Joseph Farah and World Net Daily - updated

Sheila Musaji

Posted Jan 7, 2012      •Permalink      • Printer-Friendly Version
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Joseph Farah and World Net Daily

by Sheila Musaji


Joseph Farah is founder, editor and CEO of World Net Daily (WND).  He is part of the anti-Sharia movement, and as the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) notes in an article about this particular segment of anti-Muslim extremists:

Even further to the political right, Joseph Farah’s online WorldNetDaily published a three-part series on the alleged Shariah threat by actor and martial arts enthusiast Chuck Norris (well, he penned at least some of it; the Wonkette website claims that portions of it were plagiarized from other sources). The April series recycled unsubstantiated claims of a “vast network” of foreign extremists operating inside the U.S. and suggested that President Obama practices “advocacy for Shariah law.”

See Chuck Norris, a Sharia White Belt for my response to Norris “scholarship”.

Farah published an article Strange political bedfellows which makes the following “point”

Homosexual political activists are pushing hard for the cultural and legal acceptance of same-sex marriage, the adoption of hate-crimes legislation and open homosexual activity in the U.S. armed forces. Opposition to this agenda typically comes from practicing and observant Christians and Jews who recognize the Bible unequivocally condemns homosexual behavior is sinful and that there are grave real-life consequences to nations that condone it.    But I want you to notice who doesn’t actively oppose this agenda in American society today – organized Muslim groups.    ...  After all, we know how harshly homosexuals are treated in the Islamic world. They are murdered, jailed, institutionalized, condemned and brutalized.    …  I will tell you why: Because they recognize the promotion of this agenda in the U.S. actually serves the Islamist long-term agenda. They recognize that the success of this agenda promotes the weakening of the United States of America in multiple ways.

Amazing logic.  American Muslims just aren’t bigoted enough against the gay community, which is yet another sign of their hatred for America, and a reason to suspect their loyalty and patriotism.  For Farah disapproval of the gay lifestyle is not enough.  His interpretation of scripture regarding gay people is extreme.  What he believes is needed in order to protect the American way of life is to criminalize being gay.  Muslims, Jews, Christians, or anyone else may hold religious beliefs about a particular issue (and act on those beliefs personally as long as their actions are within the law).  However, under the Constitution, and under our wonderful system of separation of Church and State, all citizens of this country have rights and are to be treated equally as citizens regardless of their race, religion, or sexual orientation.  That is the real issue here.  You don’t have to have gay friends or even like gay people - you do have to acknowledge them as human beings and citizens with rights that need to be protected.

Farah would also like to criminalize being Muslim.  Farah published an article Time to limit Muslim immigration.  One paragraph is that article pretty much sums up his lack of logic:

It seems obvious to me that anyone who subscribes to Saudi-style Shariah law, as described in the Islamic Quran and Hadith, would not be inclined to swear allegiance to the Constitution – at least not without crossing his fingers taqiyya-style.

This is how Islamophobes muddy up the water and confuse issues in order to deceive their readers.  Sharia and Saudi-style Sharia are not synonomous.  The Saudis have a particular interpretation of Sharia that is very conservative and repressive.  Much of the Saudi interpretation of Sharia is rejected by most Muslims in the rest of the world.  In fact, the Wahhabi interpretations are seen by a majority of Muslims as going against the Qur’an and Hadith.

Then Farah gets to his purpose

But we need to do more than just require immigrants seeking entry to the U.S. as visitors or citizens to swear allegiance to our Constitution. We need to put the burden of proof on Muslims to demonstrate their desire to leave the world of Shariah behind them, to renounce its principles as well as to take a formal oath to uphold and affirm America’s national covenant.

Furthermore, we need strict national quotas on immigration by Muslims – even those willing to renounce Shariah and swear an oath to the U.S. Constitution.

Why?  ...  Already, with only a few million Muslims living in America, they are having a disproportionate impact on our culture. Let me give you one example: There are still more Jews in America than Muslims, though the gap is narrowing quickly. Yet, Jews do not use their influence to ensure that Jews and non-Jews alike are forced to eat according to rabbinical kosher rules. However, it is increasingly difficult for non-Muslims in America today to buy a Thanksgiving turkey that has not been ritually sacrificed to Allah. Most of the meat sold in Costco is also halal.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to eat meat sacrificed to Allah. With Islam a tiny minority religion in the U.S., it seems perverse that people like me have to be careful not to eat food ritually sacrificed to this god of the few.  But this is the nature of Islam.

All Muslims observe Sharia to some degree according to many different interpretations.  When I say my prayers, I am observing Sharia.  When I calculate my minimum charitable contributions due, I am observing Sharia.  If I have an Islamic wedding ceremony, I am observing Sharia.  If I have an Islamic burial for a family member, I am observing Sharia.  The list goes on and on, and attempting to convince people that Sharia and loyalty to our Republic or Constitution are incompatible is ludicrous.  Asking Muslims to “renounce Sharia” means to ask them not to be Muslims. 

