On April 15, 2013 the Boston Marathon was marred by a terrorist-style bomb attack near the finish line, injuring and maiming hundreds of runners and spectators. Two brothers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, were caught on cameras placing backpacks at two locations, and became suspects in a world-wide manhunt. The older brother Tamerlan was killed in a shootout three days later in Watertown-- younger brother Dzhokhar escaped--but was captured a day later.
The Tsarnaev family had come to the United States in 2002 from southern Russia, near Chechnya--a Muslim state--and settled in Cambridge. Tamerlan had gone back to Chechnya for six months in 2012, presumably to visit family and friends, but indications were he received further radical indoctrination, and developed bomb making skills.
The pressure cooker bombs, the two brothers made, reportedly came from instructions in the al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQIP) Inspire magazine. Although the authorities believe they acted alone, Steven Emerson’s Terrorist Network map shows an al-Qaeda presence in Ashland and Quincy, Massachusetts.
According to a Daily Beast article on April 19, sermons delivered by radical Imam Feiz Mohammad, a Salafi Sunni preacher, could have had an influence on Tamerlan. Mary Habeck, an expert on radical Islam at Johns Hopkins University, said that Abdel al-Hamid al-Juhani, an “important ideologue for al-Qaeda in Chechnya and the Caucasus…preaches the form of Salafism that Tsarnaev was [allegedly] interested in--one that is usually associated with al Qaeda….”
General John Abizaid, the former commander of the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), in a speech at the Naval War College, in November 2005, noted “The battle against al-Qaeda will not be primarily military--it will be political, economic, and ideological”. “Imagine being ruled by Islamists enforcing strict Sharia--Islamic law--based on the Koran”.
Under modern-day radical Islam rule many liberties would be denied and activities such as television, movies, music, dancing, alcohol, and kite flying would be banned. Women would be required to wear head-to-foot burqas and no longer allowed to receive an education. Men would be required to wear their hair short and growing long beards.
Since the war in Afghanistan, numerous radical-teaching madrassas have sprung up, and taken hold around the world, pulling away students from the study of Islamic theology and humanitarian lessons on ethics, morals, virtues, and justice--and cordoning them instead within a growing society of extremism and violence.
The war on “infidels” was fueled by the zeal of Osama bin Laden, whose ideology stressed uniting all Muslims—establish governments under the rule of the caliphs—and drive away Western influence. He went on to espouse the export of terrorism--inside and outside the United States—“to defeat the infidels”.
Most Muslims are adherents to the tenets of Islam. However they honor education, and have religious and cultural ties to their community. They are peaceful, family-oriented people, concerned about their children’s welfare and the potential for economic sustainability. There are others, however, who are more radically indoctrinated, and do not share our values or democratic principles.
In the early 1700’s the Imam Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab launched his fundamentalist movement, and formed a political alliance with Al-Saud. Wahhabist teachings gave armed jihad a prominence. Salafists (predecessors or ancestors), the followers of the original tenets of Islam, migrated to Saudi Arabia in the 1960’s, and integrated with the Wahhabi movement.
Osama bin Laden was indoctrinated early-on in Saudi madrassas, whose teachings justified killing of infidels. Both Sunni Islamic sects are active in the U.S., with their ranks growing in a number of states.
The influence of radical Islam is on the rise around the world. Where people are suffering and destitute, they are more easily indoctrinated by extremist imams. However, I became alarmed by the number of educated Muslim professional and successful business leaders, who espouse anti-American rhetoric.
While serving as U.S. ambassador, I met with government, community and business leaders, who met with Yasser Arafat and other well-known leaders, with terrorist backgrounds. Many of these Muslim leaders were very critical of the U.S. support of Israel.
Saudi Arabia has sponsored a number of charities, such as al-Haramain Islamic Foundation, and the International Islamic Relief Organization associated with Bin Laden’s brother-in-law. Both charities have built numerous mosques and madrassas around the world. In 2004 the U.S. Treasury Department and U.N. 1267 Sanctions Committee designated al-Haramain as a rogue organization that financially supports terrorists, and had links to al-Qaeda.
Saudi Arabia has financed over 4,000 mosques and madrassas around the world, with over 2,000 being built in the U.S., a 50 percent increase since the year 2000—and a 100 percent increase since 1990—mostly led by Wahhabi trained imams.
In 2007, author Mark Silverberg stated that for American Muslim moderates, the harsh reality of having their religion hijacked by Wahhabi radicals is something they have yet to confront. Also quoting Seif Ashmawi an Egyptian-American newspaper publisher: “Radical Islamic groups have now taken over leadership of the mainstream Islamic institutions in the United States...”
Silverberg noted former CIA Director James Woolsey telling Congress that, “Wahhabi extremism today is the soil in which al-Qaeda and its sister terrorist organizations are growing”. He also referred to the Council on Foreign Relations noting, that Saudi Arabia as the largest source of financing for al-Qaeda.
Steven Emerson, executive director of the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT), an expert on terrorist activities stated, "The way to gain influence among the Muslim community is to control the mosques-- to control what people think--to have the right imam preach the right message”.
In meeting with Emerson, he shared with me shocking insights, as to the growth of radical Islam in the United States, the terrorist network cells that have rapidly grown from 1991 to 2012. He shared a carefully prepared map that shows, by name, 127 terrorist training and teaching centers, in over thirty-six states. We can only wonder how many “Tsarnaev brothers” are being trained—for terrorist attacks on U.S. soil.