Bartholomew's Notes

From the Washington Times (via Ed Brayton):

Islamists say the Koran is destined to rule America. In fact, the Muslim takeover of the White House is not just an unfolding action plan but a directive from Muhammad himself.

In an interview Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” British radical Muslim activist Anjem Choudary made clear what he and his Islamist brothers have planned for the West. “We do believe, as Muslims, the East and the West will one day be governed by the Shariah,” he said. “Indeed, we believe that one day, the flag of Islam will fly over the White House.” He then quoted a hadith, or saying of Muhammad, as related by 10th-century Muslim scholar Al-Tabarani, that “the final hour will not come until Muslims conquer the White House.” Another version of the saying goes, “A small portion of Muslims will rise and conquer the White House.”

Many Americans believe this conquest is well underway, if not already secretly completed. President Obama was concerned enough about perceptions of his faith to address the question at one of his recent “backyard discussions” in New Mexico. Mr. Obama said he is “a Christian by choice,” which may or may not assuage the concerns of those who believe he is a Muslim by birth…

OK, Choudary first. His source is apparently the Kitab al-Imara, or Book of Government. Here, we read:

It has been narrated on the authority of Amir b. Sa’d b. Abu Waqqas who said: I wrote (a letter) to Jabir b. Samura and sent it to him through my servant Nafi’, asking him to inform me of something he had heard from the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him). He wrote to me (in reply): I heard the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) say on Friday evening, the day on which al-Aslami was stoned to death (for committing adultery): The Islamic religion will continue until the Hour has been established, or you have been ruled over by twelve Caliphs, all of them being from the Quraish. also heard him say: A small force of the Muslims will capture the white palace, the palace* of the Persian Emperor or his descendants…

(*Presumably due to a dodgy scan, some websites have “police of the Persian Emperor” rather than “palace”)

Choudary’s interpretation of this text is absurdly ahistorical, although he learnt it from his mentor Omar Bakri: Jon Ronson’s book Them (page xiii) notes that Bakri posted “The final hour will not come until Muslims conquer the White House” on his website on 13 September 2001. Despite some on-line speculation, the idea that the Hadith predicts the existence and fate of the US White House does not seem to be widely held or to be a motivating factor in modern Islam. Tellingly, a search on Google Books for “Tabarani” and “White House” or for the two quotes brings up only two relevant citations, both from evangelical Christian books about Islam.

And as for the Times, this is not the first time that the paper has raised the question of whether Obama is secretly selling out the US to Islam. So, let’s remind ourselves once again who founded the paper and whose son (who, by the way, purports to be friendly to Muslims) still controls it…

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A poster on Indymedia draws attention to a group calling itself “NiceOnesUK”; we’re told – amidst some overheated rhetoric – that

Among the group’s facebook admin and members are names that will be familiar to anyone who has followed the racist English Defence League, some of whom were there around the time of the EDL’s inception. There are also members of the group ‘Cheerleaders’ to be found in this group (they have quite a colourful history of their own)

…Their group description is basically a distraction away from their real intentions. So far they have had various outings in central London, with one outing ending up in an altercation in Whitechapel (the current favourite haunt for right wing groups). Exactly what went on we haven’t been able to get to the bottom of yet, though it involved members of the local Muslim community.

NiceOnesUK does not just include “members” of the “Cheerleaders”; the “Cheerleaders” logo is displayed prominently on the NiceOnesUK website, and both groups have very similar statements of intent:

It should be made absolutely clear that we oppose ALL fascism and racism, whether it comes from white, brown or beige groups. The reason for the focus on Islamism is that it does not receive the same dismissal from across the board as other extreme right ideologies. It is fair to say that the BNP encounters condemnation from all sections of society for it’s supremacism, homophobia and racial discrimination, while Islamist groups preaching worse than the BNP could dream up go unopposed. The likes of Hizb ut-Tahrir have been able to hold conferences for thousands of people unchallenged, while other Islamists such as the Islamic Sharia Council are given the thumbs up to operate in Britain.

