Form including islamist terrorism. What we try tried to do in this committee is through this hearing process layout a reality. I come from a manufacturing background. Salt a lot of problems. The only way to solve a problem is first admit you have one properly define it, properly describe it, gather the information and admit to the reality. There is no way anybody can deny we have a problem worldwide in terms of extremism and violence. We witness it just a few hours ago on a practice field for a Charity Baseball event. Let me acknowledge first of all our prayers are with those victims, congressman scalise, the staff member and the two members of the capitol Hill Security team that were worded and even having been wounded they continue to to return fire and prevented a far greater tragedy. The appreciation we owe to the men and women in Public Safety that every day they step out of the threshold of their door they literally put their lives on the line. They demonstrated it again this morning so i appreciate anybody who is willing to step up to the plate to defend our freedom, protect Public Safety but also stand up and tell the truth and describe reality in a world that is very dangerous in the world in a world that is very very dangerous, in a world that doesnt want to hear the truth and reality. Now, previous hearings on this subject has talked about the way radical islamist terrorists have become incredibly effective in posing the minds of young people around the world to engage in these acts of terror and depravity. We have held hearings of what motivates this, what are they trying to accomplish . We learned what has been incredibly important we are a nation of immigrants. We welcomed them. They have made this nation great. People that is come have become america and not rejecting their past culture. We never ask that. We do ask them to accept constitutional law to be able to take advantage of this marvel in the american economy. We learned how important it is for us in government to possibly engage in communities to make sure people are welcomed. Its not perfect. It hasnt completely worked. Its far from perfect here in america. Well be talking about that. I want to say that i appreciate the courage of our witnesses who are willing to step up to the plate and just everybody to have an open mind. We need to understand the truth. We need to understand the reality if we have any hope of solving this problem. We are got to get to the point where people will feel free and safe. Or walk the street or raise their family. Its not going to be easy. The only way to do is th is if we have the counselrage to actu tell them. Ill turn it over at after we ask consent to enter my written statement in the record. I think all of us are waiting to exhale of we learn more about our Staff Members and colleagues but make no mistake about it, what we saw this morning was evil, and i hope that this hearing doesnt stray from the fact that we should be focusing on the evil. We should be focusing on violen violence. We should be focusing on enforcing our criminal laws against evil and violence. We should be focusing on any of those who twist any religion, anyone bo two twists and distorts religion to a Police Station place of evil is an exception to the rule. It is not the rule. We should not focus on religion and the freedoms our country embraces. Our country was founded on many important premises but perhaps paramount was the freedom of religion. The earliest americans aside from our native americans came here because they were fleeing from persecution based on their religi religion. Our freedoms like free dm of speech, freedom of religion define us as a nation. No evil should ever be allowed to distort those premises. Ever. Im hoping although im worried honestly that this hearing will underline that. Im concerned the president s Budget Proposal has taken its eye off the ball in terms of our fight of this evil extremism and the violence. Im worried it has slashed homeland Counter Terrorism measures like the viper team that is provided an extra layer of security at our airports. It also calls for complete elimination which provides Financial Assistance to local Law Enforcement agencies that help secure our airports. It would reduce the Grant Program, Transit SecurityGrant Program by more than 50 , all soft targets for these evil criminals. The urban area curt Grant Initiative which helps prepare high density urban areas on how to respond would be cut by 150 million. The president s proposal would zero out which are so essential as we face violent, evil criminals. We have to improve efforts to stop americans from being radicalized. Im danger at least to date has not been from those who try to slip into this country unnoticed or who try to illegally cross our borders or who are seeking refug er refuge. It comes from people who have been radicalized. In the context of extremism it appears to be focused on the witnesses. Its vital that any effort is done in partnership in order to combat isis we must have healthy dialogue to ensure resources are available and have concerns about loved ones who have become attracted to extreme rhetoric. Unfortunately some of the rhetoric is at odds with this approa approach. Most importantly it would make the United States of america less safe. We need to spend less time stirring up rhetoric and more tyke working with the majority of muslims in this country and around the world who are peaceful and lawabiding. We are buck ki lucky to have mi testifying with us today. A crafting strategies to go after the people trying to do us harm. Im eeg ef to hear mr. Liters analysis without compromising our constitutional principals. We can do better to combat and prevent radicalism as long as we Work Together under the umbrella of those important protections. Thank you. It is the tradition of this committee to swear in witnesses. So if youll