Right-wing extremists plotting violent attacks on US Muslims, FBI warns | The Electronic Intifada
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Militia extremists inspired by right-wing conspiracy theories are starting to target American Muslims, a leaked intelligence bulletin from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) counterterrorism division reveals.
Many of the extremists take inspiration from pro-Israel zealots.
In one recently uncovered plot, a Christian minister and former congressional candidate planned to launch a military-style attack on a Muslim community in upstate New York.
The FBI document, originally sent to US law enforcement agencies on 28 May, was published last week by Public Intelligence.
The warning is a reminder of the rising danger posed by right-wing extremists, which, contrary to popular perceptions, far eclipses the threat from Islamic extremists.
The militia movement has traditionally directed its violent activities toward government and police.
But this is changing.
“Militia extremists are expanding their target sets to include Muslims and Islamic religious institutions in the United States,” the FBI bulletin warns. “This has resulted in increased violent rhetoric and plotting and has the potential to lead, over the long term, to additional harassment of or violence against Muslims by domestic extremists.”
Among the disturbing examples the FBI cites, the most shocking occurred in Mississippi last September, where extremists “discussed kidnapping and beheading a Muslim and posting video of the attack to the Internet.”.
The group disbanded before acting on their plans.
Ironically, the FBI concludes that the targeting of Muslims by militias “is a product of ideology that views Muslims collectively with suspicion” – precisely the same ideology underpinning the FBI’s surveillance and entrapment programs aimed at Muslims.
This raises questions about whether an institution that targets Muslim communities is capable of simultaneously protecting them.
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