Home      |      Weblog      |      Articles      |      Satire      |      Links      |      About      |      Contact


Militant Islam Monitor > Weblog > Radical Muslims celebrate Obama election - 'look forward to working with the Obama administration'

Radical Muslims celebrate Obama election - 'look forward to working with the Obama administration'

November 5, 2008

Radical Muslims are lauding the election of Barack Hussein Obama. Siraj Wahhaj, an unindicted co conspirator in the 1993 WTC bombing case congratulated Obama writing that "We pray that Allah, Most High, will purify Obama's heart, [and] guide his actions and policies...Furthermore, we encourage American Muslims to engage in forging an agenda and shaping the future of our society."


Al - Hajj Talib Abdur Rashid (the "resident Imam" of the Mosque of the Islamic Brotherhood whose slogan comes from Muslim Brotherhood leader Hassan Al Banna- see below) wrote that :"All Muslims must come to understand the unique, prophetic role that black people , and the Muslims from amongst them, are yet destined to play in the destiny of the land, and its people... to forge a DOMESTIC agenda based upon common interests , which will serve both the present and future generations."

The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) a Saudi funded front group for Hamas, which is an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation Hamas funding trial, stated that "We look forward to having the opportunity to work with the Obama administration".

The Islamic Society of North America (also an un indicted co-conspirator in the HLF Hamas funding trial) wrote on their website that:"We at ISNA offer our full support to Mr. Obama and to his administration, and we look forward to working with him in the future".

According to Dr. Daniel Pipes: The president of the Islamic Society of North America, Sayyid M. Syeed, told Muslims at a conference in Houston that whether Obama wins or loses, his candidacy will reinforce that Muslim children can "become the presidents of this country." http://www.danielpipes.org/article/5845

Also see:

Islamic Groups Named in Hamas Funding Case BY JOSH GERSTEIN - Staff Reporter of the Sun
June 4, 2007
http://www.nysun.com/article/55778?access=284047 Federal prosecutors have named three prominent Islamic organizations in America as participants in an alleged criminal conspiracy to support a Palestinian Arab terrorist group, Hamas. Prosecutors applied the label of "unindicted co-conspirator" to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the Islamic Society of North America, and the North American Islamic Trust in connection with a trial planned in Texas next month for five officials of a defunct charity, the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development... A court filing by the government last week listed the three prominent groups among about 300 individuals or entities named as coconspirators. The document gave scant details, but prosecutors described CAIR as a present or past member of "the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood's Palestine Committee and/or its organizations." The government listed the Islamic Society of North America and the North American Islamic Trust as "entities who are and/or were members of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood."

------------------------------------------

MIM: A message from Siraj Wahhaj the Amir of MANA.

MANA Congratulates President-elect Barack Hussein Obama

The Muslim Alliance in North America congratulates President-elect Barack Hussein Obama on winning his bid for President of the United States of America. This election was historic in many ways and we know Muslims became actively involved.

We pray that Allah, Most High, will purify Obama's heart, guide his actions and policies, and protect him and his family as he leads this nation. Furthermore, we encourage American Muslims to engage in forging an agenda and shaping the future of our society.

Let us all strive to be at the forefront of change in America--fighting for truth, justice and peace, and advocating for issues and policies that impact American Muslims and Muslims around the world, insha'Allah. I'm thankful to Allah that this striving is truly what drives the goals and initiatives at MANA.

May Allah, Most High, keep all of us rightly guided and obedient to His will.

siraj signature blk small

http://www.mana-net.org/pages.php?ID=activism&NUM=1011
----------------------------------

MIM: Background information on Siraj Wahhaj.

  • Advisory board member of the Council on American-Islamic Relations
  • Named as a possible co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing
  • Advocates the replacement of the U.S. government with an Islamic Caliphate

An advisory board member of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Siraj Wahhaj was named by U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White as a possible co-conspirator to the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, and testified as a character witness for convicted terror mastermind Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman. According to Salon.com, in a 1991 speech before the Islamic Association of North Texas, Wahhaj called Operation Desert Storm "one of the most diabolical plots ever in the annals of history," and predicted that America will fall unless it "accepts the Islamic agenda." He has openly expressed his desire to see the American government replaced with a caliphate.

