Submitted by Brian Tashman on January 23, 2012 - 4:40pm
Michigan High School to Play Host to Anti-Muslim Hoaxer The tea party group Constituting Michigan is bringing a hoaxer who claims to be a former terrorist to Allegan High School in Allegan, Michigan, to warn guests of the danger of creeping sharia law. The speaker, Kamal Saleem, was in Michigan late last year for The Call: Detroit, where he denounced Islam as demonic, and continues to work with the Oak Initiative and its state chapter Transformation Michigan. But Saleem isn’t your usual anti-Muslim speaker, as he claims to have been an Islamic terrorist until he converted to Christianity and found work at Pat Robertson’s Christian Broadcasting Network and James Dobson’s Focus on the Family.
However, Focus on the Family has since distanced itself from Saleem, whose real name is Khodor Shami, and Calvin College professor Doug Howard writes that not only was Saleem misrepresenting Islam with blatant “absurdities” but was also misrepresenting his own background in his book The Blood of Lambs, which Howard called “obsessively, sadistically violent.” “Suffice it to say that if the subject were Jews, this book could not have been published.” CNN also looked into Saleem’s background and found no evidence backing up his claims of having been a terrorist, and Haroon Moghul of Religion Dispatches wonders how anyone who once claimed to be a devout Muslim could claim, like Saleem, to have been “allergic to Jesus” since Muslims consider Jesus the Messiah.
Dawud Walid of CAIR-Michigan pointed out that Saleem is a “complete fraud,” but event organizers say any criticism of Saleem is simply “the result of media bias”:
Allegan County political organization Constituting Michigan-Founding Principles will host a self-proclaimed former terrorist on Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Allegan High School Events Center.
Kamal Saleem claims to have been a former Islamic radical and terrorist before converting to Christianity. He has since published a book detailing his experiences and makes regular tours speaking about his life and views.
”He had entered the U.S. and gotten in an accident, and received medical care,” said Carol Dannenberg, of Constituting Michigan-Founding Principles. “He thought, ‘Wait a minute, I don’t want to hurt these people.’ He was raised to believe that there was no hope, that killing was a good thing.”
”I met Saleem in my travels to Lansing,” said Bill Sage, one of the co-founders of Constituting Michigan. “He’s here to talk about keeping American law in American courts, to make sure that the Constitution is what we’re drawing from.”
Sage characterizes the organization’s main focus as education reform and a return to focusing on the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights in schools. Sage will also be speaking at the event, as will state Rep. Dave Agema, according to organizers. Agema is one of the sponsors of House Bill 4769, which seeks “to restrict the application of foreign laws” in Michigan. Opponents have characterized the bill as discriminatory towards Islam.
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”He’s profiting off the cottage industry of Islamophobia,” Walid said. “If he thinks that I’m lying, that I’m trying to falsely discredit him, he should sue me for defamation.”
Sage claims much of the controversy surrounding Saleem is the result of media bias.
”People don’t like his message, they don’t want him out there,” said Sage. “But if you listen to Kamal, you’ll understand.”
Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on January 11, 2012 - 1:01pm
Early in 2010, Gary Glenn of the American Family Association of Michigan and three Michigan pastors filed a lawsuit against the federal Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009. The group was represented by the ultra-right wing Thomas More Law Center, which argued that "the sole purpose of this law is to criminalize the Bible and use the threat of federal prosecutions and long jail sentences to silence Christians from expressing their Biblically-based religious belief that homosexual conduct is a sin."
The lawsuit was dismissed in September of that year and that was the last we had heard about it, though Glenn continued with his anti-gayactivism and then decided to make a bid for the US Senate.
A three-judge panel of the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Cincinnati is taking up the claim of three Michigan ministers that a federal hate crime law infringes on their First Amendment rights and should be declared unconstitutional.
Oral arguments are scheduled Wednesday.
The law expands federal hate crimes to those committed against people because of sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.
The ministers say they could be targeted for their sermons against gay behavior. The law's supporters say it's aimed at acts of violence, not speech by clergy.
A lower court judge dismissed the lawsuit last year.
The ministers are Jim Combs of Waterford, Rene Ouellette (oo-LET') of Bridgeport and Levon Yuille (YOOL) of Ypsilanti. Another plaintiff is Gary Glenn, head of the American Family Association of Michigan.
