When New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (left) picked Sohail Mohammed ? a lawyer who had represented acquitted terror suspects after the September 11 attacks ? to be a Superior Court judge, immediate objections forced him to defend his choice. Much of the criticism of his appointment focused on Mohammed?s alleged links to terrorism and the possibility that Mohammed would be inclined to follow Shariah law; however, in his unique brand of political rhetoric, Christie labeled his critics ?ignorant? and ?crazies.?
On July 26, the day Mohammed was sworn in, Daniel Greenfield of Front Page Magazine a publication of leftist–turned-conservative David Horowitz observed:
New Jersey, the Garden State, has just taken its first step toward becoming the Sharia State, with Governor Christie’s nomination of Sohail Mohammed, an attorney to detained terrorist suspects, to a Superior Court judgeship in Passaic [puhSAKE] County. The Sohail nomination continues Christie’s unfortunate pandering to the American Muslim Union and the Islamic Center of Passaic County.
Passaic County has the second largest Muslim population in the country. And the Islamic Center of Passaic County is the state’s largest mosque, and it’s the only one run by an Imam who was a member of the Hamas terrorist organization. But when the United States government attempted to deport Mohammed Qatanani, New Jersey’s politicians and wannabe pols like Christie, quickly came to his aid. Despite the fact that Mohammed Qatanani was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, the organization that is behind both Al Qaeda and Hamas, despite his own guilty plea to being a member of Hamas, and despite the fact that even in the United States, he had defended a charity that provided funds to children of suicide bombers (this is done as an incentive to reassure terrorists that if they die their families will be taken care of), Qatanani was not deported.
Now Christie has nominated Sohail Mohammed, Qatanani’s former lawyer, to a Superior Court judgeship. Sohail Mohammed is a board member of the American Muslim Union, an organization that has interlocking leadership with groups that have fundraised for Hamas and hosted a Hamas speaker. The American Muslim Union is closely interlinked with Qatanani’s Islamic Center of Passaic County.
Similarly, the Jewish World Review wrote of the American Muslim Union:
Though the American Muslim Union appears moderate in its official literature saying it is “dedicated to serving the American Muslim community and its unique needs” the organization has interlocking leadership with a group that has allegedly raised funds for Hamas and hosted as a guest speaker last year an alleged Hamas member.
Four current and former AMU directors and executives have held or currently hold leadership positions with the Islamic Center of Passaic County (ICPC), a mosque located in Paterson, New Jersey. ICPC was founded in 1989 by, among others, Mohamed el-Mezain, who was the Chairman of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLFRD), which the Treasury Department designated a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in December 2001.
After Christie nominated Mohammed in January, some accused him of ignoring these concerns and pandering to the Muslim population of New Jersey. Debbie Schlussel, columnist for the New York Post and Jerusalem Post, wrote, Chris Christie rewarded those Muslim mobs who cheered on U.S. soil for the mass murder of 3,000 Americans with a judgeship.
She asserted:
Christie knows that there is a small, but notable, percentage of Muslims in his state. Paterson, New Jersey, which is in the county of Passaic, for instance, has more Palestinian Muslims than any other city in America. But it also has more Muslims who openly cheered the 9/11 attacks than any other city in America (except, perhaps, Dearbornistan). That Passaics Muslim population cheered on the attacks was covered even by Islamo-pandering, far-left MTV.
Still, Christie contends that Mohammed has been targeted simply because of his religious background. Last week, the Governor proclaimed, in his usual no-holds-barred style:
And the folks who criticize my appointment of Sohail Mohammed are ignorant, absolutely ignorant of that, and they’re criticizing him because he’s a Muslim American, and because he represented people who were inappropriately detained by the FBI post-9/11It’s just unnecessary to be accusing this guy of things just because of his religious background. And that’s what it’s because…because I’ve known him personally now for nine years, and there is nothing to any of this stuff.
Christie also refutes the notion that Mohammed would bring Shariah law to Passaic County, declaring, This Shariah law business is crap. Its just crazy and Im tired of dealing with the crazies.
And yet, Debbie Schlussel claims that Christies nomination is just further proof that the left has no monopoly on sleeping with the enemy.
Schlussels claims are reminiscent of those made by renowned author David Horowitz at this years Conservative Political Action Conference. During his address, Horowitz criticized a number of American Conservative Union board members for potential ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, including prominent conservative Grover Norquist.
According to Horowitz:
The Muslim Brotherhood has been wildly successful in its plan to become more part of Americas civil culture and to infiltrate the institutions of Americas civil government, including the White House and both political parties as well, and the conservative movement.
While some observers have drawn connections between radical organizations and both political parties, and have thus called Mohammeds nomination into question, Brigid Harrison, professor of law and politics at Montclair State University, believes that Mohammeds nomination has garnered greater attention simply because of its timing. A lot of passion has ignited around the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11, she notes. Theres a bit of renewed raw emotion on this issue.
