August 29, 2011 at 4:07 PM EST
By Aaron Klein
JERUSALEM – President Obama’s faith adviser, Eboo Patel, compared al-Qaida to what he called Christian “totalitarians” in the U.S. and Jewish “totalitarians” in Israel, KleinOline has learned.
In February 2010, Obama named Patel to his Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.
Patel, a Muslim activist from Chicago, is the founder and executive director of Chicago-based Interfaith Youth Core, which says it promotes pluralism by teaming people of different faiths on service projects.
In an October 2009 article in a Newtopia Magazine, a liberal cultural publication, Obama’s faith adviser made the controversial comparison. The article was adapted from the text of a speech given by Patel to the Interfaith Education for a Global Society Conference in New York City in January 2002.
Stated Patel: “The problem is that we live in a time when the Muslim totalitarians are dominating. Why? Because they are building powerful institutions that propagate their interpretation of Islam – just as the Christian totalitarians in America have powerful institutions; and the Jewish totalitarians in Israel have powerful institutions; and the Hindu totalitarians in India have powerful institutions.
“What do I mean by institutions?” asked Patel. “Lobbying groups that pass policies, political organizations that get people elected, television and radio and magazines and publishing houses which articulate ideas, schools and universities, youth organizations and women’s groups, bodies which raise and distribute money.” Read the rest on: Klein-on-line
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