UPDATE: RUMOR NOT TRUE — CAIR’s Ahmad Al-Akhras to head Ohio Civil Rights Commission?

Headed back to the land of sun, shari’a fun, and jihad.

Update #1 (0930 12/18/07): STOP THE PRESSES. Apparently the rumors about Al-Akhras possibly taking over the open OCRC post are NOT TRUE. Even more surprising than that, I’m informed that Al-Akhras intends to follow the example of his fellow jihadist, former Hilliard HAMAS cleric Salah Sultan, and is set to flee the country for the Middle East very shortly. More details are forthcoming.

Original Post: It is currently nothing but rumor, but there may be a thus-far unmentioned possible replacement for Barbara Sykes as the head of the Ohio Civil Rights Commission — CAIR national vice chairman and local Islamic extremist leader Ahmad Al-Akhras. Sykes resigned as chairwoman earlier this week just hours before her Ohio Senate confirmation hearing was scheduled.

According to a very reliable inside source, Al-Akhras resigned later in the week from his longtime cushy, high-paying job as asst. director of transportation at the Mid Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC). I didn’t hear of this development until after the close of business on Friday, so I will confirm his resignation with MORPC on Monday. I previously reported (“Ahmad Al-Akhras on the Ropes?”) that Al-Akhras’ situation at MORPC was tentative already as many there grew tired of his constant on-the-clock activism and outspoken extremism, though no one could address for fear of the full “Wrath of CAIR” and the obligatory religious discrimination lawsuit that would have followed.

From one perspective (certainly not mine, by the way), Al-Akhras is an attractive candidate for the Ohio Civil Rights Commission (OCRC) job. Al-Akhras has long been Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman’s man on the Community Relations Commission, and he is also a board member of ACLU-OH and the NAACP-OH. Al-Akhras has also participated in forums sponsored by the OCRC, such as this “Voting Rights Forum” in February 2006, which he moderated.

He’s tight with Gov. Ted Strickland, and it is no secret that our network of Islamic extremists here in town, headed by Al-Akhras, have not been happy with not having one of their own on the OCRC. In obeisance for their public support and campaign fundraising on his behalf, Strickland appeared at the CAIR-OH annual banquest last June (“Not in Our Name, Gov. Strickland”). They may be demanding more political payback from him. Al-Akhras would also be following the example of some of his CAIR colleagues in infiltrating the civil rights public sector, like what Ahmed Bedier has done in Florida, and what Esam Omeish of the Muslim American Society tried to do back in October with the VA Immigration Commission (derailed in no small part thanks to Steve Emerson and The Investigative Project).

But if he is appointed to the post by Gov. Strickland (which, again, is nothing but rumor at this point), Al-Akhras certainly faces many tough questions, many more than Sykes faced. Such as his open defense of the convicted members of our local Al-Qaeda cell (see my FPM article, “Hometown Jihad: Getting by with a little help from his [terrorist] friends”) and his longtime friendship (reported by the Cleveland Plain Dealer) with convicted and deported North American Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader and fundraiser Fawaz Damra, even continuing communication with Damra even after he had been deported. His connection to that Al-Qaeda cell and his relationship with HAMAS cleric and former Hilliard resident Salah Sultan (who fled to Bahrain earlier this year after his US citizenship application was rejected) are yet unexplored areas of potential interest to his legion of critics.

Other facts of interest certain to come up in any possible confirmation hearing include Al-Akhras playing host to the Iranian mullah Ayatollah Khatami at a CAIR fundraiser last year, even being pictured with the mass murderer and father of the terrorist group, Hezbollah (“A Smile and Handshake for the Iranian Dictator”).


Then there was the minor role that Al-Akhras played in the horror of 9/11, by publicly coming to the defense of two Saudi students that the FBI and the 9/11 Commission Report says had conducted hijacking dry-runs on an American West flight from Phoenix to Columbus (“Ahmad Al-Akhras and the pre-9/11 "dry-run" Al-Qaeda terrorists he defended”).

