Brigitte Gabriel

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Brigitte Gabriel
Born October 21, 1964 (1964-10-21) (age 45)[citation needed]
Marjayoun, Marjeyoun District, Lebanon
Occupation author
activist
lecturer
journalist
Years active 1986-present
Website
American Congress for Truth, ACT! for America

Brigitte Gabriel (born October 21, 1964) is a Lebanese American journalist, author, and anti-Muslim activist. She is close to the Lebanese fascist Phalangist movement.[1][2]

Gabriel says Islam keeps Arab countries backward,[3][4] and teaches terrorism.[5][6][7] In order to promote such views, Gabriel founded the American Congress For Truth and ACT! for America so that citizens may "Fearlessly speak out in defense of America, Israel and Western civilization."[8]

She frequently lectures to American conservative-leaning organizations such as The Heritage Foundation, Christians United for Israel, Evangelicals and Jewish groups, and says she gives voice to "what many in America are thinking but afraid to say out loud, for fear of being labeled a racist, bigot, Islamophobic, or intolerant."[9]

Contents

[edit] Early life

Brigitte Gabriel was born to a Christian family in Marjayoun, Lebanon, a small town near the Israeli border.

According to Gabriel, during the Lebanese Civil War, militants launched an assault on a Lebanese military base near her family's house and bombed her home during a national attempt to overrun the Lebanese government. In April 1975 and following the collapse of the Lebanese Army, many Lebanese Christian militiamen found themselves defending their own homes and were heavily engaged in street fights against the Palestinian militias and the Lebanese National Movement. The 10-year-old Gabriel was severely injured and spent 2 1/2 months in a hospital recovering.[10] Gabriel was the only child of elderly parents. Their life savings were destroyed in the bombings, as well as their money, their restaurant and their rental rooms.[11]

Gabriel reports that she and her parents were forced to live in an 8'x10' bomb shelter underground for seven years with only a small kerosene heater, no sanitary systems, no electricity or running water and little food.[12] To get water she had to crawl in a ditch alongside a road to a spring in order to evade Muslim snipers.[13]

In 1978, Gabriel says a man warned her family of an impending attack on Christians by militias.[14] She says that her life was saved that night when Israelis invaded Lebanon in Operation Litani.[15] Later, her mother was seriously injured and was taken to an Israeli hospital where Gabriel noted the humanity of the Israelis in contrast to the anti-Semitic propaganda she says she saw as a child.[16]

[edit] Career

Gabriel is a former news anchor for World News, the Arabic evening news broadcast for Middle East Television a Christian television station seen throughout Israel, Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Lebanon. She covered the Israeli withdrawal from central Lebanon, the Israeli Security Zone and the Palestinian uprising in the West Bank and Gaza. She immigrated to the United States in 1989 and founded a television production, marketing and advertising agency. [17]

[edit] ACT! For America and American Congress for Truth

Gabriel is the founder of ACT! for America, a non-profit issues advocacy organization. ACT! for America has hundreds of chapters across America and members in 20 countries outside of America. She is also the founder of American Congress for Truth, a non-profit organization which denounces Islamic fundamentalism. [17]

[edit] Other affiliations

Gabriel is also a member of the Board of Advisors of The Intelligence Summit and lectures nationally and internationally on Global Terrorism. She has addressed former Prime Minister of Australia John Howard, Members of the U.S. Congress, The Joint Forces Staff College, The United States Special Operations Command, the FBI and members of the House of Commons in London.[17]

[edit] Literary Works

She is the author of Because They Hate: A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America, and They Must Be Stopped: Why We Must Defeat Radical Islam and How We Can Do It. She is a regular guest analyst on Fox News Channel, CNN, MSNBC and various radio stations daily across America.[17]

[edit] Criticisms of Islam

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Gabriel is critical of Islam and believes that "the degraded state of Arab societies is caused by Islam",[3] and that Arab Muslims are "lagging behind" because of social and religious values.[4]

Furthermore, she considers Islamic terrorists simply as devout followers of Islam,[7] following an example set by Muhammad's behavior.[5][6]

“ It is not politically correct to say that our Western societies are better than the Muslim Arab societies, but we are, we have been, and we always will be. ”

—Because They Hate[18]

Gabriel is critical of Americans who "find all sorts of things wrong with America", who "badmouth and put down our culture, government, and country", while having "never experienced life in an oppressive culture or under an oppressive leadership such as is found in the Middle East."[19] She believes that Americans should "acknowledge that our Western culture is.. better than others."[20]

