Pamela Geller Discovers Non-Existent “Adoption Jihad”?

by Sheila Musaji

Pamela Geller posted an article #myjihad in Spain: Adoption Jihad. She introduces an article about a recent case in Spain (Spain has acceded to the demands of the government in Morocco by agreeing that Moroccan children adopted by Spanish families must remain culturally and religiously Muslim) with this comment:

Spain has just agreed to amend its adoption code for children born to Muslim parents. Islam doesn’t follow the Western tradition of adoption, in which the adoptive parents have total control of the child and how he/she is raised once the adoption is finalized. Instead, Islamic adoption is essentially a form of legal guardianship. The courts are supposed to monitor that the child is being raised correctly as a Muslim. France has already amended its adoption laws to accommodate Muslim-born children. I would not be surprised to see the rest of Europe follow this path to Sharia through the backdoor. I pray that the USA won’t change our laws. If it stops adoption from certain countries, then those countries should take their own orphans. Yes, a foreign adoption is probably in the child’s best interest, but only if it is done under current laws. We don’t need to Shariaize our adoptions laws. (thanks to Danielle)  Instead of helping these children escape the most brutal, extreme and misogynistic ideology on the planet, Western governments are forcing the adoptive parents to convert to Islam. Sick.

First, no one is forcing adoptive parents to convert to Islam, the article only says that some Spanish families who have adopted Moroccan children have converted to Islam in order to obtain custody of these Muslim children.  That was their personal choice.  The government of Morocco certainly has the right to make such a law regarding the placement of Muslim children.

Geller is certainly aware that the question of whether or not children need to be placed in a family of the same religion as the birth parents is not new, and does not concern only Muslim children.  (Or, she would be aware, if only she knew how to do a simple google search.)  There is a reason that there are Catholic, Jewish, Protestant, etc. adoption agencies in the U.S.  It is already possible for the birth parents to specify whether or not they want their child to remain in a family holding the same religious beliefs.

Matzov.com reports on a case in the U.S.

Agudath Israel of America has accused the Rensselaer Department of Social Services of violating state law by working to have two Jewish children (a brother and sister) adopted by non-Jewish couples. Under New York State law, social service agencies and the courts are generally required to place children in foster and adoptive homes that share the religious faith of the child. But in the case of two children under the jurisdiction of Rensselaer Social Services, the law is being ignored and plans for their adoption by two non-Jewish couples are underway-even though their mother has requested that her children be kept together and placed in a Jewish home.

Agudath Israel learned of the situation when those close to the children’s mother called the organization for help. “When we get calls about such situations,” explained Agudath Israel General Counsel Mordechai Biser, “we promptly inform the relevant social service agency of the legal requirement to place Jewish children in Jewish homes, and they usually are quick to comply.” “But in this case,” continued the attorney, “the Rensselaer Department of Social Services has rejected our pleas and those of the children’s mother that the law be followed, claiming that it is not ‘practicable’ to place these children in a same-faith home.”

In a letter to the Department, Agudath Israel pointed out that under state law, the only legal justification for not placing a child in a home of the same faith as the child is if there is no available appropriate person of the same religious faith to serve as the child’s foster or adoptive parent. In this case, there are appropriate Jewish couples available who have been approved to serve as adoptive parents and have contacted the Rensselaer Department of Social Services.

NJ religion-in-adoption bill heads for vote in legislature

NJ legislators are closer to passing a law that would require agencies to maintain a child’s religious upbringing when placing the child in an adoptive or foster home.

The bill, authored by Assembly member Gary Schaer (D-Dist. 36) of Passaic, was approved by the Assembly Women and Children Committee on May 14. It awaits passage by the full Assembly and State Senate.

“A child’s religious and cultural backgrounds are significant aspects of determining the best interests of the child,” said Schaer, an Orthodox Jew, in a May 15 press release. “That’s why it’s so important that the placement of a child into foster care or adoption should be consistent with their religious and cultural backgrounds, unless it’s proven by convincing evidence that such placement is not in the best interests of the child.”

Groups that oppose the bill, including Foster and Adoptive Family Services, worry that its passage will restrict the pool of potential families for any particular child.

According to its sponsors, the legislation would permit agencies and courts to place a child in a setting of a different religion “only with a written statement from the child’s birth parent or legal guardian.”