Wahhaj told a meeting of Muslim activists in Houston, "this government has already sent in every major [mosque], agent provocateurs. Most of you don't know what that is. All you know is about spies. The government has spies, they have infiltrators. But there's some difference from being a spy and an agent provocateur. What an agent provocateur does, he goes to a [mosque], he looks just like you. He's got a beard just like your beard... And their job is to entrap you no different than the prostitute, the police women dressed as a prostitute, whereas he's coming to the [mosque], dressed as a Muslim. And when they talk, their rhetoric, they are stronger than anyone else."

In September 1991, Wahaj stated the following:

"…And he [Allah] declared 'Whoever is at war with my friends, I declare war on them.' Who is a friend of Allah? [He chants a passage in Arabic] Allah. Your true friend is Allah, the messenger, and those who believe. Americans and Canadians. Hear it well. Hear what I'm telling you well. The Americans are not your friends, hear what I'm telling you, hear it well. The Canadians are not your friends, hear what I'm telling you, hear it well. The Europeans are not your friends. Your friend is Allah, the Messenger and those who believe. These people will never be satisfied with you until you follow their religion. They will never be satisfied with you…"

Wahhaj co-founded the Muslim Alliance of North America. http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/individualProfile.asp?indid=716

----------------------------------------------------

MIM: Wahhaj is the co founder and Amir of the Muslim Alliance of North America (MANA) which published Al- Hajj Talib Abdur Rashid's piece on their website.

http://www.mana-net.org/pages.php?ID=activism&NUM=1010

NOW THE WORK BEGINS

by Imam Al-Hajj Talib 'Abdur-Rashid

As-Salaamu 'Alaikum wa Rahmatullah

I live in Harlem, where people are shouting and dancing in the streets, with celebration on their lips and a renewed resolve to live and not just survive, in their hearts. It's almost midnight - an hour past the announcement of Obama winning the presidency, and people are still honking their car horns in the street. I live in New York City where people of various nationalities and across generations, party lines and religions have been buzzing with anticipation from brothas in the hood to Spanish-speaking cab-drivers. I live in a country and on a planet where people have been - hoping. To say the least,Obama has a job ahead of him of immense proportions. But so do we as Muslims in America.

We MUST ORGANIZE ourselves into not only a moral, religious, and social force for good in America, but into a political and economic force as well. Our indigenous scholars MUST resolve the issues of fiqh that have African American Muslims still saying in the 21st century that Muslims should not participate in an electoral process that affects the daily fabric of their lives as Muslims, and as people of color. We MUST engage in the on-the-ground work that will strengthen our base as a righteous political force that "...enjoins the good and forbids the wrong".

ALL Muslims MUST come to understand the unique, prophetic role that black people , and the Muslims from amongst them, are yet destined to play in the destiny of the land, and its people. All Muslims, taking that role into consideration, MUST find a way to create a table to which they can all come (as our brother Dr. Agha Saeed has said), from their various backgrounds, and with different notions of destiny , to forge a DOMESTIC agenda based upon common interests , which will serve both the present and future generations.

Indigenous Muslims MUST continue to envision and struggle for freedom, justice, and equality through faith and self-determination, and belief in our God and ourselves. We MUST network and work in alliance with others in reclamation of the civil liberties due us, and the human rights according to international law, that we deserve. We MUST be who we were created to be, and act in accordance with prophetic time. When we do, all of humanity benefits. Believe it. Acknowledge it. Get used to it. To paraphrase Shaykh Tawfiq (ra) , "The waters of the red sea are opening. We need to only have the vision, faith, and good sense to go on through". Let's get busy.

Was Salaam,
Imam Al-Hajj Talib 'Abdur-Rashid
The MIB
Harlem, NYC
-------------------------------

More on Imam - Hajj Talib' Abdur Rashid head of the Mosque of the Islamic Brotherhood.

