By Constitution Staff

State Rep. John Bennett (R-Sallisaw) is chair of the Oklahoma Counterterrorism Caucus in the Oklahoma Legislature and has been a very vocal concerning the dangers of Islamic terrorism. On January 8, Rep. Bennett said that he questions the statements made by Adam Soltani, executive director of the Oklahoma chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in response to the terrorist attacks in Paris that left over a dozen people dead and others critically injured.

"Almost immediately after the news broke of the Paris attacks, Adam Soltani sent a press release claiming the terrorists "are not Muslim' and that they "were the antithesis of everything that Islam teaches and represents,' " said Bennett,. "In fact, the Quran, Islam and Mohammed's hadiths justifies, teaches and makes it obligatory to commit violence against non-Muslims."

Bennett cited the following passages of the Quran:

Quran (5:33) -- "The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His messenger and strive to make mischief in the land is only this, that they should be murdered or crucified or their hands and their feet should be cut off on opposite sides or they should be imprisoned; this shall be as a disgrace for them in this world, and in the hereafter they shall have a grievous chastisement."

Quran (8:12) -- "I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Therefore strike off their heads and strike off every fingertip of them."

Quran (2:216) -- "Fighting is prescribed for you, and you dislike it. But it is possible that you dislike a thing which is good for you, and that ye love a thing which is bad for you. But Allah knows, and you know not."

Quran (4:74) -- "Therefore let those fight in the way of Allah, who sell this world's life for the hereafter; and whoever fights in the way of Allah, then be he slain or be he victorious, We shall grant him a mighty reward."

Quran (3:151) -- "We will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve, because they set up with Allah that for which He has sent down no authority, and their abode is the fire, and evil is the abode of the unjust."

Rep. Bennett also challenged Soltani's claim that American Muslims support freedom of speech. "Adam Soltani condemned me for my free speech on my personal Facebook account a few months ago," Bennett said. "This led to numerous death threats to my family and I. He also put me on a "Islamaphobic' hit list, which again led to threats against my life. He is telling the papers that people have the right to speak freely, but does that only mean if they do not expose the truth about Islam and Mohammed's hadiths?" Bennett said that if CAIR Oklahoma really condemns terrorism and believes in First Amendment protections for everyone, they need to prove it by condemning the verses in the Quran that call for these violent acts and Mohammed's hadiths that call for and justify violent acts.

In November Rep. Bennett noted that the Associated Press and other news organizations had reported that the United Arab Emirates had designated the Muslim Brotherhood and several of its front organizations, including CAIR and the Muslim American Society, as terrorist organizations. These organizations are not currently categorized as terrorist organizations by the U.S. government.

"In the Middle East, the Muslim Brotherhood is much farther along in its plan to overthrow governments and establish an Islamic caliphate than it is here in America," said Bennett. "The action by the United Arab Emirates is explicit recognition of the threat posed by the Muslim Brotherhood and its front organizations. On behalf of the citizens of Oklahoma, I call on the U.S. Department of State to designate the Muslim Brotherhood, CAIR and the Muslim American Society as terrorist organizations. These groups should not be allowed to freely operate in the U.S. Will CAIR now call the United Arab Emirates Islamaphobic?"

Bennett charged that our politically correct culture has led political figures and media outlets to avoid the characterization of the Paris terrorist attacks as Islamic in nature, even when it is so clearly the case. "The Islamic terrorist massacre at Fort Hood is still called "workplace violence' by the Obama Administration and back in 2012 Obama said, "The future must not belong to those who slander the Prophet of Islam.' It's just amazing how sensitive we have become to conflict," said Bennett. "Americans, the media and public officials need to call it these acts what they are, Islamic terrorism."