Religious background as a placement factor in adoption & foster care notes that

Social services agencies in New York state are legally obligated to consider the “religious designation” of a child when making foster and adoptive placements. Parents must be given the option of choosing whether or not they want religion to be a factor in placing their child(ren). If they opt out, agencies must document their decision. Agencies must also document the reason for not adhering to parents’ religious preferences.

Minnesota statutes require the courts to allow birth parents to express a religious preference in foster and adoptive placements of their child(ren) (260C.193 Subd. 3 (c) and 259.29 Subd. 2). Additionally, a child’s religious needs are the sixth placement factor in determining foster care placements (260C.212 Subd. 2 (a)), and new statutory language from S.F. 1675 also states that for adoption of children under guardianship of the commissioner, the agency shall ensure that:  “the diversity of Minnesota’s population and diverse needs including culture, religion, and language of persons affected by adoption are recognized and respected.” (260C.601 Subd. 2)

Clearly, Geller and her followers are not aware of these issues.  Clearly Geller believes that Muslim children particularly should be “helped to escape the most brutal, extreme and misogynistic ideology on the planet.”  This statement alone shows her incredible level of hatred towards all of Islam.  And, also clearly, Geller’s audience “gets” her real message.

The first comment under Geller’s article on her site says:

—Since when has a civilized person ever thought that islam is a religion?  Orphans would be better off dying, than ever being called a muslim.  The civilized world must stop calling a misogynistic hate group, a religion,they should be dealt with like organized crime ,which it is. People who wish to be members of this crime family must be rounded up and quarantined in a separate place with no ties to the people they have pledged to kill.  Civilization must deal with them as harshly as they are accustomed to treating others, they only respect you if you can be a better warrior than they are, we are, and once they see it, they will fall into place and be good little donkeys, with the chance of becoming free humans.

This is true hatred, and all civilized people can see that it is an expression of a savage mentality.

SEE ALSO:

Religion and adoption http://encyclopedia.adoption.com/entry/religion/306/1.html

New York State, Religious Designation of a Foster Child and a Child Being Placed for Adoption http://www.ocfs.state.ny.us/main/policies/external/OCFS_2011/ADMs/11-OCFS-ADM-04%20Religious%20Designation%20of%20a%20Foster%20Child%20%20and%20a%20Child%20Being%20Placed%20for%20Adoption.pdf

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RESOURCES FOR DEALING WITH ISLAMOPHOBIA SUMMARY

The Islamophobia Industry exists and is engaged in an anti-Muslim Crusade.  They have a manifesto for spreading their propaganda, and which states their goal of “destroying Islam — as a culture, a political ideology, and a religion.” They produce anti-Muslim films.  They are forming new organizations and coalitions of organizations at a dizzying speed, not only nationally, but also internationally.   They have formed an International Leadership Team “which will function as a mobile, proactive, reactive on-the-ground team developing and executing confidential action plans that strike at the heart of the global anti-freedom agenda.”

Currently, the Islamophobia Industry is engaged in a full-scale, coordinated,  demonization campaign against American Muslims and Arabs. In just the past few months we have seen a series of inflammatory provocations:    There was the Innocence of Muslims film Titanic, a German satire magazine plans an “Islam” cover article to be published later this month.   Charlie Hebdo, a French satire magazine published an issue with inflammatory cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.   Newsweek published their ‘Muslim Rage’ cover.  Terry Jones held a “trial of Prophet Muhammad”.  SION held a “global” gathering in NYC to plan propaganda strategy.  A group in Toronto publicized a “walk your dog at the mosque” day.   AFDI/SIOA has run a series of anti-Muslim ads on public transportation across the country.   AFDI/SIOA are planning to run 8 more anti-Muslim ads.  There are three more films on Prophet Muhammad in the works by Ali Sina, Mosab Hassan Yousef and Imran Farasat.   They are even bringing their hate messages into public schools.