…NiceOnesUK is pro-Islam and pro-Muslim. Anyone looking for a group to bash Muslims should look elsewhere.

As with the “Cheerleaders”, the nature of NiceOnesUK is somewhat obscured by pseudonyms: the group is led by a certain “Betty Cantrell”.

The IndyMedia posting has drawn responses both from Matthew Kaplan, who was formerly in the EDL, and from Charlie Flowers, who developed the “Cheerleaders” concept. According to Kaplan:

 I haven’t had anything to do with EDL for ages, and won’t as long as they continue to tolerate racism and lump all Muslims together as ‘the baddies’ (not holding my breath), among other things.

…As to the article itself, I’m excited to find out what this “altercation” in Whitechapel was. They can’t be talking about our encounter with the Hugo Boss Taliban, can they?

Flowers, meanwhile, distances himself from the EDL’s Guramit Singh and from Bill Baker (Flowers was filmed holding the megaphone when Singh made his notorious comment about Muslims burning in hell during a rally in support of Geert Wilders, and Baker’s anti-Muslim views have become increasingly sanguinary):

I disagree with some of what Guramit said- I think he’s wrong. Same goes for Bill’s attitude now- I think he’s wrong. Come to our groups and be astonished when you fail to find Rudolf Hess burnishing an eagle, and instead find people from all sections generally getting along…

I blogged on Flowers’ links to the EDL here; while this was interpreted as an attack on Flowers for associating with the EDL, my main point was actually that the link to Flowers was another reason to regard the EDL negatively.

The Indymedia author, predictably, sees the “NiceOnesUK” as an anti-Muslim group hiding behind some moderate stances, and he throws around accusations of “racism” and “fascism”. However, this misses the point. Flowers is not motivated by racism, and it’s clear that he has a nuanced and generally well-informed perspective on Islam. The problem with Flowers is that he’s a manipulative cyber-bully on a power trip, as I have blogged a number of times.

Last year, Flowers didn’t like the fact that Tim Ireland had exposed bogus postings made to a Muslim website; his response was to send Tim “I know where you live” type comments. A few months later, when Tim exposed the lies of Dominic Wightman (with whom Flowers had formerly worked), the “Cheerleaders” published Tim’s home address and boasted it would be sent to everyone he’d “ever pissed off” – that would have included the BNP. Tim’s not the only person he’s done this to; when the author of Kirklees Unity wrote something Flowers didn’t like, his one of his “Cheerleader” accomplices dipped into Redwatch to fish out a home address. However, the campaign against Tim was more sustained, and included threats of violence and a distasteful expression of malice against Tim’s family. The campaign has also recently re-started.

Further, while Flowers has falsely accused me of “making links” with  Islamists, the “Cheerleaders” have used a Muslim webforum to reveal that a recent (and mentally troubled) convert to Islam was gay; presumably they hoped that their tip-off would reach extremists and that this man (and perhaps his partner) would come to harm because of his sexuality. Not all of Flowers’ bullying is politically-related; a few months ago he warned a woman writer that he was “watching” her, apparently because this woman was in a dispute with a friend of his. Flowers is also not above creating distorted impressions about his associates: Flowers posted photos and sent messages to give the impression that members of his “Fighting Cocks” music band and other friends were involved with his various antics, when in fact they were not.

It is not known how many people have been involved with Flowers’ acts of harassment, although he has at least two accomplices: a man named Matthew Edwards, and an as-yet unidentified woman who left a goading message on YouTube. There may be others; the “Cheerleaders'” bullying campaigns have been largely conducted from the safety of pseudonymous Facebook profiles and email addresses. In recent months, a number of these profiles have been deactivated, and Flowers has been making new alliances with various individuals and groups (and rebuilding his band). Most of these persons have probably only seen Flowers’ good-humoured public persona, rather than the vicious keyboard bully, and are working with Flowers in good faith. Others, though, are likely to have been involved with his cyber-bullying campaigns. Since we can’t distinguish between them, Flowers tarnishes everyone he associates with.

