Revolution Muslim
Encyclopedia
Revolution Muslim is a radical Islamist organization and hate group based in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 that advocates the establishment of a traditionalist Islamic state, the removal of the current rulers in heavily Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

 populated nations, the destruction of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

, and an end to what they consider "Western imperialism". It has come under scrutiny for its anti-Western
Anti-Western sentiment
Anti-Western sentiment refers to broad opposition or hostility to the people, policies, or governments in the western world. In many cases the United States, Israël and the United Kingdom are the subject of discussion or hostility...

 rhetoric and for endorsing the actions of al Qaeda and other terrorist groups. They are opposed to depictions of Muhammad
Depictions of Muhammad
The permissibility of depictions of Muhammad, the founder of Islam, has long been a concern in the history of Islam. Oral and written descriptions are readily accepted by all traditions of Islam, but there is disagreement about visual depictions....

.

They operate both on its website and through street preaching and protests, mostly outside the Islamic Cultural Center of New York
Islamic Cultural Center of New York
The Islamic Cultural Center of New York is a mosque and Islamic cultural center in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, United States. It is located at 1711 Third Avenue, between East 96th and 97th Streets. The Islamic Cultural Center was the first mosque built in New York City...

.

The website was eventually shut down on November, 2010, shortly after the arrest of one of their members and announcing the creation of a new, supposedly more modern, organization called "Islam Policy".

Background

The group of 5–10 was founded and run by Yousef al-Khattab (born Joseph Cohen), an American Jew who converted to Islam in 2000 after living in Israel and attending an orthodox rabbinical school there, then returned to New York, where he is said to have worked driving a taxi, operating a pedicab, or running a restaurant. In December, 2009, al-Khattab said he would be temporarily outside of the United States during a protest outside his home in Woodside, Queens
Woodside, Queens
Woodside is a neighborhood in the western portion of the New York City borough of Queens. It is bordered on the south by Maspeth, on the north by Astoria, on the west by Sunnyside and on the east by Elmhurst and Jackson Heights. Some areas are widely residential and very quiet, while others are...

 planned by the Jewish Defense Organization
Jewish Defense Organization
The Jewish Defense Organization is a militant Jewish organization in the United States.-Background and ideology:The JDO was founded in the early 1980s by Mordechai Levy after a violent feud with the Jewish Defense League's former leader Irv Rubin, who was killed or committed suicide in jail in 2002...

, after al-Khattab expressed support for Nidal Malik Hasan
Nidal Malik Hasan
Nidal Malik Hasan, USA is a United States Army officer and sole suspect in the November 5, 2009, Fort Hood shooting, which occurred less than a month before he would have deployed to Afghanistan....

, accused of the Fort Hood shooting
Fort Hood shooting
The Fort Hood shooting was a mass shooting that took place on November 5, 2009, at Fort Hood, the most populous U.S. military installation in the world, located just outside Killeen, Texas. In the course of the shooting, a single gunman killed 13 people and wounded 29 others...

. On December 12, 2009 al-Khattab posted a video on the group's website announcing that he had retired and that the group would be run by Abdullah as-Sayf Jones. However on April 2010 Abdullah as-Sayf Jones left the group after openly proclaiming that he had become a practitioner of Shia Islam.

In addition to their website, the group distributes anti-Israeli literature outside of mosques. The mosques have called the police several times on the group, but no actual violence has been reported. Legal and law enforcement officials in the US monitor the group, but describe its activities as protected by the First Amendment
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...

. The Anti-Defamation League
Anti-Defamation League
The Anti-Defamation League is an international non-governmental organization based in the United States. Describing itself as "the nation's premier civil rights/human relations agency", the ADL states that it "fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals and protects...

 has monitored the group since 2006.

In 2010, the founders of Revolution Muslim posted a statement from Anwar al-Awlaki
Anwar al-Awlaki
Anwar al-Awlaki was an American and Yemeni imam who was an engineer and educator by training. According to U.S. government officials, he was a senior talent recruiter and motivator who was involved with planning operations for the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda...

, connected to various terrorists including the 9/11 hijackers, the Fort Hood shooter, and the Christmas Day 2009 bomber, on their blog that warned, "America cannot and will not win. The tables have turned and there is no rolling back of the worldwide Jihad movement."

Mia Bloom
Mia Bloom
Mia M. Bloom is the author of Dying to Kill: The Allure of Suicide Terror, a critically acclaimed study on suicide terrorism and Bombshell: The Many Faces of Women Terrorists....

, political science professor at the Pennsylvania State University
Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU, is a public research university with campuses and facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service...

’s International Center for the Study of Terrorism, says Revolution Muslim may look amateurish when compared with other extremist websites, but is no less of a threat. “It may lead people who become radicalized by it to turn to other, more dangerous Web sites,” such as those run by terrorist organizations, she said. She characterized their message as “narrow” and “misinformed”.

Ibrahim Hooper
Ibrahim Hooper
Ibrahim Hooper , a convert to Islam, is the National Communications Director and spokesperson for the Council on American-Islamic Relations , a Washington D.C.-based Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization.-Early life:...

, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations
Council on American-Islamic Relations
The Council on American-Islamic Relations is America's largest Muslim civil liberties advocacy organization that deals with civil advocacy and promotes human rights...

, stated regarding the Revolution Muslim group, "[It is] an extreme fringe group that has absolutely no credibility within the Muslim community. In fact, most Muslims suspect they were set up only to make Muslims look bad. We just have very deep suspicions. They say such outrageous, irresponsible things that it almost seems like they're doing it to smear Islam."

