Author: Jonathan Last
Publication: The Philadelphia Inquirer
Date: February 11, 2007
URL: http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/editorial/16670675.htm
When I first met Daveed Gartenstein-
Ross, he was a young counterterrorism expert
just breaking into print. I had edited some of his work. He seemed like a
normal fellow. But as we spoke, he told me a remarkable story.
Gartenstein-Ross grew up in Ashland, Ore.,
one of the West Coast's hippie enclaves. His parents were liberal, ecumenical
Jews who raised him to believe in the beauty of all faiths. There were pictures
of Jesus in his living room and a statue of the Buddha in the backyard. Young
Daveed was attracted to various liberal causes and concerned with social justice.
He went to college in North Carolina, where he converted to Islam. Upon graduation,
Gartenstein-Ross went to work for a religious charity, the Al-Haramain Islamic
Foundation, which was run by a group of radicals.
After a year at Al-Haramain, he went to law
school, where he eventually left Islam. In the wake of Sept. 11, 2001, Gartenstein-Ross
learned that the FBI was investigating Al-Haramain for ties to terrorism.
He reached out to the bureau and helped build its case.
Gartenstein-Ross has now told his story in
a book, My Year Inside Radical Islam. It is an important resource for understanding
Islam in America.
There are two deep insights in My Year Inside
Radical Islam. The first is an illumination of one of the pathways to radicalism.
When Gartenstein-Ross first converted, he embraced Sufism, a spiritual, moderate
sect. He wasn't looking to become an anti-Western fundamentalist. But the
more he interacted with other Muslims, the more he was pushed, in a form of
groupthink, to embrace an increasingly restrictive faith. He learned that
in Islam, all sorts of things are haram (forbidden). Alcohol, of course. And
listening to music. And wearing shorts that expose the thigh. And wearing
necklaces. Or gold. Or silk. Or using credit cards. Or shaving. Or shaking
hands with women.
As Gartenstein-Ross explains, Islam has commandments
for every aspect of life, from how to dress to how to wipe yourself after
going to the bathroom. And once he joined the Muslim community, he found that
the group was self-policing. Members were eager to report and reprimand one
another for infractions. It is not hard to imagine how a well-adjusted, intelligent
person might get caught up in such a social dynamic.
The book also illustrates the troubling state
of Islamic organizations in the United States. Nearly every discussion of
Islamic radicalism and terrorism is prefaced by a disclaimer that of course
the vast majority of Muslims are morally opposed to both. This may well be
true.
But the problem in the current struggle against
Islamic fascism is that the radicals often find succor from moderate Muslims
- even "moderates" aren't always as liberal as one might hope. While
Gartenstein-Ross never came into contact with actual terrorists, he was surrounded
by people - normal Muslim citizens - whose worldviews were unsettling.
Before 9/11, Al-Haramain's headquarters in
Ashland was seen as a bastion of moderate, friendly Islam. Pete Seda, who
ran the office, was publicly chummy with the local rabbi. The group encouraged
public schools to bring children to their offices on field trips. All of this
was for public consumption. In private, things were somewhat different.
One of Gartenstein-Ross' coworkers, for instance,
often complained about the Nation of Islam, whose members he believed were
deviants. He said, "Let them choose true Islam or cut off their heads."
Al-Haramain was host to a number of visitors,
one of whom was a Saudi cleric named Abdul-Qaadir. He preached that those
who leave Islam should be put to death. In defending the execution of apostates,
he mused that "religion and politics aren't separable in Islam the way
they are in the West... . Leaving Islam isn't just converting from one faith
to another. It's more properly understood as treason."
In warning Gartenstein-Ross about his engagement
to a Christian, Abdul-Qaadir said, "As long as your wife isn't a Muslim,
as far as we're concerned, she is 100 percent evil."
One night at services, a visiting member of
the Egyptian branch of Al-Haramain declared that the Torah was "The Jews'
plan to ruin everything." He continued, "Why is it that Henry Kissinger
was the president of the international soccer federation while he was president
of the United States? How did he have time to do both? It is because part
of the Jews' plan is to get people throughout the world to play soccer so
that they'll wear shorts that show off the skin of their thighs." (Former
Secretary of State Kissinger was never president of either the United States
or FIFA.)
The reaction of Seda - the "moderate"
who cultivated a public friendship with the local rabbi - was, "Wow,
bro, this is amazing. You come to us with this incredible information."
Such discourse seems less than rare at American
Islamic organizations. A recent New Yorker profile of another homegrown radical,
Adam Gadahn (a.k.a. "Azzam the American" and one of the FBI's most-wanted
terrorists), recounted Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman's visit to the Islamic Society
in Orange County, Calif. In his lecture, Rahman, later indicted for helping
to plot the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, ridiculed the notion that jihad
could be nonviolent and exhorted Muslims to take up fighting against the enemies
of Allah. Sitting next to him and translating for the congregation was the
local "moderate" imam. The New Yorker reports that "videotapes
of the lecture were later offered for sale at the society's bookstore."
This would likely not surprise Gartenstein-Ross,
some of whose Muslim acquaintances even disapproved of his decision to go
to law school. Their objection was that, as a lawyer, Gartenstein-Ross would
have to swear an oath to defend the Constitution. As one Muslim told him,
"There are some things in the Constitution I like, but a lot of things
in the Constitution are completely against Islamic principles."
This sentiment - not from an al-Qaeda fighter
or a fire-breathing radical, but from a normal, devout Muslim - is important.
The challenge Islam poses to the West goes beyond mere terrorism.
Contact Jonathan V. Last at jlast@phillynews.com.