President Obama signed the legislation in October 2009 and, to date, not one person has been charged for preaching against homosexuality ... but that obviously is not going to stop anti-gay activists from filing lawsuits claiming that is exactly what will happen.
Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on December 15, 2011 - 1:26pm
We have longmarvelled at how Mike Huckabee manages to use his folksy "aw shucks" charm to craft a reputation as a rather reasonable moderate rather then the anti-gay Religious Right ideologue that he is.
Huckabee regularlyassociateswithall sorts of radical Religious Right figures and promotes the same agenda but, for some reason, these connections never seem to damage his reputation with the media or the general population.
Nothing better demonstrates this disconnect then the fact that today Huckabee is in Michigan headlining a fundraiser for radical anti-gay activist Gary Glenn as he makes a quixotic bid for the US Senate:
Fox News host and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee will be making a pitch for U.S. Senate candidate Gary Glenn at the Birch Run Expo Center.
Huckabee will appear Thursday at the free rally and a $1,000-per-couple reception for Glenn, one of at least eight Michigan Republicans running for the chance to take on Democratic incumbent Debbie Stabenow.
Glenn, in his capacity as head of the American Family Association of Michigan, has been a vicious anti-gayactivist, saying companies should not to hire gays on the grounds that "individuals who engage in homosexual behavior given all of its severe medical consequences [do not] constitute the best and the brightest."
Gary Glenn, president of the American Family Association of Michigan, has added his voice to a growing course of American leaders calling for the re-criminalization of homosexuality in the U.S.
In an e-mail to Michigan Messenger, here’s how Glenn responded when asked if he supported the criminalization move proposed by the Family Research Council’s Peter Sprigg’s comments last week on Hardball:
“The short answer to your question is yes, we believe that states should be free to regulate and prohibit behavior that’s a violation of community standards and a proven threat to public health and safety — including, as most of the United States did throughout its history, homosexual behavior.”
Huckabee has a long history of supporting Glenn, even filming a message for an AFA of Michigan banquet in 2009 in which he heaped praise upon him, saying that "if we had leaders like Gary Glenn across America, our work wouldn't be so hard":
Now, Glenn is seeking to take his radical anti-gay views with him to the United States Senate and Huckabee is proudly raising money to help him accomplish that.
Submitted by Brian Tashman on November 22, 2011 - 10:47am
Transformation Michigan, the state affiliate of Rick Joyner’s The Oak Initiative that organized The Call: Detroit, sent a message to its members yesterday attacking Right Wing Watch, insisting that this blog “put out statements that were picked out of conference calls we posted that were twisted and turned and took what we were doing out of context.” Of course, Transformation Michigan doesn’t note which statements they found so controversial, and it appears the group is merely upset that they faced intense media scrutiny over claims made by The Call’s leadership that Muslims are demonic and should not be protected by the First Amendment.
In The Call's "Dearborn Awakening" section, fake “ex-terrorist” Kamal Saleem, whose fictitious backstory was exposed well before the rally, urged attendees to pray for Muslims to convert to Christianity. “Love and freedom were convenient catchphrases justifying the identification of nearly one-quarter of humanity with the demonic,” writes Haroon Moghul, a Muslim journalist who attended the prayer rally for Religion Dispatches. “Conflicts in the past could be safely broached, but when it came to today’s war on terror, the disingenuousness and ill-spiritedness of choosing a former Muslim with the worst possible perspective on Islam revealed Engle’s agenda and its overlap with fearmongering Islamophobes.” Rachel Tabachnick also points out that Saleem “has been producing anti-Islamic videos for the Oak Initiative.”
Transformation Michigan emphasized in its message that not only will they continue to “tackle the threat of Islam” by starting a house of prayer in Dearborn but will also continue efforts to bring black voters into the conservative fold by building an “818 team” to “bring Biblical Worldview awareness to urban areas in Michigan” and distributing the discredited film Maafa 21, which claims that abortion is a plot to exterminate African Americans, to black churches. In addition, Transformation Michigan said they will work with anti-gay activist Frank Turek:
We all must realize that we just collided with Racism, Abortion, Islam, disunity in the church, false accusations, bowing to political pressures, seeker friendly attitudes, power and position in cities, lack of understanding regarding repentance and prayer, liberal theology - as well as doubt. What happened behind the scenes as TheCall at Ford Field on 11.11.11 was being organized over the months prior was very revealing.
