Logo of D.C. imam's movement |
A Washington, D.C., imam states
explicitly on the website
for his organization that he is part of a movement working toward
replacement of the U.S. government with "the Islamic State of
North America" by 2050.
With branches in Oakland, Los
Angeles, San Diego, Sacramento and Philadelphia, the group As-Sabiqun
– or the Vanguard – is under the leadership of Abdul Alim Musa in
the nation's capital.
Musa's declaration of his intention
to help lead a takeover of America was highlighted
by noted Islam observer Robert Spencer on his website Jihad Watch.
Spencer told WND that figures such as
Musa should not be ignored, "Not because they have the power to
succeed, but because they may commit acts of violence to achieve their
purpose."
Musa's website declares: "Those
who engage in this great effort require a high level of commitment and
determination. We are sending out a call to the believers: Join with
us in this great struggle to change the world!"
Musa launched the group in the early
1990s at the Al-Islam mosque in Philadelphia. His group says it is
influenced by the writings and life work of Muslim thinkers and
leaders such as Muslim Brotherhood founder Hasan al-Banna, Sayyid Qutb
and Iranian revolutionary Ayatollah Khomenei.
The writings of Al-Banna and Qutb
figured prominently in al-Qaida's formation.
Musa's organization says its
leadership "has delivered numerous speeches in the United States
and abroad, contributing their analyses and efforts to solve
contemporary problems in the Muslim world and in urban America."
Abdul Alim Musa |
"The paramount goal of the
movement is the establishment of Islam as a complete way of life in
America," the group declares. "This ultimate goal is
predicated on the belief – shared by many Muslims worldwide – that
Islam is fully capable of producing a working and just social,
political, economic order."
The groups says it does not
"advocate participation in the American political process as an
ideal method for advancing Islamic issues in the U.S.; instead, it
believes in a strong and active outreach to the people of the
U.S."
Spencer told WND he does not know of
any direct influence Musa has on prominent Muslim leaders or on U.S.
policymakers, but he says it's "unclear how much 'mainstream'
Muslim leaders harbor similar hopes – because no one dares question
them about it."
As WND
reported, the founder of the leading Islamic lobby group CAIR, the
Council on Islamic-American Relations, reportedly told a group of
Muslims in California they are in America not to assimilate but to
help assert Islam's rule over the country. CAIR spokesman Ibrahim
Hooper also has said, in a newspaper interview, he hopes to see an
Islamic government over the U.S. some day, brought about not by
violence but through "education."
In London last summer, as WND
reported, Muslims gathered in front of the London Central Mosque
to applaud fiery preachers prophesying the overthrow of the British
government – a future vision that encompasses an Islamic takeover of
the White House and the rule of the Quran over America.
Musa says he wants to avoid what he
calls an "absolutist" outlook on "the advancement of
Muslims."
His group's philosophy is to stress
unity between the various streams of Islam "in the attainment of
common goals."
Although As-Sabiqun is a Sunni
movement, it has publicly voiced support for Shia movements and
organizations such as the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran and the
Iranian-backed group Hezbollah, which waged war on Israel in the
summer of 2006.
Musa, the group says, repeatedly has
"stressed that the tendency by some Muslims to focus on the
differences between Sunni and Shia Islam at this juncture in history
is counterproductive to the goals of the Islamic movement as a
whole."
The group says it encourages
social-political advancement concurrent with a program of spiritual
and moral development according to the Quran and Sunnah, compilations
of stories from the life of Islam's prophet Muhammad.
The group says it has a six-point
plan of action which is implemented at each location where a branch of
the movement is established.
- Establishing a mosque "as a
place to worship Allah in congregation and as a center of
spiritual and moral training."
- "Calling the general
society" to embrace Islam.
- Establishing a full-time school
"that raises children with a strong Islamic identity so they
can, as future Islamic leaders, effectively meet and deal with the
challenges of growing up in the West."
- Establishing businesses to
"make the movement financially stable and independent."
- Establishing "geographical
integrity by encouraging Muslims of the community to live in close
proximity" to the mosque.
- Establishing "social welfare
institutions to respond to the need for spiritual and material
assistance within the community as well as the general
society."
In addition to daily classes, each
mosque in the movement "also provides youth mentorship, marriage
counseling, a prison outreach program, and employment assistance for
ex-convicts."
As-Sabiqun says its branch in Los
Angeles "was instrumental in creating a free health clinic in
cooperation with other Islamic groups. The headquarters branch in D.C.
has developed scout programs for young members of the community."
The group says the inspiration for
its name comes from Quran, 9:100:
"The vanguard (as-Sabiqun) of
Islam – the first of those who forsook their homes, and of those
who gave them aid, and also those who follow them in all good deeds
– well-pleased is Allah with them, as are they with Him: For them
hath He prepared Gardens under which rivers flow, to dwell therein
forever: that is the supreme Felicity."
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