Logo of the Mosque of Islamic Brotherhood, Harlem, complete with shihada and sword.

Aug. 18, 2007 update: Beila Rabinowitz alerts me to another Islamist feature of the KGIA's advisory board: Imam Talib Abdul-Rashid, about whom I have previously written (noting that he "belongs to the ‘National Committee to Free Imam Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin'," a convicted cop-killer), turns out to be the "resident imam" of the Mosque of Islamic Brotherhood, Harlem. The MIB's logo shows a sword with the words "There is no deity but God and Muhammad is his prophet." Yet more alarming, however, is the Muslim Brethren slogan, devised by Hasan al-Banna himself, printed right on the "About us" page:

Allah is our goal
The Prophet Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullah is our leader
The Qu'ran is our constitution
Jihad is our way
And death in the way of Allah is our promised end.

Abdul-Rashid's bio also lists that he is a member of the "N.Y.C. Dept. of Education Chancellor's Interfaith Advisory Committee to the NYC Dept. of Education," pointing to the deeper state of rot in the whole of the DOE when it comes to Islam. That this man is on the KGIA board offers further confirmation of the school's Islamist quality.

http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/2007/03/on-new-yorks-khalil-gibran-international.html

----------------------------------------------------

PRESS RELEASE

CAIR Congratulates President-Elect Obama

Last update: 1:31 a.m. EST Nov. 5, 2008

WASHINGTON, Nov 05, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ --

U.S. Muslims offer support for ensuring a safe and free America The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today congratulated President-elect Barack Obama on his election win and offered the Muslim community's support for ensuring that America remains both safe and free.

In a statement, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said:

"CAIR, America's largest Islamic civil rights and advocacy group, offers its congratulations to President-elect Barack Obama on his historic election to our nation's highest office. President-elect Obama's victory sends the unmistakable message that America is a nation that offers equal opportunity to people of all backgrounds.

"While congratulating President-elect Obama on his win, we also recognize the heavy burden placed on those in a leadership role. To be effective, any person in a position of authority needs the support and sound advice of those he or she leads.

"We look forward to having the opportunity to work with the Obama administration in protecting the civil rights of all Americans, projecting an accurate image of America in the Muslim world and playing a positive role in securing our nation."

CAIR has 35 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

CONTACT: CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail: [email protected];

CAIR Communications Coordinator Amina Rubin, 202-488-8787, E-Mail: [email protected] SOURCE Council on American-Islamic Relations

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/CAIR-Congratulates-President-Elect-Obama/story.aspx?guid=%7B9A35040F-A0C6-4932-8C53-F866B98499C2%7D

---------------------------------

CAIR: 'Moderate' friends of terror

by Daniel Pipes
New York Post
April 22, 2002

The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations presents itself as just another civil-rights group. "We are similar to a Muslim NAACP," says spokesman Ibrahim Hooper. Its public language - about promoting "interest and understanding among the general public with regards to Islam and Muslims in North America" - certainly boosts an image of moderation.

That reputation has permitted CAIR to prosper since its founding in 1994, garnering sizeable donations, invitations to the White House, respectful media citations and a serious hearing by corporations.

In reality, CAIR is something quite different. For starters, it's on the wrong side in the war on terrorism. One indication came in October 1998, when the group demanded the removal of a Los Angeles billboard describing Osama bin Laden as "the sworn enemy," finding this depiction "offensive to Muslims."

The same year, CAIR denied bin Laden's responsibility for the twin East African embassy bombings. As Hooper saw it, those explosions resulted from some vague "misunderstandings of both sides." (A New York court, however, blamed bin Laden's side alone for the embassy blasts.)

In 2001, CAIR denied his culpability for the Sept. 11 massacre, saying only that "if [note the "if"] Osama bin Laden was behind it, we condemn him by name." (Only in December was CAIR finally embarrassed into acknowledging his role.)

Siraj Wahhaj, unindicted and on CAIR's advisory board.

