Sherrod Brown is consorting with Terror Sympathizers. Last Monday, Ohio freshman US Senator Sherrod Brown (D) probably had no idea that when he met with a group of Columbus-area Somali leaders that they were being led by one of the most vocal Western supporters of the Somali al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group, the Islamic Courts Union (ICU). That oversight is forgivable, considering that Abukar Arman, one of my Hilliard, Ohio neighbors, regularly operates among the political elite of the state of Ohio, though as I discovered in my extensive investigation, Abukar Arman’s powerful friends will go to great lengths to promote and protect their Somali terror apologist friend. Arman’s position overseeing Central Ohio’s homeland security (discussed further below) is an example of how his politically powerful friends have worked hard to position him at the top of the governmental and educational hierarchy in the area.
Abukar Arman is one of the most prominent public defenders of the al-Qaeda-backed ICU terrorist organization in the West, having published numerous articles in print and online defending the group prior to their violent takeover of Somalia last summer, during their campaign to impose shari’a on the Somali population during brief time in power, and following the ICU’s expulsion late last year by Ethiopian troops to restore the UN-backed Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and to defuse the threats made by the ICU to conduct terror operations inside Ethiopia.
Back this past December, Arman called the ICU takeover of Somali “the best thing that happened to Somalia in the past 16 years
Abukar Arman doesn’t reserve his support for Islamic terrorism just to the ICU, however. In an article for the International Herald Tribune (owned by the New York Times), he railed against prominent secular Muslims and former Muslims, calling them “Islam bashers”. But when he gave examples of who he believed were representative of “moderate Muslims”, he identified:
…widely respected moderate Muslim scholars like Yusuf al-Qaradawi, who made a career campaigning against extremism and radical literalism. (“Who is the ‘moderate’ Muslim”, International Herald Tribune [November 11, 2005])
Of course, Yusuf al-Qaradawi, who was listed by the US government as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist even before 9/11, is no moderate nor has he ever campaigned against extremism. The spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Qaradawi was one of the first clerics to authorize the use of suicide bombings against civilians in Israel, which was responsible for unleashing an unparalleled torrent of violence, terror and death.
Qaradawi also said in 2004 that resistance against US troops in Iraq was the duty of every Muslim and he issued a fatwa in October of that year authorizing the abduction and killing of American civilian contractors in Iraq. (Moderation, you say, Mr. Arman?) These are just a few of the reasons why the Anti-Defamation League issued a report in August 2005 on the ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood cleric, appropriately entitled, “Sheik Yusuf al-Qaradawi: Theologian of Terror”.
In his public writings, Abukar Arman has also adopted the extremist language of grievances that is regularly used to justify terrorism against Westerners and non-Muslims all over the Middle East. In an article earlier this year, he takes it upon himself to weigh the grievances resulting from “Islamophobia” and anti-Americanism, and predictably concludes that the victims of “Islamophobia” are the winners of the grievance game:
Analysts both in the Muslim and the Western world by and large agree that “fear” and lack of objective dialogue are the root cause of Islamophobia and anti-Americanism. And while the debate on which one of the two ignited the other is still ongoing, one fact remains irrefutable: more people were victimized as a result of Islamophobia than the other way around. (“Overblown Threat and Islamophobia”, Online Journal [January 26, 2007])
Again, this is the moral equivalency used by al-Qaeda and every other anti-Western terrorist organization to justify their terrorist activities. Not to dismiss the injuries and wrongs suffered by anyone as the result of Islamophobia (whatever definition one wants to give it), but Mr. Arman should recall that on 9/11, 3,000 innocent civilians were murdered in a single day by Islamic terrorists for the sole reason that they were Americans, and the vast majority of deaths currently in Iraq and Afghanistan are not at the hands of Coalition Forces, but the very Islamic terrorists driven by the ideology that he has taken to defend.
It is for these extremist views held by Abukar Arman and his vigorous public defense of terrorists and terrorist organizations that makes his appointment to the Franklin County Criminal Justice Planning Board in March 2005, which is responsible for overseeing homeland security for Central Ohio, particularly troubling in several respects (he has since been reappointed to the board for another term).
Sherrod Brown cavorting with an al Queda sympathizer? I am not surprised, considering his stance on the Iraq war and the global war on terror, er, excuse me, bumper stickers. This needs to be seriously investigated. What did Brown know and when did he know it? The fact that this man is on a commission discussing homeland security for part of my beloved state of Ohio is very troubling and needs to be examined.
It seems there is a coverup involving this terror sympathizer and the Franklin County Commission. Central Ohio Against Terrorism Has the details:
If Watergate should have taught politicians anything, its that the cover-up ends up more damaging than the actual crime.
Case in point: following up on the report yesterday about Franklin County Commissioner Paula Brooks calling for an immediate investigation in response to my article published earlier this week, "Hometown Jihad: The Somali Terror Apologist Next Door," today it seems that the County Commissioners have begun to rally around terror apologist Abukar Arman rather than answer the hard questions about who recommended Arman for appointment to the Criminal Justice Planning Board, which oversees Central Ohio Homeland Security.
Earlier today, Dirk Thompson of 610 WTVN received an email from Hanna Greer, Public Information Officer for the Franklin County Commission. Thompson was making an inquiry as a member of the media, and Greer's email was a public statement in response. Here is what she said:
From: Greer, Hanna M. [mailto:hmgreer@franklincountyohio.gov]
Sent: Fri 7/13/2007 2:14 PM
To: Thompson, Dirk
Subject: Statement in Response to your Request
Mr. Thompson,
Franklin County has implemented a national model for intelligence and information-sharing with trained terrorist and intelligence analysts. We rely on their expertise. We also take seriously any allegation of terrorism and will refer Mr. Poole’s information for review.
The Franklin County Criminal Justice Planning Board meets quarterly to review annual grant applications for funding from the Justice Assistance Grant Program, Violence Against Women Act, Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention II and Juvenile Accountability Block Grant from a diverse pool of applicants. The Criminal Justice Planning Board does not oversee homeland security for Franklin County. Those functions belong to police and fire, the Sheriff’s office and the FBI. Any information about homeland security presented to the Board is also available publicly.
Hanna Greer
Hanna M. Greer
Public Affairs Director
Franklin County Board of Commissioners
373 S. High St., 26th Floor
Columbus, Ohio 43215
614.462.5848
www.FranklinCountyOhio.gov/Commissioners
Again, rather than answer the hard questions about Abukar Arman and who is behind his sudden rise to power, Ms. Greer is claiming that the Criminal Justice Planning Board really doesn't oversee Homeland Security. This is a back-door method to try to attack my credibility and my reporting of the story. But as Mr. Thompson noted in a reply, the Planning Board's own report, "The Franklin County Comprehensive Strategic Justice Plan", which is dated December 2006, states the following about the Planning Board's oversight of Homeland Security:
The Board is responsible for comprehensive countywide planning and directing the mission of the Office of Homeland Security & Justice Programs. The Franklin County Office of Homeland Security & Justice Programs performs the fiscal and programmatic administration of the county’s federal justice block grants and the Urban Area Security Initiative, provides training and technical assistance for the justice partners and first responders, and is responsible for the development and evaluation of projects and programs operating in accordance with the Franklin County Comprehensive Strategic Justice Plan and the Homeland Security Strategy.
[….]