Daniel Pipes is encouraging publication of “A Muhammad cartoon a day”, and says “So, this is my plea to all Western editors and producers: Display the Muhammad cartoon daily, until the Islamists become accustomed to the fact that we turn sacred cows into hamburger.”.  Pipes joins Daniel Greenfield (aka Sultan Knish) who published an appeal on David Horowitz’ Front Page Magazine Is It Time for ‘Make Your Own Mohammed Movie Month’?.  And, both are following in the footsteps of such luminaries as Pamela Geller, who promoted just such a plan back in 2010 with her promotion of Draw Muhammad Day, even after the cartoonist who drew the first cartoon and suggested the idea, Molly Norris apologized to Muslims and asked for the day to be called off, and American Muslims had issued a defense of free speech.    None of this is surprising as one of the Islamophobes laid out their strategy as “The Muslims themselves have shown us their most vulnerable spot, which is the questionable (though unquestioned) character of the ‘Prophet’ himself. We need to satirise and ridicule baby-bonking Mo until the Muslims fly into uncontrollable tantrums, then ridicule them even more for their tantrums, and repeat the process until they froth at the mouth and steam comes out of their ears.”

The Islamophobia of these folks is very real, it is also strikingly similar to a previous generations’ anti-Semitism, and it has predictable consequences.   The reason that this is so obvious to so many is that rational people can tell the difference between legitimate concerns and bigoted stereotypes.

Sadly, the Islamophobic echo chamber has been aided by some in the Jewish and Christian clergy, and even by some of our elected representatives, particularly in the GOP.

The claim that the Islamophobes are “truth-tellers” and “defenders of freedom” who actually “love Muslims” and have never engaged in “broadbrush demonization” or “advocated violence”, or that nothing that they say could have had anything to do with any act of violence,  are nonsense.  The claim that they are falsely being accused of Islamophobia for no reason other than their legitimate concerns about real issues and that in fact there is not even such a thing as Islamophobia, or their claim that the fact that there are fewer hate crimes against Muslims than against Jews or that some Muslims have fabricated such crimes “proves” that Islamophobia doesn’t exist,  or that the term Islamophobia was made up by Muslims in order to stifle their freedom of speech, or that anti-Muslim bigotry is “not Islamophobia but Islamorealism” are all nonsense. 

These individuals and organizations consistently promote the false what everyone “knows” lies about Islam and Muslims (including distorting the meaning of Qur’anic verses, and distorting the meaning of Islamic terms such as taqiyya, jihad, sharia, etc.).

The most commonly repeated false claims about Muslims and Islam are that:

Everyone “knows” that most or all terrorists are Muslims, and there are no Christian and no Jewish terrorists (or terrorists of any other religious stripe), and that Muslims are all militant,  inherently violent, more likely to engage in violence against civilians, and more likely than other Americans to be radicalized. 

Everyone “knows” that Muslims are not interested in dialogue.  That Muslims don’t help Christians in need.  That Muslims can’t have Christians as friends, and are anti-Semites, Holocaust deniers, and intolerant of other faiths. 

Everyone “knows” that Muslims don’t unequivocally denounce terrorism, that American Muslim leaders have not responded to radicalization in their community,  that mosques are the source of radicalization, that 85% of mosques are run by radicals, that Muslims don’t cooperate with law enforcement.

Everyone “knows” that Muslims are not equivalent to real Americans, that they are the enemy within, and a fifth column,  that good Muslims can’t be good Americans, that Muslims are not loyal to America, that they are not a part of our American heritage,

Everyone “knows” that Islam itself is the problem and makes Muslims “backward”, that Muslims have made no contribution to the West, that Islam is “of the devil”, a Crescent menace, a “green peril”, that was spread by the sword,  an “evil encroaching on the United States”, and not a religion.  

Everyone “knows” that this is a Christian nation, which the Muslims are trying to take over, starting with getting an Eid stamp which is the first step towards shariah law which is a threat to America, and a threat to our judicial system, by purposefully having more children than others to increase their numbers, and they will be the majority in this country in 20 years.  Muslims are a threat to America

Everyone “knows” that Muslims have no respect for the Constitution, they don’t obey the laws of the United States,  that they are opposed to freedom of speech, don’t allow and freedom of religion.   

Everyone “knows” that Muslims are given a pass by the elite media.  It’s “us versus them”. 

Everyone “knows” that the Muslims’ goal is world domination under a Caliphate, and the proposed Cordoba House in NYC is a demonstration of supremacism and triumphalism, and that Muslims planned to open it on the anniversary of 9/11.   