CAIR consistently defends other militant Islamic terrorists too. The conviction of the perpetrators of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing it deemed "a travesty of justice." The conviction of Omar Abdel Rahman, the blind sheikh who planned to blow up New York City landmarks, it called a "hate crime." The extradition order for suspected Hamas terrorist Mousa Abu Marook it labeled "anti-Islamic" and "anti-American."

Not surprisingly, CAIR also backs those who finance terrorism. When President Bush closed the Holy Land Foundation in December for collecting money he said was "used to support the Hamas terror organization," CAIR decried his action as "unjust" and "disturbing."

CAIR even includes at least one person associated with terrorism in its own ranks. On Feb. 2, 1995, U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White named Siraj Wahhaj as one of the "unindicted persons who may be alleged as co-conspirators" in the attempt to blow up New York City monuments. Yet CAIR deems him "one of the most respected Muslim leaders in America" and includes him on its advisory board.

For these and other reasons, the FBI's former chief of counterterrorism, Steven Pomerantz, concludes that "CAIR, its leaders and its activities effectively give aid to international terrorist groups."

Nor is terrorism the only disturbing aspect of CAIR's record. Other problems include:

Intimidating moderate Muslims. In at least two cases (Hisham Kabbani and Khalid Durán), CAIR has defamed moderate Muslims who reject its extremist agenda, leading to death threats against them.

Embracing murderers. CAIR responded to the arrest and conviction of Jamil Al-Amin (the former H. Rap Brown) by praising him, raising funds for him and then denying his guilt after his conviction for the murder of an Atlanta policeman. Likewise with Ahmad Adnan Chaudhry of San Bernardino, Calif.: Disregarding his conviction for attempting murder, CAIR declared him "innocent" and set up a defense fund for him.

Promoting anti-Semitism. The head of CAIR's Los Angeles office, Hussam Ayloush, routinely uses the term "zionazi" when referring to Israelis. CAIR co-hosted an event in May 1998 at which an Egyptian militant Islamic leader, Wagdi Ghunaym, called Jews the "descendants of the apes."

Omar Ahmad, founding chairman of CAIR.

Aggressive ambitions. As reported by the San Ramon Valley Herald, CAIR Chairman Omar M. Ahmad told a crowd of California Muslims in July 1998, "Islam isn't in America to be equal to any other faith, but to become dominant. The Koran . . . should be the highest authority in America, and Islam the only accepted religion on earth."

CAIR's real record is one of extremism. North American Muslims themselves are beginning to discover - and the government, leading media, churches, and businesses should follow - that CAIR represents not the noble civilization of Islam but an aggressive and radical strain similar to that which led to the suicide hijackings last September. CAIR must be shunned as a fringe group by responsible institutions and individuals throughout North America.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Apr. 22, 2002 update: For my "CAIR package" - continuously updated information on North America's leading Islamist organization - see "Getting to Know the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)." It currently has four parts:

  1. A brief 2003 introduction to the topic, "CAIR: 'Moderate' friends of terror."
  2. A long 2006 study, "CAIR: Islamists Fooling the Establishment."
  3. A bibliography of CAIR.
  4. My reply to CAIR's attack on me.

Apr. 29. 2003 update: For more about the Omar Ahmed quote, see my weblog entry, "CAIR and the San Ramon Valley Herald."

http://www.danielpipes.org/article/394

------------------------------------

MPAC Congratulates President-Elect Barack Obama

November 05, 2008

MPAC Congratulates President-Elect Barack Obama

The Muslim Public Affairs Council today sent a letter to President- Elect Barack Obama congratulating him on his victory and on the historic nature of his election as the 44th President of the United States of America.

It is a profound testament to the abilities of so many record numbers of Americans to embrace their democratic rights and responsibilities to determine their next leader. We are proud of the record numbers of Muslim American voters who went to the polls to cast their vote and rallied to get their family and friends and communities to get involved and get out to vote.

