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m r2.7.1) (robot Adding: it:Brigitte Gabriel
I work for Ms. Brigitte Gabriel and ACT!for America. On her behalf, I am cleaning up the derogatory writings that have been posted to this page in reference to her life.
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{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
|name = Brigitte Gabriel
|name = Brigitte Gabriel
|other_names = Nour Semaan<br>(alternative [[nom de plume]])<ref name="NYT0311" />
|birth_date = {{Birth_date and age|1964|10|21}}
|birth_place = [[Marjayoun]], [[Marjeyoun District]], [[Lebanon]]
|birth_place = [[Marjayoun]], [[Marjeyoun District]], [[Lebanon]]
|occupation = Author<br>Activist
|occupation = Author<br>Activist
Line 8: Line 6:
|website = [http://www.americancongressfortruth.com American Congress for Truth], [http://www.actforamerica.org ACT! for America]
|website = [http://www.americancongressfortruth.com American Congress for Truth], [http://www.actforamerica.org ACT! for America]
}}
}}
'''Brigitte Gabriel''', born October 21, 1964|publisher=American Congress for Truth
'''Brigitte Gabriel''' (a.k.a. '''Nour Semaan''', born October 21, 1964)<ref>{{harvnb|Gabriel|2006|p=9}} "...my tenth birthday, October 21, 1974..."</ref> is the [[pseudonym]],<ref name="NYT0311"/> of a [[Lebanon|Lebanese]] American journalist of [[Ethiopian]] origin, author, and activist. Gabriel says that Islam keeps countries backward,<ref name="hate-189" /><ref name="hate-188" /> and that it teaches [[terrorism]].<ref name="hate-202" /><ref name="hate-203" /><ref name="hate-205" /> 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."<ref name="MissionACT">{{cite web
|url=http://www.americancongressfortruth.com/mission-vision.asp
|title=American Congress for Truth
|accessdate=2008-04-19
|work=Mission Statement
|publisher=American Congress for Truth
|archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20080324132304/http://www.americancongressfortruth.com/mission-vision.asp <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = 2008-03-24}} One of the 7 mission statements.</ref>
|archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20080324132304/http://www.americancongressfortruth.com/mission-vision.asp <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = 2008-03-24}} One of the 7 mission statements.</ref>


She frequently speaks at [[United States|American]] [[Conservatism in the United States|conservative]]-leaning organizations such as [[The Heritage Foundation]], [[Christians United for Israel]], [[Evangelicals]] and [[Jewish]] groups.<ref name=Gabrielp205>{{harvnb|Gabriel|2006|p=205}}</ref>
She frequently speaks at [[United States|American]] [[Conservatism in the United States|conservative]]-leaning organizations such as [[The Heritage Foundation]], [[Christians United for Israel]], [[Evangelicals]] and [[Jewish]] groups.<ref name=Gabrielp205>{{harvnb|Gabriel|2006|p=205}}</ref>

Stephen Lee, the publicist at [[St. Martins Press]] for Gabriel’s second book, called her views "extreme".<ref>{{cite news| url=http://publiceditor.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/21/a-radical-islamophobe/?apage=2#comments | work=The New York Times | title=A Radical Islamophobe? | first=Clark | last=Hoyt | date=2008-08-21 | accessdate=2010-04-26}}</ref> Gabriel said she gives voice to "what many in America are thinking but afraid to say out loud, for fear of being labeled a [[Racism|racist]], bigot, [[Islamaphobia|Islamophobic]], or intolerant."<ref name=Gabrielp205/>


==Early life==
==Early life==
Line 33: Line 24:
|quote=Brigitte Gabriel lost her childhood to militant Islam.
|quote=Brigitte Gabriel lost her childhood to militant Islam.
}} – speaker profile from lecture series</ref>
}} – speaker profile from lecture series</ref>