all stand and raise your right hand. Do you swear the testimony will be the truth, whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you god . I do. Please be seated. She served on the dutch parliment and wrote the script of the short film submission. After the film was released the was assassinated. She currently is research and founder of the foundation. Ms. Ali. Chairman johnson, Ranking Member i wish the congressman a swift recovery. Thank you for this opportunity to talk to you about the threat thats endangering our constitution, our freedoms and our way of life. Yearly not all muslims pose a threat but some do. How can we tell the difference . We can by understanding the nature of islam. Islam is part religion and part political military doctrine. The part that is a political doctrine consists of a world view, a system of laws and world code that is incompatible with our way of life. In 2017 there are two major governments that apply islamic law. Isis in the most pure form. Islamic law as practiced in these places negates secular law and women are su board nant to men. They face discrimination in marriage, inheritance and custody. Victims of rape must produce four witnesses and if they dont many are stoned to death. Religious minorities are subject to second class citizen kpes s existence. There are no checks and balances and no free and impartial cause. Theres no ruler flaw. Decent is brutally suppressed. Not all muslims, not even those that live support they invoke muhammad. I call and his legacy from mecca. There are muslims who reject military. I call them the reformers. They are different because they stand up to the medina muslims but openly rejecting sherrea. There are also millions of muslims who live as considerable minorities. The medina muslims are not satisfied with this status quo. Their goal is to transform all muslim countries and to use muslim immigrant minorities as a beach head to transform nonmuslim societies, even free ones such as the u. S. They already have a foothold. Me dean no use a force along with desimilar nation through a mechanism. In theory it is the call to islam. In practice its a process of radical indoctrine nation. They use the education and cultural activities. They target the individual, education system, workplace, broader Economic Society as a whole. Its totalitarian but different. This quest by the medina muslims by all means has lead to repression and in few societies to deviciveness and break down of social cohesion. We must stop not only the violent entities like isis, al qaeda and others but also dismantle the networks. Above all we need to chal ledge the principals of sherrea law. Our next witness is ms. Namoni. She lead the project, a stude student thank you so much. Thank you chairman johnson and senators for this invitation to be here today. Our hearts are indeed gripped with the horror of this mornings shooting. I feel empathy and compassion to you. This day takes me back when i felt the same gripping of my heart. I learned that day that my colleague and friend, danny pearl from the wall street journal had been kidnapped. We learned in the weeks that followed that he had been kidnapped by militants. It was 15 years ago almost to this day that we learned that he was buried in a plot, his body cut into pieces by the men who believed that their interpretation of my faith justified this brutal murder. I sit before you because on that day i developed a passion that i would expect you all will also feel committed to after you learn the intentions, motivations of the shooter this morning. I lost a friend. On that day i made it my duty as a muslim to stand up against idealology of extremist islam that motivated the men that took my friend from this earth. There was one value that connected the 27 men that were involved in dannys kidnapping and murder. They had interpreted that is of the nature i want us to be really clear. This is not the islam my parents taught me. The islam my parents taught me lead me to stand shoulder to shoulder with my father and open my hands and pray for peace of mind for everyone in this world. What nart talks about is really important. We must make this distinction. It means we are clear as senator johnson is talking about, related to the enemy we face. It contradicts the Constitutional Values of of this country. The standards are in complete contradiction with the laws of our country. I want to tell you from the trenches that is a reality that we face in our country. In Northern California facebook promotes the page of an organization whose meeting i attended last summer. Behind the speakers was a flag for the islamic state. In michigan a man preaching to advocate for child marriages in the name of islam. In Northern Virginia they just preached it is okay to cut the clitoris of girls because it leads for them to keep hyper sexuality from expressing itself in the world. We must be clear. We must have intellectual courage. We must separate the from those who do. In that way to be able to differentiate from the swath that my faith will be realized. We will protect muslims if we take this strategy of marginalizing the extremists. We must be economied committed defeated fascism and communism. The idealology denies us the right as men and women to sit in a room together as we are sitting today. It denies young girls and calls them doing rous women. It denies a woman like myself to sit in a bakery without being separated and then killed. Between us i dont know how many Death Threats we have faced. We sit before you with our backs to our friends and our enemies because it is our duty. It is our duty to stand up for the humanity in which we believe. When i had fear last night she took my hand and she said do this for humanity. I urge all of you to remain committed to all of the values in which we believe and the freedom and beauty of this world that we want to see