Southern California: Muslims fear ‘backlash’ over arrested jihadists

Relax. The four jihadis are just misunderstanders of Islam. “Muslim leaders: Terror suspects don’t represent Islam,” by David Olson for the Press-Enterprise, November 20 (JW)

Leaders of several Inland mosques say they do not recognize the names of the four men accused of planning a terrorist attack on U.S. military bases in Afghanistan.The FBI says in a federal complaint that one of the suspects, an Ontario man named Ralph Deleon, talked of how a couple of “brothers from the mosque want to join the jihad.” The complaint doesn’t identify the mosque.

The other suspects live in Riverside, Pomona and Upland.

Mustafa Kuko, director of the Islamic Center of Riverside, said he had asked mosque members Tuesday morning if they knew Arifeen David Gojali, the Riverside suspect. No one did.

What a surprise! And David Olson doesn’t seem to have had the wit or curiosity to ask whether there were any records — attendance at classes, etc. — that he could look through that might establish whether Gojali or the others had been around.

“If I see anything suspicious, I’ll report it,” Kuko said. “The FBI knows I will cooperate.”Kuko said he is frustrated whenever Islam is linked with terrorism.

“Sometimes when people see this in the media, people will say, ‘This is Islam,’” he said. “Then they won’t believe what we say when we say Islam is a religion of peace.”

They won’t believe you because of the steady stream of jihad plots carried out by people acting in the name of Islam, and because of the less than forthcoming responses from people in your position when asked about them.

Sam Badwan, the chairman of the board of directors of the Islamic Center of Claremont in Pomona, said that whenever anyone is arrested who claims to be planning terrorist attacks in the name of Islam, he and other Muslims always worry that misunderstandings of Islam will spread.“You look around and see good people, good, hard-working people, true Americans who contribute to our society and bring up their families with good values,” said Badwan, who lives in Rancho Cucamonga. “They’re people who contribute to society. Then you see the news and it sounds like there’s a target on our backs.”

Note how he is working hard to portray Muslims as victims, when the real target is on the backs of the non-Muslims that these four jihadis wanted to murder.

Badwan noted how the three men who allegedly were part of the planning of the attacks were in their early 20s. Two of the men converted to Islam in 2010, federal officials said.“They not have even known anything about Islam” and – if they did as alleged hold extremist beliefs – may have been susceptible to manipulation of their beliefs, he said.

Are the local mosques holding any classes for converts to make sure they don’t misunderstand Islam in this way? Is anyone? David Olson didn’t have the wit or curiosity to ask.

As the details of the investigation unfold, Kuko warned of not presuming the four men are guilty. He always worries that the FBI may use entrapment techniques to induce people to follow extremist beliefs.

That Kuko said that is in itself suspicious. But once again, David Olson didn’t have the wit or curiosity to ask him how moderate, peaceful Muslims who rejected violent jihad could possibly be entrapped, as I explained here.