Critics of Gabriel complain that her biographical account is riddled with factual inaccuracies. While she claims that she lived for seven years in a bomb shelter, her former neighbors in Marjayoun recall that her family, like others in the village, might have spent a few nights in their shelter or basement at times, but that they otherwise lived relatively normally.<ref name="AL-AHRAMweeklyonline">{{Citation
|last=Lamb
|first=Franklin
|title=Al-Ahram Weekly | Focus | Lost from Lebanon
|edition=887
|newspaper=AL-AHRAM
|location=Cairo
|date=6–12 March 2008
|url=http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2008/887/focus.htm
|accessdate = 10 February 2010}}</ref> Gabriel, however, says that her home was destroyed by a shell in a militant attack, and that the bomb shelter was all that remained.<ref name="Heritage Foundation speech">{{Citation
|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8fa9yKQeTY|title=Brigitte Gabriel Heritage Foundation speech|publisher=YouTube|date=October 18, 2006}}</ref>

Gabriel also used to tell audiences that [[Hezbollah]] was the group that terrorized her family for the seven years between 1975 and 1982. She stopped making this claim after people objected, pointing out that Hezbollah was formed after she left Lebanon, as a direct result of the Israeli invasion and occupation of 1982.<ref name="AL-AHRAMweeklyonline"/>


After graduating from high school, Gabriel completed a one-year [[business administration]] course at a [[YWCA]] in 1984.<ref>{{harvnb|Gabriel|2006|p=95}}</ref>
After graduating from high school, Gabriel completed a one-year [[business administration]] course at a [[YWCA]] in 1984.<ref>{{harvnb|Gabriel|2006|p=95}}</ref>


==Career==
==Career==
Using the name '''Nour Semaan''', Gabriel was a news anchor for ''World News'', an Arabic-language evening news broadcast of [[Middle East Television]], a Marjayoun-based station that was run by the now defunct [[South Lebanon Army|SLA]] and funded by [[Israel]].[http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/08/us/08gabriel.html?pagewanted=2]<ref name="AL-AHRAMweeklyonline">{{Citation
Brigitte Gabriel was a news anchor for ''World News'', an Arabic-language evening news broadcast of [[Middle East Television]], a Marjayoun-based station that was run by the now defunct [[South Lebanon Army|SLA]] and funded by [[Israel]].[http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/08/us/08gabriel.html?pagewanted=2]<ref name="AL-AHRAMweeklyonline">{{Citation
|last=Lamb
|last=Lamb
|first=Franklin
|first=Franklin
Line 71: Line 48:


===''ACT! For America'' and ''American Congress for Truth''===
===''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]].<ref name="AboutMsGabriel" />===Other affiliations===
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]].<ref name="AboutMsGabriel" /> In April of 2010, the Orlando coordinator of ACT! for America, Alan Kornman, uploaded a 10 minute video on [[YouTube]] claiming to use the [[Quran|Qur'an]] as "[[toilet paper]]" and urinating in Muslim [[ablution|ablutions]], as well as desecrating other Muslim holy objects.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://findarticles.com/p/news-articles/arab-american-news-the/mi_8078/is_20100410/hate-group-quran-toilet-paper/ai_n53282978 | title=Hate group using Qur'an as toilet paper | accessdate=2011-05-08}}</ref> The video was subsequently removed by its author.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.loonwatch.com/2010/04/act-for-america-is-better-known-as-hate-for-america | title=ACT! for America is better known as Hate! for America | accessdate=2011-05-08}}</ref> The group opposed the confirmation of Parvez Ahmed, a University of North Florida professor and Fulbright Scholar, to Jacksonville's Human Rights Commission because Ahmed is the former chairman of the [[Council on American-Islamic Relations]], which is viewed by ACT! for America as an "extremist group." <ref>{{cite news| url=http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2010-04-12/story/anti-muslim-group-opposes-professors-appointment-jacksonville-commission | title =Anti-Muslim group opposes professor's appointment to Jacksonville commission | first=Tia | last=Mitchell | date=2010-04-12 | accessdate=2011-05-08}}</ref> Most recently, the organization promoted a barrage of Facebook comments be made on the [[Everett Community College]] [[Facebook]] page which have sparked controversy. <ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.mohammadmufti.com/2011/05/evcc-to-invite-islamaphobic-speaker.html | title=EvCC to Invite Islamaphobic Speaker | first=Mohammad | last=Mufti | date=2011-05-04 | accessdate=2011-05-04}}</ref>

===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 of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] in [[London]].<ref name="AboutMsGabriel" />
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 of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] in [[London]].<ref name="AboutMsGabriel" />

