How Gangsterism Beats Democracy and Civil Society

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Permalink Reply by Joe on June 4, 2012 at 10:28

Evidence of gangsterism here too.

http://4freedoms.ning.com/xn/detail/3766518:Comment:103262

After an initial exchange of words, the 3 muslims returned with 10 others, and used iron bars to attack young jewish men and women.  

Muslim population of Lyon: about 13%  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_in_France

Permalink Reply by Joe on November 2, 2014 at 13:40

Anyone seen this story publicised by the mainstream media?

Seven Manchester men have been jailed for a "terrifying" hold-up that saw the gang threaten two male hostages with weapons and demanded they phone their wives to beg for money.

The group, led by 44-year-old Muslim 'spiritual leader' turned vigilante Tariq Dhamial, known as "The Priest" to followers, threatened the pair with a hammer, knife, and hot iron after luring them to a house in Wordworth Avenue, Cheetham Hill, Manchester, on the premise they were completing a house sale.

However, after arriving at the address they soon became hostages and were told to pay £14,000 ... 

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/manchester-muslim-spiritual-leader-ordered...

Such cultural enrichment.

The "victims" of these blackmailing gangsters are now under investigation by the police for fraud which led to this incident.

Permalink Reply by Joe on November 2, 2014 at 13:44

Raymond Ibrahim on parallels between islam and the mafia.

http://www.raymondibrahim.com/islam/loyalty-and-enmity-parallels-be...

Permalink Reply by Antony on November 2, 2014 at 14:45

This site has often discussed how islamism/marxism/fascism etc are used by the power elite as forms of social control both inside and outside the UK, but politicos of either left or right, being politicos, very rarely mention the use of gangsterism by the state.

I've no doubt that if the plebs ever got uppity, the establishment would use gangsters as plausibly deniable thugs to intimidate political dissidents, and also to break down working class communities by flooding them with drugs such as heroin.

Its also worth bearing in mind that around 20% of the money slushing through the City of London is "dirty money", so the ruling elite and their banking and financial firms are also getting a cut of the loot.

Permalink Reply by Alan Lake on November 2, 2014 at 14:59

Thanks, Joe.  Great links.

