Islamic success in converting US blacks draws a warning

It is time for active measures against the spread of Islam in the United States, Alex Alekseyev, a Pentagon and CIA consultant on national security, has told a Moscow seminar, Rosbalt reported. Alekseyev is a senior researcher at the Center for Security Policy and heads a program on 'Islamic Radicalism and International Terrorism.'

Estimates of the number of Muslims living in the US range between 2 million and 6 million. A significant number of new converts come from among black Americans. Alekseyev said that more than 20% of imprisoned black Americans have become converts to Islam. Another 'principal target group' for conversion is the military. Alekseyev said more than 3,000 American service people converted to Islam during the Persian Gulf war.

Alekseyev emphasized that the radical tendency in Islam-Wahabbism-was becoming increasingly influential. It is the Wahabbites who are conducting a massive effort to win Americans to Islam, he said. According to his figures, 80% of the mosques in the US are 'dominated' by Wahabbites. He also noted that the Islamic leadership in Washington constitutes a powerful lobby. He said the lobby spent USD 18 million in 2002 in advancing its interests. 'This can be considered the start of a fifth column in the US. Such a thing has never existed before. It is obvious that it can no longer be tolerated,' Alekseyev asserted.