CAIR’s Fight Against Pennsylvania Foreign Law Bill

My new article, “CAIR’s Fight Against Pennsylvania Foreign Law Bill,” is up at FrontPage Magazine:

Resistance to a new bill aimed at limiting foreign law in Pennsylvania courts serves as a case study of how Islamists and their allies operate: peddling falsehoods about Shari’a, painting Muslims as victims, and denying that anyone seeks to institutionalize aspects of Islamic law — even as they vigorously promote that very agenda. With similar legislation being debated across the U.S., understanding their tactics is critical.

At issue in Pennsylvania is House Bill (HB) 2029, which stipulates that “a tribunal shall not consider a foreign legal code or system which does not grant … the same fundamental liberties, rights and privileges” as guaranteed by the federal and state constitutions. Introduced in November, it follows the American Laws for American Courts (ALAC) model and makes no mention of Shari’a. A preliminary memo sent to legislators last June in the name of Rep. RoseMarie Swanger, HB 2029’s chief sponsor, does highlight Islamic law, but she later said that it had been circulated accidentally. Regardless, concerns about Shari’a are warranted due to its many provisions that conflict with the standards of American jurisprudence. For example, it disadvantages women in terms of inheritance, divorce, child custody, and other areas of family law. Shari’a already has shaped numerous cases nationwide, including in Pennsylvania, where one state court decided how assets should be distributed according to Islam.

Read it all here.

Denying Islamists Federal Security Clearances

My new article, “Denying Islamists Federal Security Clearances,” is up at PJ Media:

Federal departments and agencies tasked with safeguarding the U.S. must first safeguard themselves against Islamist infiltration. Recent news items about Muslims having security clearances rejected or revoked suggest that at least some government entities are forgoing political correctness and taking this problem seriously. More need to follow suit, but the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is determined to make life difficult for them.

The disclosures began last June when the Investigative Newsource (IN), then called the Watchdog Institute, published a report in the Orange County Register describing how a multiagency probe had led the Department of Defense (DoD) one year earlier to remove the secret-level clearance of Rahim Sabadia, president of Sabtech Industries, a California-based company that manufactures electronics and computer systems for military use. This kept his firm from completing work on a classified contract for the U.S. Navy. Apparently the Pentagon had expressed concerns about Sabadia’s “charitable contributions.”

Read it all here.

Blogging at Islamist Watch XXIII

A nationwide burqa ban goes into force in Belgium, CAIR officials are caught repeatedly trashing the United States on Iranian television, and surveys illuminate the views of American Muslims. These items and others are dissected in posts at the IW blog:

Threats to Free Speech: A Tale of Two Terry Joneses

'Islamophobia' Defense Succeeds for Shooter of Aussie Cop

No Hijab, No Peace: Analyzing the Rye Playland Incident

Pew Poll Quantifies the Radical Minority of U.S. Muslims

Gallup's U.S. Muslim Survey: No Great Boon to Islamists

Belgian Burqa Ban Takes Effect — Who's Next?

CAIR Regularly Slams America on Iranian TV

Face of Controversial Philly Muslim Adorns City-Backed Mural

Blogging at Islamist Watch XXII

Christians bend over backwards to reach out to Muslims, CAIR's new "Islamophobia" study twists the facts about alleged incidents at a Philadelphia mosque, and Islamist Watch exposes the radical views promoted by organizers of Philly's Islamic Heritage Festival. Read about these and other items of note on the Islamist Watch blog:

Prince Goes from 'Darling Nikki' to 'Darling Niqab'

Armageddon, Farrakhan, and Philadelphia's Islamic Festival

CAIR's 'Islamophobia' Study Distorts Philly Mosque Case

The Justice Department's PC-Heavy Press Releases

Have Christians Gone Overboard in Outreach to Muslims?

Everybody Remember Molly Norris Day

Muslims for Burqa Bans

Did a Polygamous Imam Lead Prayer in the Florida Legislature?

May Christians Preach Outside a Philadelphia Mosque?