That’s the real problem faced by “Betty Cantrell” and by NiceOnesUK.

UPDATE 1: In Pavlovian style, Flowers has reasserted his control by… creating two rather pathetic blogs attacking me. He’s too much of a creep to put his name to them, of course, but it’s him – he warned me he would do it if I tried to make his associates aware of what he’s really like, and once again he’s been surprised to discover that his threats are unimpressive.

The first blog accuses me of being ex-SWP and of having had “several dealings with Islamic Extremists and Nazi sympathisers”. This is all untrue (although I used to hang out with some SWP members – so what?), and given Flowers’ own associations and behaviour laughably hypocritical. The supposed “dealings with Islamic extremists and Nazi sympathisers” refers to when I received information from MPACUK about the use of IP addresses to post bogus messages on Muslim websites; this was no secret, and I mentioned it at the time. Flowers isn’t keen for anyone to look into this subject, for reasons that are obvious: he and his “Cheerleaders” have themselves been “dealing with Islamic extremists”, with the intention of inciting violence against a gay man, and they don’t want people like me drawing attention to the fact. What other shameful secrets are out there?

The second blog pastes a crude attack on me made by the followers of a Nigerian evangelist who were offended by my opposition to children being stigmatised as witches. Flowers endorses the attack, adding that it means I am “anti-religious”. This puts him into some particularly unseemly company, and of course makes a mockery of everything he purports to stand for.

But the wider point is that I don’t represent anyone and I’m not in charge of any sort of organisation. It doesn’t matter what sort of a person I might be: the facts of Flowers’ behaviour speak for themselves, and are not made less ugly if I turn out to have foolish or malign political views.

UPDATE 2: The discussion thread following the Indymedia article includes the claim that a NiceOnesUK associate of Flowers who uses the name “Arry Ajamali” also associates with EDL leaders at protests, and that this person is Flowers’ cousin. Soon after this comment was published, Flowers locked down the privacy settings of his “Cheerleaders” Facebook page. A comment from another person involved with NiceOnesUK then added that “Charlie has left the Nice ones”.

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One of the hazards of being a Christian missionary from the USA in certain countries is that one may be accused of being a spy or an agent for US interests. There have certainly been instances where missionary activities and intelligence work have overlapped, although missionary organisations themselves have been keen to discourage this. The practice of using missionaries or journalists as CIA cover was prohibited in 1977, although in 1996 CIA director John Deutch announced that this could be waived in exceptional circumstances. The announcement caused some consternation; World magazine reported at the time that:

The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence heard testimony on the use of missionaries and journalists as spies; the National Association of Evangelicals had raised the issue at its annual convention last February…

Missionaries may be sensitive about having their patriotism called into question, but the agencies that sponsor them are unequivocally opposed to any possibility their workers will be hired to spy. The lobbying effort has brought to the same side of the issue [National Association of Evangelicals] members as well as the National Council of Churches and Church World Service, Maryknoll Fathers and Sisters, and U.S. Catholic Mission, among others.

Most important, according to NAE’s Rich Cizik, “It’s the appearance worldwide that mission agencies, religious workers, clergy, and others are open to being used by the CIA. It’s not from our vantage point a special and unique circumstances problem as much as it is an appearance problem.” The groups cite cases like Chet Bitterman, a Wycliffe missionary who was killed 15 years ago in Colombia after he was accused of spying for the CIA.

So, it’s probably not helpful when a political aspirant brags about receiving “classified information” about China from “nonprofit groups” working with missionaries. As is being widely reported:

Republican Senate nominee Christine O’Donnell of Delaware said in a 2006 debate that China was plotting to take over America…”There’s much I want to say. I wish I wasn’t privy to some of the classified information that I am privy to.”

…When… challenged… about having secret information, O’Donnell didn’t answer specifically but suggested she had received it through nonprofit groups she worked with that frequently sent missionaries there.