Permalink Reply by Alan Lake on January 30, 2015 at 9:58

Ten Ways the Mafia and Islam Are Similar http://www.raymondibrahim.com/islam/ten-ways-the-mafia-and-islam-ar... Note: The following article was published on PJ Media and supplemented with clips from various mafia-related movies like The Godfather to help demonstrate the ten similarities. Portions of this article were earlier serialized on FrontPage Magazine. During a debate on HBO’s Real Time last October, host Bill Maher declared that Islam is “the only religion that acts like the mafia, that will f*ing kill you if you say the wrong thing, draw the wrong picture, or write the wrong book.” Maher was apparently referring to Islam’s “blasphemy” laws, which ban on pain of death any “insult”—as found in a statement, a picture, a book—to Islam and especially its prophet, Muhammad. While Maher has been criticized for his “Islamophobic” assertion, he and others may be surprised to learn that the similarities between Islam and the mafia far exceed punishing those who say, draw, or write “the wrong thing.” In what follows, we will examine a number of these similarities. We will begin by looking at the relationship between Allah, his messenger Muhammad, and the Muslims, and note several parallels with the relationship between the godfather, his underboss, and the mafia. Next, we will examine the clannish nature of the mafia and compare it to Islam’s tribalism, especially in the context of the Islamic doctrine “Loyalty and Enmity.” For example, in both Islam and the mafia, members who wish to break away, to “apostatize,” are killed. We will consider how the mafia and Islam have both historically profited from the “protection” racket: Islam has demanded jizya from non-Muslims under its authority/territory and the mafia has demanded pizzo from people that fall under its jurisdiction. Finally, we will consider what accounts for these many similarities between Islam and the mafia, including from an historical perspective. 1 - Allah and Muhammad/Godfather and Underboss The padrino of larger mafia organizations and families—literally, the “godfather” or “boss of bosses”—has absolute control over his subordinates and is often greatly feared by them for his ruthlessness. He has an “underboss,” a right-hand man who issues his orders and enforces his will. The godfather himself is often inaccessible; mafia members need to go through the underboss or other high ranking associates. Compare this with the relationship between Allah and his “messenger” Muhammad (in Arabic, Muhammad is most commonly referred to as al-rasul, “the messenger”). Unlike the Judeo-Christian God—a personal God, a Father, that according to Christ is to be communed with directly (Matt 6:9)—Islam’s god, Allah, is unreachable, unknowable, untouchable. Like the godfather, he is inaccessible. His orders are revealed by his messenger, Muhammad. If the Judeo-Christian God calls on the faithful to “come now, let us reason together” (Isaiah 1:18), Allah says “Do not ask questions about things that, if made known to you, would only pain you” (Koran 5:101). Just follow orders. 2 - A “Piece of the Action” The godfather and his underboss always get a “piece of the action”—a “cut”—of all spoils acquired by their subordinates. So do Allah and his messenger, Muhammad. Koran 8:41 informs Muslims that “one-fifth of all war-booty you acquire goes to Allah and the messenger” (followed by Muhammad’s family and finally the needy). 3 - Assassinations The godfather, through his underboss, regularly sends mafia men to make “hits”—to assassinate—those deemed enemies of the family. So did Allah and his messenger. One example: A non-Muslim poet, Ka‘b ibn Ashraf, insulted Muhammad, prompting the latter to exclaim, “Who will kill this man who has hurt Allah and his messenger?” A young Muslim named Ibn Maslama volunteered on condition that to get close enough to assassinate Ka‘b he be allowed to lie to the poet. Allah’s messenger agreed. Ibn Maslama traveled to Ka‘b and began to denigrate Islam and Muhammad until his disaffection became so convincing that the poet took him into his confidence. Soon thereafter, Ibn Maslama appeared with another Muslim and, while Ka‘b’s guard was down, slaughtered the poet, bringing his head to Muhammad to the usual triumphant cries of “Allahu Akbar!” 4 - Circumstance is Everything While the mafia adheres to a general code of conduct, the godfather issues more fluid orders according to circumstances. This is reminiscent of the entire “revelation” of the Koran, where later verses/commands contradict earlier verses/commands, depending on circumstances (known in Islamic jurisprudence as al-nāsikh wal-mansūkh, or the doctrine of abrogation). Thus, whereas Allah supposedly told the prophet that “there is no compulsion in religion” (Koran 2:256), once the messenger grew strong enough, Allah issued new revelations calling for all-out war/jihad till Islam became supreme (Koran 8:39, 9:5, 9:29, etc.). While other religions and scriptures may have contradictions, only Islam rationalizes them through abrogation—that is, by giving prominence to later verses which are seen as the “latest” decision of the deity. 