the next generation enhe generation inherit. Thank you. He is the founder and president of institute of World Politics on National Security and international affairs. He served at the state department until 1983 then with National Security council until 1987 where he was director of soviet affairs. Good morning. I am honored on how to protect ourselves against radical jihadism. This is like trying to we rat kate mosquitos, arming them with shotguns and shooting mosquitos owl afternoon. Youll get a few, if problem is the garden has a puddle which is spawning new mosquitos, not just terrorists but so solve it and if problem is we have virtually no ideal logical war jors in this war. Eliminating cold war tension required changing the marks of the soviet system. This consisted of the use of the truth to counter soviet propaganda as the basis and the inhumanity of communist rule offering the people freedom, democracy and hope for a better life a key indicator of that victory was the concession that the idealology and system it produced were evil. We must also face it by targeting the ideal it seeks to expedite ordinary Mission Activity by conducting jihad of the sword and resettlement jihad. Migration to nonmuslim lands and cull minute nating conquests defeating this idealology requires a counter attack based on superior moral precepts. It requires telling the truth and ending selfcensorship about radical islamism it exposes the crimes of radical islamist regimes. It requires an attack on manipulation by jihadists. I can discuss a number of different elements. Finally it requires offering a positive alternative including the promotion of human rights. Regrettably our government is organizationally unprepared to do all of this. It has ideal lodge yall warf resurrect information agency. I would call it u. S. Public di ploemt si agency. They would include Human Rights Bureau a strengthened version to counter jihadist propaganda. A bureau of Education Culture and ideas with a special office of religious affairs. The voice of america which should be transferred to this agency. The cia must rest recollect influence capabilities including the funding of all and renting of all forums of media in their efforts the department of Homeland Security the state department, fbi and local Law Enforcement needs significantly improved capabilities to distinguish between ordinary muslims and not a radical secular program to distinguish those people from jihadists and when it come to whom to admit or with whom to cooperate. Thank you our final witness is michael liter. He served as director of nagtsal Terrorism Center for president george w. Bush and president obama, mr. Liter. Thanks very much for having me. I would add my thoughts and prayers to those who were injured and families that are effected this morning. Before directly addressing todays topic i want to offer two critical opening points. Frs its that im not going to address all forms of terrorism today. The second is we are focusing on this struggle i am extremely supportive. From my perspective it includes actions to take people off of the battlefield with our close allies and ideal logical component. These are inherently broad activities. In my view in of these must be based on a very rigorous and as you said a fact chul and truthful analysis and unlike in 2001 this is something which is widely available there is no doubt in my mind it reduces violence. We shouldnt be surprised by that. It works in anti Gang Activity and it can work in this context as well. Studies from Duke University of massachusetts, kenya all back this up. In my view and i take significant blame for this i agree with much of what he said about the poor resourcing and lack of focus on many of these programs 1. 5 was for prevention activities. The almosts of dhss office of Community Partnerships has grant funding. If we think it is a serious problem we need a serious solution. Right now we do not have that. We must not con flat idealology with mainstream muslim briefs. To do so is not only factually wrong but it will feed directly into extremist narrative of us versus them. It directly undercuts the message we have. In this regard i think it is deeply mistaken and harmful to equate concepts that are not inherently violent with these principals. For example the muslim tradition which is not dissimilar is not equivalent with islamic of this term. What would it look like . Act aggressively overseas disrupting the physical and cyber safe havens. Second, federal Law Enforcement must work with local officials to share the heavy burden of investigation. In doing so those officials must understand islam and all of its diversity so they may distinguish. Defensive measures must be in place and we must have a robust strategy for a country of almost 300 million. That would include Education Programs for state and local officials on islam done in conjunction. Die version programs modelled on antigang programs leveraging all elements of u. S. And local governments is far beyond Law Enforcement officials. Just like in manufacturing they are dollars well spent. There are a number of programs as the Ranking Member said i think are at risk i look forward to answering questions and working on this and other issues which face us of violent extremism of all stripes. Thank you. I did want to have a piece of paper with me. I wanted to quote carl popper from 1945. Let me read the full quote into the record. Again, this is written in 1945, unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearanceover tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even those who are tolerant against the onslaught of the tolerant. Mr. Liter, you said if we think this is a serious problem we need a serious solution. Thats the point of this haerg. Do you think this is a serious problem . The reason i called this hearing is a hadnt heard of that quite honestly. You