The many-headed Hydra

Nothing in Christian lore says brotherly love is reserved only for other Christians.

(MANAMA, Bahrain) - In ancient Greek mythology, the Hydra had the body of a serpent and from five to nine heads. If a head was severed, another would grow in its place.

The stench from the breath of the original Hydra was enough to kill man or beast (in other versions it was deadly venom). The stench from the heads of five members of the US congress is just as strong.

Members of Congress Michele Bachmann, Trent Franks, Louie Gohmert, Thomas Rooney and Lynn Westmoreland, all Christians, were presumably taught to practice brotherly love. Nothing in Christian lore says brotherly love is reserved only for other Christians.

Yet these five members of the US Congress wrote a letter castigating a highly respected member of the State Department because she is Muslim. They alleged that Huma Abedin, a top aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, is part of a Muslim Brotherhood campaign to infiltrate the American government.

The actions of these Christians equal a deliberate breach of faith, calculated violation of trust, and treachery.

The Five Members of Congress, who all have important positions in the House of Representatives, also called for an investigation of the infiltration and influence on government agencies by the Muslim Brotherhood.

Rep. Michele Bachman is a member of the House Intelligence Committee and Chairwoman of the House Tea Party Caucus; Rep. Trent Franks is Chairman of the House Judiciary’s Subcommittee on the Constitution and a member of the House Armed Services Committee; Rep. Louie Gohmert is Vice Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security; Rep. Tom Rooney is Deputy Majority Whip and member of the House Armed Services Committee; and Rep. Lynn Westmoreland is Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee’s Oversight Subcommittee.

They addressed their letters to the Inspectors General of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Department of Defence, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice and the Department of State.

The letters sought answers about the U.S. government’s involvement with the Muslim Brotherhood, a group that they claimed calls for "civilization jihad."

They explained that the U.S. government in federal court has established that the group’s mission in the U.S. as "destroying the Western civilization from within."

They requested a formal investigation or evaluation of the extent to which Muslim Brotherhood-tied individuals or entities are involved.

"The national security of our country depends on getting straight answers from the Inspectors General to the questions we posed in these letters," complained Bachman.

She added, "The Muslim Brotherhood is not shy about their call for jihad against the United States. We seek answers through these letters because we will not tolerate this group and its affiliates holding positions of power in our government or influencing our nation’s leaders."

Gohmert said, "Evidence indicates that this administration continues to bow before groups associated with the goal of ‘destroying Western civilization from within,’ and about whom the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has found that there is plenty of evidence indicating that they support terrorism."

These five-headed Hydra not only shares a stench from the pretence of being principled Christians; they are propagating a hate crime against Muslims.

Mitt Romney, the Republican candidate for the presidency, refused to speak out against these extremists. Romney’s Islamophobic foreign policy adviser John Bolton, however, defended Bachmann’s call for the government to investigate the alleged Muslim Brotherhood plot.

As one commentator said, “Tell Speaker Boehner to remove Bachmann from the House Intelligence Committee before her reckless politics damages our national security.”

Will someone please educate these bigots about Islam?

Throughout his life as an educator, Dr. Paul J. Balles, a retired American university professor and freelance writer, has lived and worked in the Middle East for 40 years - first as an English professor (Universities of Kuwait and Bahrain), and for the past ten years as a writer, editor and editorial consultant.

He’s a weekly Op-Ed columnist for the GULF DAILY NEWS . Dr. Balles is also Editorial Consultant for Red House Marketing and a regular contributor to Bahrain This Month. He writes a weekly op-ed column for Akbar Al Khaleej (Arabic). He has also edited seven websites, including bahrainthismonth.com, womenthismonth.com

Paul has had more than 350 articles published, focusing on companies, personality profiles, entrpreneurs, women achievers, journalists and the media, the Middle East, American politics, the Internet and the Web, consumer reports, Arabs, diplomats, dining out and travel. Paul's articles on Salem-News.com are frank and enlightening. We are very appreciative of the incredible writings Dr. Balles has generated for our readers over the years, and we are very pleased to list him among our most valued contributors.

Indulging the hard subjects that keep the world divided is our specialty at Salem-News.com, and with writers like Dr. Paul Balles on our team, we amplify our ability to meet challenges and someday, will see the effects of this exist in context with a more peaceful and generally successful world.

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