On Mosques that are centers of Islamist activities

http://www.csmonitor.com/layout/set/print/content/view/print/318830

That the Hamburg mosque was closed should surprise no one. That it took so long to close it is indicative of Western reluctance to set aside its overriding commitment to tolerance. I say "overriding" because this hesitation, this dithering, overrides self-defense, prudence and common sense. How many terrorist attacks need to be planned and/or perpetrated before such a mosque is closed. Apparently a lot.

And even though the Hamburg mosque was closed, "no mosque-goers were arrested, and police offered few specifics on the early morning raid and shutdown – though Lothar Bergmann, head of the city’s antiterror unit, said that one prayer leader, a Syrian-German named Mamoun Darkazanli, is a “preacher of hate” and involved in recruiting for jihad causes."

So why did you Hamburgers close the mosque? All the article tells is that "the mosque, located behind Hamburg’s main rail station and next to a fitness center, remained a “central attraction for the jihadist scene. The closing of the “Masjid Taiba” in Hamburg comes a month after Norwegian police arrested three men accused of involvement with Al Qaeda – a Chinese Uigher, an Iraqi Kurd, and an Uzbek – and charged them with planning to build a peroxide-based bomb. One of the arrests took place in Germany." Are you Hamburgers just now figuring that out? Wasn't 9-11 enough for you. . . oh yes, I forgot, you believed we did that to ourselves.

Of course we in the U.S. are no better than the Germans. We know the CIA didn't blow up the World Trade Center; so we have less of an excuse. What about one of the more notorious American Mosques, say the Brooklyn Al Farooq Mosque where the Blind Shiek Rahman planned the first World Trade Center bombing? http://www.hvk.org/articles/0303/100.html Remember that one?  The terrorist “attack” was supposed to happen in 1993, but it was foiled, and the Blind Shiek went to jail anyway. That was good, but did we close down the Al Farooq Mosque? Of course not. That would be against our vaunted tolerance -- even though this mosque has been a well-known center for terrorist activities.

Are you anxious for the Cordoba Mosque to open? Until it does, you can attend the Al-Farook Mosque: http://www.islamicfinder.org/getitWorld.php?id=10222 The "Islamic Finder" describes it as follows: "Masjid Al Farook is one of the oldest Islamic centers in NYC. We are a full service Islamic center offering five prayers daily. Jumuaa prayer stats at 12:10pm. We also offer educational classes for adults and children." I wonder what "full service" means. You apparently have to speak Arabic to find out: http://www.alfarooqmasjid.org/dnn/

Do you recall my note the other day about Adnan El Shukrijumah, raised in Brooklyn and South Florida who went off to Waziristan to become an Operation Chief for Al Quaeda? http://www.lawrencehelm.com/2010/08/shukrijumah-american-jihadists-and.html ?  Here is a new article posted just today (8-9-10) on that subject. His father preached at the Al-Farooq Mosque. http://www.alfarooqmasjid.org/dnn/

There is at least as much reason to close the Al-Farooq Mosque as the Germans had for closing the Hamburg Mosque. But as far as I know, no New Yorker is advocating such an “intolerant” measure. They like "Full Service" mosques in New York. Mayor Bloomberg plans to set up an even better one at Ground Zero.