Hate Watch: on Debbie Schlussel
Local attorney verbal terrorist against Islam
By Ihsan Alkhatib -- Special to The Arab American News --
In the history of religion-based terrorism, Dr. Baruch Goldstein holds an infamous spot. A medical doctor and a religious Orthodox Jew, Goldstein was born in Brooklyn, New York. Not satisfied with life in the US, he emigrated to Israel and served in the Israeli army. Despite his medical oath, he refused to treat non-Jews. He refused to treat even his fellow Israeli soldiers who were not Jews. Defending his refusal to treat non-Jews he stated: "I am not willing to treat any non-Jews. I recognize as legitimate only two authorities, Maimonides and Kahane."
Baruch Goldstein is a hero to some in Israel. In 1994, he entered the mosque in Hebron, Palestine and opened fire on unarmed Muslims in prayer. He killed 29 and injured 100. Bystanders beat him to death.
Dr. Goldstein is not alone in having issues with Islam, the religion of peace, the religion of "whoever saves a life has saved all mankind and whoever kills a life has killed all mankind(Al Quran)." There is, for example, local attorney Debbie Schlussel, a self-proclaimed expert on "radical Islam."
Schlussel, for those unfamiliar with her, has a website and a radio show were she comments on political and cultural issues. Her website biography describes her as "a conservative political commentator" with "unique expertise on radical Islam/Islamic terrorism." It continues: "Schlussel, who speaks Hebrew, Arabic, French, and Russian, works closely with several federal law enforcement agencies, consulting for fighting the domestic war on terrorism, and has provided them with much useful information. She has gone undercover, infiltrating many Muslim organizations in the Detroit area (the heart of Islamic America), exposing their radical nature and support for terrorism. Schlussel continues to represent a very valuable Muslim (sic) confidential informant to several federal government agencies, who has been responsible for putting hundreds with terrorism connections behind bars. She also represented several whistleblowers who exposed terrorist operations now under investigation."
Very poor writing aside, Ms Schlussel has taken it upon herself to attack the religion of Islam and the Muslim community. Imad Hamad, regional director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) is one of her many targets. I am a member of the Muslim community and I sit on the board of the ADC. It is very disturbing that an attorney, an officer of the court, has chosen to verbally terrorize our community and ridicule our faith. And if true, it's alarming that Ms Schlussel works with law enforcement.
Political commentator Patrick Buchanan has been subjected to brutal attacks by Jewish and Zionist organizations. They charge that he is an anti-Semite. Buchanan is a strong critic of Israel and the unlimited support for Israel that the US gives and this is what got him in trouble with "the lobby." But whatever controversial statements Mr. Buchanan has made in writing about Jews or Israel pale in comparison to what Schlussel has said about Islam, Muslims and Arabs. Why is Buchanan called an anti-Semite but Schlussel is considered "an expert on Islam who consults with law enforcement?" In her rantings, Schlussel refers to Islam as the "Religion of Peace." Nothing wrong with that until you notice she derogatorily shortens it to "RoP." ("Religion of Peace Update: Latest Kindness to Women.") In that column, she mentions two incidents of Muslim men engaging in criminal violence against women. She comments on these crimes: "We celebrated the Fourth of July, but the religion of Peace (RoP) never takes a holiday. Here is the latest respect for women exhibited in the Detroit area by the RoP (none of which were condemned by ANY RoP leaders)." Of course, the pronoun "we" does not include Muslims because in Schlussel�s world, Muslims are not Americans. Schlussel apparently does not view the evening news with its litany of crimes convicted by people claiming to be Christians. She doesn't seem to understand that when people commit crimes, it's not because of their religion, but in spite of it.
In "Sex & the Islamic Terrorist," Schlussel also refers to Islam as "the religion of the headchoppers," American soldiers are ambushed in Fallujah and female soldiers sent to search Iraqi female suspects, who were killed. Schlussel charges Islam, the religion of 1.2 billion human beings, with taking the soldiers� lives. ("Give an Inch, Religion of Peace Takes Lives").
In "Terrorists Elected Throughout Muslim World: US Strangely Silent," Ms Schlussel refers to the Muslim Arab world as the "dimwitted, Muslim Arab Middle East." In "Happy Birthday, America," she accuses the citizens of Dearborn of a flagging loyalty and patriotism. "Is it a good thing when in many parts of Dearborn, English is not spoken and people can�t understand it? No wonder loyalty and patriotism are flagging."
In "Dear Abu Moskowitz," she verbally terrorizes Mr. Brian Moskowitz, Immigration and Customs chief in the area, for refusing to use his powers to harass and treat the Dearborn area - or "Little Ramallah" as she calls it - as an occupied territory of subjects, the way Israelis treat the the people of occupied Ramallah in Palestine. She accuses Dearborn's Arab residents of being terrorists. She writes "In the heart of Islamic America, where there are Islamic terror cells galore..."