He must also explain his cheerleading and promotion of 9/11-denial “theologian” David Ray Griffin (“9/11 Denial author coming to town, promoted by Mayor Coleman advisor Al-Akhras”). Oh, and while we’re on the topic, we do have artwork of Al-Akhras at the Griffin event we haven’t released yet.

The invitation that Al-Akhras extended to promient hate sheikh and 1993 WTC bombing unindicted co-conspirator Siraj Wahhaj to speak at a fundraiser this past September for the Islamic Foundation of Central Ohio, which Al-Akhras is president of, would no doubt be raised during any State Senate confirmation hearings (“Mayor Coleman advisor brings hate sheikh to town”). Oh, and there was that defense fundraiser that Al-Akhras hosted with Wahhaj in support of convicted cop killer Jamil Al-Amin (more on that one later!).

And let’s not forget about the videotaped assault by Al-Akhras and his Islamofascist goons of a local female independent journalist while videotaping one of his regular “hate the Jews and infidel Americans” rallies at the Federal Courthouse downtown (videos at Ciaospirit’s website), which may not sit well with some of the feminists in the Ohio Senate (see also my FPM article, “CAIR: Assault and Videotape?”). Included in other reported incidents of Al-Akhras’ jackboot thuggery is when he, along with two CAIR accomplices, went unannounced one evening to the home of a local retired Marine veteran to harrass him because they didn’t like his bumper sticker (“CAIR Thugs on Islamophobia patrol”), a confrontation he has openly bragged about to the local media.

Al-Akhras’ membership in the Muslim Brotherhood front group, the Muslim American Society, and its racist website postings might also come up (“The Muslim Brotherhood in Central Ohio”), as well as the long string of now-convicted terrorist leaders (such as Abdurahman Alamoudi, sentenced to 23 years in prison on terrorism charges) and other extremists that Al-Akhras brought into Central Ohio when he was still the president of CAIR-OH.

And then there was his appearance in August at the conference that was evicted from the US Capitol by the US House Sergeant-at-Arms over security concerns and his connection to the sponsoring group, the Peace and Justice Foundation, which openly defends a whole host of convicted terrorists and cop killers. The Peace and Justice Foundation also rose to the defense of Al-Akhras, Abukar Arman and Anisa Abd El Fattah against my criticism of that event, going so far as to openly defend a number of terrorist organizations in an open letter in support of the HAMAS-fest at the Ohio Statehouse back in October (“Group supporting Al-Qaeda defends Ohio Statehouse October-terror-fest”)

There are, however, other possible explanations for Al-Akhras’ reported departure from MORPC that may not be related to the open OCRC position. With the ongoing organizational shakeup at CAIR national, he might be positioning himself for a move into the national spotlight in Washington DC. It might be hard to believe, but such a move would likely serve to increase CAIR’s extremism.

Another possibility is that he might get something in the third-term Coleman administration in Columbus City Hall, where he can directly manage his many lackeys and stooges already inside Mayor Coleman’s office (I know, it’s not like the Mayor would ever create a job for one of his [drug dealer] friends or other political allies). Other job options for Al-Akhras are possible, but it is highly unlikely he will leave the public sector, where taxpayers get to fund his activism and he is exempt from Social Security taxes by being part of the Ohio state employee retirement system.

Whatever it might be, we will all be eager to hear where Ahmad Al-Akhras lands. Hopefully I’ve helped him here to fill in some of the holes in his resume. No need to thank me, Ahmad! Always my pleasure.

9/11-denial author coming to Columbus, promoted by Mayor Coleman advisor Al-Akhras

“It is already possible to know beyond a reasonable doubt one very important thing: The destruction of the World Trade Center was an inside job, orchestrated by domestic terrorists.” — David Ray Griffin

Having just passed the sixth anniversary of America’s Day of Terror, some of our local extremists are bringing to town prominent 9/11-denial author David Ray Griffin, the foremost academic of the movement, who will be speaking at the First Congregational Church on East Broad Street next Tuesday, September 25th. Notwithstanding Griffin’s use of research from Holocaust-denial groups and individuals (discussed below), one individual promoting Griffin’s visit is Mayor Coleman’s close advisor, Ahmad Al-Akhras, a member of the Columbus Community Relations Commission.