I experienced the church accusing its own body as well as pressures for Lou Engle to back down on his message (he did not). I saw false accusations in the press that were swallowed by gullible people. One Black leader indicated to me that the seculaur media is Gospel to many in the city of Detroit. Right Wing Watch put out statements that were picked out of conference calls we posted that were twisted and turned and took what we were doing out of context. CAIR a terrorist organization (according to the Holy Land Foundation trial) made statements that were so false and almost amusing. When these things happen it makes us dig in and run harder. I give thanks for all things because [sic] we know they will work together for the good of God's eternal purpose.
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10,000 Intercessors in Michigan...and we will work on a statewide and national basis to facilitate them.
Breast Plate Prayer...Bishop Larry Jackson will be partnering with Transformation Michigan to help build the prayer movement in Michigan and see the goal of having every unsaved person being prayed for in Michigan.
Oak Intiative...and Transformation Michigan will partner in a greater way as we tackle the threat of Islam, the economy, and issues of the day.
Return to Conference Call Series...as we will have many guests and national leaders on to define, encourage, and exhort members of the body of Christ.
Maafa 21 (View Trailer on You Tube)... will be distributed in every city in Michigan as Transformation Michigan will work with national Black Pro-Life leaders. We will turn abortion in the cities and put an end to Planned Parenthood. Can we impact the next election? Yes!
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818 Team...will return and work with Transformation Michigan to bring Biblical Worldview awareness to urban areas in Michigan.
Dearborn House of Prayer...will continue to grow as Transformation Michigan will encourage participation to pray that the love of Christ will impact the Muslim communities in Michigan.
Establishing Truth on our Universities...will continue as we work with Dr. Frank Turek - Crossexamined.org - in establishing the truth of Gods Word and the existence of God.
Engle and other leaders of The Call, such as Rick Joyner and Jerry Boykin, have repeatedly discussed their plans to use the rally to convert Muslims. In the past, Engle has claimed that Muslims have been “fueling the demonic realm” and are beholden to “spiritual dark powers,” and has pledged “to expose the dark under-belly of Islam.”
Now that their vicious anti-Muslim views are under scrutiny by the media, organizers of The Call pulled from their website a video entitled “impacting Islam through prayer,” clips from which can still be seen here. They have also edited their website to remove Engle’s warning of “the rising tide of the Islamic movement,” reports the Dearborn Press & Guide (you can still find Engle’s original letter here):
Billed as a 24-hour gathering to “fast, pray and cry out to God,” TheCall organizers chose Detroit for specific reasons. According to the event’s Website, Detroit “has become a microcosm of our national crisis, economic collapse, racial tension, the rising tide of the Islamic movement and the shedding of blood of our children in the streets and of the unborn.”
“Christians of all denominations will be praying for the city of Detroit,” Weinzierl said.
But the reference to the “rising tide of the Islamic movement” caught the attention of the southeastern Michigan Muslim community. Although the phrase has been removed from the Website, local Muslim leaders are concerned the event is a thinly disguised rally against Islam.
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“It has nothing to do with any individual group whatsoever,” the Sterling Heights pastor said. “It’s not a prayer against anybody. It’s to pray for our area … It certainly isn’t an anti-Muslim thing.”
While Weinzierl says The Call: Detroit “certainly isn’t an anti-Muslim thing,” someone apparently forgot to tell Engle, the founder and principal organizer of The Call, who said that the main reason he is in Detroit is to combat the “rising tide of the Islamic movement” and to pray for Muslim conversions.
Weinzierl is not the only pastor who seems to be mistaken:
Pastor Marvin Winans of Perfecting Church in Detroit, said he will be supporting Engle and TheCall. He said the summit is open to everyone.
"Jews can come, Islamics can come, Buddhists can come, but we're only going to be praying to Jesus," he said. "It is not anti-Islam."
Another one of Engle’s allies appears to be misinformed about the works of The Call organizers:
Fears of TheCall taking on an anti-Muslim tone are uncalled for, said Apostle Ellis Smith, of Detroit's Jubilee City Church in Detroit, which is promoting the event on its website.
"Our focus will be on Ford Field, not visiting a mosque," Smith told The Associated Press Wednesday. "We're not praying against Muslims. We are going to be praying against terrorism that has its roots in Islam. We're dealing with extremism. We're against extremism when it comes to Christians."