"An important and emotional moment in the history of our nation is unfolding as we speak," said MPAC Executive Director Salam Al-Marayati. "We are proud to live in a place where, as President Obama said tonight, 'all things are possible.' The enormity of these challenges is a shared responsibility of all Americans and we hope that we can work together to face the challenges."

In a letter to President-Elect Obama, Al-Marayati wrote, in part:

We congratulate you on your resounding election as the 44th President of the United States of America. We are proud to live in this powerful historical moment and to have the opportunity to be a part of the crucial work of putting our nation back on course.

The immense challenges confronting us all across this country and around the world will require the participation of all Americans. The American people, including Muslim Americans, have placed a great trust in you to lead our country. With this comes the great responsibilities to address issues of national and international affairs.

MPAC also congratulated tonight the more than one million projected Muslim American voters, and the legions of volunteers all around the country who put so much energy into registering, educating, and mobilizing people to fulfill their democratic responsibilities.

"The spirit of involvement and inspiration we hold today should be carried forward to meet the problems of our country and our world," Al-Marayati said. http://www.mpac.org/article.php?id=731

-------------------------------------------------------

MIM: Background information on MPAC from Discover The Networks.

  • Los Angeles-based Muslim organization whose leadership defends extremist violence
  • Opposes the shutdown of Muslim charities suspected of supporting terrorism
  • Opposes the Patriot Act

Founded in 1988, the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) describes itself as "a public service agency working for the civil rights of American Muslims, for the integration of Islam into American pluralism, and for a positive, constructive relationship between American Muslims and their representatives." The organization consists of eight chapters in California, and one each in Texas, Kansas, Nevada, and Iowa.

MPAC's vision is "to establish a vibrant Muslim American community that will enrich American society through promoting the Islamic values of Mercy, Justice, Peace, Human Dignity, Freedom, and Equality for all." In an effort to achieve this objective, the Council's mission consists of: "effect[ing] positive change in public opinion and in policy with the purpose of realizing our vision"; "promoting an American Muslim identity"; "fostering an effective grassroots organization"; "training a future generation of men and women who share our vision"; "promoting an accurate portrayal of Islam and Muslims in mass media and popular culture"; "educating the American public, both Muslim and non-Muslim, about Islam"; "building alliances with Muslim and non-Muslims groups"; and "cultivating relationships with opinion- and decision-makers."

From its inception, MPAC presented itself as more inclusive, and more open to peaceful coexistence with Jews and Christians, than other Arab and Muslim groups, and sought to make Americans comfortable with Islam by showing how much the religion embraced core American values. Throughout the 1990s, MPAC nurtured this image of moderation by organizing Muslim-Jewish dialogues in Los Angeles. Its members received invitations to the Clinton White House and appointments on federal commissions; they were similarly courted by the Bush campaign as the Clinton presidency drew to a close. MPAC's Senior Advisor, Maher Hathout, who has close ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and espouses the radical brand of Islam known as Wahhabism, was invited to address the Democratic Convention in Los Angeles in 2000. Shortly thereafter, however, MPAC endorsed George W. Bush for U.S. President.

MPAC's centrist public image unraveled after the September 2000 launching of the Second Palestinian Intifada, when the Council severed its ties to the Jewish community and issued one-sided condemnations of Israel's response to the Arab violence.

MPAC's support for President Bush similarly disintegrated after 9/11, when the Council actively opposed Bush's military incursions into Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as his "excesses" in the war on terror. In February 2003, MPAC joined the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the American Muslim Council, and the American Muslim Alliance in forming a coalition to repeal and amend the Patriot Act, which these organizations depicted as an assault on the civil liberties of Americans, particularly Muslims. Seven months earlier (on July 14, 2002), MPAC National Director Ahmed Younis had stated that "if Thomas Jefferson or Madison or the like were alive today, they would go to John Ashcroft's house and just shoot him." (Ashcroft was the Attorney General who sought to enforce the Patriot Act.)