5 - Clan Loyalty Loyalty is fundamental in the mafia. Following elaborate rituals of blood oaths, mafia members are expected to maintain absolute loyalty to the family, on pain of death. Similarly, mafia members are expected always to be available for the family—“even if your wife is about to give birth,” as one of the mafia’s “ten commandments” puts it—and to defend the godfather and his honor, even if it costs their lives. Compare this to the widespread violence and upheavals that occur whenever Allah or his prophet is offended—whenever non-Muslim “infidels” blaspheme them. Or, as Bill Maher put it: “Its’ the only religion that acts like the mafia, that will f*ing kill you if you say the wrong thing, draw the wrong picture, or write the wrong book.” Islam’s “Loyalty and Enmity” doctrine (al-wala’ wa’l bara’)—which calls on Muslims to be loyal to one another even if they dislike each other—is especially illustrative. Koran 9:71 declares that “The believing [Muslim] men and believing [Muslim] women are allies of one another” (see also 8:72-75). And according to Muhammad, “A Muslim is the brother of a Muslim. He neither oppresses him nor humiliates him nor looks down upon him…. All things of a Muslim are inviolable for his brother in faith: his blood, his wealth, and his honor”—precisely those three things that mafia members respect among each other. This is why Muslims like U.S. Army Major Nidal Hassan, whose “worst nightmare” was to be deployed to fight fellow Muslims, often lash out.) 6 - Death to Traitors Once a fledging mafia member takes the oath of loyalty to the mafia—including the Omertà code of silence and secrecy—trying to leave the “family” is seen as a betrayal and punishable by death. Any family member, great or small, is given authority to kill the traitor, the “turncoat.” Compare this to Islam. To be born to a Muslim father immediately makes the newborn a Muslim—there are no oaths to be taken, much less any choice in the matter. And, according to Islamic law, if born Muslims at any point in their lives choose to leave Islam, they are deemed “apostates”—traitors—and punished including by death. Any zealous Muslim, not just the authorities, is justified in killing the apostate (hence why Muslim families that kill apostate children are rarely if ever prosecuted). In the words of Muhammad—the messenger (“underboss”) of Allah (“godfather”): “Whoever leaves his Islamic faith, kill him.” 7 - Distrust and Dislike of “Outsiders” Aside from loyalty to the family, mafia members are also expected not to befriend or freely associate with “outsiders”—who by nature are not to be trusted, as they are not of the “family”—unless such a “friendship” helps advance the family’s position. Similarly, the second half of the doctrine of Loyalty and Enmity—the enmity (al-bara’)—calls on Muslims to maintain distance from and bear enmity for all non-Muslims, or “infidels.” Thus Koran 5:51 warns Muslims against “taking the Jews and Christians as friends and allies … whoever among you takes them for friends and allies, he is surely one of them.” According to the mainstream Islamic exegesis of al-Tabari, Koran 5:51 means that the Muslim who “allies with them [non-Muslims] and enables them against the believers, that same one is a member of their faith and community,” that is, a defector, an apostate, an enemy. Similar scriptures include Koran 4:89, 5:54, 6:40, 9:23, and 58:22; the latter simply states that true Muslims do not befriend non-Muslims—“even if they be their fathers, sons, brothers, or kin.” Koran 60:1 declares, “O you who believe! Do not take my enemy and your enemy [non-believers] for friends: would you offer them love while they deny what has come to you of the truth [i.e., while they deny Islam]?” And Koran 4:144 declares “O you who believe! Do not take the infidels as allies instead of the believers. Do you wish to give Allah [“godfather”] a clear case against yourselves?” 8 - Deception and Dissimulation As mentioned, close relations to non-mafia individuals that prove advantageous to the family (for example, collaboration with a “crooked cop”) are permissible—as long as the mafia keeps a safe distance, keeps the outsider at arm’s length. Compare this to Koran 3:28 which commands “believers not to take infidels for friends and allies instead of believers… unless you but guard yourselves against them, taking precautions.” According to the standard Koran commentary of Tabari, “taking precautions” means: If you [Muslims] are under their [non-Muslims’] authority, fearing for yourselves, behave loyally to them with your tongue while harboring inner animosity for them … [but know that] Allah has forbidden believers from being friendly or on intimate terms with the infidels rather than other believers—except when infidels are above them [in authority]. Should that be the case, let them act friendly towards them while preserving their religion. After interpreting Koran 3:28 as meaning that Muslims may “protect” themselves “through outward show” when under non-Muslim authority, Ibn Kathir, perhaps Islam’s most celebrated exegete, quotes Islam’s prophet (“underboss”) saying: “Truly, we smile to the faces of some people, while our hearts curse them.” Similarly, a few years ago, Sheikh Muhammad Hassan—a leading Salafi cleric in Egypt—asserted on live television that, while Muslims should never smile to the faces of non-Muslims, they should smile, however insincerely, if so doing helps empower Islam, especially in the context of da‘wa. The idea of hating “outsiders” is apparently so ingrained in Islam that another leading Salafi cleric, Dr. Yasser al-Burhami, insists that, while Muslim men may marry Christian and Jewish women, they must hate them in their heart—and show them that they hate them in the hopes that they convert to the “family” of Islam. (For more on the doctrine of “Loyalty and Enmity,” including references to the exegetical sources quoted above, see al-Qaeda leader Dr. Ayman Zawahiri’s comprehensive treatise by that name in The Al Qaeda Reader, pgs. 63-115). 