Fort Hood shooting

In 2009 Revolution Muslim drew condemnation for issuing statements condoning the Fort Hood Shooting
Fort Hood shooting
The Fort Hood shooting was a mass shooting that took place on November 5, 2009, at Fort Hood, the most populous U.S. military installation in the world, located just outside Killeen, Texas. In the course of the shooting, a single gunman killed 13 people and wounded 29 others...

. Hours before the event, CNN published an interview and video of Revolution Muslim on their website, in which Younes Abdullah Mohammed preached that U.S. troops as well as the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States were "legitimate targets – until America changes its nature in the international arena," They stated that Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...

 was their role model. "He doesn't seem to have done anything wrong from the sharia (Islamic law)" al-Khattab said, "if I love him as a Muslim, I love him more than I love myself".

CNN aired the video the evening after the shootings, although at the time, no connection was made between the statements and the shooting. Shortly after the attack Revolution Muslim posted a message that included the following: "Major Nidal Hasan
Nidal Malik Hasan
Nidal Malik Hasan, USA is a United States Army officer and sole suspect in the November 5, 2009, Fort Hood shooting, which occurred less than a month before he would have deployed to Afghanistan....

 M.D., An officer and a gentleman was injured while partaking in a preemptive attack., Get Well Soon Major Nidal, We Love You.” The American Muslim Society strongly condemned the statement.

Jihad Jane

Colleen LaRose
Colleen LaRose
Colleen Renee LaRose , also known as JihadJane and Fatima LaRose, is an American citizen charged with terrorism-related crimes, including conspiracy to commit murder and providing material support to terrorists. Most recently, she lived in the Philadelphia suburb of Pennsburg, in Montgomery...

, also known as "Jihad Jane", was an online follower of Revolution Muslim.

South Park

The organization protested the South Park
South Park
South Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...

episode "200
200 (South Park)
"200" is the fifth episode of the fourteenth season of South Park, and the 200th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on April 14, 2010...

", over that show's depiction of Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...

 wearing a teddy bear
Teddy bear
The teddy bear is a stuffed toy bear. They are usually stuffed with soft, white cotton and have smooth and soft fur. It is an enduring form of a stuffed animal in many countries, often serving the purpose of entertaining children. In recent times, some teddy bears have become collector's items...

 costume, which it described as insulting. (eventually the figure in the bear costume is revealed as Santa Claus
Santa Claus
Santa Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...

.) The threat was posted by Abu Talhah al-Amrikee, the username of an emerging Revolution Muslim leader. The Revolution Muslim website said that violent retaliation "will likely happen” to the show's creators, Matt Stone
Matt Stone
Matthew Richard "Matt" Stone is an American screenwriter, producer, voice artist, musician and actor, best known for being the co-creator of South Park along with creative partner and best friend, Trey Parker....

 and Trey Parker
Trey Parker
Trey Parker is an American animator, screenwriter, director, producer, voice artist, musician and actor, best known for being the co-creator of the television series South Park along with his creative partner and best friend Matt Stone.Parker started his film career in 1992, making a holiday short...

, and provided the addresses of both Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....

's New York office and Stone and Parker's production office in Los Angeles. Although the group characterized it as a warning rather than a threat, it generated considerable attention. Abu Talhah al-Amrikee has a history of publicizing terrorist propaganda and promoting violence against non-Muslims through a variety of web sites and blogs. He first commented about his issue with the South Park episode via Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...

 the day after the episode aired, tweeting that he prayed for God
God in Islam
In Islamic theology, God is the all-powerful and all-knowing creator, sustainer, ordainer, and judge of the universe. Islam puts a heavy emphasis on the conceptualization of God as strictly singular . God is unique and inherently One , all-merciful and omnipotent. According to the Islamic...

 to kill the show’s creators and “burn them in Hell for all eternity.” Subsequently, the Revolution Muslim website was once hacked, temporarily redirecting web traffic to pictures of Muhammad. The poster of the threat has since been arrested on federal terrorism charges.

On May 1, 2010, a failed car bomb attempt was discovered by the New York City Police Department near the eastern corner of 1 Astor Plaza, the headquarters of Comedy Central parent company Viacom
Viacom
Viacom Inc. , short for "Video & Audio Communications", is an American media conglomerate with interests primarily in, but not limited to, cinema and cable television...

. Some news outlets reported that police are looking into a possible link between the attempted bombing and the warnings of violence against Trey Parker and Matt Stone, although no such link has yet been established. Such speculation was also fueled by statements from U.S. Congressman Peter T. King
Peter T. King
Peter T. "Pete" King is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1993. He is a member of the Republican Party. King's central Long Island district includes parts of Nassau and Suffolk counties....

, who described as one possible motive "the whole issue with South Park, which Islamic terrorists were threatening to have retribution for". However, King stressed the theory was "one possibility out of a hundred". NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly said of the theory, "We certainly wouldn't rule that out." Revolution Muslim has denied any involvement with the incident. Younus Abdullah Muhammed, who runs the group's website, was in Times Square at the time speaking out against President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

 with a loudspeaker. But he said of the failed car bomb, "What do you think, I commanded somebody to blow up a building in the middle of Times Square? [...] It had nothing to do with the 'South Park' controversy. It was not an attack targeting Viacom." After the threats, well known comedian Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart is an American political satirist, writer, television host, actor, media critic and stand-up comedian...

, host of The Daily Show, in defense of the Matt Stone and Trey Parker, told Revolution Muslim to "go fuck yourselves" using a faux-church choir.

The website for Revolution Muslim was eventually hacked and redirected to an image of a Muslim man kissing a boy.

Closure

Revolution Muslim was eventually shut down in late 2010 due to threats of violence made against British MPs by website posters.
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