letters to the editor
ACT For America founder a survivor of hate
In regard to a statement [in presstalk] in the Aug. 9, 2017 farragutpress, the organization Act for America is not a “hate group.” In fact, the founder of ACT is a survivor of hate.
Brigitte Gabriel was born in Lebanon to Christian parents. She describes Lebanon as a beautiful country with a cosmopolitan capital where Christians and Muslims lived in peace. She had a happy childhood until the Lebanese civil war began. As she describes in her book “Because They Hate,” Islamic terrorists bombarded her home with rockets and destroyed it leaving her with shrapnel wounds. She was 10 years old.
Ms. Gabriel, a leading terrorism expert, has addressed the U. S. Congress, Pentagon, The Joint Forces Staff College, the U.S. Special Operations Command, FBI, Australian Prime Minister and members of the British Parliament/House of Commons. She has appeared as a guest analyst on CNN, MSNBC and Fox News.
Ms. Gabriel founded ACT For America with the goal to preserve Western values and national security. ACT is the largest national security grassroots organization in the United States.
She believes we must speak out and fight back against tactics used by supporters of Sharia law supplanting our Constitution. Islamist activist Linda Sarsour, a supporter of Sharia law and one of the organizers of the Women’s March On Washington, while speaking at the Islamic Society of North America’s July conference in Chicago, called for jihad against President Donald Trump. After coming under fire for her rant, Sarsour claimed she was referring to the “greater jihad” meaning internal struggle to make one’s self better. Gabriel pointed out connotations of jihad are understood to be in support of “lesser” or violent struggle against the Kafir, meaning non-Muslims or unbelievers.
The statement [presstalk] in the farragutpress cited the Southern Poverty Law Center as the go-to authority for what is a hate group. Former Attorney General Edwin Mees stated “No responsible media outlet should parrot the SPLC’s hate list without seeking to understand not only its motives but also the consequences of spreading false charges.” This begs the question, what are the motives of SPLC’s decision to add ACT to a list with such groups as the KKK?
If Islamic fundamentalists are unable to silence Gabriel with death threats, it is doubtful SPLC, or those who parrot SPLC’s unfounded charges, will have any impact on Act For America.
Brenda Miller
Knoxville