9 - “An Offer You Can’t Refuse” Although the novel-turned-movie, The Godfather, is fictitious, it also captures much of the mafia’s modus operandi. Consider, for example, that most famous of lines—“I’m going to make him an offer he can’t refuse”—spoken by the Godfather to one of his “godsons,” an aspiring actor and singer. After being turned down by a studio director for a role that he desperately wanted, the godson turned to his Godfather for aid. As the movie progresses, it becomes clear that the offer that can’t be refused consists of nothing less than violence and death threats: after the Godfather’s messenger to the director asking that the actor be given the role is again rejected, the director awakens the next morning to find the bloodied and decapitated head of his favorite stallion in bed with him. The godson subsequently gets the movie role. Throughout the context of the entire Godfather trilogy (which captures well the mafia’s approach to business) making someone “an offer they can’t refuse” means “do as I say or suffer the consequences,” possibly death. Compare this to Islam’s threefold choice. On Muhammad’s orders, whenever Muslims conquer a territory in the name of Islam, its non-Muslim inhabitants are given three choices: 1) convert to Islam (“join the family”), 2) keep your religious identity but pay tribute (jizya, see below) and live as an “outsider,” a subjugated dhimmi or 3) execution. Throughout history, converting to Islam has been an “offer” that countless non-Muslims could not refuse. In fact, this “offer” is responsible for transforming much of the Middle East and North Africa, which were Christian-majority in the 7th century when the jihad burst forth from Arabia, into the “Muslim world.” And this offer is still alive and well today. For example, several older and disabled Christians who were not able to join the exodus out of Islamic State controlled territories opted to convert to Islam rather than die. Like the mafia, then, Islam’s offer to conquered non-Muslims (“outsiders”) is basically “join our ‘family,’ help us and we will help you; refuse and we hurt you.” 10 - The “Protection” Racket Once the mafia takes over a territory, one of the primary ways it profits is by collecting “protection money” from its inhabitants. While the protection racket has several aspects, one in particular is akin to an Islamic practice: coercing people in the mafia’s territory to pay money for “protection,” ostensibly against outside elements; in fact, the protection bought is from the mafia itself—that is, extortion money, or pizzo. Potential “clients” who refuse to pay for the mafia’s “protection” often have their property vandalized and are routinely threatened and harassed. Compare the collection of pizzo with the Islamic concept of jizya: The word jizya appears in Koran 9:29: “Fight those among the People of the Book [Christians and Jews] who do not believe in Allah nor the Last Day, nor forbid what Allah and his Messenger have forbidden, nor embrace the religion of truth, until they pay the jizya with willing submission and feel themselves subdued (emphasis added).” In the hadith, the Messenger of Allah, Muhammad—in our analogy, the “underboss”—regularly calls on Muslims to demand jizya from non-Muslims: “If they refuse to accept Islam,” said the prophet, “demand from them the jizya. If they agree to pay, accept it from them and hold off your hands. If they refuse to pay jizya, seek Allah’s help and fight them.” The root meaning of the Arabic word “jizya” is simply to “repay” or “recompense,” basically to “compensate” for something. According to the Hans Wehr Dictionary, the standard Arabic-English dictionary, jizya is something that “takes the place” of something else, or “serves instead.” Simply put, conquered non-Muslims were to purchase their lives, which were otherwise forfeit to their Muslim conquerors, with money. As one medieval jurist succinctly puts it, “their lives and their possessions are only protected by reason of payment of jizya” (Crucified Again, p. 22). And to top it off, just as the mafia rationalizes its collection of “protection money” by portraying it as money that buys mafia protection against “outsiders”—when, as mentioned, the money/tribute serves only to protect the client from the mafia itself—so too do Islam’s apologists portray the collection of jizya as money meant to buy Muslim protection from outsiders, when in fact the money/jizya buys protection from Muslims themselves. Conclusion: Mafia—What’s In a Word? What accounts for all these similarities between Islam and the mafia? One clue is found in the fact that the very word “mafia,” which means “hostility to the law, boldness,” is derived from an Arabic word, mahya, which in translation means “bragging, boasting, bravado, and swaggering.” This etymology is a reminder that Sicily, birthplace of the mafia, was under Arab/Islamic domination for over 200 years. Aside from a borrowed etymology, could some of the mafia’s modus operandi also have been borrowed from Islam? Isolated on their island, could native Sicilians have co-opted the techniques of social controls that they had lived under and learned from their former overlords—albeit without their Islamic veneer? The mafia is not the only historical example of a non-Muslim criminal organization to be influenced by Islam. For example, the Thuggees — whence we get the word “thug” — were a brotherhood of allied bandits and assassins who waylaid and savagely murdered travelers in India, often by first feigning friendship. Although they were later associated with the Hindu cult of Kali, the original Thuggees were all Muslim. As late as the 19th century, a large number of Thuggees captured and convicted by the British were Muslim. The similarities are clear: Along with assassinating his opponents, including, as seen, through treachery, Muhammad also personally engaged in banditry, ransacking the caravans of enemy tribes. And if the words “mafia” and “thug” have Arabic/Islamic etymologies, the words “assassinate” and “assassin” are derived from a Medieval Islamic sect: the Hashashin, who pioneered the use of political assassination—with promises of a hedonistic paradise for the assassin who almost certainly died—in the name of Islam. At any rate, when HBO personality Bill Maher recently proclaimed that Islam is “the only religion that acts like the mafia, that will f*ing kill you if you say the wrong thing, draw the wrong picture, or write the wrong book,” he was barely touching on the similarities between the mafia and other criminal organizations, and Islam.

