(Washington, D.C., March 10, 2011). Representative Peter King’s hearings today on “homegrown” Muslim extremism resulted in death threats against the New York Congressman, who has been courageous in his search for a candid dialogue on this issue. But King is not the only person who has sought to use legitimate legal means to address the issue of Muslim extremism and collaboration with terrorist interests in the United States.
In October of last year, Vincent Forras, with the assistance of Larry Klayman, founder of Judicial Watch and Freedom Watch, brought a simple “nuisance” lawsuit in the lower court in Manhattan to have the so-called Ground Zero mosque stopped. Mr. Forras is a highly decorated First Responder who was buried under the rubble at Ground Zero immediately after the attack on 9/11 and nearly died. The plans for the Ground Zero mosque not only caused him, and other members in this class action lawsuit, great emotional distress, but the mosque itself presents a new security threat to the neighborhood, which has been attacked numerous times, not just on 9/11. Even President Obama and Attorney General Holder have admitted to this, and as a result agreed to move the criminal trial of the mastermind of 9/11, Kahlid Sheik Mohammad outside of Ground Zero, which is where the federal courthouse is located. And, the Ground Zero mosque Imam Faisal Rauf stated on CNN that if he does not get to build his mosque, that more terrorism is likely there.
After the suit against the Ground Zero mosque was filed, its Imam Faisal Rauf filed pleadings with the court that attacked Mr. Forras and his counsel, Larry Klayman of Freedom Watch, as enemies of Islam and as neo-Nazis and then published this to the world in the New York Post and other media. Coming from a Muslim clergy, this was tantamount to telling the Islamic world to harm or kill Mr. Forras and his counsel. Simon Rushtie, and recently executed Christian politicians in Pakistan have been threatened or killed under similar circumstances. To see the pleadings of Imam Rauf, go to www.freedomwatchusa.org and click on to the case section of the website.
“The use of the so-called race card, and these types of abhorrent tactics that further extremism and terrorism, and place lives at risk, should be thoroughly investigated by Rep. King and the Justice Department and clerics like Imam Rauf, who claims to be moderate but who is an extremist who plays a dangerous game of hardball, must be held accountable under the rule of law. We cannot permit this in a civilized society,” stated Larry Klayman.
For an interview with Mr. Forras and Mr. Klayman, contact leklayman@yahoo.com.