By Constitution Staff

The Counterterrorism Caucus of the Oklahoma Legislature responded to the September 25 beheading incident in Moore, OK. "Members of the Oklahoma Counterterrorism Caucus wish to express their heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Colleen Hufford, who was allegedly brutally murdered on Thursday by Alton Nolen. Nolen was reportedly only prevented from doing the same to another of his co-workers at Vaughan Foods by the heroic forcible intervention of the company's Chief Operating Officer, Mark Vaughan, a reserve county sheriff in Moore."

The Counterterrorism Caucus includes state Representatives John Bennett (R-Sallisaw), Sean Roberts (R-Hominy), Sally Kern (R-Oklahoma City), Lewis Moore (R-Arcadia), Dan Fisher (R-El Reno), Mike Christian (R-Oklahoma City), Mike Reynolds (R-Oklahoma City), and Mike Ritze (R-Broken Arrow). The group noted that while an investigation into the barbarous act was still underway, several relevant facts had already been established and made public by the authorities:

-Fellow employees at Vaughan Foods say Nolan had recently converted to Islam and had proselytized them with a view to securing their converting to his faith.

-Nolan had a record of violent criminal behavior, for which he had previously been incarcerated. Many of America's prisons have been incubators of Islamist converts, thanks to the recruitment and indoctrination of inmates by imams trained and certified by organizations tied to the jihadist Muslim Brotherhood.

-Ms. Hufford was decapitated. As has been much in evidence lately, notably with the rise of the Islamic State terrorist group in Syria and Iraq, beheading is a practice associated with the supremacist Islamic code known as Shariah and the jihadism it demands of adherents.

The Counterterrorism Caucus has long warned of the dangers posed to this country and other freedom-loving peoples by Shariah -- including too many millions of Muslims who do not practice their faith in accordance with this repressive, totalitarian doctrine. The latter are considered apostates by the authorities of Islam, and Shariah is deemed by them to be the only valid tradition of their faith and Muslims' deviation from it is a capital offense.

"With each passing day, the threat posed by Shariah supremacism is becoming more palpable elsewhere as groups like the Islamic State, al Qaeda, Hamas, Boko Haram and the Taliban afflict others with their murderously violent jihad," said the legislators. "Unfortunately, jihadism is no longer confined to foreign soil. We must be alert to it here and take steps to counter the doctrine, institutions and organizations that foster it. Whether the murder allegedly perpetrated by Alton Nolan proves to be an example of this malignancy or not, we must confront its emergence and prevent its metastasizing in communities in Oklahoma and across America."

The chairman of the caucus is Rep. John Bennett (R-Sallisaw). "The Feds say this is workplace violence but people know that's not true. The citizens of Oklahoma want to know, "Who are these people and why are they doing these terrible things to us?' It's high time we get to the truth. I am calling for a public discussion about potential terrorists in our midst and the role that Shariah law plays in their actions."

Several weeks prior to the beheading, CAIR Oklahoma, the state branch of the Council for American and Islamic Relations (CAIR) called on Rep. Bennett to apologize or resign and for the Republican leadership to rebuke him. That was in response to comments he had made about CAIR Oklahoma.

"I have received hundreds of emails, voicemails, and personal thank you messages from all over the world for standing up against a cancerous problem that CAIR and other wings of the Muslim Brotherhood support," said Bennett. "I would like to remind everyone that CAIR was the organization that sued the state of Oklahoma and effectively received an injunction to stop a state ballot question approved by an overwhelming majority of Oklahomans to outlaw Sharia law in Oklahoma." Bennett said supporting Sharia law is the same as supporting the brutal treatment of women and children under Islam.

"Sharia law is extremely detrimental to women and children and it allows very brutal treatment to them both under Islam," Bennett said. "CAIR is also the unindicted co-conspirator of the largest terror financing trial that yielded over 100 convictions in the U.S. CAIR is the American arm of the Muslim Brotherhood and it has been proven in federal court documents in the U.S. vs. Holy Land Foundation trials in Dallas, Texas. The Oklahoma FBI office refuses to work with CAIR, and CAIR is on record supporting Palestinians launching attacks into Israel resulting in the killing of hundreds."