Permalink Reply by Alan Lake on March 19, 2015 at 7:55

I am interested in the question of how you construct a constitution in order to balance out the competing power groups, and stop the majority abusing a minority, and also stop a minority abusing the majority, or even usurping control of the system, dismantling it, and taking control of it altogether.

This problem of balancing power in a democratic constitution between groups, goes by many names:

• Faction is used In the US constitution, to denote the risk of control by sub groups
• Gangsterism is another form, in which, say, a criminal mafia can gain political control of a city like Detroit or Naples
• Tribalism is when the group self identifies according to ethnic or cultural markers, then takes over the society; as for instance the Tutsi-Hutu massacre in Rawanda.  An excellent review of the tribalism of Islam is in this article: http://victorhanson.com/wordpress/?p=8296
• Cartelism is where the large scale economic forces of the democracy are appropriated into a totalitarian control, abnegating the free market, by companies banding together and fixing a pricing structure
• Monopolism is where the above happens, but by one company simply expanding and absorbing the others
• Syndicalism (a capital take-over by the workers unions) could also facilitate the above monopolisation of the market, if it involves a large enough segment of production

There are other forms of sub-group power appropriation, and I will add them as I find them.

I have yet to find a serious political text or theory which addresses this problem at a fundamental level, and includes either mathematical formulae to illustrate the balance points, or does this by statistical tracking of historical precedents.  It is one of the many disappointments from the thought leaders of Political Science.

Permalink Reply by Antony on March 19, 2015 at 11:55

Alan - a worthy subject for discussion, and along with the spread of islam, the other major problem facing democracy today ! . Some of these issues have been touched upon in the "Power Elite" thread, to throw in a few brief bullet points - is gangsterism that far separate from monopoly/croney capitalism and the way the banks have behaved ? - given that 20% of the money going through the City Of London is "dirty" ... this in turn gives a very nasty and vicious group of people such as cartels,mafia and heroin trafficking Pakistani islamists leverage over big business and thence state institutions ... and access to some murderous thugs for the establishment (or at least sections of it) to do their plausably deniable dirty work.

Also, to put on my devils advocate hat, some might say that anarcho-syndicalism would be a good bulwark or tool to use against a usurping of democracy by legal or illegal mafias ?!, whether those mafias are involved in flooding the country with muslims or rigging the financial and tax system in favour of a corrupt elite of "legalised-criminals".

Permalink Reply by Alan Lake on March 19, 2015 at 19:31

Hi Anthony, By anarcho-syndicalism do you mean the philosophy espoused by Prof. Hoppe?  Well I'm not sure what that term means.

Permalink Reply by Antony on March 19, 2015 at 20:50

Have'nt heard of Hoppe - the one I recall is Rudolph Rocker - basically factories/industries being taken over by the workers of those workplaces.

Alan Lake said:

Hi Anthony, By anarcho-syndicalism do you mean the philosophy espoused by Prof. Hoppe?  Well I'm not sure what that term means.

Permalink Reply by Tha Grenadier on April 25, 2015 at 0:48

I was interested in this Alan;

"I'm starting this forum as a repository for bits and pieces of information on how gangsterism works, i.e. how gangsters can take over an area, exclude the police and civil authorities, and even take over an entire country (Iran now or Russia after the breakup of the USSR).  I welcome everybody's input on this  because the behaviour of mobsters and criminals is something outside my knowledge"

In my opinion the real reason that gangsterism works and flourishes is very simple, a certain type of person usually in some position of power will stop those who know who is doing what from acting because it would place them outside of the law!

Sometimes I believe that it is sometimes imperative that the law can be sub vented in order to save society (usually from itself) and it's ideas about fair play, they just don't understand that our enemy's do not play by any rules as we know them!

Permalink Reply by Alan Lake on April 25, 2015 at 1:53

it is sometimes imperative that the law can be sub vented in order to save society (usually from itself) and it's ideas about fair play, they just don't understand that our enemy's do not play by any rules as we know them!

I agree, and I think that, facing the medieval savagery of ISIS etc, Western Democracies must either legalise some more brutal forms of retaliation, or face extinction like the dinousaurs.

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