All writers have vivid imaginations, even us non-fiction types have the ability to spin a pretty good yarn, it’s part of the job. But the most intricate Tom Clancy or Stephen King plot might sound implausible if it revolved around a middle-aged American woman in a small, rural Pennsylvania town, who turned into an international jihadist, stealing passports and planning to do murder in Sweden.
No one gets a book advance for this story…you can read it for free at mcall.com and in The Morning Call. At almost every paragraph I found myself saying, “You’ve got to be kidding me†or “This can’t be trueâ€. According to the story, Colleen LaRose, “used e-mail, YouTube videos, phony travel documents and a burning desire to kill ”or die trying, to help recruit a network for suicide attacks and other terrorist strikes in Europe and Asia, based on a federal grand jury indictment filed Tuesday.â€
Whether this woman was acting out some desperate need for attention, suffering from mental illness, or just devoid of any sense of self-worth not to mention patriotism, we should all be grateful to her for the service she has rendered. If you thought the enemy lived thousands of miles away and would be easy to profile, think again. It is only a matter of time until someone, who we would never suspect, blows themselves up on an American bus or train, or in a shopping mall.
The threat of terrorism is real, it is among us, and we must never let down our guard.
Oh, I almost forgot: I want to wish Colleen LaRose, Happy Women’s History Month. The theme for 2010 is “Writing Women Back in to Historyâ€â€¦Ms. LaRose, if you are guilty of these charges, you certainly will have found your place in history…as a traitor.
Goodday,
I just wanted to say that i get sick and tired of all these “Wannabee” muslims, who are making the real followers of Islam look like brainless murdering lunatics.
First of all, “Women are not allowed to fight, NOT even during Jihad”.
– So Miss Jihad Jane isn’t obeying the commands of Allah
Second of all, “The jihad will come out of the East”.
– The Qu’ran did not state that Jihad will come out of every corner of the world and it did not state that it will come out of non-islamic countries.
Third of all, “He who kills one man, kills whole humanity”
– To kill another human in Islam, is only allowed if it’s self defense. For example (and i know that a lot of people will not agree with me, but that’s okay because every human has the right to his/her own opinion) the Taliban, they are being attacked on their own soil so they have the right to defend themselfs by any means. BUT, to hop on a plane and fly out to another country and kill a person (who also didn’t do anything personal to you), that’s totaly not allowed. So here Miss Jane goes wrong again.
Fourth of all, In case of insults regarding the faith (Islam), the Lord (Allah) or the Prophet (Muhammad), we learn to forgive the person and to not feel hate (you can dislike something or someone, but to hate something or someone is not allowed. Hate is a negative feeling and it breaks people up instead of uniting them together) for this person. This is how prophet Muhammad lived and this is what he advised us muslims to live like. So, once again, missing the point Miss Jane.
May peace be upon you all
Sariman
Sariman,
You enlighten us with your information. Please understand that from a Western, and yes, Christian perspective, the language of the Qu’ran often sounds threatening and intolerant.
As someone who has traveled to and spent time in Muslim counties, I can say that I have only been treated with courtesy and respect. Although I must also say that I have seen treatment of women within those countries that I consider brutal.
It is important that we who wish only peace, continue a dialog. I thank you for writing.
Oh, I almost forgot: I want to wish Colleen LaRose, Happy Women’s History Month. The theme for 2010 is “Writing Women Back in to Historyâ€â€¦Ms. LaRose, if you are guilty of these charges, you certainly will have found your place in history…as a traitor.
.
Equal Opportunity comes to Jihad in America.
.
I am wondering if US Attorney General Eric Holder is debating with himself to charge LaRose with terroristic activities or award Al Qaeda with a certificate of merit for advancing women.
Looking,
Yes, isn’t it interesting; the terrorists disparage women until they need one to blow herself up.
As for AG Holder, after having to do a reversal on holding a trial in lower Manhattan, I would imagine he’s re-thinking a few of his decisions.
Pam
I admire your work, especially your concern for the women of Afghanistan. Women born into the Muslim religion and the doctrine of Islamic ideology (totalitarianism) are under serious threat in this system unless they relinquish notions of self-actualization and self-worth or have a husband who tolerates and permits their pursuits. Of course this husband would not be a good Muslim.
Therefore I would strongly suggest to those occupied with the empowerment of women to include resisting Shariah law — the legal expansion of such control which imposes a second class status on women and is incompatible with the standards of civilized Western societies.
The Shariah code mandates complete authority of men over women, including control of their movement, education, marital options, clothing, bodies, place of residence, and all other aspects of their existence. It calls for the beating, punishment, and murder of women who don’t comply with Shariah requirements. This is bondage and oppression; not options and horizons.
The head scarf, or hijab, is required clothing. Wearing one, at the very least, symbolizes a woman’s subservience, her subjection to her husband and exhibits to the public the Shariah code in action. The woman wearing one is not a free agent making a free-will decision — but in most cases, her “choice†to wear the head scarf is based on knowing the full ramifications of not wearing it and gives deference to a misogynistic system. Therefore it represents the antithesis of empowerment. The veil is a symbol of repression and disempowerment.
Women in the USA have come a long way in achieving the gains we enjoy in our society today. We must fully acknowledge the severe limitations imposed upon the women of the Arab world (and the non-Arab Muslim) and take a strong stand against the Shariah courts coming to free lands which serve to absolve the perpetrator (father, husband, brother) of wrongdoing against wives and daughters.
We absolutely do not want a parallel legal system or a replacement of existing laws for both the Muslim and the American woman in the USA or any Western civilized country (see the UK where this has already been done).
On the global scene, we see many brave and independent women moving forward in business and entrepreneurship wearing the traditional religious head scarf. In America, so many of us not familiar with the Muslim religion equate it to the traditions of other faiths. Let there be no mistake that the hijab represents a very different issue.
I strongly urge all women in our civilized society to speak out against the deplorable treatment of women mandated by Shariah law and disguised as religious tradition. As American women, our inclination will be to let it go in the name of political correctness, thinking we are respecting another’s religion. Please do not be fooled. We are seeing our sisters suffer in bondage.
Once the inherent human rights violations against women in the Islamic ideology come into the public arena in both symbol and substance, as it is beginning to do, the public has an overwhelming obligation to speak out against these violations –what better or more credible a voice than that of “Power of Women.â€