It should also be noted that China has used accusations of spying as a justification for persecuting Christians: one case is that of Alimujiang Yimiti, a Uyghur house church leader sentenced to 15 years in 2008 for supposedly “providing state secrets or intelligence to overseas organizations and individuals”. O’Donnell’s foolish boasting perhaps hasn’t done him any favours, either.

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As has been widely reported, lawyer Raphael Golb has been found guilty by a New York court of various charges relating to cyber-bullying and harassment. Golb had attempted to discredit scholars working on the Dead Sea Scrolls whose theories differed from those of his father, Norman Golb. Archaeologist Robert Cargill, who was one of those targeted, has the details:

The charges stem from a bizarre case where Dr. Golb used an army of internet aliases to falsely charge his father’s perceived rival, NYU Judaic Studies professor Dr. Lawrence Schiffman, with plagiarism, and then criminally impersonated Dr. Schiffman by opening an email account in Schiffman’s name, emailing Schiffman’s students and colleagues, and admitting to the “plagiarism” on Schiffman’s behalf. Dr. Golb was also charged with criminally impersonating and/or assuming the identity of Dr. Frank Moore Cross, Dr. Jonathan Seidel, Dr. Jeffrey Gibson, Stephen Goranson; the aggravated harassment of Dr. Lawrence Schiffman, Stephen Goranson, and Dr. Robert Cargill; and of the unauthorized use of a NYU computer.

Golb was also a prolific sock-puppeteer in defence of his father, using dozens of aliases to polemicise against academic rivals. Robert assembled and analysed the evidence at this website; the attention to detail sets the bar for the rest of us who like to unmask on-line deception. As he notes in the Chronicle of Higher Education:

“The verdict… should be a reminder that you simply cannot just say whatever you want behind a supposed veil of anonymity and get away with it. There is always someone watching online.”

One of Golb’s strategies was to complain that his father had been sidelined due to a conspiracy of Christian fundamentalists; interestingly, among those so accused are a couple of people I had contact with during my undergraduate days – and I know for a fact that in their case, the “fundamentalist” jibe is off-base.

Norman Golb, meanwhile, has been keeping a low profile – he did not attend the trial and has not made any statement. According to documents shown to the court written by Raphael, Norman had at least some knowledge of his son’s activities; Robert again has the details here.

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A couple of days ago I wrote a blog entry on how Nadine Dorries MP had smeared the blogger Tim Ireland as a stalker, and persisted even though Tim has himself been targeted for personal harassment by someone using her false allegation as his justification. Tim recently wrote to Andy Rayment, the chairman of Dorries’ constituency party, but was dismissed both by him and by Dorries as a “nutter”. Rayment’s response also featured in a local newspaper.

One of Dorries’ constituents, who writes online as “Ms Humphrey Cushion”, followed up with an email to Conservative Party HQ:

I am writing to share my disgust at the letter written to Tim Ireland by Mid-Beds Conservative chairman Andy Rayment, as featured in today’s Beds on Sunday. I believe Mr Ireland is an intellegent individual who seeks to right wrongs, not stalk MPs! A quick look at his blog will prove me right on that.

…I am a constituent of Mid Beds and Vice Chair of the Luton & Mid Beds Co-Operative Party and Blogger for the Mid Beds CLP. I attended the hustings where Ms Dorries made very vocal accusations about Mr Ireland in full view of the entire audience. No apology for her outrageous smears has ever been made. Again, this is something I expect you to investigate.

I look forward to your reply. Regards

Tim blogged on Dorries’ extraordinary behaviour at the hustings here.

Yesterday, Dorries wrote on her blog about an article she has written for a book edited by Iain Dale:

In the article, in which I very clearly define the reasons why MPs should not blog or Twitter (yes, I know ) I mention someone who has posted 22,000 tweets in four months.

Today, someone has emailed my office with the details of a political/personal Tweeter who has posted 35,000 tweets in a similar amount of time.

