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May 30, 2007
Book Review: My Year Inside Radical Islam
"At twenty-tree, I was a devout believer in radical Islam. I worked for a Saudi-funded charity in Ashland, Oregon, that was accused of funding al Qaeda. Funny thing, I was born Jewish. At the time, it all seemed pretty normal."
Fortunately for Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, author of My Year Inside Radical Islam, he eventually recognised the truth about the radical Islam that he had come to believe in.
For almost a year, however, he was a devout follower of Salafism, that form of Islam that encompases Saudi Wahabism. While at the Al Haramain "charity", more experienced Salafist Muslims instructed him on the rules of their faith, which included how to perform the most minute details of daily life. He was told that he must eat with his right hand only and wipe with only the left after using the restroom. His pants must be above his ankles but also below his knees. Neither dogs nor women not your wife were to be touched (which forbade handshakes). All music was forbidden. You must neither pay nor receive interest payments. All men must grow a full-length beard (sorry, no goatees, he was told). If you sneeze you must say "Alhamdulillah", and Muslims who hear you say this must respond with "Yarhamukallah". Strict segregation of the sexes was enforced, so that when he visited the home of a fellow Muslim all women were relegated to the basement and communicated with the men upstairs through an intercom. If this was not possible, sheets were hung inbetween rooms to prevent even accidental sightings. Games of any sort were haram (forbidden) because there is (according to the Salafists) a prohibition in Islam against spending time in "idle activities". On and on the rules went. Believing that if they were the will of God who was he to question them, he obeyed, however reluctantly.
Islam did not start out this way for Gartenstein-Ross.
His first experience with Islam was at a Sufi Mosque in Venice, Italy, while studying there as a student.
It was only after getting a job at the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation in Ashland Oregon, sold to him as work at a Muslim charity, that he conversion to Salafism began.
As indictated at top, Gartenstein-Ross was born to non-practicing Jewish parents in liberal Ashland, Oregon. They rejected traditional Judaism and joined a movement known as the "Infinite Way", which had been founded by one Joel Goldsmith. The Infinite Way is a sort of "disorganized religion", that encourages followers to seek their own path. There is no enforced doctrine, but rather followers are encouraged to seek "their own unlimited potential that could only be harnessed through spiritual conscionsness" (quote from Gartenstein-Ross's book. I could find no definition of the faith on the Infinite Way website.
With such a vague religion at home, Daveed was not provided any foundation, and thus his search for spiritual truth was something he would have to explore on his own. He did not come to Islam all-of-a-sudden; there was no "thunderclap" moment. Rather, it was a series of experiences that led him to the faith.
One of those was was discussions about faith with his Christian friends. They tried to convert him in a somewhat heavy-handed manner, offering arguments that he did not find satisfactory. So when he left high-school to attend college, he was looking for answers, and so far Christianity had not fit the bill.
A freshman at Wake Forest University in 1979, he quickly became a campus activist, involved in liberal "social justice" causes. He met up with al-Husein Madhany, a Kenyan-born Muslim who would remain his friend up to and including the present day. it was at Wake Forest that he converted to Islam, first attending a moderate Sufi Mosque. It was also there that he began dating Amy, the woman who would eventually become his wife.
After graduating from Wake Forest, he returned home to Oregon and went to work for the Al Haramain Islamic Foundation. It was there that his coworkers pushed him towards Salafism. Their primary argument was simply that this is what the Quran demanded, and it is not the place of any person to question the will of Allah. Not knowing enough about the Quran to counter their arguments, it all seemed to make sense to him.
As all of this was occuring, Gartenstein-Ross discovered some alarming things about his coworkers. They were virulently anti-semetic (despite knowing his Jewish background), admired the Taliban, and sought ways to support the Islamist army in Chechnya that was fighting the Russians; and trying to set up it's own state modeled on the Taliban. Members of the foundation visited local schools and organizations to "explain" Islam, but Gartenstein-Ross saw that these visits served to hide more than to reveal the nature of Salafism. Despite all this, he went along. It was, after all, the will of Allah.
After about a year at this foundation he moved to New York to attend law school, and it was here that he began what would become a journey away from Islam entirely and into Christianity. I won't spoil your read by going into details, you'll want to get the book yourself.
Suffice it to say that Al-Haramain was raided by the FBI, and several principles were indicted on tax and fraud charges, including smuggling $150,000 out of the country to Saudi Arabia, where, it is believed, it was funneled to al Qaeda and Chechnyan rebels. The organization was exposed as a front for al Qaeda and is now banned worldwide. Gartenstein-Ross contacted the FBI after his break with the organization (when he called they already knew who he was) and told them all that he knew about them. Two of the principles at Al Haramain, Pete Seda, and Soliman al-But'he were indited but fled the country, the former to Iran and the latter to Saudi Arabia. They are still fugitives. Saudi Arabia has since dissolved Al Haramain.
To show how much those at the Al-Haramain Foundation in Oregon had fooled the local community, Gartenstein-Ross describes local reaction after the FBI raid
After Pete was indited, the local press was filled with an outpouring of community support for him. Rabbi David Zaslow had long been Pete's biggest public defender, and was undeterred by the inditctment. After it came down, he was quoted in the Medford Mail Tribune as saying that Pete has "been an outspoken spokesman against violence and terrorism, and he has earned my respect."
In the end, the book is a personal memoir (which is how it is advertised on the cover), not an in-depth analysis of Islam or Salafism. It is perhaps most useful as an insight as to how someone might be drawn toward radicalism.
Michelle Malkin interviewed Gartenstein-Ross and and you can view the videos at Hot Air.
All of my book reviews can be found here.