In referring to Morgan Spurlock�s documentary on Islam she manages to put Islam and shit together by calling the documentary "Supersized Islamist BS." ("Update on Morgan Spurlok�s Supersized Islamist BS"). She accuses Muslims, all Muslims, of being deceivers who want to kill all non- Muslims and implies that the practice of taqqiyah, or hiding one's Muslim identity to save one's life, makes us all liars.
In a remark reminiscent of the late Orthodox Rabbi Meir Kahane, founder of the terrorist Jewish Defense League, she refers to Arab children as "snakes." ("Angelina Jolie and Oliver Stone�s Terrorist Problem"). She writes that Angelina Jolie said she "loves snakes and understands them. That might explain the snakes she�s hanging out with as a Goodwill Ambassador" for the UN High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR). Ms Schlussel was referring to Ms Jolie�s attendance at the Arab Children�s Congress in Amman, Jordan.
In "Sex & the Islamist Terrorist," Ms Schlussel defends the use of torture on Muslim suspects held in the Gulag of our times, Guantanamo Bay. She is disappointed that Jeff Jacoby of the Washington Post "decries female interrogators wearing tight t-shirts, fondling themselves, brushing their breasts against prisoners� backs and putting red inkon the face of prisoners." Ms Schlussel does not mention that the red ink is not merely red ink. To torture the detainees, among whom surely there are a number of innocent people, female interrogators pretended to have inserted their finger in their vaginas and smeared period blood on the detainees, when unbeknownst to the detainees it was red ink. To Ms Schlussel, such actions are not torture. She writes: "This is torture? Puh-leeze. We know what real torture is. It goes on in Muslim countries around the globe, every day. In case you forgot what that is, there�s a video starring Nick Berg all over the net."
Schlussel presents herself as an attorney, an expert on Islam who works closely with law enforcement, and a media personality: regular columns, radio shows, guest appearances, the lecture circuit, you name it, she does it. Once in a great while, she breaks through to legitimate media outlets. But her racism is evident in her flamboyant rantings, designed to sell herself and her column. For those who search for substance rather than sales, factual errors about the religion of Islam - and subsequent erroneous conclusions - abound. But Shclussel's intent is to inflame, not inform.
What Baruch Goldstein did with his bullets, Debbie Schlussel does with her words. Both are deadly and hateful.
Ihsan Alkhatib is is president of the ADC Detroit Chapter board and is also on the ADC Michigan advisory board.
Editor's note: For those who want to complain, attorney misconduct can be reported to the Attorney Grievance Commission, www.agcmi.com, 243 W. Congress Suite 256, Detroit Michigan 48226. Their telephone number is 313 961 6585.
Published in Arab American News
By Ihsan Alkhatib -- Special to The Arab American News --
In the history of religion-based terrorism, Dr. Baruch Goldstein holds an infamous spot. A medical doctor and a religious Orthodox Jew, Goldstein was born in Brooklyn, New York. Not satisfied with life in the US, he emigrated to Israel and served in the Israeli army. Despite his medical oath, he refused to treat non-Jews. He refused to treat even his fellow Israeli soldiers who were not Jews. Defending his refusal to treat non-Jews he stated: "I am not willing to treat any non-Jews. I recognize as legitimate only two authorities, Maimonides and Kahane."
Baruch Goldstein is a hero to some in Israel. In 1994, he entered the mosque in Hebron, Palestine and opened fire on unarmed Muslims in prayer. He killed 29 and injured 100. Bystanders beat him to death.
Dr. Goldstein is not alone in having issues with Islam, the religion of peace, the religion of "whoever saves a life has saved all mankind and whoever kills a life has killed all mankind(Al Quran)." There is, for example, local attorney Debbie Schlussel, a self-proclaimed expert on "radical Islam."
Schlussel, for those unfamiliar with her, has a website and a radio show were she comments on political and cultural issues. Her website biography describes her as "a conservative political commentator" with "unique expertise on radical Islam/Islamic terrorism." It continues: "Schlussel, who speaks Hebrew, Arabic, French, and Russian, works closely with several federal law enforcement agencies, consulting for fighting the domestic war on terrorism, and has provided them with much useful information. She has gone undercover, infiltrating many Muslim organizations in the Detroit area (the heart of Islamic America), exposing their radical nature and support for terrorism. Schlussel continues to represent a very valuable Muslim (sic) confidential informant to several federal government agencies, who has been responsible for putting hundreds with terrorism connections behind bars. She also represented several whistleblowers who exposed terrorist operations now under investigation."
Very poor writing aside, Ms Schlussel has taken it upon herself to attack the religion of Islam and the Muslim community. Imad Hamad, regional director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) is one of her many targets. I am a member of the Muslim community and I sit on the board of the ADC. It is very disturbing that an attorney, an officer of the court, has chosen to verbally terrorize our community and ridicule our faith. And if true, it's alarming that Ms Schlussel works with law enforcement.