MPAC claims that Islam is a religion of peace and moderation, and contends that Muslim extremists are no more numerous or dangerous than fundamentalists in any other faith. "There are radical Christian, Jewish and Hindu movements, too," says MPAC, "which are also capable of slaughtering innocents." On occasion, MPAC has publicly condemned Islamic suicide bombings. These condemnations, however, are invariably accompanied by endorsements of Muslim "resistance" and "armed struggle" which MPAC frames as justified retribution against prior Israeli or Western transgressions.

Holding Israel entirely responsible for the "pattern of violence" in the Middle East, MPAC asserts that Hezbollah "could be called a liberation movement." The Council likens Hezbollah members to American "freedom fighters hundreds of years ago whom the British regarded as terrorists." In a November 1997 speech at the University of Pennsylvania, MPAC Co-Founder and Executive Director Salam Al-Marayati steadfastly refused to call Hezbollah a terrorist organization; he justified the existence of Hamas as a political entity and a provider of social programs and "educational operations"; and he equated jihad with the sentiments of the American statesman Patrick Henry, whose "Give me liberty or give me death" declaration was, in Al-Marayati's view, "a way of looking at the term jihad from an American perspective." In a 1999 position paper, MPAC justified Hezbollah's deadly 1983 bombing of the American Marine barracks in Lebanon as a "military operation" rather than a terrorist attack. As Maher Hathout puts it: "Hezbollah is fighting for freedom, an organized army, limiting its operations against military people, this is a legitimate target against occupation. … this is legitimate, this is an American value -- freedom and liberty."

MPAC's worldview is further revealed by its many additional public statements on a wide array of issues and events:

  • According to MPAC: "Israel was established by terrorism"; its founding "involved the unjust and illegal usurpation of Muslim and Christian land and rights"; and "to recognize the legitimacy of that crime is a crime in itself."
  • MPAC characterizes Israel as a "racist, chauvinistic and militaristic" state that is prosecuting "a war to steal land from Palestinians, to decimate their leadership, to humiliate the Palestinian people."
  • Condemning Israel's "apartheid-like ideology," MPAC warns: "History shows that Muslim and Christian religious rights are not safe under Israeli occupation."
  • Israelis are "the worst terrorists in the world," says MPAC, "… Yet Israel is not found on the list of state sponsors of terrorism in the [U.S.] State Department Report on Terrorism."
  • MPAC co-sponsored pro-Palestinian rallies in the fall of 2000, where MPAC speakers chanted "Khaybar, Khaybar, oh Jews, the Army of Muhammed is coming for you!" The rally featured literature and many placards calling for the annihilation of the Jews and Israel.
  • A few hours after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, MPAC Co-Founder Salam Al-Marayati told a Los Angeles talk radio audience: "If we're going to look at suspects, we should look at the groups that benefit the most from these kinds of incidents, and I think we should put the state of Israel on the suspect list because I think this diverts attention from what's happening in the Palestinian territories so that they can go on with their aggression and occupation and apartheid policies."
  • On November 30, 2002, MPAC Vice Chairman Aslam Abdullah said: "Those who are part of the political Zionist movement in America … know it very well that without the support of the United States … their country, namely Israel, would not be able to pursue its apartheid and racist policies in the Middle East. They will use every means possible to ensure that American administration stays on their side. They will create false enemies, they will distort facts, they will manipulate events; and they will concoct and fabricate lies. They have taken America hostage."
  • MPAC was a signatory to a MAY 20, 2004 Joint Muslims/Arab-American Statement on Israeli Violence in Gaza, which "strongly condemn[ed]" Israel's "indiscriminate killings of innocent Palestinians, including many children," and its "demolition of Palestinian homes" -- but made no mention of Arab terrorism.
  • On March 23, 2005, MPAC National Director Ahmed Younis spoke at a Muslim Students' Association-sponsored event, where he explained that because Adolf Eichmann was himself a Jew, it could accurately be said that Jews had killed themselves in the Holocaust.
  • MPAC endorsed a November 1, 2001 document characterizing the 9/11 attacks as a legal matter to be addressed by criminal-justice procedures rather than military means. Ascribing the hijackers' motives to alleged social injustices against which they were protesting, this document called on the United States "to promote fundamental rights around the world."
  • MPAC speakers regularly complain that the U.S. is "dominated" by Zionists and favors Jews over Muslims.
  • Opposed to efforts to shut down Islamic charities that fund terrorism -- alleging that such efforts interfere with freedom of religion and the exercise of the Muslim obligation to give to charity -- MPAC states that the U.S. government should instead investigate what it terms Jewish "terrorists" like the Jewish Defense League. The Council signed and sponsored a petition to reinstate the assets of Hamas' charitable front, the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, after it was designated as a front for terrorist financing.
  • According to MPAC, "A major threat to the safety of the Muslim community is the Islam-bashing that has been very evident since 9/11. There has been a steady stream of attacks on the Quran … These attacks are vicious, mean-spirited, and politically motivated. … [T]he most sustained and vitriolic [attacks] are from right-wing Christian groups led by Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson."
  • The MPAC 2002 Annual Banquet featured Ali Al-Mazrui, a SUNY-Binghamton professor who said: "There is also suspicion that some members of the Bush administration in collusion with Israel are more than ready to plunge the Middle East into turmoil in the hope that the final outcome would be to the territorial advantage of Israel and the strategic advantage of the United States. All this is part of the emerging external sadism of the United States, a readiness to hurt others abroad."
  • In a May 7, 2004 statement, MPAC said: "The scandal of Abu Ghraib was not an isolated incident but a manifestation of hate rooted in a distortion of American culture. The soldiers charged for torturing and sexually humiliating Iraqi prisoners were reflecting, among other things, an irrational hatred against Arabs and Muslims. Hatred in Abu Ghraib is inextricably linked with hatred increasingly fostered by some elements of our government, our media, and other major national institutions."
  • After a series of arrests made in connection with an August 2006 airline terror scare in London, President Bush called the uncovered plot "a stark reminder that this nation is at war with Islamic fascists who will use any means to destroy those of us who love freedom, to hurt our nation." MPAC spokeswoman Edina Lekovic reacted, "When the people we need most in the fight against terrorism, American Muslims, feel alienated by the President's characterization of these supposed terrorists, that does more damage than good."

