American Muslims 17 years after 9/11 Page Two
New Jersey Homeland Security cites 'dramatic rise' in violence by groups
A “dramatic rise” in violence by white supremacists, anti-government groups, anarchists and other domestic extremists means New Jersey will face new and growing challenges in the fight against terrorism in 2018, according to a report released in March this year.
The 2018 Terror Threat Assessment said extremists inspired by foreign organizations including the Islamic State group were still the top risk, but warned that other groups are expanding and committing more crimes.
“In the year ahead, homegrown violent extremists will remain our most persistent adversary,” said Jared Maples, director of the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, which released the annual report.
“Couple this with the dramatic rise in violence between race-based, single-issue, and anti-government extremists and it is clear that our threat landscape has become more diverse than ever before," he added.
Extremist groups have recruited at New Jersey college campuses and were behind a rash of hate crimes across the United States, from the stabbing of a black man in New York City to the mowing down of a protester at the “Unite the Right” Rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
The New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness review tallied at least eight white supremacist groups that were active in 14 counties in the state last year. And there were arrests noted in several towns and cities.
International terror groups, white supremacists and anti-government militias are all harnessing the Internet to influence people and inspire them to commit attacks for their cause, said John Cohen, director of the Center for Critical Intelligence Studies at Rutgers and a former counterterrorism coordinator at the U. S. Department of Homeland Security.
When a terrorist is not a terrorist?
In March 2018, the 23-year-old, Mark Anthony Conditt, who was behind a series of package bombings,
blew himself up in Austin as police tried to arrest him. Police tracked down the bomber after obtaining CCTV footage of him posting two packages at a FedEx office in Austin. Conditt bought bomb-making materials at Home Depot, he had recorded a 25-minute confession video on his cellphone hours before he died after detonating one of his own devices. Authorities revealed Conditt had a target list of future locations to continue his reign of terror. The serial Austin bomber had been part of a Christian survivalist group that would discuss weapons and dangerous chemicals. His string of package bombs killed two people and wounded five in Texas.
“Why won't Trump call Austin bomber what he is? A Terrorist,” this is the title of the story by Alice Salles of Carbonated TV. The Austin bombing suspect is being called a domestic terrorist by people on social media, but why won't the media and the White House call him that?, she writes.
While police are still unsure of Mark Anthony Conditt's motive for having allegedly planted the bombs, many people have pointed out that if Conditt were Muslim, the media and elected officials would already have called him a terrorist, Salles said adding: But since Conditt called himself a conservative, was white, and had been raised Christian, President Donald Trump doesn't seem quick to jump on the word "terrorist" to describe the bombing suspect.
Tellingly, Conditt was part of a survivalist home school group that taught children how to use guns and discussed chemical reactions. Conditt was part of a group of students called the Righteous Invasion of Truth (RIOT), an organization that engages homeschooled kids on activities that range from studying the Bible to learning how to use guns. Many of its members were also interested in learning about dangerous chemicals, according to BuzzFeed.
Regardless of his motivations being unknown at this time, Conditt’s actions are terroristic in nature, if we're to be consistent with other incidents that have been labeled as such, Carbonated TV said adding: whatever his reasoning, the bombings he perpetrated intimidated a community in Texas, and it seems like that was part of his intent.
“It’s hypocritical of some media outlets and lawmakers in Washington to fail to identify Conditt as a terrorist. Were he a person of color or a person who followed Islam, politicians would be throwing out the descriptor of “terrorist” without hesitation. That he isn’t described as much shows egregious discrepancies on the part of those more willing to do so in other situations, when white individuals aren't the ones committing the crimes,” Carbonated TV emphasized.
Trump's National Security and State Department picks alarm American Muslims
To top it off, it is not only Trump in the executive spouting of Islamophobic drivel, he has surrounded himself with Islamophobes.
In April, American Muslims were alarmed by President Trump’s choice of John Bolton as a new national security adviser and Mike Pompeo as a new secretary of state.
John Bolton is a notorious Islamophobe who as a history of ties to anti-Muslim extremists and organizations. He served as chairman of the New York City-based anti-Muslim organization, whose website regularly highlights negative stories about Muslim immigrants. It published the myth that certain cities with Muslim majority neighborhoods were off limits to those who did not practice the faith. In its posts, the institute consistently depicts refugees as rapists and hosts of "highly infectious diseases" that threaten the health of the German people.
Bolton has long been associated with anti-Muslim extremists Robert Spencer and Pamela Geller. He even wrote the forward for Spencer and Geller's book "The Obama Administration's War on America." Geller endorsed Bolton as a presidential candidate. Bolton advocated for the Iraq War and promoted the false justification for the conflict. He has promoted anti-Muslim conspiracy theories and called for bombing Iran and North Korea.
In 2016, Bolton spoke at a conference of the American Freedom Alliance hate group. His speech at the conference, which had the overall theme, "Can Islam and the West Coexist?" contained a "joke" the punchline of which was that President Obama was a Muslim.
CIA Director Mike Pompeo, Trump's pick to lead the State Department, has portrayed the fight against terrorism as an epic holy war. "The threat to America is from people who deeply believe that Islam is the way and the light and the only answer," he told a church group in his hometown of Wichita in 2014. "They abhor Christians and will continue to press against us," he said, "until we make sure that we pray and stand and fight and make sure we know that Jesus Christ as our savior is truly the only solution for our world."
"By appointing these highly controversial individuals, the Trump administration is normalizing anti-Muslim sentiment," says Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). "Trump is sending a green light for average people to mistreat Muslims."
The Journal of America Team:
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Abdus Sattar Ghazali
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