UCG and the Islamophobia Network

The Islamophobia Network

In 2011 the Center for American Progress released a report, Fear, Inc. which exposed a collection of closely connected individuals and groups that have created an business in marketing the vilification of Muslims. They are often funded by the same charities as each other. The authors of Fear, Inc. called this collection of related groups the Islamophobia Network. As exposed in a previous post PCG has often used figures associated with this network of dubious experts to portray Muslims in a bad light.

But what about the other Armstrongite groups? Has UCG been reading and presenting as fact ideas presented by these persons identified by the Center for American Progress as being a part of this Islamophobia Network?

Yes they have.

I did not decide that these persons were part of this Islamophobia Network. That is the judgment of the Center for American Progress after their research. Among the individuals UCG cited are Daniel Pipes, Robert Spencer, Frank Gaffney and Walid Phares.

Daniel Pipes

Just like PCG's Joel Hilliker UCG seems particularly enamored of Daniel Pipes. He is presented at face value as an expert worthy of the readers' trust.

Here is how UCG's writers present Daniel Pipes: "director of the Philadelphia-based Middle East Forum", "a Middle East expert", "Mideast analyst", "Noted Middle East authority", "author of 11 books on Middle Eastern topics", and "a noted expert on Islam". One is never told by UCG that is notorious for vilifying Muslims or how he leans politically. He is simply presented as an expert and someone who can be trusted.

Here are instances of UCG's writers quoting Daniel Pipes, one of the main pillars of the Islamophobia Network. Some of these articles discusses Pipes' writings at greater length than is presented here.

Daniel Pipes, director of the Philadelphia-based Middle East Forum, says, “Arab-Israeli relations…resembles the bad old days of pre-1967.” Overconfidence on the part of Arab nations spurred them into all-out war in June 1967. (Cecil Maranville, In Brief... World News Review Has Israel Chosen to Have War?, January 10, 2001.)

Dr. Pipes, a Middle East expert, goes on to explain that “what might seem like bureaucratic wrangling has such potentially profound importance because the Turkish armed forces have long been Turkey's main bastion for political moderation and close relations with the United States and Israel.” (Jerold Aust and John Ross Schroeder, World News and Trends- Turkey An American ally no longer?, October 15, 2003.)

If, as Mideast analyst Daniel Pipes maintains, “the year 2002 will be remembered as a low point in the long conflict between Palestinians and Israelis, when diplomacy came to a standstill, emotion boiled over, blood ran in the streets, and the prospects for all-out war drew closer”—how will we remember the events of 2003? (John Ross Schroeder, The 'Road Map' to Peace: Doomed From the Start?, December 1, 2003.)

This particular incident led to the coining of a new expression “Sudden Jihad Syndrome”, “whereby normal appearing Muslims abruptly become violent,” writes Daniel Pipes in his New York Sun article: “The Quiet Spoken Muslims who Turn to Terror” (http://www.danielpipes.org/article/3450 ).

As Pipes pointed out, Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar, the perpetrator of the university campus atrocity, is not unique. Rather, “he fits into a widespread pattern of Muslims who lead quiet lives before turning to terrorism. Their number includes the hijackers responsible for the attacks of September 11th, the London transport bombers, and the Intel engineer arrested before he could join the Taliban in Afghanistan, Maher Hawash.” (Melvin Rhodes, Dialog of the Deaf Separates Islam and West, May 17, 2006.)

Noted Middle East authority Daniel Pipes reports this week that the Vatican shows signs of stripping off the velvet gloves on the question of an Islam versus Christianity mentality. (Christianity vs. Islam, July 8, 2006.)

Daniel Pipes, author of 11 books on Middle Eastern topics and director of the Philadelphia think tank Middle East Forum, asked that crucial question in his Dec. 26, 2006, article “How the West Could Lose” in the New York  Sun. 
 “On the face of it, [the West's] military preponderance makes victory seem inevitable … ,” he wrote. “Yet, more than a few analysts, including myself, worry that it's not so simple. (Melvin Rhodes, What Will It Mean for the West if Radical Islam Triumphs?, March 26, 2007.)

