Radical Islam in America: the media, prisons, the military, and academia are four key areas where the Saudi government and its Wahhabi ideology have gained tremendous influence in the U.S

USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), Nov, 2005 by Stephen Schwartz

There are three other areas where the Saudi government and its Wahhabi ideology have gained tremendous influence in the U.S. The first is in the American prison system. With one single exception, all of the Federal and state chaplains representing Islam in this country's prisons are Wahhabis. That is, they are certified by groups originating in Saudi Arabia; the curriculum they follow was created there: and they go into our prisons and preach an extremist doctrine. This is not the same as saying that they go into our prisons and directly recruit terrorists--although there have been cases of that. However, anytime you go into a prison--an environment of violence, obviously populated by troubled people--and preach an extremist doctrine, there are going to be bad and dangerous consequences.

The second area is in the military services. Every single Islamic chaplain in the U.S. military has been certified by Saudi-controlled groups--which means that out military chaplains also hold to Wahhabi doctrines. Is it surprising, then, that we had the incident of the Muslim soldier in Kuwait who attacked his fellow soldiers? Or the problems with military personnel at Guantanamo? Or the Muslim military man in Washington state who was trying to tutu over useful information to Al-Qaeda?

Finally, there is the problem with what are known as the Islamic academies: Islamic elementary, middle, and high schools throughout the U.S. are supported by Saudi money and preach the Saudi-Wahhabi doctrine--in some cases to Saudi expatriate children living hem but, in many other instances, to Muslim children who are U.S. citizens.

This seems a very dark picture. Yet, there are some fairly simple steps to take to solve the problem. First and foremost, it is vital to support the Federal and state governments in a sustained investigation of Islamic extremism in our country. That means not falling for the propaganda claim--made by groups like CAIR--that investigating what is happening in mosques, and the literature being distributed in mosques, somehow violates religious freedom. It is not a violation of religious freedom to prevent extremists from using religion as a cover for sedition and criminality. To the contrary, preventing this is necessary to the defense of religious freedom. So, it is absolutely necessary to support the FBI, Justice Department, and other agencies who are investigating the extent to which Islam in the U.S. is under the influence of anti-American and -democratic extremists. Moreover, it is vital that they are empowered to perform these investigations with laws like the Patriot Act.

Second, we must identify and support the moderate and patriotic Muslims in the U.S. who oppose Wahhabism and all it stands for. Many Muslims fit this description, even if we rarely read about or see them. Related to this, we should hold the media accountable for its coverage of these issues. How many times since Sept. 11 has the following accusation been made: "Why is it that more Muslim leaders failed to speak out against this abomination?" Actually, many have done so, but they often have a hard time being heard because their message does not fit the mold that the media likes to impose on this story. Instead. what the media cover are angry Muslims denouncing America's support of Israel and other misleading factors.