In a critical review of Griffin’s book, The New Pearl Harbor, Chip Bertlet describes some of Griffin’s views:

• The U.S. government caused or deliberately allowed the attacks of 09/11/01 to take place.
• The collapse of the twin towers of the World Trade Center was caused by a controlled demolition (bombs planted in the buildings prior to the planes striking the buildings).
• The Pentagon was not struck by American Airlines flight 77 or any commercial jet, but was hit by a guided missile.
• The commercial jet that crashed in Pennsylvania was hit by a heat-seeking guided missile launched by the government to silence the hijackers who could have exposed government complicity.
• Bush knew in advance that the attacks would take place because after the attacks began he stayed talking to children in a classroom.

Even though most of Griffin’s bizarre claims have been thoroughly refuted (for instance, see NASA research scientist Ryan Mackey’s nearly 200-page rebuttal of Griffin, “On Debunking 9/11 Debunking”), the professional theologian has taken on in his most recent book the 2005 Popular Mechanics 9/11 myth-busting special report, “Debunking the 9/11 Myths”.

Scientists vs. retired liberal theologian: you decide.

What is most disconcerting about Griffin’s conspiratorial views is that he frequently relies on individuals and publications involved in the Holocaust-denial movement. For instance in his article published in Tikkun earlier this year, in his footnotes there are several references relying on such sources:

[24] A photograph taken by Terry Schmidt can be seen on page 63 of Eric Hufschmid’s Painful Questions: An Analysis of the September 11th Attack (Goleta, Calif.: Endpoint Software, 2002). According to Schmidt, this photo was taken between 3:09 and 3:16 PM, hence only a little over 2 hours before Building 7 collapsed. It shows that on the north side of the building, fires were visible only on floors 7 and 12. Therefore, if there were more fires on the south side, as some witnesses have claimed, they were not big enough to be seen from the north side.

[25] Quoted in Christopher Bollyn, “New Seismic Data Refutes Official Explanation,” American Free Press, Updated April 12, 2004. For several more examples, see the subsection labeled “Molten Steel” in my chapter, “The Destruction of the World Trade Center: Why the Official Account Cannot Be True,” in Christian Faith and the Truth Behind 9/11, or the discussion of molten metal in Chap. 3 of Debunking 9/11 Debunking.

[56] See Ted Twietmeyer, “Judicial Watch Caught Pulling a 180 on Pentagon Footage,” Rense.com, May 21, 2006

The items I have placed in bold above should be noted. Eric Hufschmid is a prominent Holocaust-denier; the American Free Press is the publisher of The Barnes Review, founded by neo-Nazi Willis Carto and perhaps the largest Holocaust-denial publication in the US, which has recommended Adolf Hitler for a Nobel Prize (ADL has published a report on AFP/Barnes Review and their role in the 9/11 denial movement); and Rense.com is a site that promotes the cause of neo-Nazi Ernst Zundel. Even many in the 9/11 denial movement are loathe to associate or rely upon the research of these individuals and organizations. But not David Ray Griffin. Just last week one of his events in Ireland was cancelled after protests from local Jewish organizations.

Notwithstanding Griffin’s bizarro conspiratorial worldview and his reliance on Holocaust-denial researchers, he has already found enthusiastic supporters here in Columbus. One of the first people to announce Griffin’s upcoming Columbus appearance was none other than Mayor Michael Coleman’s close advisor, Ahmad Al-Akhras, who sent out the following email to a CAIR-OH listserv a few weeks ago:

From: Ahmad Al-Akhras
To: “cair ohio”
Date: Thu Aug 23, 2007 9:43 am
Re: FW: David Ray Griffin talk, Sep 25 7pm

Prominent theologian to speak in Columbus

David Ray Griffin will be in Columbus for a talk at 7 p.m. Tuesday, September 25, at the First Congregational Church, 444 East Broad Street.

Dr. Griffin is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Theology at Claremont School of Theology and Claremont Graduate University, and codirector of the Center for Process Studies.