Submitted by Brian Tashman on November 9, 2011 - 2:05pm
When Gary Glenn, the head of American Family Association’s Michigan affiliate, announced his run for U.S. Senate, Kyle wondered “how long it will be before Glenn receives Mike Huckabee's endorsement given that Huckabee believes that ‘if we had leaders like Gary Glenn across America, our work wouldn't be so hard.’”
Well, today Huckabee made it official, endorsing Glenn and saying he “will be a Senator that will take his values with him to Washington”:
I am very happy to endorse and support Gary Glenn for the United States Senate in Michigan. Gary is a person whose clarity of conviction is refreshing. He has boldly led on issues of life, traditional marriage, and the Fair Tax. When I needed help in Michigan in 2008, Gary didn't wait until it was convenient or popular, he stood with me out of sheer courage of his views. Gary Glenn won't take a poll to find out where he needs to stand. He will be a Senator that will take his values with him to Washington. I hope you will join me in getting behind Gary with your prayers, your generous and sacrificial contributions, and your vote.
Glenn faces a competitive primary against former congressman Pete Hoekstra and charter school activist Clark Durant and, if he wins the nomination, an uphill climb against Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow.
While leading the AFA’s state chapter, Glenn has amassed a tremendous anti-gay record. He not only led the successful campaign to enshrine a ban on marriage equality for gays and lesbians in the state constitution, but also targeted openly gay candidates and was a plaintiff in the unsuccessful lawsuit to block the Shepard-Byrd Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which expands hate crimes laws to protect people targeted because of their sexual orientation.
Glenn supports the criminalization of homosexuality and joined anti-gay radio host and Mission America head Linda Harvey to warn companies against hiring gay and lesbian employees, saying, “What ridiculous folly to suggest that only those individuals who engage in homosexual behavior given all of its severe medical consequences constitute the best and the brightest.” During an interview with anti-gay extremist Peter LaBarbera of Americans For Truth About Homosexuality, Glenn said that anti-bullying programs were a “Trojan Horse” of “homosexual activists” and said that the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell “defies reason,” predicting repeal will lead to more “sexual assaults” and “security,” “moral,” and “medical” risks.
Submitted by Brian Tashman on November 9, 2011 - 12:25pm
As Lou Engle prepares to lead The Call:Detroit on Friday, Detroit pastors are beginning to speak out against Engle’s radical ideology and some are urging Detroit residents not to participate in his prayer rally. Rev. Charles Williams II of the Historic King Solomon Baptist Church, a member of People For the American Way’s African American Ministers In Action, said the rally is only bringing “divisiveness and fear” to the city. “Religious leaders who support this event should really take a look at what its undertones are all about,” he said.
Today, Rev. Williams and other faith leaders will be holding a press conference challenging the prayer rally, and yesterday the reverend spoke to Fox Detroit on why people of faith should think twice about participating in The Call. Williams highlighted the fact that Engle took The Call to Uganda where he and other speakers spoke out in support of draconian legislation that would criminalize homosexuality and even impose the death penalty for homosexuals in some cases. He also addressed claims by Engle and other organizers of The Call that Islam and Muslims are literally demonic.
“I think most of us in the City of Detroit and I think most Christians have much more sense then some of [these] radical religious right values that this guy’s promoting,” Rev. Williams said. “We just don’t need that kind of politics of deception nor fear here in Detroit.”
Benefiel uses what he calls the “Baal Decree of Divorce” [PDF] to cast out the demonic structures that he believes control and corrupt geographic areas. He claims that the divorce decrees are a vital part of spiritual warfare that will reduce a locality’s social, environmental, economic and spiritual ills by ending Baal’s jurisdiction over that area and inviting in God to rule instead. Now, Benefiel has taken his Baal divorce decrees to Michigan in preparation for The Call: Detroit.
Rachel Tabachnick and Bruce Wilson of Talk to Action posted audio clips today of organizers from The Call and Transformation Michigan, the state affiliate of the Oak Initiative, talking about how they are using spiritual warfare to combat the supposed demonic powers over the state. Organizer Anita Christopher discussed how she works on casting demons out of mosques, saying, “We do believe as do many of the prophetic and apostolic people that Baal is the strongman over our country and directly the strongman over Islam and freemasonry.” She added that we need to “set free ourselves from freemasonry and from Islamic influence.”
