It wasn’t over on 9-11. Not by a long shot. Looking at the FBI website we find an interesting accumulation of cases in which people have taken full advantage of their freedoms in the United States to do the unthinkable: help fund and/or actively engage in, terrorist activities against the citizens of the very country which has protected them and their families.

Money laundering and other schemes seem to have been directly linked to main terrorist groups like Hezbollah, Hamas, and other groups situated primarily in the Middle East. And while law enforcement talks about the terrorist cells among us, what we are seeing with more and more frequency are not Hezbollah cells coming forward, rather, small, independent groups which seemingly have no links nor ties to established terrorist organizations.

The D.C. snipers, for example, had no links to major terrorist groups. In fact, John Allen Muhammed (the elder of the two) was a member of Nation of Islam (NOI) which is NOT ON THE TERRORIST WATCH LIST. Though one has to ask why that is so, given the long history of NOI members participating in murderous acts. The Zebra murders which took place between 1973-74 were considered one of the most heinous race-related attacks in American history.
 
All totaled, 71 people were killed. These were whites killed by black "death angels" from the Nation of Islam. Included were two Salvation Army Cadets. One woman was decapitated. Most were old, feeble, or otherwise unable to defend themselves.

Fast forward to the Fort Dix Six. Not all criminal activity relating to Muslims comes from the NOI. Video showed the six, along with several other young men in their twenties, sporting assault weapons and yelling Allah Akbar!

Of the six arrested, three are brothers. They’re from Yugoslavia. Links to established terrorist groups? None. Link to Nation of Islam? None. They ran a roofing company. Their friends, the other three, included a taxi driver, a 7-11 store clerk and a pizza store worker. All foreign born. All living in the U.S. All Muslim.

Go back a step. We have the incident in 2006 wherein Jose Padilla and others conspired to blow up the Sears Tower. He tried to reach al-Queda but never got in touch with them apparently. Narsen Batiste, was the recruiter for the group calling itself the "Seas of David".

The Seas of David was part of the "Moorish Science Temple of America", founded in 1913 and holds, as it’s basic belief, the idea that all blacks are born Muslim and descended from the Moors.

Forward to 2007. Sulejmen Talovic, an 18 year old Bosnian Muslim refugee murdered five and wounded four others in a mall in Salt Lake City, Utah. No ties to terrorist groups. He was apparently just another Muslim.

Hop back to 1997 and the shootings off of the Empire State Building. Ali Abu Kamal was an American resident. He killed one person and turned the gun on himself. No ties to terrorist groups. Just a deep-seated hatred for Israel and America’s pro-Israeli stance. And a belief that he had to dabble in Jihad. Oh yeah. He too, was Muslim.

Jump up to 2002 and Imran Mandhai. His plan was to blow up Mt. Rushmore. Now, before you cheer (some Americans think it’s an eyesore, if you’re one of them, get over it) he also wrote and printed copies of a little instruction booklet for would-be jihadists entitled: "Skills Necessary for Jihad."

Clip forward again, to December 2006. Derrick Shareef, an American Muslim, decides to try and blow up a shopping mall in Chicago (Merry Christmas?) His plan was foiled. There’s no record of his having direct connections to any terrorist groups.

Now the events of this past week. Russell Defreitas, a 63 year old man, leads a little group of younger men to attempt a terrorist act. Defreitas had no known ties to any of the major terrorist groups. He was trying to "hook up with some heavy-hitters" but never got to. His reason for selecting JFK International may seem simplistic and childish to us, but Teddy Kennedy may want to rethink his stance on being so understanding of the enemy:

"Any time you hit a Kennedy, it is the most hurtful thing to the United States. To hit John F. Kenney, wow. They love John F. Kennedy like he’s the man. If you hit that, this whole country will be in mourning. It’s like you can kill the man twice."

So let’s see here. Is birthplace the consistent factor? No. Is race? No. Age leans towards the young, but not always. Hitting landmarks is almost consistent, but not always. What about being influenced by external terrorist groups like Hezbollah?

Nope. While many in the money-laundering and fund raising end of terrorist activity have been related to established terrorist groups, in recent years we are seeing a disturbing thread: the only thing the plotters on our soil all have in common is Islam.

Of course that’s always been there. The 9-11 hijackers had that in common, too. But they were also linked to external terrorist groups. This means influence. We can almost excuse those who come under the tutelage of charismatic terrorist leaders. Note that I said ALMOST excuse.

There is personal responsibility there regardless of how much influence someone has over you.

But all these others come from outside that Middle Eastern influence. They don’t know one another. They didn’t all attend the same Mosque nor even hang out in the same hukkah bar.

The only thing they all have in common is Islam.

During the news conference addressing the arrests of those involved in the attempted assault on JFK Airport, New Jersey U.S. Attorney, Christopher Christie stated:

"The philosophy that supports and encourages jihad around the world against Americans came to live here in New Jersey and threaten the lives of our citizens through these defendants."

This philosophy, Mr. Christie, didn’t spring out of nowhere. Yes, it came from another part of the world. And it’s being disseminated in our own country. Not by wild-eyed radicals in long beards and head dresses. But via a belief system which teaches that, while there is "no compulsion in religion", the world would be a much more peaceful place if we were all Muslim. And by Allah, we’ll get that peace if we have to kill each and every infidel to do it.

This may seem hard line. Do I really think that all Muslims in America would want to kill the non-believers? I don’t know. All I know is what I see. Rather, what I don’t see: the blanket condemnation of these actions WHEN THEY HAPPEN.

And don’t tell me Muslims cannot get it together enough to protest this kind of behavior. If each one acted independently, as the terrorists mentioned above have done, Muslims who disapprove of these attempts to harm their fellow Americans would be out in synergic force.

Instead we get silence. In going to the CAIR website (Council on American Islamic Relations) what do I see on their front page? Articles about Muslims raising awareness for breast cancer. Stories about Muslims’ rights being "violated". A press release dated from June 1, 2007 (the same day the plot broke in the news) demanding that a Guantanamo detainee have a Canadian lawyer.

Silence about the attempt to kill what could have amounted to thousands of Americans.

In going to freemuslims.org, a group which claims to represent Muslims who oppose terrorism, what I find is an absence of condemnation for the recent event. Generic denials and arguments are nice, but something of this magnitude is certainly worth a five minute write up, don’t you think?

Maybe because it’s the weekend? No wait, Sunday is the Christian day. Saturday is the Jewish day. Friday is the Muslim day. Why the delay?

I suspect we may eventually hear some denunciation of the Fort Dix Six and the JFK International plot. After the denunciation has been checked over by attorneys and screened by Imams. In the meantime, we all wait. And wonder: What will be the next target?