Qaddafi’s Muslim-American Friends

by Ryan Mauro

Muammar Qaddafi’s willingness to slaughter his own people has long been known and is undeniable. It is hard to imagine that any human being would be willing to embrace him but the Nation of Islam and the Council on American-Islamic Relations did just that. Louis Farrakhan continues to even uphold him today, denying that he is guilty of any wrongdoing.

“You [Obama] can’t order him to step down, and get out—who the hell do you think you are, that you can talk to a man that built a country over 42 years, and ask him to step down and get out?” said Farrakhan when asked about U.S. involvement in the war in Libya.

He blamed the Zionists for leading President Obama to war, warning, “Don’t let these wicked demons move you in a direction that will absolutely ruin your future with your people in Africa and throughout the world.”

Farrakhan, whose organization has 20-50,000 members, even claimed that Qaddafi is innocent of charges against him. He said that the Libyan dictator was only “killing traitors” and “It’s a terrible thing for me to hear my brother called all these ugly and filthy names when I can’t recognize him as that.”

Qaddafi’s ties to the Nation of Islam go back decades to when he first loaned the organization $3 million in 1972 to purchase its headquarters in Chicago. Farrakhan admits that Qaddafi has loaned the group about $8 million total. In 1996, Qaddafi’s official news agency reported the two had established an alliance aimed at influencing the U.S. political system. “Our confrontation with America was like a fortress from outside, and today we found a breach to enter into this fortress and confront it,” it said. This alliance shouldn’t be surprising given Farrakhan’s rabidly anti-Semitic, anti-American preaching.

Farrakhan tells his followers that “Zionists dominate the government of the United States of America and her banking system” and refers to President Obama disparagingly as the “first Jewish president.” He says that Obama “was selected before he was elected. And the people that selected him were rich, powerful members of the Jewish community.”

Of course, Farrakhan says he isn’t an anti-Semite. He’s just exposing Satan. “Some of you think that I’m just somebody who’s got something out for the Jewish people. You’re stupid,” he said. “Do you think I would I waste my time if I did not think it was important for you to know Satan? My job is to pull the cover off of Satan so that he will never deceive you and the people of the world again.”

Farrakhan also preaches about the coming destruction of America for her alleged sins. In August 1997, he said, “A decree of death has been passed on America. The judgment of God has been rendered and she must be destroyed.” It is apparent that he sees this forthcoming destruction as a good thing, saying, “There is no wicked nation in the past that approaches the evil that is practiced in America on a daily basis.” And he believes that Muslims are the ones that are supposed to make this happen.

In 1996, an Iranian newspaper quoted him as saying during his visit, “God will destroy America by the hands of the Muslims…this is an honor God will bestow upon Muslims.” In Farrakhan’s world, contributing to the destruction of the U.S. is an “honor.” He will say that he doesn’t advocate violence, but he refers to Hezbollah as “freedom fighters,” justifies Qaddafi’s use of force, and has said, “We [blacks] are at war and we never stop fighting for justice. You must have forced…don’t drop your gun and don’t forget to squeeze.”

Qaddafi has also had ties to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a front for the Muslim Brotherhood in the U.S. In September 2009, the organization’s executive-director, Nihad Awad, spokesman Ibrahim Hooper and chairman Larry Shaw all met with Qaddafi after he spoke at the United Nations in New York. Awad called him a “world Islamic popular leader” and said that CAIR “appreciate[s] your efforts over the years, and wish also to extend your interest to Muslims in America, God willing.”

The organization asked Qaddafi to sponsor a plan to deliver one million copies of the Quran to Americans, including public officials and to make a donation to create the Muslim Peace Foundation. A letter from Awad to Qaddafi has also been published dated September 23, 2009 asking him for his support for the Muslim Peace Foundation. “I am pleased to send to Your Excellency in my name most solemn assurances of thanks and appreciation for the efforts you exert in the service of Islam, Muslims and all mankind through your initiative to teach Islam, spread the culture of Islam, and solve disputes, for which you are known internationally.”

CAIR has defended itself by saying no donation was ever received and that it has condemned his violent reaction to the popular uprising against him this year, but Qaddafi has a long and well-known history of human rights abuses, anti-Americanism and sponsorship of terrorism, including the Lockerbie bombing of 1988 that killed 270 people. It is unthinkable that CAIR was unaware of Qaddafi’s past when it was praising him and asking him for money.

Another prominent Muslim-American that has defended Qaddafi is Zaid Shakir, a frequent speaker at Muslim-American conferences like those put together by the Islamic Society of North America and the Council on American-Islamic Relations. He is also a co-founder of Zaytuna University, the first accredited Islamic college in the country. In an article about the U.S. “pattern of demonization, destabilization and the invasion of hapless Third World nations,” Shakir said that “in the Muslim world, the demonization of Qaddafi preceded our bombardment of Libya in 1986.” Today, he speaks somewhat positively of the Libyan rebels but opposes the U.S.-led intervention, insinuating the U.S. and Europe have hidden motives for acting.

Qaddafi’s insanity and aggression has left him with few friends since coming to power. Lucky for him, there are groups like the Nation of Islam and the Council on American-Islamic Relations in the U.S. willing to overlook his transgressions in return for cash rewards.

Original URL: http://frontpagemag.com/2011/04/12/qaddafi%E2%80%99s-muslim-american-friends/

Ryan Mauro

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