This has to qualify as one of Media Matters’ longer, more bizarre and unfounded attacks against an individual – physician and founder of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, Dr. Zuhdi Jasser. They must be chasing Wahhabist petro dollars. Their attack makes no sense at all given what we know of the Left. But that doesn’t stop them from attempting to smear Jasser repeatedly. I suppose community activism is suddenly out of vogue, provided the activist in question disagrees with the Left at MMFA.
Rep. Peter King plans to begin hearings on March 10 to investigate the “radicalization of the American Muslim community,” allegedly with the aim of shining a light on the supposed failure of America’s Muslim communities to cooperate with law enforcement officials investigating terrorist plots. His star witness is Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser, a physician and former U.S. Navy medical officer with no background in law enforcement or public policy.
What Jasser is, is engaged, active and interested in calling out fellow Muslims perceived as not having America’s best interests at heart. We know this from simply observing the behavior of organizations such as CAIR, and others. Though often subtle, what those groups do is trumpet a Muslim identity politics, or Islam, over an American identity and straight-forward dedication to American exceptionalism and our Constitution. Jasser offers a competing view. For that and that alone, the Left now seeks to silence him.
M. Zuhdi Jasser, M.D. is the President and Founder of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD). A devout Muslim, Dr. Jasser founded AIFD in the wake of the 9/11 attacks on the United States as an effort to provide an American Muslim voice advocating for the preservation of the founding principles of the United States Consitution, liberty and freedom, and the separation of mosque and state. He is leading the fight to shake the hold that the Muslim Brotherhood and their Network of American Islamist organizations and mosques have on organizxed Islam in America.
If one wants absolute proof that MMFA’s attack on Jasser is utterly ridiculous, one need look no further than the case of Cindy Sheenhan. Not only did the Left do everything it could to make her a media star, there were never any complaints from Media Matters when she was called to testify before Congress. If the knock on Dr. Jasser is that he has no background in law enforcement or public policy, what was Sheehan’s background in military strategy, international relations, or public policy that qualified her to offer testimony? The answer is none, of course. The only difference is that Sheehan agreed with the Left and the likes of Media Matters.
Congressman Conyers and all, it is an honor to be here to testify about the effect that the revelations of the Downing Street Memo has had on me and my family. It is an honor that I wish never had to happen. I believe that not any of us should be gathered here today for this reason: as the result of an invasion/occupation that never should have occured.
All MMFA demonstrates with their unfounded attack on Jasser is their typical jackbooted approach to silencing all dissent. Disagree with them and you are ripe for smearing, undermining and running into the ground if they can. It should be a crime that the word America appears in the title of MMFA because their style, approach and tactics are so repulsively and genuinely un-American.