMMENTS: The GSPC splinter faction appears to have eclipsed the GIA since approximately 1998 and is currently assessed to be the most effective remaining armed group inside Algeria. A U.S. Designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) listed as "active" during 2000.

NAME: The Salafist Group for Call and Combat (GSPC)

DATE STARTED/FIRST ACTIVE: 1996.

GOALS: Overthrow the Algerian government and impose fundamentalist Islamic theocracy.

MAIN ANTI-U.S. ACTIVITIES TO DATE: Unknown.

STRENGTH: Unknown; suspected to be several hundred to several thousand.

OPERATIONAL LOCATIONS: Algeria.

AFFILIATIONS: Algerian expatriates and GSPC members living abroad. The Algerian government has accused Iran and Sudan of supporting Algerian extremists. The GSPC may also receive support from the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) network in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Some GSPC members in Europe are suspected of having ties with other North African extremists sympathetic to al Qaeda.

COMMENTS: GSPC is a splinter group of the GIA, and has gained popular support through its pledge not to attack civilians inside Algeria (although it has not kept the pledge). It was designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) on March 27, 2002.

EGYPT


NAME: Al-Jihad a.k.a. Egyptian Islamic Jihad, Jihad Group, Islamic Jihad

DATE STARTED/FIRST ACTIVE: Late 1970s.

GOALS: Overthrow the Egyptian government and replace it with an Islamic state; attack U.S. and Israeli interests in Egypt and abroad.

MAIN ANTI-U.S. ACTIVITIES TO DATE: Car-bombing against official U.S. facilities.

STRENGTH: Unknown, suspected to be several hundred.

OPERATIONAL LOCATIONS: Mainly Cairo, but has a network outside Egypt, including Yemen, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sudan, Lebanon, and the United Kingdom.

AFFILIATIONS: Close partner of Osama Bin Laden's al Qaeda; Iran. May get some funds via various Islamic non-governmental organizations, cover businesses, and criminal acts.

COMMENTS: The original Jihad was responsible for the 1981 assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat.


NAME: Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya (Islamic Group, IG)

DATE STARTED/FIRST ACTIVE: Late 1970s.

GOALS: The IG's primary goal is to overthrow the Egyptian government and replace it with an Islamic state, but certain group leaders also may be interested in attacking U.S. and Israeli interests.

MAIN ANTI-U.S. ACTIVITIES TO DATE: The IG has never specifically attacked a U.S. citizen or facility but has threatened U.S. interests.

STRENGTH: Unknown. At its peak, the IG probably commanded several thousand hard-core members and a like number of sympathizers. The 1998 cease-fire and security crackdowns following the attack on tourists in Luxor in 1997 probably have resulted in a substantial decrease in the group's numbers.

OPERATIONAL LOCATIONS: Operates mainly in the Al-Minya, Asyu't, Qina, and Sohaj Governorates of southern Egypt. Also appears to have support in Cairo, Alexandria, and other urban locations, particularly among unemployed graduates and students. Has a worldwide presence, including Sudan, the United Kingdom, Afghanistan, Austria, and Yemen.

AFFILIATIONS: Unknown. The Egyptian government believes that Iran, bin Laden, and Afghan militant groups support the organization. Also may obtain some funding through various Islamic non-governmental organizations.

COMMENTS: Al-Gama'a claims responsibility for the attempt in June 1995 to assassinate Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The group's spiritual leader, Shaykh Umar Abd al-Rahman, is incarcerated in the United States. A Designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) listed as "active" during 2000.

[Team Sergeant]

INDIA

NAME: Al-Ummah

DATE STARTED/FIRST ACTIVE: 1992.

GOALS: Unknown.

MAIN ANTI-U.S. ACTIVITIES TO DATE: None.

STRENGTH: Unknown.

OPERATIONAL LOCATIONS: Southern India.

AFFILIATIONS: Unknown.

COMMENTS: Radical Indian Muslim group believed responsible for the Coimbatore bombings in Southern India in 1998.



IRAQ

NAME: Abu Nidal organization (ANO) a.k.a. Fatah Revolutionary Council, Arab Revolutionary Brigades, Black September, and Revolutionary Organization of Socialist Muslims.

DATE STARTED/FIRST ACTIVE: Split from the PLO in 1974.

GOALS: Establishment of a Palestinian State.

MAIN ANTI-U.S. ACTIVITIES TO DATE: Targets include the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Israel, moderate Palestinians, the PLO, and various Arab countries. Has not attacked Western targets since the late 1980s.

STRENGTH: A few hundred plus limited overseas support structure.

OPERATIONAL LOCATIONS: Its leader, Sabri Al-Banna, relocated to Iraq in December 1998, where the group maintains a presence. Has an operational presence in Lebanon, including in several Palestinian refugee camps. Authorities shut down the ANO's operations in Libya and Egypt in 1999. Has demonstrated ability to operate over wide area, including the Middle East, Asia, and Europe. Has carried out terrorist attacks in 20 countries, killing or injuring almost 900 persons.