…Is there such a thing as Twitter addiction? How can anyone live a normal life who can do that? Surely these people cannot be in employment because if they are, how can they work? if they aren’t then it’s time they got a job which involves being sat at a key board because there’s nothing much up with their fingers, brain or attention span!!

Ms Humphrey Cushion is a prolific Twitterer with currently 34,500 Tweets to her name, and she has posted many Tweets mocking and criticising Dorries. However, a politically-motivated “outing” of a critic as an alleged welfare cheat who ought to be working might be seen as a shabby ploy to silence or discredit an opponent – the phrase “someone has emailed my office with the details” is  a device to create a bit of distance, and I suspect refers to a staffer who has been given the job of compiling information.

The pretence of distance was further maintained with the help of Paul Staines, the right-libertarian blogger known as “Guido Fawkes”. Staines shares Dorries’ dislike of Tim Ireland, and on two occasions he has tried (and failed) to suppress information on Tim’s blog by threatening to use England’s distinctly unlibertarian libel laws. Staines was more than happy to smear Ms Humphrey Cushion on Dorries’ behalf (link added):

Nadine Dorries is trending on Twitter after she attacked benefit claimants who Twitter all day. “Ms Humphrey Cushion”, one of her constituents, has tweeted nearly 35,000 times in the last six months, often about nights out and her life of unemployed bliss.

She claims that she has chronic arthritis but it clearly isn’t affecting her thumbs. If she can operate Twitter there are plenty of jobs she could be doing on a computer. Alarm bells should be ringing at the Department of Work and Pensions.

Could this be this era’s “on yer bike” soundbite. @HumphreyCushion, get off twitter and get a job…

Numerous abusive and anonymous comments are posted beneath.

The baton was then passed back to Dorries, who would have us believe that Staines had made the connection without any help from her (includes NSFW link):

So, Guido found one!

…The left wing Twitterati have apparently gone into overdrive today, and so they should. Guido informs me that his expose claims to be a Labour activist web site organiser for Bedfordshire – or something similar, AND she writes porn http://wordejaculation.wordpress.com/  Nice lady.

…If you are genuinely disabled, or like my mum, retired and love to use the internet to chat to friends etc (she makes me look like a luddite) then that is fantastic and I wish you many hours of pleasure.

If you Twitter all day, every day about claiming disability benefit in one tweet whist arranging a night out in the pub in the next. If you tweet about claiming six months rent from the social fund whilst tweeting how bad your hangover is and if you stride into political meetings and shout the odds with energy and enthusiasm with no sign of any physical disability and if you claim to work for the Labour party and write porn at the same time as claiming your disability benefit – then don’t expect someone like me not to a) inform the authorities and b) tell you to get of your Twitter and get a job.

Alas, however, it turns out that Ms Humphrey Cushion has a job: she’s waiting for an operation so that she can get back to work as a carer. She writes:

….I am currently awaiting 2 operations on my feet as arthritis has crippled them.  I have waited since March for these operations, sadly the hospital has been relieved of its “18 week guarantee”, thanks Coalition. I struggle to stand and walk, I also have arthritis in my neck.  I am a home carer. I love my job although the pay is dreadful and working with dementia clients can be as distressing as it is joyful.  My company are holdng my job open for me, I wish I could work from my chair at home but sadly the clients cant come to me!

…I miss working.  I also miss walking. I miss days out with my kids. I miss going to their sports days and plays.  I miss having the life I took for granted just a year ago.  But I have Twitter and I thank God for Twitter every day.

As for disability benefit, she wrote in June that

If I were entitled, I would use my allowance to pay for transport as I can only walk short distances and struggle to drive. I do not qualify however as I currently only score 6 of the necessary 15 points, despite being signed off working as a carer as I can only stand for 5 minutes at a time. Once my shoulders completely freeze and I can no longer raise my arms above my head, I will qualify.. something to look forward to then.

Also, she adds today that

…I do not now, nor ever have received disability or any other “health” related benefits. However does claiming disability benefit mean you are not entitled to enjoy a night in the pub?

