When controversy erupted last April after Texas State Senator Dan Patrick refused to attend an opening prayer before the chamber by Dallas-area Imam Yusuf Kavakci, LoneStarTimes.com challenged members of the mainstream media to ask the supposedly moderate religious leader some hard questions.

Questions that demand direct and clear-cut answers, such as…

• Do you completely condemn, or do you sympathize in any way with the teachings of Iranian Revolutionary cleric Ayatollah Khomeini?
• Do you completely condemn Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi for his advocacy of suicide bombings in Israel and his exhortation to jihad against the Jews, or do you stand by your earlier praise for him as a “quality” Islamic scholar?
• Do you completely condemn Hasan al-Turabi for giving Osama bin Laden sanctuary in Sudan and instigating jihad against Sudanese Christians and animists, or do you stand by your earlier praise for him as a “quality” Islamic scholar?

So far as we can tell, those questions were never asked.

Nor have mainstream print or broadcast journalists seen fit to follow up on the story since, despite the fact that…

• Only one month ago it was revealed that Imam Kavacki sits on the board of directors of a group that federal prosecutors have identified as unindicted co-conspirators in the trial of a HAMAS fund-raising sleeper cell set to begin in July.
• Imam Kavakci is scheduled this upcoming Saturday to share the stage at a Dallas-area conference with a Mr. Jamal Badawi, who was also identified by federal prosecutors in those same filings as having “participated in fund-raising activities on behalf of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development” (the HAMAS front-group whose members are going on trail).
• We uncovered a 2002 speech given by Imam Kavakci’s daughter (starts on page 3 of pdf) in which she praises Palestinian Islamic Jihad sleeper agent Sami Al-Arian, who she asserts is being “persecuted” by the US government.

Doesn’t anyone in a single mainstream-media newsroom in the entire state of Texas think it is newsworthy that this man was honored by the Texas state senate and led that body in prayer not three months ago?

Well, we are about to see.

As noted earlier, Imam Kavacki is scheduled to speak–along with unindicted co-conspirator Badawi and his Palestinian Islamic Jihad apologist daughter–at that Dallas-area conference this upcoming Saturday.

That provides the critical ingredient of “timeliness” news editors insist upon before dispatching reporters to ask tough questions.

So there really is no excuse for print and broadcast reporters across the state not to pick up the phone and demand that Kavakci answer these questions–not with “fluff” about what interfaith group he once sat around and sang Kumbaya with–but with unmistakable, “Yes” or “No” answers.

We’re challenging the mainstream media of Texas to be as tough with Imam Kavakci as they’d be with Dick Cheney.

And as an added bonus, every morning this week we’ll highlight a fatwa (or “religious ruling”) by Imam Kavakci that we’ve found.

For now we’re going to “embargo” revealing where these fatwas were published, both to help build suspense and keep you coming back to LST every day to read the latest one. Gotta drive traffic any way we can.

But suffice it to say, these fatwas are very clearly written by Imam Kavakci, and members of the media who would like to access or receive copies of our original source documentation should contact us via email at lsteditors at gmail dot com . We’ll be happy to oblige.

Today’s fatwa from Imam Kavakci, issued on 4/2/02, comes from “Khalid” and has to do with that pesky little issue of jihad.

Khalid asks:

is jihad in Kashmir valid. Do we have to accept it? What we can do?

Imam Kavakci–future prayer leader of the Texas Senate–responds:

In Kashmir or any other country, people who have been invaded or their homes and lands are taken away from them, have the right to defend themselves, their families, and their properties against the aggressor. That is there Jihad. I believe this type of defense is accepted by all religions and political institutions (human rights doctrines). Of course this is different then a Jihad which is ordered by a Khalifah or Amir, since there is no Khalifah in the Muslim world.

We’re certain there are plenty of interesting questions that arise from this ruling related to the situation in Kashmir alone… but to be honest, we aren’t experts in the region or the history of that conflict, so we’ll leave that task to someone better informed.

For now, we’ll simply suggest to our mainstream media friends that they add the following tough questions to their list of things Imam Kavakci needs to be asked.

QUESTIONS RELATED TO JIHAD IN PALESTINE

Imam Kavakci, you have stated that in any country, “people who have been invaded or their homes and lands are taken away from them, have the right to defend themselves, their families, and their properties against the aggressor.”

• Do you believe that in Palestine, Zionists have been aggressors and have invaded and taken away the homes and land of local Arab communities?
• Do you believe that local Arab communities in Palestine have the right to defend themselves, their families, and their property against Zionist aggression?
• What forms can this defense and resistance against aggression take?
• Are there any acts of resistance against aggression that are completely prohibited, no matter the circumstances or whom they are directed against?

Stay tuned to LoneStarTimes.com for tomorrow’s fatwa, when Imam Kavakci will reveal the true nature of Jesus!