Gabriel is listed as a member of the [[Hasbara]] Fellowship Speakers Bureau, a pro-Israeli advocacy group, on their website;<ref name=Hasbara>{{cite web|url=http://www.hasbarafellowships.org/index.php?page=recommended-speakers#brigitte%20Gabriel|title=Hasbara Fellowship Speakers Bureau|publisher=Israelactivism.com|accessdate=2010-03-07}}</ref> but has denied being a member of that organization.<ref name="AL-AHRAMweeklyonline"/>


===Authorship===
===Authorship===
Line 98: Line 71:
====''They Must Be Stopped''====
====''They Must Be Stopped''====
"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."<ref name=Gabrielp7>Gabriel, 2008, p. 7.</ref>
"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."<ref name=Gabrielp7>Gabriel, 2008, p. 7.</ref>

==Viewpoints==
{{Criticism of Islam sidebar}}


===Opinions on Islam===
===Opinions on Islam===
Gabriel is critical of Islam and believes that "the degraded state of Arab societies is caused by Islam",<ref name="hate-189">{{harvnb|Gabriel|2006|p=189}} "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."</ref> and that [[Arab Muslims]] are "lagging behind" because of social and religious values.<ref name="hate-188">{{harvnb|Gabriel|2006|p=188}} "[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."</ref> She considers "Islamic terrorists" simply as devout followers of Islam,<ref name="hate-205">{{harvnb|Gabriel|2006|p=205}} "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."</ref> following an example set by Muhammad's behavior.<ref name="hate-202">{{harvnb|Gabriel|2006|p=202}} "[Muhammad] was a warrior who preached violence and the slaughter of thousands in establishing and spreading Islam."</ref><ref name="hate-203">{{harvnb|Gabriel|2006|p=203}} "[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."</ref> According to the [[New York Times]], she portrays Islam as "thoroughly bent on destruction and domination" and her message is [[Anti-Islam sentiment|anti-Islam]].<ref name="NYT0311">{{cite news|author= LAURIE GOODSTEIN|title=Drawing U.S. Crowds With Anti-Islam Message|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/08/us/08gabriel.html|publisher=[[New York Times]]|date=2011-03-07}}</ref>
Gabriel is critical of Islam and believes that "the degraded state of Arab societies is caused by Islam",<ref name="hate-189">{{harvnb|Gabriel|2006|p=189}} "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."</ref> and that [[Arab Muslims]] are "lagging behind" because of social and religious values.<ref name="hate-188">{{harvnb|Gabriel|2006|p=188}} "[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."</ref> She considers "Islamic terrorists" simply as devout followers of Islam,<ref name="hate-205">{{harvnb|Gabriel|2006|p=205}} "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."</ref> following an example set by Muhammad's behavior.<ref name="hate-202">{{harvnb|Gabriel|2006|p=202}} "[Muhammad] was a warrior who preached violence and the slaughter of thousands in establishing and spreading Islam."</ref><ref name="hate-203">{{harvnb|Gabriel|2006|p=203}} "[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."</ref> According to the [[New York Times]], she portrays Islam as "thoroughly bent on destruction and domination" and her message is [[Anti-Islam sentiment|anti-Islam]].<ref name="NYT0311">{{cite news|author= LAURIE GOODSTEIN|title=Drawing U.S. Crowds With Anti-Islam Message|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/08/us/08gabriel.html|publisher=[[New York Times]]|date=2011-03-07}}</ref>

{{Rquote|right|It is not [[Political correctness|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''<ref name=Gabrielp185/>}} Deborah Solomon of the ''[[New York Times Magazine]]'', who interviewed Gabriel in August 2008, described her as a "radical [[Islamophobia|Islamophobe]]."<ref name=JI>{{cite web|url=http://www.jewishindependent.ca/archives/Dec09/archives09Dec18-06.html|publisher=Jewish Independent|date=December 18, 2009|title=Use the anti-Semitism test|author=Mira Sucharov}}</ref>

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]]."<ref name=Gabrielp185>{{harvnb|Gabriel|2006|pp=185–186}}</ref> She believes that Americans should "acknowledge that our Western culture is.. better than others."<ref name=Gabrielp186>{{harvnb|Gabriel|2006|p=186}} "... stand up and lift your head and be proud of what America and Western culture stand for."</ref>