…Nor have I ever attempted to ask for a loan from the Social Fund.  A tweeter suggested that I should ask for one this week as I couldn’t pay 8 months rent as a deposit on a house I had viewed.  The reason I was asked for this extortionate amount is because I am a part-time employee.  The same rule applies to people on incapacity benefits and the unemployed.  I was incandescent with rage and so tweeted about it this week.

Dorries appears in the latest New Statesman expressing her admiration for Sarah Palin, and she has been mocked as a UK Sarah Palin or a UK Michele Bachmann. Judging from the above stunt, maybe we should add “UK Andrew Breitbart” to the list.

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John Sweeney has produced a second BBC Panorama documentary on the Church of Scientology, following his 2007 investigation into the subject which I blogged on here. After the earlier piece, Sweeney won plaudits for standing up to the Church’s aggressive and repellent attempts to harass and discredit him as he spoke to ex-members and other critics, but I wasn’t very impressed with the programme itself: Sweeney seemed out of his depth, and the superficial “exposé” relied to much on sensationalised confrontations (albeit handed to Sweeney on a plate by the church) rather than in-depth research.

The new documentary has little that is new – once again, ex-members relate familiar stories of intimidation after leaving a coercive and abusive environment, and once again, Sweeney is shadowed by passive-aggressive surveillance operatives. It was interesting, though, to see the interview with Mike Rinder, who was one of those who orchestrated the attempt to derail Sweeney’s 2007 investigation. Rinder has now left the Church, although he is part of a “reform” movement which still subscribes to Scientologist beliefs. This “reform” movement does not itself come under any critical scrutiny, and Sweeney even allows to Rinder to demonstrate the “e-meter” device on him without any questions about the science behind it. Of course, one wouldn’t want to alienate a high-profile defector willing to unload the goods to a journalist.

Sweeney and Rinder discussed the notorious “exploding tomato” interview, in which Sweeney was goaded into yelling at Scientology spokeman Tommy Davis; at the time, I was particularly scathing that Sweeney had been unable to control himself. However, perhaps I was too harsh: Rinder explained the strategy of finding something that would “press buttons” and then cutting off any response; in Sweeney’s case, Davis referred to Sweeney as a “bigot” over and over while interrupting his reply, until Sweeney’s frustration boiled over. Afterwards, Davis had reportedly bragged that he could drive Sweeney “psychotic.”

The new programme has prompted the Church to attempt to discredit Sweeney once again – Sweeney spoke with Amy Scobee, whose sexual history was made public by the Church after she had left the organisation. After the interview, which was in a public location, Sweeney hugged her, and the hug was photographed by Church. The Church then sent the photograph to the BBC as evidence of Sweeney’s bias (the photo was sent via Carter-Ruck, the UK’s most notorious and aggressive libel lawyers).

It seems to me that the Church’s PR strategy – if it can be called that – is a kind of institutionalised sociopathy: confidences are broken and information made public in a distorted way (along with outright lies); critics are goaded and manipulated in ways that are sophisticated; ethical qualms are completely absent; and there’s a lack of self-awareness about how unattractive such methods appear to outside observers. Certainly, that’s a cluster of characteristics I’ve encountered in other contexts…

Another review of the programme can be found on the Jack of Kent blog, in a guest posting by John Dixon; Dixon is a town councillor in Cardiff, and on Tuesday a formal complaint made against him by a Scientologist was dismissed.

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Nadine Dorries MP, in May:

MP Nadine Dorries has taken her blog down and closed her Twitter account claiming she has been advised to do so by the police.

Ms Dorries… says she has been having “problems” with political blogger Tim Ireland.

Ms Dorries said: “I have been in consultation regarding his behaviour with the Westminster division of the Metropolitan Police, and the House of Commons police, for more than a year.

“Their advice was to close down my blog and Twitter account and thereby remove the ‘oxygen’ upon which he fed. As an election was imminent, I ignored this advice.