He has written four books on the subject of 9/11, including “The New Pearl Harbor” (2004), “The 9/11 Commission Report: Omissions and Distortions” (2005), “Christian Faith and the Truth Behind 9/11” (2006), and “Debunking 9/11 Debunking: An Answer to Popular Mechanics and Other Defenders of the Official Conspiracy Theory” (2007).

He is co-editor with Peter Dale Scott of “9/11 and American Empire: Intellectuals Speak Out” Vol. I (2007), which bears this note from Paul Craig Roberts, former assistant secretary of the US Treasury and editorial writer for the Wall Street Journal: “This is the most important book of our time. Distinguished national and international scientists and scholars present massive evidence that the 9/11 Commission Report is a hoax and that the “terrorist attack” has been manipulated to serve a hegemonic agenda in the Middle East. The book’s call for a truly independent panel of experts to be empowered to bring out the true facts must be heeded or Americans will never again live under accountable government.”

The following commendation of Griffin’s work is from the late Reverend William Sloan Coffin: “Professor David Ray Griffin has a well-deserved reputation for the thoroughness of his research. All Americans who love their country enough to dig into the facts of these critical times will be well rewarded for examining his books. 9/11 truth is a very important issue — one with the power to bring lasting change to our country.”

Speaking as someone who lost a friend and colleague on 9/11 (on American Airlines Flight 77, which Griffin says didn’t hit the Pentagon), it sickens me that six years after the fact that crackpots and nutjobs like Griffin continue to receive a hearing and are welcomed in our area. They are not being heard because of the weight of their arguments, but the virulence and venom of their ideas, much like Nazism in post-WWI Germany.

It isn’t surprising that Ahmad Al-Akhras and CAIR are involved in such filth; in fact, a CAIR-OH forum held back in April listed Columbus 9/11 Truth as one of their associated groups (see my FrontPage article, “Ohio State Profs Go ‘Truther’”. What is surprising is that they are still received and defended by the political power-brokers in Central Ohio and the Columbus establishment media.

Mayor Coleman advisor brings hate sheikh to town

Guess who Mayor Michael Coleman advisor Ahmad Al-Akhras is bringing to town? None other than hate sheikh extraordinaire, Siraj Wahhaj. Two peas in a pod.

On February 2, 1995, Siraj Wahhaj was named by US Attorney Mary Jo White as an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing that killed six people, injured 1,042 others, and foreshadowed the horror of 9/11.

On September 8, 2007, Ahmad Al-Akhras, close advisor to Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman and president of the Islamic Foundation of Central Ohio (IFCO), will host Siraj Wahhaj as guest speaker at an IFCO fundraising dinner here in Columbus. Mayor Coleman has appointed Al-Akhras to numerous Columbus city government boards, commissions and committees. (UPDATE: I forgot to mention that Al-Akhras is also on the city’s Community Relations Commission. I know — the irony!)

I guess it is only appropriate that at the same time Mayor Coleman is dealing with anti-Semitism in the Columbus Police Department, that he shows his solidarity by having his friend and advisor Al-Akhras bring to Columbus one of the most notorious hate sheikhs in America. How’s that for sympathy?

Siraj Wahhaj says that he isn’t sure that Osama bin Laden is responsible for 9/11; he calls for the return of the global Islamic caliphate and the imposition of Islamic shari’a law, including punishment by amputations and stoning; and he calls for the violent overthrow of American government.

Wahhaj even served as a defense character witness in the trial of blind hate sheikh Omar Abdul Rahman, who was a regular feature in Wahhaj’s mosque until he was convicted for seditious conspiracy and sentenced to life in prision for his leadership in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing plot. Rahman’s followers were responsible for the 1997 attack on European tourists in Luxor, Egypt, which killed 58.