In September 2005, MPAC joined with the anti-war organization Code Pink for Peace to sponsor a Culver City, California event promoting a new book by UC-Irvine professor Mark LeVine, who contends that an "Axis of Empathy" is the only strategy that can bring about a long-term solution to the war between radical Islam and the West. MPAC has also worked closely with International ANSWER, which has intimate ties to Ramsey Clark's International Action Center and the Marxist-Leninist Workers World Party.


Parts of this profile are adapted, with permission, from Stand4Facts.org.
http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=6177

--------------------------------------------------------

MIM: The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) an unindicted co -conspirator in the Holy Land Hamas funding trial writes that that see Obama as "an individual with the mental clarity to understand our needs".

ISNA CONGRATULATES PRESIDENT-ELECT BARACK OBAMA

The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) takes this opportunity to congratulate Barack Obama on his historic victory in this presidential election. In electing him to office, we as a nation saw in Barack Obama an individual with the mental clarity to understand our needs, the moral character to uphold our principles, and the humility to seek counsel when in doubt.

His roots, which stretch from Hawaii to Jakarta, and from Harvard Square, Massachusetts, to Hyde Park, Chicago, will prove invaluable as he goes about serving a nation that is now more than ever, culturally diverse. In so doing we trust that he will seek wise counsel and keep faith with Almighty God.

Barack Obama's victory is perhaps greater in that it finally allows America to practice what it for so long has preached to others. It allows America to close the gap that separated its humanitarian ideals from its social ambitions. America has for now, at least, lived up to its promise.

And as for the rest of the world, the results of this election give hope to its citizens that this nation may now be willing to extend its lofty principles to include them as well.

