The American Spectator

The Nation's Pulse

Parade in NYC on 9/9 -- Why?

By Peter Hannaford on 9.7.07 @ 12:07AM

What is the purpose of a parade? That's easy. It's to celebrate or honor particular people or events. Irish-Americans celebrate St. Patrick's Day. Italian-Americans celebrate the Genoa mariner on Columbus Day. Macy's celebrates Thanksgiving with a parade of giant balloon figures. Gays and lesbians celebrate their lifestyles with Gay Pride parades. What do American Muslims celebrate when they parade?

Consider the date of this year's United American Muslim Day Parade in New York City: this coming Sunday, September 9, only two days before the sixth anniversary of the radical Islamists' attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in which more than 3,000 people died.

For 20 years, thousands of Muslims gathered in New York City on the last Sunday of September for their annual parade. It came off without incident. Then, last year, with Siraj Wahhaj, a fiery Brooklyn imam as grand marshal, the parade moved its date forward to come within a whisker of 9/11. The "Mainstream" media have been asleep about this, not asking the pregnant question: Why time the parade to nearly coincide with an infamous event perpetrated by radicals purporting to be martyrs for Islam?

Although the congressman's office has denied it, parade organizers were claiming this year's grand marshal would be Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), the first Muslim to be elected to Congress. It's perhaps understandable why they made that claim. Ellison, who likes to be thought of as a moderate, has been anything but in some of the things he's been saying.

At a recent meeting of 300 members of Atheists for Human Rights in Minnesota, he compared the horrible acts of destruction of September 11, 2001 with the fire that destroyed Reichstag, Germany's parliament building, in 1933.

Referring to 9/11, he said, "It's almost like the Reichstag fire; kind of reminds me of that. After the Reichstag was burned, they blamed the Communists for it and put the leader of that country (Hitler) in a position where he could basically have authority to do whatever he wanted." His audience applauded the allusion. He added that he wouldn't accuse the Bush Administration of planning the 9/11 attacks because, he said, "You know, that's how they put you in the nut-ball box -- dismiss you."

Stalwarts in the annual Muslim Day Parade include last year's grand marshal, Wahhaj, who was named as a potential co-conspirator in the 1993 basement garage bombing of the World Trade Center. In 2000 he said, "America has to learn, if you remain on the side of injustice, the wrath of G-d will come."

Another past grand marshal is Muzzami Siddiqi, former president of the Islamic Society of North America, an association of mosques that was recently named a co-conspirator in financing millions of dollars of funds to Hamas.

The Islamic Circle of North America is co-sponsor of the parade and a major donor to a Pakistan charity that provides substantial funds to the head of Hamas.

One wonders what the parade's grand marshal, whoever he turns out to be, will be celebrating this year, marching as he will be two days before the sixth anniversary of 9/11 with all those Muslims, including several who don't hesitate to speak out against their nation and who support radical terrorists.

(Corrected and updated, 9.7.08, 12:03 pm)

Letter to the Editor

topics:
Trade, Islam, Pakistan