In "May Christians Preach Outside a Philadelphia Mosque?," online today at the American Thinker, I explore an important yet virtually unreported case from 2010 in which two evangelists speaking about Christianity on a public sidewalk adjacent to a masjid were arrested and tried on trumped-up charges, to the glee of CAIR and its media enablers. The lesson: as with other recent incidents, speech that upsets Muslims is speech that authorities aim to suppress.

Blogging at Islamist Watch XXI

A congressional hearing on Muslim radicalization is met with distortion and tears, Islamist Watch catches CNN brazenly omitting key details about an attempted mosque attack, and the sweeping French burqa ban goes into effect. These stories and others are analyzed in recent postings at the IW blog:

Efforts to Ban the Burqa Go Well Beyond France

CNN 'Islamophobia' Piece Relies on Flagrant Deception

Boorish Anti-Muslim Protesters Aid Islamists

Violent Jihad Kills Muslims, 'Islamophobia' Does Not

Muslim Radicalization: Rebutting Peter King's Critics

Sexual Slavery in Britain and Its PC Enablers

Teachers Physically Assaulted by Islamists

Europe Wakes to Multiculturalism's Epic Failure

Blogging at Islamist Watch XX

FBI statistics fail to show the often-claimed increase in hate crimes against Muslims, a mention of ham curing sparks controversy in a Spanish classroom, and niqab-clad robbers demonstrate a striking preference for a particular U.S. bank. These stories and more are covered in recent postings at the IW blog:

Trend: Burn a Koran, Get Arrested

Burqa Bandits Target TD Bank

The Slow-Motion Exodus of European Jews

Ham and Other Troublesome Topics in Class

The Grinches Who Steal Christmas

A Muslim, Her Guide Horse, and Reciprocity

Hate Crime Stats: Where's the 'Islamophobia'?

Muslims in Christian Schools: Religious Friction 101

Blogging at Islamist Watch XIX

A new trend of Christians being arrested while preaching to Muslims emerges, publishers continue to shrink from books on Islam, and Oklahomans overwhelmingly vote to ban Shari'a law in their courtrooms. Read about these and other recent happenings on the Islamist Watch blog:

Oklahoma's Shari'a Ban and CAIR's Risky Response

Informal Honor Police Use Taxis as Patrol Cars

NPR Cans Juan Williams for Addressing Reality

Book Publishers' Continued Cold Feet over Islam

Celebrating Free Speech Victories

Kenny Gamble Nets Another $500K from Taxpayers

Trend: Christians Preach to Muslims, Get Arrested

Ramadan Accommodations: Tolerable vs. Troubling

Blogging at Islamist Watch XVIII

Self-censorship ties Penn Jillette's tongue, CAIR becomes an issue in political campaigns, and a professor demonstrates his ignorance about niqab-clad criminals. These stories and more are dissected at the IW blog:

Media Cite Professor Bagby, Not CAIR Bigshot Bagby

Professor Prothero, Meet the Burqa Bandits

The Ground Zero Mosque: Counterproductive to Islamists?

CAIR Becomes a Political Hot Potato

Ramadan Controversies Start Early

Pandering to Muslims at Taxpayer Expense

Self-Censorship: Et Tu, Penn Jillette?

The European June: Riots, Stonings, and Brawls

Blogging at Islamist Watch XVII

Comedy Central caves to radical Muslims, proposals to ban face-covering veils proliferate across the West, and Ground Zero mosque founder Feisal Abdul Rauf is exposed as an enthusiastic promoter of Shari'a law. These news items and more are analyzed in recent postings at the Islamist Watch blog:

Islamic Dress and No-Win Situations

Virgin Mary Gets Dragged into the Burqa Fray

Here Come the Burqa Bans

Cordoba House Backer Feisal Abdul Rauf Loves Shari'a

Jihad on Camera: Hatred at UCSD, Lars Vilks Attacked

Trickle-Down Self-Censorship

Bear-Suit Muhammad and the Wages of Cowardice

Siraj Wahhaj Starts Health Clinics, Enjoys a Media Whitewash