Posted by Tom at May 30, 2007 8:00 AM
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Comments
As a former resident of Ashland, I noticed this article in the local paper, which shows just how far we still have to go in coordinating anti-terror efforts:
-----"In 2004, Soliman al-Buthi, 45, was designated a terrorist for his role in operating the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation in the southern Oregon city of Ashland. The Ashland chapter of the charity was closed after al-Buthi and chapter founder Pete Seda were indicted on federal tax charges in 2005."-----
So this guy was busted for funding terrorists. Instead of arresting him, the corrupt, oil-grubbing American embassy in Riyad invits him to dinner:
--"A U.S. embassy political officer in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, invited al-Buthi to a dinner Saturday honoring the chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, The Oregonian newspaper reported."--
"...In an e-mail to The Oregonian, al-Buthi said: "I was surprised, particularly because I am supposed to be a fugitive from the U.S. government!"
The embassy withdrew the invitation after The Oregonian questioned federal authorities in Washington about the matter. "---
http://www.dailytidings.com/2007/0531/stories/0531_dinner.php
"I was suprised," says al-Buthi the terrorist, "because I am supposed to be a fugitive". Ugh, our government is still so busy sucking up to the oil-rich Saudi's we forget to check the guest list for known terrorists. Here is where I refer all readers to the book "Sleeping with the Devil: How Washington our soul for Saudi Crude." Whether it is Bush kissing and holding hands with Saudi men or the Riyad embassy inviting terrorists over for dinner, our oil addiction continues to hamper effect anti-terrorism, especially jihad sponsored by our Saudi 'allies'.
Posted by: jason at May 31, 2007 5:31 PM
Oh....ugh
Unfortunately jason I am not surprised. One of the more frustrating aspects of this and prior administrations is how they suck up to the Saudis, as you correctly put it.
Sure, we need their oil, at least in the short run until we can impliment policies that will eliminate the need (I am working on that post I promised).
But by the same token they need to sell it to us. An embargo by them would hurt them as well. So the least we could do is to make it clear to them that we know their Wahabism is basically al Qaeda lite.
So as you know by now I'm in complete sympathy with your attitude toward the Saudis and disgusted with politicians at home who pander to them and pretend they're our allies. Sure they let us use some bases before OIF, but it's not worth the price.
One day I'll have to pick up that book, jason. Unfortunately I have the feeling that it'll make me so depressed that I'll never get though it.
Posted by: Tom the Redhunter at May 31, 2007 9:14 PM
This story is almost funny, if it wasn't such a sad insight to our (lack of) anti-terror efforts:
---"The Bush administration may have a new weapon in the war on terror: the dinner invitation."---
---"An engineer by training, he popped into the news again last year in a controversy over Danish publication of a cartoon highly insulting to Muslims worldwide. Al-Buthi, speaking for a newly created Islamic organization, appealed for calm as Western embassies were besieged by protesters.
His Portland attorney, Tom Nelson, suspects al-Buthi's posture in the cartoon episode drew the invitation.
An embassy political officer in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, invited al-Buthi to a restaurant dinner honoring the chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.
"The commission doesn't have anything to do with invitations to events like this," said Judith Ingram, commission communications director. "The embassy puts together events with people they think we'd like to talk to."
Nelson said embassy officials must have known they were dealing with a designated terrorist. Nelson said al-Buthi intended to attend the dinner but the lawyer advised him not to step onto embassy grounds, which would make him subject to arrest. Otherwise, he was safe from capture because the U.S. has no extradition treaty with Saudi Arabia.
Al-Buthi said the U.S. embassy called Tuesday to confirm he was coming."---
http://www.oregonlive.com/newsflash/regional/index.ssf?/base/news-19/1180601945250890.xml&storylist=orlocal
You'll have to excuse my cynicism Tom. Your post authoritatively states:
"They are still fugitives. Saudi Arabia has since dissolved Al Haramain."
But in this sad story we learn two troubling things: 1) We actually have no extradition treaty with the Saudis, as pointed out by Al-Buthi's lawyer. 2) While the Saudi's have "since dissolved Al Haramain", they not only flagrantly provide safe haven for terrorists from US extradition, but while they disbanded Al Haramain, they gave Al Buthi a job with a similar group, as this article states:
"An engineer by training, he popped into the news again last year in a controversy over Danish publication of a cartoon highly insulting to Muslims worldwide. Al-Buthi, speaking for a newly created Islamic organization, appealed for calm as Western embassies were besieged by protesters."
http://www.oregonlive.com/newsflash/regional/index.ssf?/base/news-19/1180601945250890.xml&storylist=orlocal
Not only does he enjoy a safe haven in the fine Kingdom of Al-Saud, but now he gets to work for a 'newly created Islamic organization.' Terrorists around the world shake with fear, knowing we may invite them to dinner at any time, anywhere.
Posted by: jason at June 1, 2007 6:47 PM
Hi jason
Good points all. Did you read my post "Terror in the Skies - Confirmed"? It's even more of an indictment of our anti-terror efforts than this story.
When I mentioned that "Saudi Arabia has since dissolved Al Haramain" I don't think I at all implied - or didn't mean to, anyway - that the KSA(Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) was on our side in fighting terrorism. You no doubt read my series on Walid Phares' "Future Jihad" in which I approvingly quoted his contention that the KSA was "the mother ship of the jihad".
Also, let's not just blame the politicians and their connection to oil interests. The Saudis have been heavily at work funding "Middle East Studies Programs" at American universities. These programs are fronts where they whitewash what goes on in the ME in general and the KSA in particular.
So we've got a problem in academia where they're so busy spending their time blaming Israel for everything that we've got a generation of students convinced that Israel is the most evil nation on earth.
Posted by: Tom the Redhunter at June 1, 2007 11:39 PM
