Destroying America from Within

Printer-friendly versionSend to friendPDF versionFrank Gaffney, Jr. A powerful new book is wreaking havoc with the reputation myriad Islamic organizations in America have been carefully cultivating for years. Muslim Mafia: Inside the Secret Underworld that's Trying to Islamize America (WND Books, 2009) reveals that, far from the moderate Muslim "mainstream" they profess to represent, these entities are associated with the insidious Muslim Brotherhood – an international criminal enterprise that has the self-professed mission of "destroying Western civilization from within." Muslim Mafia is the product of acclaimed journalist and author Paul Sperry and former Air Force investigator P. David Gaubatz. Much of it is informed by a six-month undercover operation conducted by the latter, his son Chris and several others into the organization Sperry calls the tip of the Brotherhood's spear in America: the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR). Chris Gaubatz and two female researchers affected the appearance of Muslims who adhere to the theo-political-legal program authoritative Islam calls "Shariah." They volunteered as interns with CAIR and, in due course, were taken into the confidence of senior officials including notably the organization's co-founder and executive director, Nihad Awad, and Ibrahim Hooper, its aggressive spokesman. Such was the professionalism of Chris Gaubatz's undercover work that he was given boxes of documents to dispose of – which he did, in a fashion. Upon discovering that the papers included materials relating to CAIR's strategic plans, personnel, modus operandi and funding sources, the investigative team reviewed them carefully for evidence of conduct at odds with U.S. national security and other interests, if not downright criminal behavior. Copies were made and 52 of the thousands of pages the younger Gaubatz was given by CAIR are reproduced in the book's appendix. Muslim Mafia draws on Chris Gaubatz's findings to paint a troubling portrait of CAIR and other Muslim Brotherhood-tied entities doing business under such names as the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), the Muslim Students Association (MSA), the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT), etc. These organizations are working to transform the United States into an Islamic nation, governed not by the Constitution but by Shariah and subordinated ultimately to a global Muslim theocracy. Toward that end, Muslim Mafia shows how CAIR has assiduously sought to penetrate U.S. decision-making circles, mounting successful influence operations against the executive, congressional and judicial branches. Its agents have been: included in official outreach efforts to the Muslim American community; selected by the State Department to represent the United States to foreign Muslim populations through government –underwritten speakers programs overseas; tapped to provide "sensitivity training" to the FBI and other law enforcement organizations; and prominently involved in legal proceedings advancing Shariah's supremacist program. In addition, CAIR officials like Hooper have been perceived as exemplary representatives of Muslims in America by many in the media – the sort of error that the Brotherhood and its ilk capitalize upon in order to legitimize their operations and further expand their influence. Thanks to Muslim Mafia, we know that it is neither accurate nor desirable to afford the Council on American Islamic Relations such legitimacy, nor prudent to accede to its demands. Far from the grassroots powerhouse it professes to be, CAIR is exposed as a fraud. In the words of Sperry and Gaubatz, "Like the Wizard of Oz who used smoke and mirrors to transform his modest stature into something larger than life, CAIR furiously works its own levers and buttons to create an illusion of size and power." In fact, the authors reveal that the organization may have as few as 2,000 members nationwide and is running serious operating deficits. They contend that, but for significant infusions of foreign funding – "some 60 percent of CAIR's total budget," the organization would not be able to stay in business. Sperry and Gaubatz identify such funding for CAIR as coming from "individuals, foundations and sovereign wealth funds closely identified with Arab governments." Among these generous donors are members of the Saudi royal family and the kingdom's preeminent institutions for spreading Shariah, including the World Association of Muslim Youth (WAMY). Even CAIR's professions of being the guardian of Muslims' rights and interests are shown by Sperry and Gaubatz to be fraudulent. For example, the undercover investigation revealed evidence that dozens of poor Muslim immigrants were misled into believing they were receiving legal advice from a CAIR employee who turned out not to be a lawyer and to be dunning them for services he had not rendered. According to a lawsuit filed on behalf of victims of this fraud, when CAIR discovered the truth, the organization covered it up and allegedly threatened to sue the latter if they went public. Muslim Mafia puts us all on notice: The Council on American Islamic Relations – and, for that matter, other organizations that were, like CAIR, identified last year by the government as associated with the Muslim Brotherhood in the course of the successful prosecution of the Brotherhood's Holy Land Foundation on charges of supporting terrorism – are part of the problem we face from Shariah, not part of the solution. If America is to avoid being "destroyed from within," we must not only recognize this reality. We must act on it. Messrs. Sperry and Gaubatz have rendered a real public service by exposing the truth about the Muslim Brotherhood in America in a highly readable and accessible way. Now it is up to us to ensure that the Muslim Brothers are treated as they enemies they are, not as reliable allies in the War for the Free World. FamilySecurityMatters.org Contributor Frank J. Gaffney Jr. is president of the Center for Security Policy and a columnist for The Washington Times.