Terrorism vs. 1st Amendment - Who Wins?

Dymphna at Gates of Vienna writes: Dialogue with the Deluded The Totonto Star (free registration) reports a sad incident from the marching morons. What began as an attempt to heal the wounds of Canada's Muslims and Jews has ended by inflaming them. At an evening of dialogue for Muslim-Jewish understanding, remarks by Israel's consul general have prompted the Muslim Canadian Congress to call for an apology, and it has asked Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew to investigate the statements and seek an explanation. Consul General Ya'acov Brosh merely stated the obvious, that "the majority of terrorists today were Muslims, although the majority of Muslims are not themselves terrorists." However, in doing so, he brought down the wrath of the correct thinkers upon his head. Muslims who attended the speech said they were hurt and shocked by his words. Hurt and shocked by his words. Does the hurt and shock follow from the words spoken, or from the fact that they were spoken at all? Dymphna gives a hat tip to The Last Amazon for writing on the same subject: The ugly fact is that the majority of terrorists in the world today are Muslim but not all Muslims are terrorists. When you cannot state an obvious fact without a Muslim group attempting to have you slurred or persecuted for stating an ugly truth we are in trouble and no matter how many inter-faith dialogues you hold or how loudly you sing Kumbala that will not change a damn thing. I am sorry the Muslim Canadian Congress finds that statement of fact hurtful but there is nothing I can do to change that except wish it were not so. You can attempt to have me persecuted and considering the current state of free speech in Canada you might meet with success, but even so, you cannot change reality with the power of your denials. The The Council on American-Islamic Relations - CAIR has also set itself up as a 'politically correct' watchdog of every facet of our lives in much the same manner as the MCC. Visiting their website and picking a story - any story - will demonstrate this. Or you may prefer to visit Anti CAIR, where they have already separated the wheat from the chaff, and denying CAIR the site hits. Are most terrorists Muslim? According to the U.S. Department of State, terrorist organizations are defined as: Legal Criteria for Designation under Section 219 of the INA as amended 1. It must be a foreign organization. 2. The organization must engage in terrorist activity, as defined in section 212 (a)(3)(B) of the INA (8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(3)(B)),* or terrorism, as defined in section 140(d)(2) of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1988 and 1989 (22 U.S.C. § 2656f(d)(2)),** or retain the capability and intent to engage in terrorist activity or terrorism. 3. The organization’s terrorist activity or terrorism must threaten the security of U.S. nationals or the national security (national defense, foreign relations, or the economic interests) of the United States. Here is the list from the State departments website: Current List of Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations 1. Abu Nidal Organization (ANO) 2. Abu Sayyaf Group 3. Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade 4. Ansar al-Islam 5. Armed Islamic Group (GIA) 6. Asbat al-Ansar 7. Aum Shinrikyo 8. Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA) 9. Communist Party of the Philippines/New People's Army (CPP/NPA) 10. Continuity Irish Republican Army 11. Gama’a al-Islamiyya (Islamic Group) 12. HAMAS (Islamic Resistance Movement) 13. Harakat ul-Mujahidin (HUM) 14. Hizballah (Party of God) 15. Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) 16. Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM) (Army of Mohammed) 17. Jemaah Islamiya organization (JI) 18. al-Jihad (Egyptian Islamic Jihad) 19. Kahane Chai (Kach) 20. Kongra-Gel (KGK, formerly Kurdistan Workers' Party, PKK, KADEK) 21. Lashkar-e Tayyiba (LT) (Army of the Righteous) 22. Lashkar i Jhangvi 23. Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) 24. Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) 25. Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK) 26. National Liberation Army (ELN) 27. Palestine Liberation Front (PLF) 28. Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) 29. Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLF) 30. PFLP-General Command (PFLP-GC) 31. al-Qa’ida 32. Real IRA 33. Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) 34. Revolutionary Nuclei (formerly ELA) 35. Revolutionary Organization 17 November 36. Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C) 37. Salafist Group for Call and Combat (GSPC) 38. Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso, SL) 39. Tanzim Qa'idat al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn (QJBR) (al-Qaida in Iraq) (formerly Jama'at al-Tawhid wa'al-Jihad, JTJ, al-Zarqawi Network) 40. United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) Let's see... yes, yes, yes, yes,... well, it seems obvious to me that MOST terrorist organizations are indeed Muslim. How can anyone dispute this fact? So the remarks by Israeli Consul General Ya'acov Brosh that the majority of terrorists today were Muslims, although the majority of Muslims are not themselves terrorists (from the Totonto Star article) was and is an accurate statement. Could the statement have been taken to mean that Muslim=Terrorist? No, he specifically said the majority of Muslims are not terrorists. So this is plainly an attack on an individual made under false prestenses. Unjustified and not supported by any truth. Aiding and Abetting From the same State Department webpage cited above: As used in this chapter [chapter 8 of the INA], the term ‘engage in terrorist activity’ means in an individual capacity or as a member of an organization– 1. to commit or to incite to commit, under circumstances indicating an intention to cause death or serious bodily injury, a terrorist activity; 2. to prepare or plan a terrorist activity; 3. to gather information on potential targets for terrorist activity; 4. to solicit funds or other things of value for– (aa) a terrorist activity; (bb) a terrorist organization described in clause (vi)(I) or (vi)(II); or (cc) a terrorist organization described in clause (vi)(III), unless the solicitor can demonstrate that he did not know, and should not reasonably have known, that the solicitation would further the organization’s terrorist activity; 1. to solicit any individual– (aa) to engage in conduce otherwise described in this clause; (bb) for membership in terrorist organization described in clause (vi)(I) or (vi)(II); or (cc) for membership in a terrorist organization described in clause (vi)(III), unless the solicitor can demonstrate that he did not know, and should not reasonably have known, that the solicitation would further the organization’s terrorist activity; or 2. to commit an act that the actor knows, or reasonably should know, affords material support, including a safe house, transportation, communications, funds, transfer of funds or other material financial benefit, false documentation or identification, weapons (including chemical, biological, or radiological weapons), explosives, or training– (aa) for the commission of a terrorist activity; (bb) to any individual who the actor knows, or reasonably should know, has committed or plans to commit a terrorist activity; (cc) to a terrorist organization described in clause (vi)(I) or (vi)(II); or (dd) to a terrorist organization described in clause (vi)(III), unless the actor can demonstrate that he did not know, and should not reasonably have known, that the act would further the organization’s terrorist activity. I can categorically state as fact, based on the information available to me, that the majority of terrorists are Muslim. I can ASSUME that, due to the world population of Muslims versus the number identified as terrorists, that the majority of Muslims are NOT terrorists. It is my OPINION that actions such as these detailed at the start of this post are in fact aiding and abetting terrorist organizations. It is a FACT that in the United States we are guaranteed the right of free speech by the 1st Amendment to our Constitution. However, we are not guaranteed any relief from consequences of our speech. Continued actions in this vein will probably lead to severe backlash. Or, as Dymphna at Gates of Vienna wrote: These people need IQ tests. Immediately. Followed by a mandatory Logic 101 course. Tagged as Terrorist, War on Terror, Muslim, Enemy, 1st Amendment, Constitution, U.S. Department of State