Political commentator Patrick Buchanan has been subjected to brutal attacks by Jewish and Zionist organizations. They charge that he is an anti-Semite. Buchanan is a strong critic of Israel and the unlimited support for Israel that the US gives and this is what got him in trouble with "the lobby." But whatever controversial statements Mr. Buchanan has made in writing about Jews or Israel pale in comparison to what Schlussel has said about Islam, Muslims and Arabs. Why is Buchanan called an anti-Semite but Schlussel is considered "an expert on Islam who consults with law enforcement?" In her rantings, Schlussel refers to Islam as the "Religion of Peace." Nothing wrong with that until you notice she derogatorily shortens it to "RoP." ("Religion of Peace Update: Latest Kindness to Women.") In that column, she mentions two incidents of Muslim men engaging in criminal violence against women. She comments on these crimes: "We celebrated the Fourth of July, but the religion of Peace (RoP) never takes a holiday. Here is the latest respect for women exhibited in the Detroit area by the RoP (none of which were condemned by ANY RoP leaders)." Of course, the pronoun "we" does not include Muslims because in Schlussel�s world, Muslims are not Americans. Schlussel apparently does not view the evening news with its litany of crimes convicted by people claiming to be Christians. She doesn't seem to understand that when people commit crimes, it's not because of their religion, but in spite of it.
In "Sex & the Islamic Terrorist," Schlussel also refers to Islam as "the religion of the headchoppers," American soldiers are ambushed in Fallujah and female soldiers sent to search Iraqi female suspects, who were killed. Schlussel charges Islam, the religion of 1.2 billion human beings, with taking the soldiers� lives. ("Give an Inch, Religion of Peace Takes Lives").
In "Terrorists Elected Throughout Muslim World: US Strangely Silent," Ms Schlussel refers to the Muslim Arab world as the "dimwitted, Muslim Arab Middle East." In "Happy Birthday, America," she accuses the citizens of Dearborn of a flagging loyalty and patriotism. "Is it a good thing when in many parts of Dearborn, English is not spoken and people can�t understand it? No wonder loyalty and patriotism are flagging."
In "Dear Abu Moskowitz," she verbally terrorizes Mr. Brian Moskowitz, Immigration and Customs chief in the area, for refusing to use his powers to harass and treat the Dearborn area - or "Little Ramallah" as she calls it - as an occupied territory of subjects, the way Israelis treat the the people of occupied Ramallah in Palestine. She accuses Dearborn's Arab residents of being terrorists. She writes "In the heart of Islamic America, where there are Islamic terror cells galore..."
In referring to Morgan Spurlock�s documentary on Islam she manages to put Islam and shit together by calling the documentary "Supersized Islamist BS." ("Update on Morgan Spurlok�s Supersized Islamist BS"). She accuses Muslims, all Muslims, of being deceivers who want to kill all non- Muslims and implies that the practice of taqqiyah, or hiding one's Muslim identity to save one's life, makes us all liars.
In a remark reminiscent of the late Orthodox Rabbi Meir Kahane, founder of the terrorist Jewish Defense League, she refers to Arab children as "snakes." ("Angelina Jolie and Oliver Stone�s Terrorist Problem"). She writes that Angelina Jolie said she "loves snakes and understands them. That might explain the snakes she�s hanging out with as a Goodwill Ambassador" for the UN High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR). Ms Schlussel was referring to Ms Jolie�s attendance at the Arab Children�s Congress in Amman, Jordan.
In "Sex & the Islamist Terrorist," Ms Schlussel defends the use of torture on Muslim suspects held in the Gulag of our times, Guantanamo Bay. She is disappointed that Jeff Jacoby of the Washington Post "decries female interrogators wearing tight t-shirts, fondling themselves, brushing their breasts against prisoners� backs and putting red inkon the face of prisoners." Ms Schlussel does not mention that the red ink is not merely red ink. To torture the detainees, among whom surely there are a number of innocent people, female interrogators pretended to have inserted their finger in their vaginas and smeared period blood on the detainees, when unbeknownst to the detainees it was red ink. To Ms Schlussel, such actions are not torture. She writes: "This is torture? Puh-leeze. We know what real torture is. It goes on in Muslim countries around the globe, every day. In case you forgot what that is, there�s a video starring Nick Berg all over the net."
Schlussel presents herself as an attorney, an expert on Islam who works closely with law enforcement, and a media personality: regular columns, radio shows, guest appearances, the lecture circuit, you name it, she does it. Once in a great while, she breaks through to legitimate media outlets. But her racism is evident in her flamboyant rantings, designed to sell herself and her column. For those who search for substance rather than sales, factual errors about the religion of Islam - and subsequent erroneous conclusions - abound. But Shclussel's intent is to inflame, not inform.
What Baruch Goldstein did with his bullets, Debbie Schlussel does with her words. Both are deadly and hateful.
Ihsan Alkhatib is is president of the ADC Detroit Chapter board and is also on the ADC Michigan advisory board.
Editor's note: For those who want to complain, attorney misconduct can be reported to the Attorney Grievance Commission, www.agcmi.com, 243 W. Congress Suite 256, Detroit Michigan 48226. Their telephone number is 313 961 6585.
Published in Arab American News
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