John R. Houk

© September 21, 2012

I just read a comment on my post “Kamal Saleem is all about Christianity even it Insults Islam”. I have two primary blogs that I post at: SlantRight 2.0 and NCCR. The comment was posted at the NCCR blog. The commenter identifies himself as Ali Sina Goldenberg. I am fairly certain the name is a pseudonym. The name is a combination of a famous (or infamous depending on if you are a Muslim or not) ex-Muslim from Faith Freedom International which is an expose Islam website. “Goldenberg” suggests a Jewish familial background. So the irony is the mixture of an ex-Muslim atheist and a Jewish familial name.

The commenter wanted to correct my thoughts on those involved on producing the Mohammed Movie that the Obama Administration blames for all the attacks on U.S. Embassies across the Muslim dominated world. I think the Commenter could have better used a different post in which I address the Mohammed Movie more directly.  Here is the NCCR post in which in part I talk about the Mohammed Movie producers: Islam Insults Christianity. (SlantRight 2.0 version)

The post the Commenter decided to correct me with focuses on ex-terrorist turned Christian Kamal Saleem. Perhaps the Commenter chose the Saleem post because of his assertion that he is an ex-terrorist. Evidently the Commenter associates Kamal Saleem with Walid Shoebat. Shoebat also claims to be an ex-Muslim terrorist with a Palestinian pedigree. There are many pundits out there that accuse Shoebat of being a hoaxster making a living on a false pedigree of terrorist converted to Christianity and dedicated to exposing the darker side of Islam. I am not one of those that accuse Shoebat of being a fake AND I have listened to Kamal Saleem and he is definitely a man anointed to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The most famous pundit that I am aware of that is also a slanted right writer is Debbie Schlussel:

[TO MY READERS: I originally wrote the column below in February. But I sat on it and didn't publish it because I feel bad about exposing even this fraud and creep, Walid Shoebat, despite the fact that he's plagiarized from me and harassed me under a fake name using his own e-mail address, and despite the fact that his equally shady manager, Keith Davies, fits a similar bill and has--along with Shoebat--taken to trashing me.

But now that The Jerusalem Post has also exposed the fraudulence and fakery of Mr. Shoebat, I've decided I cannot remain silent on who he really is and his behavior, any longer. After harassing me, he tried to appear with me at a 9/11 event in Dearborn, and I realized I can no longer hold back. I've thought long and hard about it, but it must be done. The record must be set straight.]

Years ago, when I first heard of Walid Shoebat–the man who claims to have been a Palestinian Islamic terrorist–I liked his story. Since then, I praised him in more than one entry on this site. That was a mistake.

 

In the back of my mind, I always doubted his story. It’s not that I don’t believe Muslim terrorists can convert to Christianity and see the error of their ways. I personally know of a scant few who have, indeed, done that. And there are several former Muslims–Ayan Hirsi Ali (never a terrorist) comes to mind–and enlightened Arabs who are great orators with an important message so many more need to hear.

It’s that I simply didn’t find Shoebat credible. And his behavior toward me is that of an unstable, insecure man who is upset that his shaky claims are being doubted. It’s a case of trusting my instincts, and my instincts told me this man oozing arrogance, bravado, swagger, and not much else was a fraud–that this was a business for him, showmanship. And he never provided a shred of proof that he did what he said he did in his former life. (Debbie Schlussel; Excerpted from “Enough, Walid Shoebat: Why is Sean Hannity’s Fake Terrorist Harassi...” September 16, 2008, - 11:34 am)

Schlussel is not a happy camper with Shoebat. She even uses the most conservative newspaper in Jerusalem as a source.

Back in 2008 I examined Schlussel’s accusations against Shoebat (and Kamal Saleem was included a bit). In 2008 I decided to err on the side of believing Shoebat although I did admit that there were some of Schlussel’s accusations not answered adequately by Shoebat. Then in 2011 I posted information that discredited CNN fake accusations because a significant of the CNN info was just plain false: “Defending Walid Shoebat against CNN and Muslim Apologists.”

I feel obligated to take another look at Shoebat now that the Commenter that identifies himself as Ali Sina Goldenberg question Shoebat’s integrity in reporting the Mohammed Movie story. Below (at SlantRight 2.0) Walid Shoebat and Keith Davies (HERE and HERE) answer point by point their accusers and I have to tell you their rebuttal works for me.

JRH 9/21/12