In viewing America as "a powerful and great nation" possessing "superior.. culture and values", Gabriel sees the entitlements that American Western culture has bestowed through "the Judeo-Christian value system" and the ideals of the Founding Fathers, who "worked to establish rights for the individual, rights that did not exist under other forms of government at that time."[21]

According to Gabriel, since Radical Islam views the destruction of Israel alongside the United States as "a parallel strategic objective",[22] she therefore sees the survival of Israel as being of paramount importance as a vanguard of Western culture and as "the only Western-style nation in the Middle East, one that Arabs despise, feel threatened by, and vow to destroy."[18]

In a symposium held in January 2009 titled "Homegrown Jihadis" by FrontPage Magazine, she stated Islam itself "promotes intolerance and violence", and that "Moderate Muslims must organize and engage those enlightened, educated and westernized Muslims in the community to begin a dialogue to discuss the possibility of reform in Islam just as Christianity and Judaism have been reformed."[23]

[edit] Criticism

Journalist Pierre Tristam writes that "I have no problem vilifying Islamists, the fanatical, murderous and minoritarian but noisy strain of alleged Muslims ... Gabriel makes no distinction: In her view, 'every practicing Muslim is a radical Muslim.' That statement not only discredits her as an alleged journalist or analyst. It puts her in league with garden-variety bigots and backwoods survivalists."[24]

The New York Times Magazine in a 2008 interview with Gabriel described her as a "radical Islamophobe".[25] She has been criticized for making blanket statements about Muslims such as "By today's standards, the 21st-century standards, Muslim people have less to contribute than their counterparts in civilized nations."[26][dead link]

[edit] Books by Brigitte Gabriel

[edit] Because They Hate

Because They Hate: A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America. St. Martin's Press. 2006-09-05. ISBN 0312358377. 

In her first book Gabriel discusses her experiences as a Maronite Christian living in Lebanon during the civil war in the 1970s. She describes the story of her family and her childhood, hiding in a bomb shelter. She details her opinions that her country's inherent multicultural acceptance of all faiths and cultures including the then dominant Lebanese Christian phalangists, led to Lebanon's ruin by the continuous attacks from indigenous Muslims, other Christian groups and migrant Palestinians.

Gabriel comments that "anyone who voices his or her opinion contrary to 'politically correct think' is immediately tagged" a "racist" or "bigot" and that this has resulted in a "social paranoia which discourages free thought and expression."[27] Moreover, she states that societies and cultures must be held accountable for their actions and that "by not judging others... we have helped create the monsters we are dealing with today."[28]

The book made The New York Times hardcover best seller list.[29]Because They Hate was put on the reading list at the FBI Academy and was assigned as mandatory reading for Navy SEALs heading to the Middle East.[30]

[edit] They Must Be Stopped

Gabriel, Brigitte (2008-08-19). They Must Be Stopped: Why We Must Defeat Radical Islam and How We Can Do It. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 9780312383633. 

