Shariah foes seize on Perry's ties to Muslims

[Emit]

Monday, Aug 15, 2011

Shariah foes seize on Perry's ties to Muslims

The Muslim-baiting right can't decide what to make of the Texas governor's past

By Justin Elliott

It looks like my story last week about Rick Perry's cordial relations with a group of Muslims has, as expected, generated alarm within the anti-Shariah wing of the Republican Party.

My piece explored Perry's long-standing friendship with the Aga Khan, the wealthy, globe-trotting leader of the Ismaili Muslim sect, which has a small but significant population in Texas. Perry and the Aga Khan have launched two joint projects, including a program to educate Texas schoolchildren about Islamic culture and history. I noted that this relationship set Perry apart from those members of the GOP field who consistently demonize Islam, and that some anti-Shariah/anti-Muslim activists might be skeptical of his ties to the Aga Khan.

Like clockwork, two anti-Shariah figures have now penned columns attacking Perry on exactly these grounds. But one anti-Shariah group, Frank Gaffney's Center for Security Policy, has dissented and says it has no problem with Perry's relationship with the Ismailis. The group's spokesman, Dave Reaboi, emailed Commentary's Alana Goodman:

~snip~

This story tells us more about Salon, Politico and other left-of-center media outlets than about Perry. Rather than engage on the substantive issues as regards to Islamism and the extent of the threat of groups with political motivations and histories of terrorist links, Elliott and Smith refuse to take their opponents seriously, thinking they’re 'poking the cage' of a Republican base too unsophisticated to know the difference between the Ismaili sect and, say, the Muslim Brotherhood.

As it turns out, Reaboi's predictions -- that Perry's associations "will not cause much of a stir" and that anti-Shariah activists are too sophisticated to demonize the Ismailis -- have already been proven wrong.

~snip~

http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/08/15/perry_geller_gaffney/index.html

[Jackpine Radical]

1. It's a Texan thang..

Oil.

[JBoy]

2. Pfft. Until there's a photo of him making out with...

Nevermind.

[bluestate10]

3. Ok. So a US citizen that wants to build a monument promoting peace

near Ground Zero is evil in Gaffney's mixed up world?