AFFILIATIONS: Has received considerable support, including safe haven, training, logistic assistance, and financial aid from Iraq, Libya, and Syria (until 1987), in addition to close support for selected operations.

COMMENTS: Financial problems and internal disorganization have reduced the group's activities and capabilities. A Designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) listed as "active" during 2000.



NAME: Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK or MKO) a.k.a. The National Liberation Army of Iran (NLA, the militant wing of the MEK), the People's Mujahidin of Iran (PMOI), National Council of Resistance (NCR), Muslim Iranian Student's Society (front organization used to garner financial support).

DATE STARTED/FIRST ACTIVE: 1960s.

GOALS: The MEK continues to conduct a worldwide campaign against the Iranian government, which stresses propaganda and occasionally uses terrorist violence.

MAIN ANTI-U.S. ACTIVITIES TO DATE: During the 1970s, the MEK staged terrorist attacks inside Iran and killed several U.S. military personnel and civilians working on defense projects in Tehran. Supported the takeover in 1979 of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.

STRENGTH: Several thousand fighters based in Iraq with an extensive overseas support structure. Most of the fighters are organized in the MEK's National Liberation Army (NLA).

OPERATIONAL LOCATIONS: In the 1980s, the MEK's leaders were forced by Iranian security forces to flee to France. Most resettled in Iraq by 1987. In the mid-1980s, the group did not mount terrorist operations in Iran at a level similar to its activities in the 1970s. In the 1990s, however, the MEK claimed credit for an increasing number of operations in Iran.

AFFILIATIONS: Beyond support from Iraq, the MEK uses front organizations to solicit contributions from expatriate Iranian communities.

COMMENTS: Formed by the college-educated children of Iranian merchants, the MEK sought to counter what it perceived as excessive Western influence in the Shah's regime. Following a philosophy that mixes Marxism and Islam, the MEK has developed into the largest and most active armed Iranian dissident group. Its history is studded with anti-Western activity, and, most recently, attacks on the interests of the clerical regime in Iran and abroad. A Designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) listed as "active" during 2000.

[Team Sergeant]

NAME: Palestine Liberation Front (PLF)

DATE STARTED/FIRST ACTIVE: Broke away from the PFLP-GC in mid-1970s.

GOALS: Creation of a Palestinian state.

MAIN ANTI-U.S. ACTIVITIES TO DATE: The Abu Abbas-led faction was responsible for the attack in 1985 on the cruise ship Achille Lauro and the murder of U.S. citizen Leon Klinghoffer.

STRENGTH: Unknown.

OPERATIONAL LOCATIONS: Based in Tunisia until Achille Lauro attack, it is now based in Iraq.

AFFILIATIONS: Receives support mainly from Iraq. Has received support from Libya in the past.

COMMENTS: After its initial break with the PFLP-GC, split again into pro-PLO, pro-Syrian, and pro-Libyan factions. Pro-PLO faction is led by Muhammad Abbas (Abu Abbas), who became member of PLO Executive Committee in 1984 but left it in 1991. A warrant for Abu Abbas's arrest is outstanding in Italy. A Designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) listed as "active" during 2000.

LEBANON

NAME: ‘Asbat al-Ansar (The Partisans’ League)

DATE STARTED/FIRST ACTIVE: Early 1990s.

GOALS: Overthrow the Lebanese government and thwart anti-Islamic influences in Lebanon.

MAIN ANTI-U.S. ACTIVITIES TO DATE: None.

STRENGTH: About 300 fighters.

OPERATIONAL LOCATIONS: Primary base of operations is the ‘Ayn al-Hilwah Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon.

AFFILIATIONS: Overseas Sunni extremist networks and Osama bin Laden’s al Qaeda.

COMMENTS: A Lebanon-based group composed mainly of Palestinians, Asbat al-Ansar adheres to an extremist interpretation of Islam and justifies the use of violence against civilian targets. The group raised its profile in 2000 with a rocket-propelled grenade attack on the Russian Embassy in Beirut. It was designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) on March 27, 2002.


NAME: Hezbollah (Party of God) a.k.a. Islamic Jihad, Revolutionary Justice Organization, Organization of the Oppressed on Earth, and Islamic Jihad for the Liberation of Palestine

DATE STARTED/FIRST ACTIVE: Unknown.

GOALS: Increasing its political power in Lebanon, and opposing Israel and the Middle East peace negotiations.

MAIN ANTI-U.S. ACTIVITIES TO DATE: Known or suspected to have been involved in numerous anti-U.S. terrorist attacks, including the suicide truck bombing of the U.S. embassy and U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut in October 1983, and the U.S. embassy annex in Beirut in September 1984.

STRENGTH: Several thousand supporters and a few hundred terrorist operatives.

OPERATIONAL LOCATIONS: Operates in the Bekaa Valley, the southern suburbs of Beirut, and southern Lebanon. Has established cells in Europe, Africa, South America, North America, and Asia.

AFFILIATIONS: Receives substantial amounts of financial, training, weapons, explosives, political, diplomatic, and organizational aid from Iran and Syria.

COMMENTS: A radical Shia organization founded in Lebanon. A Designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) listed as "active" during 2000.