Even the Left-leaning publication, Salon, has spoken out concerning Wahhaj’s extremist views and the reluctance of CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper to address them:

Nor could he be asked about CAIR board member Siraj Wahaj. Wahaj, the imam of the Taqwa Mosque in Brooklyn, decried on TV the Sept. 11 attacks as “criminal” and “wrong.” But Wahaj also had invited convicted terrorist Sheikh Omar Abdul Rahman to speak at his mosque, and even testified on his behalf. Before then, in 1991, speaking to the Islamic Association of North Texas, Wahaj called Operation Desert Storm “one of the most diabolical plots ever in the annals of history,” and that the war was “part of a larger plan, to destroy the greatest challenge to the Western world, and that’s Islam.” Just as the USSR fell, so too will the U.S., Wahaj said, “unless America changes its course from the new world order and accepts the Islamic agenda.” (“Islam’s Flawed Spokesman”, Salon [09/26/2001])

As the Church Lady used to say, “Well, isn’t that special?”

Thanks to Al-Akhras, Wahhaj has become a regular staple on the Columbus fundraising circuit. Earlier this year I had two articles published concerning past appearances by hate sheikh Wahhaj in town: at the June 2006 CAIR-OH fundraiser; a March 2006 Sunrise Academy fundraiser; and a February 2007 fundraiser for the Abubaker Al-Siddique mosque (see “CAIR’s Blood Money” and “Hometown Jihad: The School Gym that Terror Built”).

Here’s a sampling of Wahhaj’s greatest hits taken from my two FrontPage articles linked to above:

Paul Barrett, an editor for Business Week and author of the recent book, American Islam: Struggle for the Soul of Religion, has spent considerable time with Wahhaj and made him one of the primary subjects in his book (read the introduction to Barrett’s book at the Washington Post). Barrett has previously described the transformation of America into an Islamic state that Wahhaj would like to see:

He has told his followers that a society governed by strict Islamic law, in which adulterers would be stoned to death and thieves would have their hands cut off, would be superior to American democracy. Speaking of unnamed forces in the U.S. government and media, he has preached, “These people want the destruction of Islam.” (“One Imam Traces the Path of Islam in Black America”, Wall Street Journal [October 24, 2003])

Barrett also describes how Wahhaj brushes off evidence of Osama bin Laden’s involvement in 9/11, including dismissing bin Laden’s own video pronouncements claiming responsibility for the terror attacks, preferring to remain “neutral” on the subject:

He says the al-Qaeda leader’s videotaped boasting about the attacks may have been a media ruse: “I’m just not so sure I want to be one of the ones who say, ‘Yeah, he did it. He’s a horrible man.’” (Ibid.)

Elsewhere Wahhaj has offered a grotesque convergence of bin Laden’s calls for the revival of the Islamic caliphate with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s, “I Have a Dream” speech, envisioning an Islamic supremacist society:

“I have a vision in America, Muslims owning property all over, Muslim businesses, factories, halal meat, supermarkets, all these buildings owned by Muslims. Can you see the vision, can you see the Newark International Airport and a John Kennedy Airport and La Guardia having Muslim fleets of planes, Muslim pilots. Can you see our trucks rolling down the highways, Muslim names. Can you imagine walking down the streets of Teaneck, [New Jersey]: three Muslim high schools, five Muslim junior-high schools, fifteen public schools. Can you see the vision, can you see young women walking down the street of Newark, New Jersey, with long flowing hijab and long dresses. Can you see the vision of an area . . . controlled by the Muslims?” (quoted in Daniel Pipes, “The Danger Within: Militant Islam in America”, Commentary [Nov. 2001])

How is this Islamic supremacist society governed by an Islamic caliph supposed to come about? Wahhaj is not shy about laying out his plan for violent revolutionary action by Muslims:

“[I]f only Muslims were clever politically, they could take over the United States and replace its constitutional government with a caliphate. If we were united and strong, we would elect our own emir and give allegiance to him. Take my word if eight million Muslims unite in America, the country will come to us.” (quoted in Jagan Kaul, “Kashmir: Kashmiri Pundit View-point,” Kashmir Telegraph [May 2002])

And what message does Sunrise Academy send to its non-Muslim neighbors by hosting Siraj Wahhaj? In an audiotape message Wahhaj speaks of his love for the kuffar (infidel):

