On the Political Grapevine segment of Special Report today, “objective” host Bret Baier deliberately hate mongered against an Islamic member of the Department of Homeland Security’s Advisory Council, Mohamed Elibiary. Baier twisted Elibiary’s words to suggest to Fox News viewers that he is some kind of Muslim extremist bent on converting the U.S. to Islam. In fact, Elibiary is a distinguished member of the anti-terrorism community. If you want to know just how low Fox will stoop to smear someone for the sake of fear mongering about the Obama administration, read on.
Here’s what Baier said:
Is America an Islamic country? A member of the Homeland Security Department’s Advisory Council says it is. Mohamed Elibiary made the comment during an exchange on Twitter after posting that the conservative perception of Islam has to evolve.
The Washington Free Beacon was the first to notice a Twitter user challenged, “Show me just ONE example of an Islamic country where non Muslims are treated with equality?”
Elibiary responded, “America and yes I do consider the United States of America an Islamic country with an Islamically compliant constitution. Move on!
The Free Beacon says Elibiary has served on the DHS’ countering violent extremists working group. Like many users, Elibiary’s Twitter profile says his opinions are personal.
It’s pretty clear to me that Elibiary was trying to prove that not all Muslims are extremist fanatics, that there are plenty of countries where Muslims live peaceably within a secular framework and that the U.S. is proof that Islam is compatible with U.S. values.
But leave it to Fox News to take a well-intentioned outreach and exploit it for their own divisive, partisan agenda. Because it’s also pretty clear to me that Fox was trying to use this anecdote to suggest that some wild-eyed Muslim associated with President Obama finds the U.S. all too hospitable to Islam.
Don’t believe me? Well, then check out some of the sites that have also hyped this tweet. For example, Front Page Mag (where you can find many familiar Fox News names as columnists) covered this “news” by describing Elibiary as Osama Bin Laden’s “coreligionist” who has “declare(d) victory over the Constitution.” The author, noted Islamophobe Robert Spencer speculates the tweet might indicate “a canny new Homeland Security strategy: end the jihad against the U.S. by surrendering to it.”
Another site, Right Side News begins its lengthy article on the subject with:
Obama and his team are meticulously dismantling the American military, the American family, the American workforce, the American healthcare system, the American businesses, the American education, the American morals, and more.
They are also, quietly, allowing America’s takeover by Islam.
By all accounts, not a day passes by that Obama has not facilitated pro-terrorist Islamic Muslims, to infiltrate the fabric of the American society.
So don’t tell me Baier didn’t know who and what he was playing to.
Need more proof? Here’s what “fair and balanced” Baier didn’t mention. The Homeland Security Advisory Council is chaired by William Webster, who was the director of the CIA under Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. Fox fave Ray Kelly (police commissioner of New York) also serves on it. If Elibiary were really some kind of Islamic fanatic, don’t you think they would have noticed and said something?
Also, while Baier made a nod at balance by reporting that “the Free Beacon says” Elibiary works to counter violent extremists (while suggesting his personal views may well be more extreme), membership in a violent extremists working group is quite an understatement to the man’s record.
The Homeland Security Advisory Council offers this bio:
Mohamed Elibiary is the founder of Lone Star Intelligence, LLC. He has advised numerous federal, state and local law enforcement organizations on homeland security-related matters. In 2009 he was acknowledged in a Congressional Research Service report for advising the Information Sharing Environment Program Management Office on the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative. In 2010 he testified before Congress on “Working with Communities to Disrupt Terror Plots.” In 2011 he was awarded the Louis E. Peters Memorial Award, the FBI’s highest public service award for “his extraordinary contributions to specific cases in support of the FBI’s counterterrorism mission.” In 2012 the Office of the Federal Public Defender, a division of the U.S. Court, recognized Mohamed for his “tremendous service” leveraging his Homegrown Violent Extremism expertise in the United States vs. Daniel Patrick Boyd counter-terrorism case.
In other words, Mr. Elibiary looks like quite a heavy hitter in the USA’s efforts to fight Islamic extremism.
For Baier to have smeared this man for no reason other than to make snide, disingenuous and uninformed innuendoes against him and, by extension, President Obama is beyond disgusting. If there's anything anti-American and/or treasonous going on in this story, it's coming from Baier and Fox News.
They are countries predominately inhabited by those of the Islamic faith totally absent Sharia law, which from my perspective defines a country as being “Muslim”.
I have worked as well in two countries practicing Sharia…..world of difference!
And contrary to a media suffering the effects of a corporately influenced Tea Party’s dick up it’s ass, Malaysia and Indonesia treat people of all faiths better than what I have seen in the USA.
Perhaps the Twitter user should’ve gotten this answer: “Do you believe that Muslims are being treated with equality in Christian-dominated countries by the so-called Christians living there? Because there are many examples of Muslims living in the US who aren’t being treated with equality.”
But, as to answering his question, Indonesia. Malaysia. Albania. Bangladesh. Sierra Leone. Senegal. That’s just a few.