The following is taken from Daniel Pipes' Web site www.danielpipes.org. Mr. Pipes is a noted expert on Islam and recently published the book Militant Islam Reaches America.
Writes Mr. Pipes: “I have been documenting since 1999 CAIR's use of such censorious tactics against anyone who dares criticize Islam, militant Islam or Muslims. This reflects the militant Islamic ambition to privilege Islam, which implies in part a prohibition on discussion about it.” ...
One final comment from Mr. Pipes: “This effort to crush an opponent—get his apology and then deprive him of his livelihood—typifies CAIR's illiberal approach.” (Melvin Rhodes, Radical Islam a Threat to Freedom of Speech, July 30, 2010.)

Middle Eastern countries waste enormous amounts of money on competing armed forces and modern military hardware in hopes of containing bordering nations that are doing the same. Other serious difficulties in several Mideast countries include inadequate schools, falling birth rates and repressive governments. And as Middle East expert Daniel Pipes wrote in a Washington Times piece earlier this year, “Efforts to overthrow greedy tyrants lead to yet-worse ideological tyrants (as in Iran in 1979) or to anarchy (as in Libya and Yemen)” (“The Middle East Mightily Resists Efforts to Prod Modernization,” Jan. 23, 2014). (John Ross Schroeder and Peter Eddington, Searching for Eden in the Middle East, May 29, 2014.)

Robert Spencer

Robert Spencer is the main writer of the blog Jihad Watch. He has also been quoted by UCG's writers. 

Mr. Rose was reviewing Onward Muslim Soldiers: How Jihad Still Threatens America and the West by Robert Spencer. In reviewing the book, Mr. Rose writes: “The most absorbing point, if not the main point, of Onward Muslim Soldiers is that most Western countries, and especially France, are serving the twin gods of multiculturalism and tolerance to their own demise” (“Christendom, Awake,” Dec. 15, 2003). (Melvin Rhodes, Radical Islam a Threat to Freedom of Speech, July 30, 2010.)

The quote below is particularly troubling as this article cites Spencer's work forst of all in advising readers how to study the topic of Islam and the vastly varied societies of Muslim majority countries. It is very irresponsible of UCG to promote works like Spencer's.

To get past the standard half-truths and distortions about Islamic tolerance and victimhood, it's necessary to read “the rest of the story.”
Robert Spencer forcibly analyzes and demolishes common myths in three invaluable books: Onward Muslim Soldiers: How Jihad Still Threatens America and the West (2003), The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades) (2005) and Religion of Peace? Why Christianity Is and Islam Isn't (2007). (Resources to Learn More About Islam's History and Theology, January 6, 2012.)

Frank Gaffney

Today’s Washington Times has a piece by Frank Gaffney, Jr which shows how the United States has changed its tack on Palestine and is now fully supporting the new Palestinian President as a man of peace, a key player in a road map to peace. $50 million has been pledged to the Palestinian Authority to help its cause and Israel is making addition concessions along with the planned retreat from the Gaza Strip by August. But the PA is not making the type of moves that gives hope that the conflict is over. (Darris McNeely, Israel and the "Oslo Syndrome", June 1, 2005.)

Frank Gaffney, a former assistant Secretary of Defense and expert in nuclear forces and arms control policy, recently spoke on this subject and gave a brief explanation about how this type of nuclear device works. (Darris McNeely, America's Handwriting of Warning, July 4, 2005.)

Walid Phares

The Center for American Progress notes that Phares was "a former militiaman and foreign affairs spokesman" for the Lebanese Front, a largely Christian based armed faction that operated in Lebanon during its long running civil war of the 1970s and 1980s. Despite this he is simply presented by UCG as an expert who can be trusted.

This reflects a disturbing realignment in U.S. foreign policy. When Lebanese-born Middle East expert Walid Phares was asked in a recent interview to expand on his statement that “everyone in Washington knows Obama supports the Muslim Brotherhood,” he offered this stunning response: (Tom Robinson, Puzzling U.S. Support for Islamists Over Moderates, March 3, 2013.)

How disappointing it is that UCG's lay members are being given such dubious sources to inform them about a large portion of the world's population. No good can come from this manufactured atmosphere of carefully cultivated ignorance.

UCG's leaders and members need to stop reading the Islamophobia Network.