Why we should all be troubled by Hillary Clinton’s closest adviser.
September 29, 2016
Reuters/Kevin Lamarque
When Hillary Clinton is seen in public, you can rest assured that Huma Abedin is not too far away. She’s often seen handing notes to Clinton, whispering God knows what in her ear or otherwise waving to crowds alongside her opaque boss.
Abedin is Clinton’s most visible advisor, a trusted confidant who was one of the central figures in the Clinton email scandal. She also figured prominently in alleged pay-for-play schemes involving the Clinton Foundation and is currently vice chair of the Clinton campaign.
So just who is Huma Abedin and what role does she play in shaping Clinton’s outlook on domestic and foreign policy? It’s difficult to say because unlike Clinton’s other somewhat conceited advisers like Sidney Blumenthal (who stands accused of spreading the Birther conspiracy theory) Abedin keeps her views close to her chest. For example, run a search of Abedin and her views on Israel and you’d be hard-pressed to find a single quote attributed to her on the matter.
The only thing we know about Abedin’s current life is that she’s married to a disgraced pervert and sexual predator and will soon be issuing him a divorce. They have one child in common. Aside from that, we know nothing of her personal views other than the fact that she is fiercely loyal to Clinton. She is for, all intents and purposes, an enigma; a shadowy adviser who never leaves her boss’s side and is regarded as indispensable by Clinton.
Nevertheless, if past employment history and family background are any indication, Abedin may spell trouble. Huma Abedin’s father, Syed Abedin, had close connections to the Saudi government as well as the neo-fascist Muslim Brotherhood. Ironically, Saudi Arabia now views the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization as does Egypt, Russia and a smattering of other Arab countries.
Archived footage obtained by the Washington Free Beacon also confirms that he was a rabid hardline Islamist who was a proponent of Sharia law and believed that Muslim governments should play a central role in policing human relationships and ensuring compliance with strict Islamic law and custom. Taken to its logical extremes, Syed Abedin would plausibly condone stoning for women who committed adultery, the practice of so-called “honor killings” and throwing gays off rooftops.
Syed Abedin also shared his insight as to why the majority of Muslims are hostile to the West and Israel. Suffice it to say that he is no friend of the Jews.
Of course, Syed’s views are not necessarily reflective of Huma’s beliefs but Huma Abedin’s employment history provides additional insight. She served as an assistant editor for the Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs from 1996 through 2008. The journal’s chief editor was Huma’s mother, Saleha Mahmood Abedin.
To refer to Saleha as an extremist would be doing an injustice to the word. She is a poster child for regressive medieval thought. Her opinions include the belief that America brought 9/11 on itself for “various kinds of injustices and sanctions” committed by the United States against Muslims. This repugnant belief was published in the Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs while Huma was assistant editor. As assistant editor, she presumably saw her mom’s article but did nothing to change or modify its content. Not good.
Huma Abedin also presided as assistant editor when the Journal published articles that were distinctly anti-woman, anti-gay and pretty much anti-anything that was not in conformance with strict Islamic notions of what the family unit should look like.
Clinton’s allies claim that Huma wasn’t responsible for the Journal’s content and really didn’t do anything consistent with the functions of an assistant editor. That explanation is implausible but even if true, would still pose troubling questions regarding judgment and honesty.
This November, Americans will be going to the polls to vote in what can arguably be considered the most important presidential election in recent memory. It will determine the trajectory of the nation for many years to come. And yet we still know precious little about the person who likely has the most influence over Hillary Clinton and who will almost certainly command a high-level position within a Clinton-led government. What little we do know about her is not encouraging and the fact that Clinton and her entourage refuse to address the subject merely feeds speculation that they’re trying to hide something. This astonishing lack of transparency is something that we’ve sadly come to expect from Clinton.
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