"We, as infidels in the eyes of our enemy, need to understand the danger we face: A totalitarian ideology — whether its origin is mainstream or marginal — threatens to enslave, dominate, and murder us in order to realize its vision for global conquest." [31]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.loonwatch.com/2009/04/a-case-study-in-sincere-hypocrisy-brigitte-gabriel/
  2. ^ http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2008/887/focus.htm
  3. ^ a b Because They Hate: A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America. St. Martin's Press. 2006-09-05. p. 189. ISBN 0312358377. "It kills self-expression, self-improvement, and empowerment because the religion demands that Islam be the center of one's life and existence, and it dictates how you should be, how you should live." 
  4. ^ a b Because They Hate: A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America. St. Martin's Press. 2006-09-05. p. 188. ISBN 0312358377. "... [T]hey have an ingrained corruption that runs throughout their societies. They respect craftiness and deceit over honesty and virtue. They are consumed with hate for one another." 
  5. ^ a b Because They Hate: A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America. St. Martin's Press. 2006-09-05. p. 202. ISBN 0312358377. "[Muhammad] was a warrior who preached violence and the slaughter of thousands in establishing and spreading Islam." 
  6. ^ a b Because They Hate: A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America. St. Martin's Press. 2006-09-05. p. 203. ISBN 0312358377. "[T]he prophet Mohammed, a successful military leader who led his Muslim army against non-Muslims, is an inspiration to almost a billion people around the world." 
  7. ^ a b Because They Hate: A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America. St. Martin's Press. 2006-09-05. p. 205. ISBN 0312358377. "Islamic terrorists [...] are really just very devout followers of Muhammad. They are following his example and doing exactly what the Koran teaches and their mullahs exhort them to do with a daily diet of righteous jihad." 
  8. ^ "American Congress for Truth". Mission Statement. American Congress for Truth. http://www.americancongressfortruth.com/mission-vision.asp. Retrieved 2008-04-19.  One of the 7 mission statements.
  9. ^ Because They Hate: A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America. St. Martin's Press. 2006-09-05. p. 205. ISBN 0312358377. 
  10. ^ Because They Hate: A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America. St. Martin's Press. 2006-09-05. p. 27. ISBN 0312358377. 
  11. ^ Because They Hate: A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America. St. Martin's Press. 2006-09-05. p. 36. ISBN 0312358377. 
  12. ^ Because They Hate: A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America. St. Martin's Press. 2006-09-05. p. 45. ISBN 0312358377. 
  13. ^ Because They Hate: A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America. St. Martin's Press. 2006-09-05. p. 44. ISBN 0312358377. 
  14. ^ Because They Hate: A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America. St. Martin's Press. 2006-09-05. p. 56. ISBN 0312358377. 
  15. ^ Because They Hate: A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America. St. Martin's Press. 2006-09-05. p. 58. ISBN 0312358377. 
  16. ^ Because They Hate: A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America. St. Martin's Press. 2006-09-05. p. 80. ISBN 0312358377. 
  17. ^ a b c d "ACT! for America". About Ms. Gabriel. ACT! for America. http://www.actforamerica.org/index.php/learn/about-ms-gabriel. Retrieved 2009-11-05.  About Ms. Gabriel.
  18. ^ a b Because They Hate: A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America. St. Martin's Press. 2006-09-05. p. 185. ISBN 0312358377. 
  19. ^ Because They Hate: A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America. St. Martin's Press. 2006-09-05. pp. 185–186. ISBN 0312358377. 
  20. ^ Because They Hate: A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America. St. Martin's Press. 2006-09-05. p. 186. ISBN 0312358377. "... stand up and lift your head and be proud of what America and Western culture stand for." 
  21. ^ Because They Hate: A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America. St. Martin's Press. 2006-09-05. pp. 184–185. ISBN 0312358377. 
  22. ^ Because They Hate: A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America. St. Martin's Press. 2006-09-05. p. 169. ISBN 0312358377. 
  23. ^ "FrontPageMagazine.com". Symposium: Homegrown Jihadis. FrontPage Magazine. http://www.frontpagemag.com/readArticle.aspx?ARTID=33886. Retrieved 2009-05-09.  Symposium held in January 2009.
  24. ^ Tristam, Pierre. "Brigitte Gabriel, Islamophobe". about.com. The New York Times Company. http://middleeast.about.com/od/religionsectarianism/a/me081011.htm. 
  25. ^ Hoyt, Clark (2008-08-21). "A Radical Islamophobe?". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. http://publiceditor.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/21/a-radical-islamophobe/. 
  26. ^ http://www.ajn.com.au/news/news.asp?pgID=3403
  27. ^ Because They Hate: A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America. St. Martin's Press. 2006-09-05. p. 216. ISBN 0312358377. 
  28. ^ Because They Hate: A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America. St. Martin's Press. 2006-09-05. p. 186. ISBN 0312358377. 
  29. ^ "Hardcover Best Seller List". The New York Times Books. The New York Times Company. 2006-11-17. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/17/books/16blog-polibooks.html?_r=1&oref=slogin. Retrieved 2008-03-09. "The author (who describes herself as an Arab Christian and victim of radical Islam) presents her view of Islamic Terrorism." 
  30. ^ "Introduction to the 2008 Edition". Because They Hate: A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America (2008 paperback ed.). St. Martin's Griffin. 2008-01-08. p. xx. ISBN 0312358377. 
  31. ^ They Must Be Stopped: Why We Must Defeat Radical Islam and How We Can Do It. St. Martin's Press. 2008-08-19. p. 7, Introduction. ISBN 9780312383633. 

[edit] External links

[edit] Video

[edit] Critical Views

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