In viewing America as "a powerful and great nation" possessing "superior.. culture and values", Gabriel sees the entitlements that [[American exceptionalism|American]] [[Western culture]] has bestowed through "the [[Judeo-Christian]] value system" and the ideals of the [[Founding Fathers of the United States|Founding Fathers]], who "worked to establish rights for the individual, rights that did not exist under other forms of government at that time."<ref name=Gabrielp184>{{harvnb|Gabriel|2006|p=184}}</ref>

According to Gabriel, since [[Radical Islam]] views the destruction of Israel alongside the United States as "a parallel strategic objective",<ref name=Gabrielp169>{{harvnb|Gabriel|2006|p=169}}</ref> 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."<ref name=Gabrielp184/>

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."<ref name="FrontPageSYMPOSIUM">{{cite web
|url=http://www.frontpagemag.com/readArticle.aspx?ARTID=33886
|title=FrontPageMagazine.com
|accessdate=2009-05-09
|work=Symposium: Homegrown Jihadis
|publisher=FrontPage Magazine
}} Symposium held in January 2009.</ref>

===Arab-Israeli conflict===
Gabriel views the [[Arab-Israeli conflict]] as being "intractable because the Arab world refuses to accept the right of a [[Jewish state]] to exist." This animosity, having once been rooted in [[Pan-Arabism]] has evolved, according to Gabriel, into the more sinister spectre of "radical Islamic supremacism" which now appears to seek "bigger game in the West." She cites examples such as the [[Iranian Revolution]] of 1979 and the rise of [[Hamas]] as bringing to the forefront radical Islamic ideologies that are rooted in "religious hatred, humiliation, and resentment" of Israel and the West.<ref name=Gabrielp173-174>Gabriel, 2006, p. 173-174.</ref>

Gabriel believes this can be seen in the [[Israeli–Palestinian conflict]] where, in her view, [[Palestinian nationalism]] has largely been replaced by "holy obligation" motivating adherents to commit "terrorist murder."<ref name=Gabrielp181>Gabriel, 2006, p. 181.</ref> She states that the legitimization of Palestinian suicide attacks within Israel has now evolved to where, "[[Islamists]] believe that they may commit mass murder anywhere in the world to advance their holy cause." As a result, she believes the world now suffers "from a plague of Islamic terrorism... authored and perfected by the Palestinians."<ref name=Gabrielp182>Gabriel, 2006, p. 182.</ref>

With regard to the [[two-state solution]], Gabriel states: "Forcing Israel to accept a two-state solution is not going to work unless the Palestinians first are forced to clean up their act and eliminate hatred from their schoolbooks, teach tolerance to their people, and preach acceptance of Israel and the Jews as a neighbor."<ref name="An inside ally">{{cite web
|url=http://www.jpost.com/Magazine/Features/Article.aspx?id=146686
|title=An inside ally
|accessdate=2010-03-16
|author= DEENA YELLIN
|date = 2009-06-25
|publisher=Jerusalem Post
}}</ref>

===Controversy at speaking engagements===
When Gabriel was invited to speak as part of a lecture series organized by Duke University's Jewish community in October 2004, many in attendance were angered by her referring to Arabs as "barbarians." The Freeman Centre for Jewish Life at Duke University later apologized for her comments.<ref name="AL-AHRAMweeklyonline"/> Following her speech at women's campaign event for the Jewish Federation of Ottawa (JFO) in November 2008, many in attendance registered their protests, leading Mitchell Bellman, president and CEO of the JFO, to write a letter in which he acknowledged that Gabriel made, "unacceptable gross generalizations of Arabs and Muslims," distancing his organization from her views.<ref name=JI/>

In 2007 at the [[Christians United For Israel]] annual conference, Gabriel delivered the following speech:

{{quote|The difference, my friends, between Israel and the Arab world is the difference between civilization and barbarism. It's the difference between good and evil [applause].... this is what we're witnessing in the Arabic world, They have no SOUL !, they are dead set on killing and destruction. And in the name of something they call "Allah" which is very different from the God we believe....[applause] because our God is the God of love.|[[Christians United For Israel]] annual conference 2007<ref name=CUFI2007/>}}

