UPDATE (03/13/15): It has been over four years since I shared this on Bearing Drift. Rather than take it down, suffice to say that I am rather disappointed that I ever gave this a hearing.
David Ramadan isn’t just a good man. David is a great man and a great American, someone who has bled for the Republican Party and free market principles.
I would strongly encourage you to check out his public profiles, either on Twitter [1] or on Facebook [2]. During his four years of service (as of this writing — may he serve many more), Ramadan has been an amazingly steadfast warrior on every issue I care about. What’s more, Ramadan showed a lot more grace to this fella than I showed to him… which not only impresses the hell out of me, but has earned my respect and confidence.
Insofar as any suspected support for the Muslim Brotherhood exists, I don’t give it a moment of credence. I have seen Ramadan boost our allies in Israel, free marketeers in Lebanon, and talk about the prospects of economic success across the globe.
[3]
This post should stand as a testament to one man’s ignorance — my own. David Ramadan is a great delegate for the 87th House, and if you get to know him, you’ll come to appreciate David’s leadership and moral standing as I have.
Regards,
UPDATE: One or two e-mails have come in with a “shame on you” or “surprised” that Bearing Drift would report on this. Nevertheless, the debate/controversy deserves a fair and open discussion. That’s America, folks…
[4]
The following is a guest post from Denyse Kennedy asking questions about potential House of Delegates candidate David-Imad Ramadan [5], a Lebanese-American candidate running against longtime conservative activist Jo-Ann Chase in the 87th House of Delegates race. This race has remained controversial on a number of fronts, including Ramadan’s long list of endorsements and his unwillingness to reject Islamic shari’ah law.
Readers should also know that Ramadan isn’t exactly embraced by Muslims who view the “Arab Lobby” as corrupt [6] and at the feet of the Republican leadership such as Grover Norquist and George W. Bush. This GOP primary is probably one of the hotter races in the Commonwealth at the moment, and deserves a bit more in-depth reporting than the MSM has cared to provide. ~SK
A FEW FACTS ABOUT DAVID RAMADAN THAT YOU NEVER SAW ON ALL THOSE MAILINGS
2 LOST YEARS – Imad Afif Ramadan (David’s real name) came to the US in 1989, supposedly to go to college, but didn’t start college until 1991. WHY would he come here and not immediately start school? What was he doing for 2 years?
BANKRUPTCY – On November 30, 1994 (right before finishing his Master’s degree in December, 1994), David filed for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. The bankruptcy discharged 23 consumer credit accounts for a total of nearly $28,000. He ran up his bills and then walked away when he finished school. WHY would he be so irresponsible instead of paying his bills like the rest of us do?
MISSING 1ST WIFE – On December 30, 1994, a marriage license was applied for and a marriage certificate was granted to Imad Afif Ramadan and Ghanda Abdul-Rahman Zoghbi. This is not the woman that David Ramadan claims to be married to today, however, we have been unable to locate any kind of divorce record. WHERE is Ghanda, and are they really still married?
MORE SCHOOL AFTER BANKRUPTCY – David Ramadan states that he “completed graduate studies at Oxford University (Oxford, England), the American Graduate School of Business (Geneva, Switzerland), Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD) and Georgetown University (Washington, DC).” REALLY? WHY would someone go on to get four more graduate certificates when they had just declared bankruptcy? How did he pay for it?
PROPERTIES “UNDERWATER” BUT STEPPED UP DONATING TO REPUBLICANS – David and his current wife Christie Wray bought a house in 2003 which they have lived in since then (more on this later). They also own a townhouse in South Riding where David’s parents and others live in. From the Loudoun County Tax records, it appears that both houses are “underwater” or close thereto. Yet between 2008 and now, he (or under the name of his business) have given over $100,000 to Republicans or Republican organizations. While I’m sure the recipients were happy to receive the donations, how many of you would be GIVING AWAY $100,000 to non-charitable causes (even if still worthy) when your homes were “underwater”? WHY would someone do that?
DEMANDING TO VOTE IN LEBANON WHILE A U.S. CITIZEN – Imad Afif Ramadan, somewhere along the line became David-Imad Ramadan and was naturalized as a U.S. Citizen. When he became a citizen, he like everyone who becomes a naturalized citizen takes an oath of citizenship that includes these words: “I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same[.]” So why did David-Imad Ramadan and two of his brothers, sign a petition on-line “…DEMAND[ING] THE RIGHT TO VOTE AS CITIZENS OF LEBANON”? WHY would someone who professes to be a ‘proud American living the American Dream” now trying to become a member of the Virginia House of Delegates who would make our laws, be so blatantly willing to break our laws and his Oath of Allegiance to our Country by trying to vote in Lebanon?
David calls himself a “pundit” and says he is a “frequent guest on Al-Jazeera.” Yes, the same Al-Jazeera that is totally owned, run, and funded by the Emir of Qatar. Dr. Judea Pearl, father of Daniel Pearl, the journalist who Khalid Sheikh Mohammed admitted beheading, stated that: “Their [Al-Jazeera’s] unconditional support of Hamas terror in Gaza, the Hezbollah takeover in Lebanon, and the Syrian and Iranian regimes betrays any illusion that democracy and human rights are on Al-Jazeera’s agenda – weakening the West is their first priority.” According to Accuracy in Media, “This is the Arab network primarily known as a mouthpiece for Al Queda, but which has also been inciting violence against U.S. Troops.” So WHY would David Ramadan associate himself with Al-Jazeera and, even more curiously, boast that he is a pundit for the mouthpiece of Al Queda?
THE GROUND ZERO MOSQUE LETTER
On August 17, 2010, David Ramadan, was one of the signers of what has come to be known as the “Ground Zero Mosque Letter” which called on Republican Party to drop its opposition to the Ground Zero Mosque. The letter argues that the GOP’s opposition threatens the rights of Muslims and that its criticism will backfire politically. Among those signing the letter along with David Ramadan are:
Suhail Kahn: Kahn’s father Mahboob Khan was a founder of the Islamic Society of North America which the government now says is a front for the Muslim Brotherhood. Speaking at ISNA’s 1999 conference Kahn said “The early Muslims loved death, dying for sake of almightly Allah, more than the oppressors loved life.”
Samah Norquist: Wife of Grover Norquist, who has aligned himself with the Muslim Brotherhood on this topic, was Sr. Advisor to Arab and Muslim Outreach for the U.S. Agency for International Development under the Bush Administration.
Randa Fahmy Hudome: An international political consultant, her firm Fahmy Hudome, International took on the regime of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi as a client and achieved the goal of getting Libya removed from the list of countries sponsoring terrorism.
WHY was David included as a signer of the Ground Zero Mosque letter along with this group of people?