Islamic Extremist to Speak At Democratic Convention

"Soft Jihadist" Dr. Ingrid Mattson

From Traditional Values Coalition

On Sunday, August 24, the Democratic National Committee kicked off its four-day convention with an Interfaith Service led by liberal Pentecostal Reverend Leah Daughtry.

One of the themes for this year's convention is "One Nation," which apparently includes Islamists intent on destroying our nation from within.

Traditional Values Coalition supporters Kim Johnson and Susan Carter attended the gathering and reported some of their observations.

"It was disturbing to see the mixture of faiths coming together like they were all the same. Muslim, Buddhist, Catholic, Christian and Jew came together and agreed for the greater good of the world to work together in faith--reading from the Koran, Torah, Bible and Buddhist teachings. We felt like this was a gathering of jocks trying to see who has the most powerful god. We're not sure what was accomplished besides babying the spirit of tolerance that is so prevalent.

This newly formed group now has their own Interfaith Caucus at the Convention that will be meeting Tuesday and Thursday from 12-2 PM (MST).

One of the keynote speakers at the event was Dr. Ingrid Mattson, president of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA).

Mattson's group has been identified as a "soft jihadist" movement within the United States by Frank Gaffney, head of the Center for Security Policy (CSP).

In a brief posted by the CSP on August 25, Mr. Gaffney notes that the ISNA has been identified by the Department of Justice as a front for the Muslim Brotherhood, a global Islamist movement whose state goal is to destroy "Western civilization from within."

Gaffney also notes that Mattson is director of the Macdonald Center for the Study of Islamic Studies and Christian-Muslim Relations at Harford Seminary. Her program is used to credential Muslim chaplains for U.S. prisons and our military!

A CSP briefing paper posted on August 23, includes direct quotes from Mattson on Islam and America.

In one quote, Mattson denies the existence of Islamic sleeper cells in the U.S.: There's a prejudgment, a collective judgment of Muslims, and a suspicion that well "you may appear nice, but we know there are sleeper cells of Americans," which of course is not true. There aren't any sleeper cells."

In another, she defends Wahhabism, the radical Islamic movement intent on destroying Western civilization.

She is also a defender of Islamic Shariah law: "As a practicing Muslim, I believe that there is a core of fundamental beliefs and practices that distinguish authentic Islam from deviations. I also believe that apart from this essential core, the task of interpreting the application of Islamic norms to human society is an enormously complicated task, which inevitably leads to a broad range of opinion and practice. I agree with " Sunni" Muslims, the majority of the Muslim community worldwide, that after the death of the Prophet Muhammad, no one has the right to claim infallibility in the interpretation of sacred law. At the same time, this does not mean that all opinions are equal, nor that everyone has the ability to interpret law. Without the intense study of Islamic texts and traditions under qualified scholars and without the presence of a stable Muslim community through which one can witness the wisdom of the living tradition, the chances of an ordinary believer arriving at a correct judgment about most legal issues are slim."