Everyone “knows” that Muslims don’t speak out against extremism or terrorism, and even those Muslims who do speak up or seem moderate are simply lying or practicing taqiyyah. 

Everyone “knows” that the Qur’an is uniquely violent, that the Islamic concept of God doesn’t include God’s love, and does not include the concept of a Golden Rule,  that Allah is a moon god. 

Everyone “knows” that Islam is a monolith and all Muslims are the same, like the “Borg”.  This means that every act committed by an individual who is a Muslim is directly attributable to Islam, and never because the individual is crazy, criminal, or perverted. 

Everyone “knows” that Muslims don’t have a sense of humor

Everyone “knows” that Muslims are like the Fascists and Nazis and that in fact they supported those movements.

The problem is that what “everyone knows” is wrong.  These self-righteous and incorrect statements are usually followed by a demand that the Muslim community do something about whatever is the false flag of the day or face the inevitable consequences.

Islamophobes falsely claim to see “JIHAD” PLOTS everywhere, particularly where they don’t exist.   They, like Muslim extremists, don’t understand the true meaning of the term jihad.  The Islamophobes have uncovered countless examples of “shocking”, non-existent Muslim jihad plots.

Islamophobes generalize specific incidents to reflect on all Muslims or all of Islam.    Islamophobes consistently push demonstrably false memes such as:  - we are in danger from creeping Sharia, - the Muslim population is increasing at an alarming rate, - 80% of American Mosques are radicalized,  -  There have been 270 million victims of “jihad”  -  There have been 17,000+ “Islamic terrorist” attacks since 9/11    - Muslims in government are accused of being Muslim Brotherhood plants, stealth jihadists, and creeping Sharia proponents and should be MARGINALIZED or excluded.  Muslim and Arab organizations and individuals are connected to the infamous Muslim Brotherhood document or the unindicted co-conspirator label, or accused of not condemning Hamas, telling American Muslims not to talk to the FBI, of being “Jew haters”, etc.

When Islamophobes are caught in the act of making up or distorting claims they engage in devious methods to attempt to conceal the evidence. 

When Islamophobes are caught in the act of making up or distorting claims they engage in devious methods to attempt to conceal the evidence. 

There is a reason that many, even outside of the Muslim community see such demonization of Muslims as Islamophobic.  There is a reason that the ADL has stated that Brigitte Gabriel’s Act for America, Pamela Geller & Robert Spencer’s Stop the Islamization of America (SIOA), David Yerushalmi’s Society of Americans for National Existence (SANE)  are “groups that promote an extreme anti-Muslim agenda”.  There is a reason that The Southern Poverty Law Center has designated SIOA as a hate group, and that these individuals are featured in the SPLC reports Jihad Against Islam and The Anti-Muslim Inner Circle.  There is a reason that these individuals and organizations are featured prominently in: — the Center for American Progress reports “Fear Inc.” on the Islamophobia network in America and Understanding Sharia Law: Conservatives skewed interpretation needs debunking. — the People for the American Way Right Wing Playbook on Anti-Muslim Extremism.  — the NYCLU report Religious Freedom Under Attack:  The Rise of Anti-Mosque Activities in New York State.  — the Political Research Associates report Manufacturing the Muslim menace: Private firms, public servants, and the threat to rights and security.  — The ACLU report Nothing to Fear: Debunking the Mythical “Sharia Threat” to Our Judicial System — in The American Muslim TAM Who’s Who of the Anti-Muslim/Anti-Arab/Islamophobia Industry.   There is a reason that the SIOA’s trademark patent was denied by the U.S. government due to its anti-Muslim nature.   There is a reason that these individuals and organizations are featured in just about every legitimate report on Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hatred. 

See Resources for dealing with Islamophobes for many more reasons that these people cannot be trusted.

Sheila Musaji is the founding editor of The American Muslim (TAM), published since 1989.  Sheila received the Council on American-Islamic Relations 2007 Islamic Community Service Award for Journalism,  and the Loonwatch Anti-Loons of 2011: Profiles in Courage Award for her work in fighting Islamophobia.  Sheila was selected for inclusion in the 2012 edition of The Muslim 500: The World’s 500 Most Influential Muslims published since 2009 by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre in Amman, Jordan.    Biography  You can follow her on twitter @sheilamusaji ( https://twitter.com/SheilaMusaji )