Marine Corps veteran says criticism of Islam made him homeless
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November 18, 2014
examiner.com
Marine veteran in front of park bench he now sleeps on says criticism of Islam made him homeless.
Screengrab/YouTube/Fatwa on Islam
Like so many Americans, Jarrad Winter didn't pay much attention to Islam. Now, it's foremost on his mind. In an exclusive interview with Examiner.com Sunday evening, Winter, a Marine Corps veteran, single father of two boys and a computer programming specialist who runs FatwahonIslam.com, says he is now homeless because he openly criticizes Islam.
It wasn't until the South Park creators were threatened by a Muslim that he felt the need to study Islam, he told Examiner. In 2010, Jesse Curtis Morton -- a Muslim convert also known as Younus Abdullah Mohammad -- plead guilty to communicating threats to South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker.
Not long after that, Winter said he was threatened with death, and that lead to him work very briefly as an informant. At the same time, he worked for another company that suddenly let him go after four years. After receiving a $20,000 bonus, his position was eliminated, he said, with no explanation and no warning.
Since then, he added, he has experienced the strangest things. "For starters," he said, "I have never been on the job market for more than a couple of weeks before."
"Recruiters love me up through the 2nd or 3rd interview," he said. But after that, things quickly fall apart and he never hears back.
"This has happened at least a dozen times," he added. "I know what's happening, they are about to send me to the client and so they google me. Googling my name is the end of me."
A Google search quickly reveals Winter's writings criticizing Islam. And that, he says, is what has kept him from getting a job.
Winter says he has certificates and expertise in a variety of areas, including security and operating systems like Linux and Windows. Nevertheless, except for a brief 3-month stint as a contractor, he has been out of work for 18 months. Now, he is out of a home and sleeps on a park bench while using the public library to blog, charge his laptop and search for jobs.
But looking for work has also been hampered, he says, by Muslims who managed to get his job post pulled from Craigslist. Winter said he created the job wanted post for cities across the country.
But, he explained in a YouTube video, he got an email from Craigslist telling him his post was "flagged and deleted." Winter then explained how he believes it was the work of Muslims intent on keeping him out of a job.
As for the threats, Winter says he still gets them with regularity. Unfortunately, he explained, the FBI told him the wording of one threat was too vague to be of any use. Winter said he believes it was just a ploy by the agency to gain use of his technical skills. Another threat, he said, came from a man who told Winter he was "going to his imam to get a fatwa and then his buddies over here would kill me."
While Winter may be without a home to call his own, he is not without friends. One friend, for example, set up a site to help raise money for him. So far, that site has raised about $340. Another Facebook friend who called Winter "very honest and trustworthy" has set up a PayPal account for those who wish to donate. Although Winter appreciates the help and the support of his friends, he said what he really wants is a job -- and he doesn't care where it is.
"Ideally, I would get to stay here," in Northern California. "But," he added, "that's definitely not stopping me from moving."
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