: A Terrorist Is Arrested In Florida, And Nobody Cares

It really makes you wonder. While the media is on a feeding frenzy following the arrest of Florida professor Sami Al-Arian, another terrorism case moves along quietly in the background, one that was much closer to violently taking the lives of innocent Americans. Robert Goldstein, a Florida podiatrist who (unlike Al-Arian) was caught in the act with 30 explosive devices, 40 weapons, and a list of Muslim targets in his hands. He had planned to start his killing spree at a Muslim school near his Seminole, Florida home. This week, Robert’s wife Kristi, who supported her husband’s plot, was arrested and will testify against her husband. Muslim groups have complained, without success, that this discrepancy in reporting represents a troubling double standard, if not outright bias. Also, it’s not a fluke. Take last year’s arrest of Jewish Defense League (JDL) head Irv Rubin, who was caught with his associate, explosives in hand, as he was about to bomb a mosque, the headquarters of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, and the office of Arab-American Congressman Darrell Issa. That case is also on the back pages – despite a recent guilty plea – and the JDL (unlike Muslim groups with fewer obvious ties to terror) didn’t get shut down like its Muslim counterparts. While justice is being served, albeit slowly, in the instances of anti-Muslim terror, the sensational climate around Muslims in America means that cases like that of Al-Arian will tar the whole community, while non-Muslim extremists get treated like isolated nutcases.

Shahed Amanullah is editor-in-chief of altmuslim.com.