Omar Ahmad, chairman of CAIR stated in the July 4, 1988, edition of the San Ramon Valley Herald: "Islam isn't in America to be equal to any other faith, but to become dominant. The Qur'an should be the highest authority in America, and Islam the only accepted religion on Earth."

Rep. Bennett noted that Johari Abdul Malik was the guest speaker during the annual CAIR banquet in Oklahoma City. Malik was the outreach director of the Dar Al-Hijrah Mosque. Malik had publicly defended Abdul Rahman al-Amoudi, founder of the American Muslim Council, who was found guilty of engaging in illegal financial transactions with Libya and sentenced to 23 years in prison. Malik also came to the defense of Ahmed Omar Abu Ali who was convicted of charges of conspiring to kill President George W. Bush. The Fort Hood shooter and members of the group who killed thousands of Americans on 9/11, both had attended the mosque. "A lot can be deduced about a group by who they choose to associated with and CAIR Oklahoma associates with a number of questionable individuals," Bennett said. "CAIR or any other organization linked to terrorism should not be allowed in Oklahoma."

Bennett said no amount of pressure will keep him from exercising his First Amendment rights. "I work for my constituents and no one else," Bennett said. "I promised to stand up and fight for American and Oklahoma values. I will not resign, nor will I apologize."

Just a week after the beheading incident, many were outraged when President Barack Obama sent a letter of encouragement to the mosque attended by the perpetrator of the beheading. Rep. Christian said he finds it unbelievable and outrageous the President would send such a letter. "Frankly, I'm in shock about this," said Christian. "Why on Earth does the President believe it was a good idea to send such a letter on the heels of an American citizen being beheaded on American soil?"

Rep. Christian said the letter in question was brought to Oklahoma City and delivered in a speech by David Myers, the director of Faith-Based & Neighborhood Partnerships at the Department of Homeland Security. Media reports claim the letter from President Obama thanked the congregation for community service related to tornado cleanup following the tornado which hit Moore on May 20, 2013. "But why make now the time to send a letter like this and deliver it publicly in front of the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City?" Christian said. "This is a mosque that seems to radicalize people. Recall that this is also the same mosque where the 20th 9-11 hijacker, Zacarias Moussaoui, and possibly the suicide vest bomber that attacked an OU football game in 2005, had attended. Now we have this case of Nolen, who shows sympathies to radical Islamic movements such as ISIS on his Facebook page, but we are to believe this beheading is just a case of "workplace violence.' Something is going on at that mosque and the trend isn't good for Oklahoma or this country."

Christian said he believes the letter is an affront to the ongoing legal investigation around the act. "The President should not have sent a letter like that in the wake of the investigation being conducted by the FBI and the Moore Police Department," Christian said. "As a former law enforcement officer, it's certainly fair to question his intent and timing -- this should be raising red flags."

Members of the Counterterrorism Caucus held a town hall forum in Edmond, OK on October 13 to educate the public on the dangers Islamic extremists. Additional meeting are being planned.

Some defenders of Islam have argued that Shariah Law should not be banned in Oklahoma because, as they argue, we are only talking about contracts and wills. Of course, they do not explain why a civil judge should be interpreting any religious law. The Oklahoma Constitution contacted CAIR for comments on the recent beheading in Moore, but they did not return our phone call.

However, Saad Mohammed, the director of Islamic information for the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City did say publicly that Nolen had been seen at the mosque only a few times and "kept to himself." (This is interesting, since Nolen posted photographs of himself with fellow Muslims at the mosque). Then, Saad Mohammed said, "I saw him every Friday, and one time he had his prayer rug and his Quran on the floor, and I made him pick up the Quran."

"It was very sickening that a human being could do this to another human being, no matter if they're Muslim or not Muslim."

Syed Hasmi, who also attends the Oklahoma City mosque, added, "We don't have any association with these kind of people. This is some like random guy, who was just doing this crazy stuff."

President Obama's decision to send someone to praise the mosque for their "service" to the Moore community, following the Moore tornado, also drew outrage nationally. Former Congressman Allen West (R-Florida) charged that there is a pattern with Obama. "(N)o one went to visit the parents of Brendan Tevlin of New Jersey, who was gunned down by Ali Muhammad Brown -- who admitted to being on a personal Jihad."

At press time, no word of condolence had been sent to the family of Colleen Hufford.