Actually, his example of the Thanksgiving turkey is a prime example of blaming Muslims.  No Muslims used their influence to force others to eat halal.  The only reason that any large meat packing companies produce kosher or halal products at all is to satisfy a demand from a segment of their consumers.  Within the U.S. the demand from the Jewish and Muslim communities is about equal as those populations are about the same.  However, in our global economy, big companies are not producing only for the U.S.  They are producing for a global market.  And, in that global market, there is a very big difference in the population numbers for the global Jewish and Muslim communities.  Muslims in Indonesia, or India, or anyplace else want to purchase halal meat, and American companies want to make a profit by selling their product to them.  It isn’t some devious case of “creeping Sharia”, just simple supply and demand economics.  And, if there is any company that has made a decision to slaughter all of the animals in their plant according to halal standards, then that is a business decision they have made and has nothing to do with any pressure from Muslims.  See Pamela Geller Discovers Muslim Thanksgiving Turkey Plot for much more background on this non-issue.


UPDATE 12/1/2012

The SPLC has published a good backgrounder on WND & Farah: WorldNet Daily Continues to Pump Out Outrageous Propaganda


SEE ALSO:

Right Wing Watch has a whole series of articles on Farah’s various statements:
—Farah Blames Penn State Scandal On Growing Acceptance Of Homosexuality
—Farah Claims Earthquake Was God’s Judgment On America
—Farah: Criminalize Homosexuality Just Like Murder, Child Molestation
—Farah: Gays And Radical Muslims Working Together To Destroy America
—Farah: Marriage Equality Will “Plunge” America Into “The Moral Abyss Of Chaos And Barbarism”
—Farah: United States Should “Break Up” Over Marriage Equality
—Farah: What Happened In Nazi Germany “Is Happening Again In America”  (comparing the election of Barack Obama and the election of Hitler)

ACLU In League With Satan, Must Be Destroyed, Austin Cline http://atheism.about.com/b/2004/11/20/aclu-in-league-with-satan-must-be-destroyed.htm

Anti-Muslim Activists Gather In Tennessee to Warn of Shariah, Leah Nelson http://www.splcenter.org/blog/2011/11/12/anti-muslim-activists-gather-in-tennessee-to-warn-of-shariah-takeover/

As Muslim-Bashing Propaganda Swells, Shariah Scare Takes Off http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2011/fall/as-muslim-bashing-propaganda-swells-sha

Backgrounder on World Net Daily http://www.rightwingwatch.org/category/groups/worldnetdaily?page=3

The Crying Shariah Game: Groups Protest Hotel Cancellations, Leah Nelson http://www.splcenter.org/blog/2011/10/26/the-crying-shariah-game/

Joseph Farah Confuses Free Speech with Free Enterprise, http://freethoughtblogs.com/assassin/2011/10/26/joseph-farah-confuses-free-speech-with-free-enterprise/

Joseph Farah Looks Forward to Riots over Anti-Muslim Book, Richard Bartholomew http://barthsnotes.com/2008/04/23/joseph-farah-looks-forward-to-riots-over-anti-muslim-book/

Fox Gives Platform To Serial Fearmonger And Conspiracy Theorist Joseph Farah http://mediamatters.org/research/201111150011

The Gospel According to Joseph Farah, Thomas E. Woods http://www.lewrockwell.com/woods/woods17.html

More Evidence of WND’s Loony Nature, Steven L. Taylor http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/more-evidence-of-wnds-loony-nature/

Rage grows in America: Anti-Government Conspiracies, ADL http://www.adl.org/special_reports/rage-grows-in-America/Rage-Grows-In-America.pdf

WND’s Joseph Farah: Muslims Support “Homosexual Agenda” Because it Weakens America http://equalitymatters.org/blog/201108220011

WorldNetDaily Invokes Islamophobia To Bash Gallup Survey Of American Muslims, Terry Krepel http://mediamatters.org/blog/201109120019

WorldNetDaily: The Rise of the Muslim Anti-Christ Explains Egypt Unrest, Richard Bartholomew http://barthsnotes.com/2011/02/02/worldnetdaily-the-rise-of-the-muslim-anti-christ-explains-egypt-unrest/

WorldNetDaily Still Pushing Obama-Muslim Smear, Terry Krepel http://www.huffingtonpost.com/terry-krepel/worldnetdaily-still-pushi_b_626620.html

World Net Daily Writers Sue Esquire For $120 Million Over Birther Parody, Ryan J. Reilly http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/06/world_net_daily_writers_sue_esquire_for_120_million_over_birther_parody.php#more

 

originally posted 12/19/2003

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