The past year has seen a serious and alarming increase of violent extremist activities throughout the United States. Contrary to what some in the media would have you think, this clear and present danger is not coming from the radical "right" or the liberal "left." It is coming from Muslim terrorists whose activities are frightening and well-documented. 

Authoritative Islam is a radical theo-political ideology that openly aims to kill Jews, Christians and other non-believers who do not convert or submit to Islam. This threat should be the primary concern of leaders and citizens alike. Unfortunately, we are living in a country where political correctness has trumped all security threats. Therefore, how can we aggressively fight our enemy, when some of us refuse to even identify them as such?

So the question that begs to be answered is: Is America at war with radical Islam and those who seek to carry out its doctrine?

To help answer that question, take a closer look at some of the recent jihadi activities that have been glossed over and labeled as isolated occurrences. Click on the hyperlinks to read more details about each story:

• October 2008 – Shirwa Ahmed, a 27-year-old born in Somalia, became the first American citizen suicide bomber. He left his home town in Minnesota to return to Somalia and commit jihad. FBI officials believe he was radicalized in Minnesota, one of 20 Somali men who disappeared from the state.

 • May 2009 – Four Muslims in New York were arrested as they attempted to bomb two New York synagogues and shoot down military planes in New York State. Three of the four terrorists converted to Islam in a U.S. prison.

• June 2009 – A Muslim convert, Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, gunned down two men outside an army recruitment office in Little Rock, Arkansas. One young soldier was killed. The terrorist said the shooting was in retaliation for the mistreatment of Muslims in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

• July 2009 – An organization called Hizbut-Tahrir, a politically extreme Islamist group that is banned in Russia and Germany for inciting violence and preaching anti-Semitism, held a recruitment conference at the Hilton in Oak Lawn Illinois. Hizbut-Tahir openly claims Sharia Law should replace the U.S. Constitution and aims to restore the Caliphate as it was during the Ottoman Empire in Turkey.

• July 2009 – Daniel Patrick Boyd, his two sons, and four other North Carolina men were arrested and accused of plotting "violent Jihad" through a series of terror attacks abroad. Also included in the charge sheet are claims that the group visited Israel in 2007 with the intent of waging "violent Jihad." They returned home, unsuccessful in their mission.

• September 2009 – An al-Qaeda terror cell was busted in New York. Najibullah Zazi, a 24 year old Afghan-born immigrant who drives a shuttle bus at the Denver airport, was arrested as part of this cell and charged with "conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction." This is the first operating al-Qaeda cell to be uncovered inside the U.S. since the 9-11 attacks.

• September 2009 – Hosam Maher Husein Smadi, a 19-year-old Jordanian illegally residing in the U.S., was arrested for attempting to use weapons of mass destruction. He parked an SUV he believed to be loaded with explosives in a parking lot outside the 60-story Fountain Place building in downtown Dallas. Smadi expressed his allegiance to Osama bin Laden and says he came to the U.S. to wage Jihad against America.

• October 2009 – Luqman Ameen Abdullah, the imam of Detroit's Mosque of Truth, was killed by FBI agents as they were trying to arrest him on charges of conspiracy, receipt of stolen goods, firearms offenses and more. According to the indictment, Abdullah was preaching "offensive jihad" in his mosque, and the establishment of a Sharia state (Islamic law) in North America.

• October 2009 – Faleh Hassan Almaleki, an Iraqi man living in Arizona, ran down his daughter with his car because she had become "too westernized." She died as a result of her injuries. He was able to flee the country through Mexico and fly to London where he was denied entry and returned to Phoenix.

• November 2009 – Major Nidal Malik Hasan opened fire at Fort Hood Military installation in Texas, killing 13 and wounding 42. The U.S.-born Muslim of Palestinian descent shouted "Allahu Akbar" as he began shooting. Hasan had been the subject of terrorism probes, but Federal authorities dropped the inquiry after deciding that his communications to radical imams and al-Qaeda warranted no further action.

• November 2009 – Federal prosecutors seized five buildings including mosques, schools and a Manhattan skyscraper because of their alleged financial ties to Iran. Prosecutors claim that the Alavi Foundation, a Muslim organization that owns the buildings, is engaged in money-laundering – sending the cash back to Tehran.

• November 2009 – Federal authorities in Philadelphia announced charges against four men for their alleged participation in a two-year plot to funnel money and weapons to the terrorist group Hezbollah. Authorities say these men are linked to additional support networks in Brooklyn and the Bronx.

• December 2009 –  Umar Faruk Abdulmutallab, a 23-year-old Nigerian man educated in London, attempted to blow up a Northwest flight headed from Amsterdam to Detroit. He had explosives attached to his leg which he ignited toward the end of the flight. He was apprehended by passengers and crew after they heard what sounded like fireworks and saw his leg and the wall of the plane on fire. Abdulmutallab claimed that he was carrying out the act for al-Qaeda. 

Waking Up

There is an abundance of evidence that suggests that America is indeed under attack and that Muslim terrorists have declared war on the U.S. Charles Jacobs, named by the Forward as one of America’s top 50 leaders, notes that "These are extraordinary times. We face daunting challenges for which there are no known answers. Chief among them are Islamic anti-Semitism and the global jihad that pose enormous, unanticipated threats to Jews around the world."

There are too few among us who are willing to connect the dots of these events and honestly acknowledge the gravity of our situation. Now is the time to band together and educate ourselves and our communities – before it is too late. 

The methods of dealing with this threat must be elevated to a priority national debate. But in order to do so, the first step is that we must all -- in the words of renowned historian Bernard Lewis in the must-see documentary film on this issue, The Third Jihad -- “Wake up!”

 The Third Jihad can be seen at www.TheThirdJihad.com