“. . . And he [Allah] declared ‘Whoever is at war with my friends, I declare war on them.’ Who is a friend of Allah? [He chants a passage in Arabic] Allah. Your true friend is Allah, the messenger, and those who believe. Americans and Canadians. Hear it well. Hear what I’m telling you well. The Americans are not your friends, hear what I’m telling you, hear it well. The Canadians are not your friends, hear what I’m telling you, hear it well. The Europeans are not your friends. Your friend is Allah, the Messenger and those who believe. These people will never be satisfied with you until you follow their religion. They will never be satisfied with you. . .” (audiotape, “The Afghanistan Jihad” [September 28, 1991]; quoted in “UCLA Sponsors of Terrorism”, FrontPage Magazine [April 4, 2003])

If you think I’m exagerating about the virulent message of hate spewed by Siraj Wahhaj, following this link to the Investigative Project website where you can see a video of Wahhaj in action, where he condemns America as “a garbage can”:

Demonize Saddam Hussein. Blow them up, no one say anything about it. Demonize Libya, Qadaffi, blow them up, attack them, no one say anything. Demonize Khomeini, all of the leaders, demonize them one by one by one. Demonize all the Muslim leaders and then when they come to get us no one will open their mouth because see he is a terrorist, it says so right here in the paper.

Alhamdulilah We gotta response for them. Who are the real terrorists? It’s not the Muslims, but the real terrorists is some segments of the United States government.

You know what this country is? It’s a garbage can. It’s filthy, filthy and sick. This country is taking our children. We’re trying to raise them up righteous. And you with your sick, low morals grabbing them, trying to teach a man how to be respectful towards his wife. And you got perversity all over. Wicked filth everywhere.

Wahhaj’s appearance at the fundraiser was announced in an email earlier this week from Mayor Coleman advisor Ahmad Al-Akhras himself:

Salam to all

The Islamic Foundation of Central Ohio (IFCO) cordially invites you and your family to attend the “Annual Fundraising Dinner” at the Asian Cusine [sic], 8008 North High Street, Columbus, Ohio 43235 @ 6:00 P.M. on Sunday, September 9, 2007.

We would be honored if you and your family would join us.

Dinner Ticket Cost: $25 per ticket

Our Guest Speakers: Imam Siraj Wahhaj & Dr. Parvez Ahmed, CAIR Chairman

Please give us a call or reply back to us as soon as possible so that we could plan dinner order accordingly. We are expecting over 250 people would join us at the program. So please confirm your dinner tickets as early as possible.

Please support our fundraising effort to build a new “Community Center” on the Sunbury land and to up keep our existing facilities at the Broad Street and Cook Road. Allah will give you a reward to support this worthy cause.

If you can not attend, please send your tax deductible donations payable to “IFCO” and to be mailed at the following address:

IFCO
P.O. Box 1055
Columbus, OH 43216-1055

FOR TICKETS, PLEASE CALL:
Abdo Abdouni [ph. # removed]
Ahmad Al-Akhras [ph. # removed]
Siraj Haji [ph. # removed]
Fatimata Kamara [ph. # removed]
Sohail Khan [ph. # removed]
Abukar Osman [ph. # removed]
Mohamed Shareef [ph. # removed]
M. Rustam Ali [ph. # removed]

We appreciate your support for IFCO.

My sincere thanks to the brave soul and member of the Central Ohio Muslim community who sent this announcement to me, who obviously requested anonymity for fear of retaliation from the Al-Akhras crew of thugs. They said it was sent because they are gravely concerned with the long string of extremists and hate preachers that Ahmad Al-Akhras and his network of associates are regularly bringing into our area, the radicalizing influence they are having on local Muslim institutions, and the direct threat they pose to Central Ohio. This is proof of what I have been contending all along that the Al-Akhras/CAIR-OH network of extremists who are the loudest and most obnoxious members of the Muslim community here in the Columbus area are not representative of it, but instead, are only its’ most radical and extreme element. Central Ohio Muslims deserve better public representatives than CAIR, ISGC, ICFO and Ahmad Al-Akhras.

Most Central Ohio Muslims reject the extremist views of Siraj Wahhaj and Ahmad Al-Akhras. Mayor Michael Coleman, on the other hand, embraces them in his bosom.