AMA for Strategic Involvement
of Muslim Youth
Davis, California: UC Davis
students, commemorating Eid al Adha, “The feast of the sacrifice,”
were urged by speakers to get more actively involved in
civic events in an effort to silence the neo-con efforts
to manipulate the Muslim American voice. Eid al Adha is
the most important of the Muslim holidays. Muslims believe
that the Eid calls the faithful to self-sacrifice for the
good of helping the community and to seek greater spiritual
depth. The gala dinner, attended by some 350 students and
hosted by the UC Davis Muslim Student Association (MSA),
included entertaining skits, speeches, and prayers. It was
held on Friday, January 28, 2005 under the banner “Eid-Sacrificing
for the Faith”.
Ali Ataie spoke about the common threads in all three Abrahamic
faiths —Judaism, Christianity and Islam. He recalled the
historic Muslim perspective of Prophet Jesus on sacrifice
and resurrection. He cited chapter and verse of the Old
Testament (the Torah), the New Testament and the Qur’an
where all three agreed that spiritual discipline evolves
from sacrifice. The key speaker for the evening, Hazem Kira,
representing the American Muslim Alliance (AMA) reminded
the audience of the duty of all Muslims to work in making
the society around them better and more enriched through
social and political activism. Kira, a former UCD graduate,
spoke with a sense of urgency.
He cited various reports by the ultra-conservative Rand
Corporation, which provide a blueprint on how to undermine
the Muslim American community by playing a divide and rule
game. “The ultimate assignment is to undermine the American
Muslim community by undermining its primary values, its
main ideas, its representative institutions and its primary
modes of self–empowerment and self-representation,” Kira
said, quoting author Tahir Ali’s analysis of the report
entitled ‘Civil Democratic Islam: Partners, Resources, and
Strategies’ by Cheryl Bernard. The neo-conservative movement,
strengthened by a recent presidential victory, and a domination
of both legislative houses —congress and senate — is eyeing
the third branch of government.
According to Ali’s analysis they strategize to manipulate
American Muslims as well as global Islam. In his article
“Rand Robots…”Ali said neo-conservatives wish to bring about
“internal wars” on a global level, hoping that Muslims killing
Muslims in large numbers, can accomplish three goals: 1)
recreation of Muslim societies in Western image, with or
without democratic institutions, 2) long-term control over
oil and policies toward Israel, and 3) reconstruction of
Islam on Biblical model, reformation included. ”American
Muslims must be aware of these realities…because these policies
are being implemented as we speak by nefarious characters
whose only objective is to undermine our rights, even if
it means compromising constitutionally guaranteed civil
rights.”
said Kira Kira, referencing Ali, also went into an outline
describing how the strategy works: 1) “Support the modernists
first, enhancing their vision of Islam over that of the
traditionalists by providing them with a broad platform
to articulate and disseminate their views.
They, not the traditionalists, should be cultivated and
publicly presented as the face of contemporary Islam. 2)
“Support the secularists on a case-by-case basis. 3) “Encourage
secular civic and cultural institutions and programs. 4)
“Back the traditionalists enough to keep them viable against
the fundamentalists (if and wherever those are our choices)
and to prevent a closer alliance between these two groups.
Three key factors are crystal clear about this report: 1)
The author of this report, Bernard, seeks to redefineIslam,
2) find and promote Muslim leaders and intellectuals of
their choice, and 3) involve Western governments in reorganizing
and transforming Islam; by persuasion, when possible, and
by force, when necessary. Notwithstanding the fact that
this report clearly violates the First Amendment, since
its publication in 2004, various groups and organizations
have put Cheryl Bernard’s recommendations into action. By
the end of the evening many in the audience agreed to volunteer
to help with research and writing on behalf of the AMA.
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