[](/sites/default/files/uploads/2013/08/Gov.MartinOMalley.jpeg)Hillary Clinton’s domination of the Democratic presidential preference polls is undeniable, but that isn’t stopping Vice President Joe Biden, Howard Dean, Governor Andrew Cuomo and Senator Amy Klobuchar from testing the waters. While these prospective candidates gauge the viability of competing against Clinton, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley seems to have made up his mind to run—and that’s bad news for the adversaries of Islamism.
“By the end of this year, we’re on course to have a body of work that lays the framework of the candidacy for 2016,” O’Malley told a group of reporters.
Obviously, it’s an uphill climb for O’Malley. The latest Rasmussen poll has Clinton with 63% of the Democratic vote, followed by Biden with 12%. Only 2% choose O’Malley (tied with former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa), but he still has low name recognition.
Other parts of the poll show there is an opportunity to challenge Clinton and, if she doesn’t run, Biden. Clinton is the least favorite candidate of 27% of Democrats and Biden is only three points behind her. About 20% favor a candidate that wasn’t listed and 20% are undecided. There is an opening for O’Malley and other candidates to make a good impression.
The O’Malley Administration is unfamiliar to most Americans, but it isn’t to leading Islamists.
In late April, the Maryland chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) held a fundraiser with over 500 attendees. CAIR is a U.S. Muslim Brotherhood entity. A 2007 federal court filing states, “From its founding by Muslim Brotherhood leaders, CAIR conspired with other affiliates of the Muslim Brotherhood to support terrorists…the conspirators agreed to use deception to conceal from the American public their connections to terrorists.”
According to CAIR-MD’s press release, it had over 30 sponsors and attendees included “officers from several Governor’s commissions” and speakers included Attorney General Douglas Gansler and State Senator Brian Frosh. Co-founder and Executive Director of CAIR, Nihad Awad, also spoke at the event. Awad was at the secret 1993 meeting in Philadelphia where the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood discussed setting up a new organization to advance the pro-Hamas Islamist agenda. CAIR was born the following year.
In May, the Clarion Project broke the story that the Turkish government is building a 15-acre, $100 million mega-mosque in Maryland. The Muslim Link reports that the mosque, called the Turkish American Culture and Civilization Center, “will likely become the largest and most striking examples of Islamic architecture in the western hemisphere.”
The Islamist Prime Minister of Turkey, Recep Erdogan, visited the construction site for an event on May 15. One of the speakers was Maryland Secretary of State John McDonough. Attendees included the leaders of the Islamic Society of North America and the Islamic Circle of North America, both linked to the Muslim Brotherhood.
A spokesperson for O’Malley confirmed to me that the Governor supports the project, stating on May 27:
“The Administration works closely with the Maryland Associations of Turkish Inhabitants(MARTI) and the Mid-Atlantic Federation of Turkic American Associations(MAFTAA). MARTI has hosted an annual legislative reception in Annapolis for the past four years. Governor O’Malley has attended the reception. MARTI and MAFTA have organized Turkish American Cultural Night during the legislative session in Annapolis for the past several years. MARTI has also organized several visits to Turkey in recent years for Maryland legislators and state leaders.
The Governor’s Commission on Middle Easter Affairs has a large representation of the Turkish community and helps organize Turkish American Cultural Night every year in Annapolis. On March 27, 2012 Governor O’Malley and Mayor Karaosmanoglu signed the Sister State Agreement between State of Maryland and Metropolitan Municipality of Kocaeli that started a new and exciting chapter for the Turkish-American relationship in Maryland that we hope will continue to grow successfully.”
O’Malley was also the Chair of the Department of Homeland Security’s Working Group on Countering Violent Extremism. The Working Group included advisors directly linked to U.S. Muslim Brotherhood groups and non-Muslim allies of them. A spokesperson for O’Malley told me that he did not choose the members of the Working Group. However, as its Chair, he undoubtedly has responsibility for the Working Group’s product.
The Working Group is almost certainly responsible for Islamist-friendly Dept. of Homeland Security training guidelines on Countering Violent Extremism. The guidelines try to block out all incriminating training about American Islamists and their non-violent tactics. Highlights include:
a. Many mainstream Muslim organizations have terrorist ties.
_b. Mainstream Muslim organizations are fronts for Islamic political organizations whose true desire is to establish__Sharia law in America. Muslim Americans are using democratic processes, like litigation and free speech, to subvert democracy and install Sharia law.”
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· “Don’t use trainers who answer primarily to interest groups. For example, trainers who are self-professed ‘Muslim reformers’ may further an interest group agenda instead of delivering generally accepted unbiased information.”
· “Don’t use training that equates radical thought, religious expression, freedom to protest, or other constitutionally-protected activity, with criminal activity. One can have radical thoughts/ideas, including disliking the U.S. government, without being violent; for example, trainers who equate the desire for Sharia law with criminal activity violate basic tenets of the First Amendment.”
When asked whether O’Malley knew the backgrounds of the Working Group members and whether he’d like to express his opposition to the presence of U.S. Muslim Brotherhood-linked groups in the Dept. of Homeland Security, his spokesperson ended the conversation.
“You’re insinuating something here that we believe is just not credible. Therefore, we won’t be commenting any further,” she replied to me on June 19 after I provided her with the necessary documentation.
Don’t hold your breath waiting for a reporter or a debate moderator to ask O’Malley about his policies towards Islamists.
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