This speech was subsequently criticised by journalist [[Bruce Wilson (American journalist)|Bruce Wilson]] as being "hate speech" and stated that Brigitte Gabriel "paints a wide swath of humanity as subhuman", comparing her to Goebbel's Reich.<ref name="CUFI2007">{{cite web
|url=http://www.talk2action.org/story/2007/7/27/22357/2657/Front_Page/McCain_and_Lieberman_Frolic_At_CUFI_s_Festival_Of_Hate
|title=McCain and Lieberman Frolic At CUFI's Festival Of Hate
|accessdate=2010-05-09
|author= Bruce Wilson
|authorlink = Bruce Wilson (American journalist)
|date = 15/08/2007
|publisher=[[Talk2Action]]
}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Criticism of Islam]]
* [[Wafa Sultan]]
* [[Walid Shoebat]]
* [[Nonie Darwish]]
* [[Robert Spencer (writer)|Robert Spencer]]
* [[Walid Phares]]
* [[Pamela Geller]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin}}
*{{citation|last=Gabriel|first=Brigitte|title=Because They Hate: A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=pmmCnppIll0C|place=[[New York City]], [[New York]], [[United States]] |publisher=[[St. Martin's Press]] |isbn=0312358377|year=2006|ref=harv}}
*{{citation|last=Gabriel|first=Brigitte|title=They Must Be Stopped: Why We Must Defeat Radical Islam and How We Can Do It|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=gxffnPOnLCMC|place=New York City, New York, United States|publisher=[[St. Martin's Press]]|year=2008|isbn=9780312383633|ref=harv}}
{{refend}}


==External links==
==External links==
Line 180: Line 85:
===Video===
===Video===
* [http://multimedia.heritage.org/content/wm/Lehrman-092706a.wvx ''Because They Hate'' presentation] to [[Heritage Foundation]]
* [http://multimedia.heritage.org/content/wm/Lehrman-092706a.wvx ''Because They Hate'' presentation] to [[Heritage Foundation]]

{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
| NAME =Gabriel, Brigitte
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION =
| DATE OF BIRTH =1964-10-21
| PLACE OF BIRTH =[[Marjayoun]], [[Marjeyoun District]], [[Lebanon]]
| DATE OF DEATH =
| PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gabriel, Brigitte}}
[[Category:1964 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American journalists]]
[[Category:American Maronites]]
[[Category:American people of Lebanese descent]]
[[Category:Opposition to Islam in North America]]
[[Category:Criticism of Islam]]
[[Category:Lebanese immigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:Lebanese journalists]]
[[Category:Lebanese Maronites]]
[[Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States]]
[[Category:People from South Lebanon]]

[[it:Brigitte Gabriel]]
[[he:בריג'יט גבריאל]]
[[nl:Brigitte Gabriel]]
[[pt:Brigitte Gabriel]]

Revision as of 15:06, 10 May 2011

Brigitte Gabriel
Born
Marjayoun, Marjeyoun District, Lebanon
Occupation(s)Author
Activist
Years active1986-present
WebsiteAmerican Congress for Truth, ACT! for America

Brigitte Gabriel, born October 21, 1964|publisher=American Congress for Truth |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20080324132304/http://www.americancongressfortruth.com/mission-vision.asp |archivedate = 2008-03-24}} One of the 7 mission statements.</ref>

She frequently speaks at American conservative-leaning organizations such as The Heritage Foundation, Christians United for Israel, Evangelicals and Jewish groups.[1]

Early life

Brigitte Gabriel was born in the Marjayoun District in Lebanon to an immigrant Ethiopian Christian family.