Dorries also claimed that the stabbing of Stephen Timms contributed to her decision, even though the stabbing occurred a week after she closed her blog. It is far more likely that, following the Conservative election victory, Dorries decided it was best to start in government with a clean slate of opinions. Bringing Tim into it was a just spiteful bonus – Tim’s blog has satirised her mercilessly, and he has persistently called her to account on various matters. He has never, though, either threatened her or crossed the line into anything that could be regarded as invasive of her as a private person.

Since the publication of the above, Tim has asked Dorries for details about her contact with the police (as have I) – the police have not spoken to Tim. The accusation is not just annoying: last year Tim’s home address was posted on-line by a cyber-thug named Charlie Flowers, who disliked our investigations into on-line “anti-jihad” pseudo-activism. Flowers and his accomplices stated that their aim was to force Tim to “go back to Australia”, and Flowers later claimed that he enjoyed the support of Dorries and had been in contact with her; while this is unlikely to have to been true, smears by an MP helped to create a climate in which lies and threats could be made with impunity. More recently, an anonymous and sinister site was created containing lies about members of Tim’s family.

Dorries hasn’t responded to Tim’s request for information, or acknowledged that the threats he has faced from someone who claims to have links with her go beyond “flame war” acrimony into more sinister territory (and she does know the situation). So, Tim contacted Andy Rayment, who chairs the Conservative Party in Dorries’ constituency. Rayment also refused to explain anything, but he found time to send an abusive response. Bedfordshire on Sunday reported that

…The Tory chief has a clear opinion on Mr Ireland’s email replying: “I do not waste my time communicating with nutters so do not expect me to respond to any of your communications, electronic or otherwise.”

Dorries, meanwhile, sees no more need to continue to pretend that Tim has ever really made her feel afraid:

…when a ‘nutter’ began bombarding my association with telephone calls and emails, this made me laugh out loud http://www.bedfordshire-news.co.uk/Blogs/John-Balls-Diary/Monday-September-20.htm

I have heard that when a copy of this was leaked to my local newspapers, in indignation, it caused much mirth in the newspaper offices too.

How can anyone take seriously anything this person says?

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Although the official publication date for Jeff Sharlet’s new book is tomorrow, it’s actually been available a week or so now, and a copy has already made its way to me across the Atlantic. The book is a sequel to The Family,  which I wrote a review of here.

The generic tagline understates the importance and uniqueness of Jeff’s contribution: this isn’t the familiar story of Tea Partiers and televangelists, but of a significant yet overlooked long-term religious factor in US politics. And with influence in Uganda and elsewhere, there’s more at stake than just “American democracy” . As Jeff himself puts it (page 89)

The fundamentalist threat of this book’s subtitle isn’t a barbarian at the gate. Nor is it an ideology that erects statues, a theology in jackboots. It’s far more practical than that… We’ve reached a point where piety and corruption aren’t at odds but are one and the same.

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From Bishop Eddie Long’s New Birth magazine, 2005:

When it comes to Africa, Bishop Long has a fervent mission: to challenge and mobilize African- American resources in the Motherland—beginning with Kenya in particular. Great strides took place during his latest trip to this East African country in July 2005. Read these reports and see why there is no doubt that Bishop Eddie L. Long’s divine vision to change a nation will find favor with the people of God everywhere.

There follow gushing accounts of Long’s charity, development, and missionary work in the country (there’s a maternity hospital named after him), a “breakfast meeting” with former President Daniel arap Moi, and a business banquet:

Hundreds of businesspersons came to hear Bishop Long at a formal banquet, in which he challenged them to understand and respond to their role as “kings” and to support the vision of the “priests.” In a “what would it be like” moment, Bishop Long postured the possibility of a coordinated effort between African-American and Kenyan businesspersons in manufacturing, retailing and economic development.

However, a new allegation claims that Long’s “divine vision” wasn’t the only thing on his mind that July:

A fourth lawsuit has been filed against Atlanta-area pastor Eddie Long, alleging he coerced a 17-year-old into a sexual relationship during a 2005 trip the two took to Africa.