Benefiel and Christopher discussed with Transformation Michigan leader Rich Warzywak their efforts to “divorce Baal” from mosques, Masonic temples and even the Michigan Senate. Benefiel said, “We are for Free Masons and Mormons and Muslims getting free from the bondage that they’ve been under to know the Lord Jesus Christ.” “In your state in the Dearborn area in particular, that’s probably the biggest stronghold of Islam in our nation, well, in going to the Masonic lodges I believe that we are earning authority from God,” claimed Benefiel. He went on to say, “I believe we are earning authority to pull down the spirit of Islam over our nation.”
Our compilation video highlights the anti-Muslim of Engle, along with the other The Call and Oak Initiative leaders Rick Joyner and Jerry Boykin:
Submitted by Brian Tashman on November 7, 2011 - 5:46pm
Updated 11/8
On Friday, Nov. 11 (11/11/11), right-wing activist Lou Engle and the group Transformation Michigan will host The Call: Detroit a prayer rally, the stated purpose of which is to convert Muslims to Christianity to prevent what Transformation Michigan calls “the advance of the enemy.”
When speaking with mainstream news outlets, The Call: Detroit’s organizers have attempted to downplay their anti-Muslim rhetoric, painting the rally as an inclusive gathering for people of faith to pray for Detroit’s depressed economy. However, Engle and Transformation Michigan’s statements to supporters show that The Call will present something much more harmful and divisive: an attempt to stir up misunderstanding and fear of Detroit and Dearborn’s Muslim communities while promoting a view of government exclusively by and for conservative Christians.
The Call: Detroit is closely linked to Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s radical The Response rally in August, which was organized by the International House of Prayer, where Engle is based, and included many of the same speakers. Perry’s rally came under scrutiny for promoting “Seven Mountains Dominionism,” a fringe movement of conservative Christians who seek to take over the “seven mountains” of American life – including government, media, business and entertainment – in order to pave the way for the End Times. The Call: Detroit, whose speakers have promoted radical anti-Muslim, anti-gay and anti-choice views, come from the same tradition, which seeks to blend right-wing politics and religion and promote a government run by and catering to a small number of Christian conservatives.
A number of Detroit faith leaders have begun speaking out againstThe Call: Detroit, including Rev. Charles Williams II of People For the American Way’s African American Ministers in Action. “Religious leaders who support this event should really take a look at what its undertones are all about,” Rev. Williams said, “As a Christian pastor I support prayer, but not to bash another religion, nor to hide behind the subterfuge of political gamesmanship.”
We at Right Wing Watch put together a video of Engle, along with Rick Joyner and Jerry Boykin, who serve with Engle on The Call’s national leadership team, stating their beliefs that Islam is literally “demonic” and Muslims need to convert to Christianity:
Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on November 7, 2011 - 12:17pm
Last week, Brian noted that several of the leaders involved in Lou Engle's upcoming "The Call" rally in Detroit have been pleading ignorance about the anti-Islam agenda that is driving the event.
"The Call" founder Lou Engle has made it abundantlyclear that he chose to hold the event in Detroit in order to target the state's Muslim population for conversion, especially in the nearby city of Dearborn.
But Engle is not alone in organizing this event and several of the other organizers of the prayer rally are professional anti-Muslim activists.
In fact, Rick Warzywak of Transformation Michigan was tasked by Lou Engle to take the lead in organizing the Detroit event and, as part of that process, Warzywak put together a leadership team that featured Rick Joyner and Gen. Jerry Boykin, both of The Oak Initiative:
Joyner is an anti-Muslim activist who declares that Muslims are enslaved by Islam and the only reason he doesn't want to see the Quran burned is so that people will read it just to see how bizarre it is:
Boykin, for his part, was the Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence under Donald Rumsfeld until he resigned after video emerged of him proclaiming that that US was engaged in a spiritual war against Islam.
Since then, he has become a full-time anti-Islam activist, serving as team leader for the "Shariah: The Threat To America" report while constantly attacking Islam and telling anyone who will listen to Islam does not deserve First Amendment protections and Muslims should be prohibited from building mosques in America, while warning that the Muslim Brotherhood is on the verge of taking over the United States, so much so that he fears that his granddaughters will be forced to wear burkas.