What is the Free Muslims Coalition?

The Free Muslims Coalition Against Terrorism (FMC) is the project of Kamal Nawash. While he has apparently undergone a dramatic transformation, the fact remains that until 2001, Nawash was the general counsel for the American Muslim Council. The AMC's mission was da'wa and taqqiya -- proselytization, apologetics, and disinformation in the guise of "civil rights" concerns. Like CAIR, MPAC, MAS, ISNA, ICNA, MCB, and so on, the AMC was part of a propaganda network comparable to Comintern. It is now defunct, as the AMC's director, Abdurahman Alamoudi, was recently sentenced to 23 years for plotting assassinations and financing terrorism. Nawash served as Alamoudi's defense counsel.

Those of us who have been on the FMC's listserv since its inception in 2004 remain undecided as to Nawash's sincerity. Is he a really a reformed ex-Islamist, or is the FMC just another organ through which to lull gullible Westerners into a false sense of security? On one hand, many of Nawash's releases are worded as strongly and unequivocally as anyone could possibly want, and bring upon himself the flood of death threats that inevitably go with the territory. Generally, this is not a risk an insincere person would take.

However, given his background, it's hard not to be suspicious. People who are genuinely opposed to terrorism, of all kinds and in all places, will necessarily take certain positions, in particular with regard to Israel. A principled commitment against terrorism does not recognize some magic exception for terrorism against Israel. Committed anti-terrorists affirm Israel's right to exist, to defend itself, and to protect its citizens. Careful observers have also learned that appeasing Palestinian terrorists is a recipe for more terrorism, not less. When Palestinians speak of having their own state, they do not mean alongside Israel, they mean in its place, after its annihilation. Because he is the chief architect of the PLO's genocidal goals, no one who sincerely rejects terrorism could ever countenance elevating Yasser Arafat -- Israel's bin Laden -- to the status of a statesman.

Yet in the wake of Arafat's death, that is exactly what Nawash demanded. In a message to the FMC listserv on Nov. 5, 2004, he wrote:

As to Israel, the steps it takes now are crucial to its future ability to forge peace with the Palestinians, the Arabs and the Muslim world. Arafat has requested that he be buried in Jerusalem. Israel has rejected this request. This is a major mistake by Israel. Hundreds of Palestinians are buried in Jerusalem every year and one more is not going to make a difference or be symbolic of anything that is detrimental to Israel. It is in the best interest of Israel to allow Arafat to be buried in Jerusalem.

Arafat’s funeral can be on the Dome of the Rock. Arab and Muslim leaders from all over the world will naturally want to pay their last respects to Arafat. . . . Whether they land at Ben Gurion Air Port or fly directly to Jerusalem by helicopter, Arab and Muslim leaders should be received by the President of Israel and escorted to the funeral by the Israeli government. This move would show enormous good will by Israel and it will make it easier for the new Palestinian leadership to stop the violence and begin a new future with Israel.

For a mental exercise, let's try that one more time, with a few substitutions:

As to the US, the steps it takes now are crucial to its future ability to forge peace with the Palestinians, the Arabs and the Muslim world. Bin Laden has requested that he be buried in New York. The US has rejected this request. This is a major mistake by the US. Hundreds of Muslims are buried in New York every year and one more is not going to make a difference or be symbolic of anything that is detrimental to the US. It is in the best interest of the US to allow Bin Laden to be buried in New York.

Bin Laden’s funeral can be in Times Square. Arab and Muslim leaders from all over the world will naturally want to pay their last respects to Bin Laden. . . . Whether they land at JFK Air Port or fly directly to New York by helicopter, Arab and Muslim leaders should be received by the President of the United States and escorted to the funeral by the US government. This move would show enormous good will by the US and it will make it easier for the new leadership to stop the violence and begin a new future with America.

This is what Nawash is demanding of Israel. In the Muslim world, the founding of the state of Israel in 1948 is known as the nakba -- The Catastrophe. Not "a" catastrophe. The Catastrophe. Nawash knows that no demonstration of good will is ever reciprocated for more than an hour, before the shelling and suicide attacks resume. He knows that there is nothing Israel can or can not do to stop Palestinian terrorism, aside from securing their borders and killing the bad guys. The issue is that Jews and Israel exist, and only if they cease to exist will the terrorism end.

After I received this e-mail, I was disgusted and attempted to unsubscribe. After multiple attempts over several weeks, I gave up. You can't unsubscribe. So I continue to receive FMC's e-mails every couple of weeks, including today. Its main topic addressed the latest bin Laden tape:

The Free Muslims Coalition Against Terrorism interpreted bin Laden's remarks as a sign of weakness and an attempt to divide the American people. . . . The United States should ignore bin Laden's offer of truce and continue the search for him until he and everyone in his network is brought to justice.

I would prefer "continue hunting and killing," but okay. However, Nawash also knows that the truce offer is more than a sign of weakness; he knows it's a hudna.

In 628, Muhammad's army was based in Medina, and he sought to conquer Mecca by force as revenge for their rejection of his teachings. At the time, Muhammad was in a temporarily weakened position, so he concluded a truce with the Meccans, the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah. This was the first hudna: a truce with mental reservation. Muhammad signed the treaty; but his intention was to buy time to re-arm and consolidate, to enable him to attack from a position of strength later on. The treaty also functioned as a trap; it provided a legal basis upon which Muhammad could "catch" the Meccans in a minor, technical violation, giving him a pretext to launch an attack. Two years later, that's exactly what happened, and Muhammad slaughtered the dominant Quraysh tribe of Mecca.

In accordance with Islamic doctrine, Bin Laden models himself after Muhammad, thus this is almost certainly his intention as well. More to the point, Nawash is an (ex?) Islamist, and a lawyer, and is surely familiar with this famous precedent. One would think that he'd regard it as a priority to educate the FMC listserv about terrorists' ideology. But the e-mail makes no mention of what a "truce" means in Islamic law.

Finally, the e-mail concludes with a decidedly creepy reminder:

The Free Muslims would like to remind everyone about the "Eye on Extremism" program that was enacted in 2004. By visiting www.FreeMuslims.org, anyone can make an anonymous report about suspicious activities or individuals. In return, the Free Muslims will pass along all information to the proper authorities. Contact Kamal Nawash, 202-776-7190, 301-905-6438, president@freemuslims.org.

The Wikipedia entry for FMC is brief, but notes that the organization has a website "where Muslims can report suspcious activity." On one hand, Muslims who object to Islamist goals are in even greater danger than kaffirs, since they're regarded as apostates. Thus the FMC's open offer as an intermediary may indeed facilitate cooperation between scared Muslims and law enforcement agencies who may not understand just how great the risks are.

On the other hand, with the jury out on Nawash's true intentions, it may also function as a way for Islamists to collect information on self-identified Enemies of the Cause. Receiving tips and doing nothing with them would also be a useful way to prevent them from reaching the authorities.

So what is the FMC? Judge for yourself, and post your thoughts.