…On the first night in Nairobi… the youth told the pastor he was having difficulty going to sleep, the suit states. Long provided Ambien, a sleep aid, and they both took the drug, according to the suit.

Long then gave [the youth] a hug, kissed and licked the youth’s lips and rubbed the teen’s chest, according to the lawsuit. They slept in bed together that evening and during the rest of the Kenya trip, the lawsuit states, adding they went on shopping sprees.

As has been widely reported, photos have emerged of Long standing in his bathroom wearing spandex, taken on his mobile phone and sent to some of the young men who are now suing. Another unfortunate impression, whatever the truth my turn out to be.

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2008:

Media-based televangelists benefiting from tax code exemptions are warned — Sen. Chuck Grassley is a terrier-like congressional inquisitor with time and a big stick on his side.

“I am not threatening them, at this point,” the Iowa Republican said.

Grassley, since late 2007, has sought financial information from six televangelist ministries that watchdog sources told the senator may be enjoying lavish benefits not allowed under their tax-exempt status.

…Eddie Long of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church/Eddie L. Long Ministries offered general but incomplete information.

2010:

In two explosive lawsuits filed yesterday in DeKalb County, Georgia, two members of televangelist [Bishop] Eddie Long’s New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, Georgia, charge that as teenagers and participants in the church-sponsored Longfellows Church Academy, Long coerced them into sexual relationships with him.

…They allege that Long, while sexually pursuing them, put them on the church payroll, and used church funds to buy them gifts and take them on lavish trips. Long used his position of spiritual authority to coerce the young men into sexual relationships with him, they charge, relationships that Long insisted were sanctioned by God.

Of course, the the former doesn’t mean that the latter is true, but it does give an unfortunate impression.

The second quote above was taken from Sarah Posner’s overview on Religion Dispatches; Sarah also tells us that Long’s self-described “spiritual father” was none other than the late Earl Paulk, who died mired in multiple sexual abuse scandals (I blogged him here). Sarah gives us an extract from her own book, God’s Profits:

Through the 1980s and 1990s and into the first years of the twenty-first century, Paulk continued to be exalted as a spiritual leader, as evidenced by visits by [T.D.] Jakes, [Carlton] Pearson, [Mark] Hanby, and others, and by offering spiritual guidance to Long, who went on to launch his own church, New Birth Missionary Baptist. “There is a network of these guys that support each other, look out for each other, now something is wrong with each other to some extent, and they cover for each other,” said Johnny Enlow, who was a member of Paulk’s church form 1987 until 1992, and even became part of the church leadership. Enlow wouldn’t name names, but he said, “They threaten, through spiritual tones, people who would tell on them. And it’s part of the overall effect, the effectiveness of them. Staying in power, and keeping people quiet, and keeping their own members believing them.”

Again, this doesn’t prove anything – but did Long push for a healthier attitude to leadership accountability in Charismatic churches in the wake of the Paulk scandal? It doesn’t look like it.

Sarah also draws attention to this sermon, in which Long compares the word of God, as preached by him, to “fresh sperm”:

The job of the preacher is to bring fresh sperm! And when he speaks it, the womb, the church, is to take it in!

And yet again… but oh dear.

Meanwhile, I’m sure that Long will be particularly grateful for some words of support he’s received:

Disgraced pastor Ted Haggard cautioned today that no one should rush to judge…

“Nobody’s guilty until the court says he’s guilty,” Haggard, the former head of a 14,000-member congregation in Colorado, told AOL News today in a phone interview.

…Haggard said that Long deserves a fair hearing and that if the accusations are false, he will survive the ordeal. “The bishop is surrounded by people that will counsel him well,” he said.

Haggard continues to complain that his massage sessions with a male prostitute while using methamphetamine have been misreported:

“I didn’t do what I was accused of, but what I did do was bad enough,” he said today.

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