Gabriel recalls that during the Lebanese Civil War, militants launched an assault on a Lebanese military base near her family's house and bombed her home, and consequently 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. To get water she states that she had to crawl in a ditch alongside a road to a spring in order to evade Muslim snipers.[2]

Later, in 1978, Gabriel says a man warned her family of an impending attack on Christians by militias. She says that her life was saved that night when Israelis invaded Lebanon in Operation Litani. Later, when her mother was seriously injured and was taken to an Israeli hospital, Gabriel noted the humanity of the Israelis in contrast to the propaganda against the Jews she says she saw as a child.[3]

After graduating from high school, Gabriel completed a one-year business administration course at a YWCA in 1984.[4]

Career

Brigitte Gabriel was a news anchor for World News, an Arabic-language evening news broadcast of Middle East Television, a Marjayoun-based station that was run by the now defunct SLA and funded by Israel.[1][5] Broadcast in Israel, Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Lebanon, through her work there, Gabriel covered the Israeli withdrawal from central Lebanon, the Israeli Security Zone (occupied South Lebanon), and the Palestinian uprising in the West Bank and Gaza. The television station moved to Cyprus for a time and was later purchased by Pat Robertson.[5] Gabriel moved to Israel[5] before immigrating to the United States in 1989 where she founded a television production, marketing and advertising agency.[6]

According to the Center for International Policy (CIP), Gabriel, "has made a post-9/11 career out of roundly denouncing Islam, decrying 'political correctness,' and promoting the concept of an existential clash of cultures.[7] The CIP aso states that, "Her pro-Israel, anti-Islam spiel, coupled with her compelling personal history, has made her a popular speaker, writer, and general 'expert.' She appears sometimes as a commentator on television news and radio programs, often speaking out for the rights of Muslim women."[7]

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.[6]===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.[6]

Authorship

Gabriel is the author of two books: 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.[6]

Because They Hate

In her first book Gabriel discusses her experiences as a Maronite (Eastern Catholic) Christian living in Lebanon during the civil war in the 1970s.[8] 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.[9]

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."[10] 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."[11]

The book made The New York Times hardcover best seller list.[12] According to the introduction of the 2008 edition of Because They Hate, the book was put on the reading list at the FBI Academy and was assigned as mandatory reading for Navy SEALs heading to the Middle East.[13]

They Must Be Stopped

"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."[14]

Opinions on Islam

Gabriel is critical of Islam and believes that "the degraded state of Arab societies is caused by Islam",[15] and that Arab Muslims are "lagging behind" because of social and religious values.[16] She considers "Islamic terrorists" simply as devout followers of Islam,[17] following an example set by Muhammad's behavior.[18][19] According to the New York Times, she portrays Islam as "thoroughly bent on destruction and domination" and her message is anti-Islam.[20]

Video

  1. ^ Gabriel 2006, p. 205
  2. ^ Gabriel 2006, p. 44
  3. ^ "Because They Hate: A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America". Heritage Live - Events. The Heritage Foundation. Retrieved 2008-03-09. Brigitte Gabriel lost her childhood to militant Islam. – speaker profile from lecture series
  4. ^ Gabriel 2006, p. 95
  5. ^ a b c Lamb, Franklin (6–12 March 2008), "Al-Ahram Weekly", AL-AHRAM (887 ed.), Cairo {{citation}}: Text "Focus" ignored (help); Text "Lost from Lebanon" ignored (help)
  6. ^ a b c d "ACT! for America". About Ms. Gabriel. ACT! for America. Retrieved 2009-11-05. About Ms. Gabriel.
  7. ^ a b "Americas Program Profile: Brigitte Gabriel". Center for International Policy (CIP). August 23, 2007. Retrieved 2010-02-11. [dead link]
  8. ^ Gabriel 2006, pp. 4–6
  9. ^ Gabriel 2006, pp. 13–16
  10. ^ Gabriel 2006, p. 216
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference Gabrielp186 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ "Hardcover Best Seller List". The New York Times Books. The New York Times Company. 17 November 2006. Retrieved 2008-03-09. The author (who describes herself as an Arab Christian and victim of radical Islam) presents her view of Islamic Terrorism.
  13. ^ Gabriel, 2006, p.xx of the 2008 edition.
  14. ^ Gabriel, 2008, p. 7.
  15. ^ Gabriel 2006, p. 189 "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."
  16. ^ Gabriel 2006, p. 188 "[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."
  17. ^ Gabriel 2006, p. 205 "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."
  18. ^ Gabriel 2006, p. 202 "[Muhammad] was a warrior who preached violence and the slaughter of thousands in establishing and spreading Islam."
  19. ^ Gabriel 2006, p. 203 "[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."
  20. ^ LAURIE GOODSTEIN (2011-03-07). "Drawing U.S. Crowds With Anti-Islam Message". New York Times.
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