Dallas Morning News: Khomeini Tribute is a Disgrace

The Dallas Morning News finally weighs in on the appalling display of support from Muslim groups for an enemy of the United States, with an excellent, non-nuanced editorial: Unworthy of Honor: Khomeini’s tribute is a disgrace. Most Americans remember the Ayatollah Khomeini. He was one of the great villains of the 20th century, who bequeathed his patrimony of fanaticism and hatred to the 21st. Khomeini led the 1979 Iranian revolution that overthrew the corrupt shah and replaced the government with a brutal Islamic theocracy that today is locked in battle with reformers seeking to end a quarter century of repression. Khomeini preached worldwide violent Islamic revolution, thundering that "those who study Islamic Holy War will understand why Islam wants to conquer the whole world." "Why do you only read the Quranic verses of mercy and do not read the verses of killing?" Khomeini challenged fellow clerics in a 1981 speech. "Qu’ran says: kill, imprison! Why are you only clinging to the part that talks about mercy? Mercy is against God." The tyrant also exhorted his followers to "kill all the unbelievers just as they would kill you all." That’s some vision. Yet a Muslim group based in Irving [Texas] hosted a seminar earlier this month paying "tribute to the great Islamic visionary." It’s chilling to think that any local Muslim would be willing to honor such a man, especially with the United States under the threat of attack by Islamic terrorists. Dismayingly, the list of speakers at the Irving event included some of North Texas’ best-known mainstream Islamic figures... ...If Muslim leaders want to be perceived by the broader community as men of good will and moderation, they need to make clear what they consider radical and extreme and treat it accordingly. Pockets of Islamic radicalism exist in North Texas. We don’t believe — and this is important to get straight — that they characterize most Muslims in the Dallas area. But these elements are here, and we cannot afford to ignore them. Neither can the Muslim community avoid the responsibility for policing itself. As former FBI counterterrorism chief and Rowlett resident Oliver “Buck” Revell tells us, "If we continue to be deaf, dumb and blind to what’s plainly in front of us, we have no one to blame but ourselves."

Dallas Morning News (via LGF): Khomeini Tribute is a Disgrace