We at ISNA offer our full support to Mr. Obama and to his administration, and we look forward to working with him in the future. http://www.isna.net/articles/News/ISNA-CONGRATULATES-PRESIDENT-ELECT-BARACK-OBAMA.aspx

---------------------------------------------------

MIM: Paul Sperry on ISNA's terrorist ties. ISNA is also an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation Hamas funding trial.

WAR ON TERROR
American al-Qaida suspect's imam headed probed group
Congress poring over tax records of ISNA to see if Muslim nonprofit got Saudi money
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/printer-friendly.asp?ARTICLE_ID=38715


Posted: May 29, 2004
1:00 a.m. Eastern

By Paul Sperry


WASHINGTON – The California imam who helped convert an al-Qaida suspect to Islam headed a Muslim activist group under investigation here for possible financial ties to terrorist front groups.

Muzammil H. Siddiqi, former president of the Islamic Society of North America, ministered to a 25-year-old Muslim convert now the subject of an FBI manhunt.


Adam Gadahn

Adam Gadahn allegedly traveled to Pakistan and Afghanistan to train at al-Qaida camps following his conversion while attending the Islamic Society of Orange County in Garden Grove, Calif., in the late 1990s. Siddiqi is head of the mosque there.

Congress is reviewing the financial records of the Islamic Society of North America, or ISNA, as part of a post-9-11 investigation into alleged ties between tax-exempt Muslim organizations and terrorist groups.


Adam Gadahn

Siddiqi served as president of ISNA from 1996 to 2000. He still serves on its board. ISNA did not return phone calls to its Indianapolis headquarters.

The Senate Finance Committee, which is heading the probe, earlier this year asked the IRS for tax records on ISNA – the nation's largest Islamic organization – to determine the source of the non-profit group's funding. Names of donors are redacted from public tax documents for privacy reasons.

It's suspected that many U.S.-based Muslim groups receive the bulk of their money from Saudi-based charities tied to al-Qaida and other terrorist groups.

Many also have been financially linked to Dallas-based Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, the largest Muslim charity in the U.S., which was shut down after 9-11 for ties to the terrorist group Hamas. Its assets have been frozen.

ISNA and Holy Land Foundation shared a web portal before authorities raided the offices of the Muslim-owned web hosting company in 2001.

In a TV interview, Siddiqi said Gadahn did not discuss any plans to travel to Afghanistan with him when he attended his mosque in 1996 and 1997.

"Who knew about al-Qaida at that time?" he said. "We had no idea of anything like that."

Siddiqi, who was reared in Pakistani religious politics and studied Islam at a Saudi university, made a public appeal for his former pupil to turn himself in to authorities. Siddiqi held the press conference Thursday after FBI agents questioned him.

He told Gadahn he should not get involved with any group that advocates "terrorism." The thin, mild-mannered Siddiqi asserted in an interview that "Islam is the religion of peace."

According to "Silent No More: Confronting America's False Images of Islam" – a book on the Council on American-Islamic Relations' recommended reading list – Siddiqi is regarded as "one of the most respected Muslim leaders" in America.

In September 2001, President Bush invited him to lead a prayer during the 9-11 memorial at the Washington National Cathedral. He also read from the Quran.

ISNA's website says its mission is to "advance the cause of Islam and Muslims in North America." It lists training imams as its No. 1 goal.

But critics say ISNA is an extremist group disguised as a moderate group.

ISNA "enforces Wahhabi theological writ in the country's 1,200 officially recognized mosques," said terror expert Stephen Schwartz, author of "The Two Faces of Islam: Saudi Fundamentalism and Its Role in Terrorism." Wahhabism, a puritanical, anti-Western strain of Islam, is the official religion of the Saudi government. It's also practiced by Osama bin Laden.

Members of ISNA's board include controversial New York imam Siraj Wahaj, named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the federal case last decade against terrorist Omar Abdel Rahman, a.k.a. the Blind Sheikh.

Siddiqi and Wahaj spoke at the Islamic Circle of North America's 2001 convention in Cleveland together with Saudi Shaikh Abdur Rahman al-Sudais, senior imam at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, who has been quoted vilifying Jews as the "scum of humanity" and "the grandsons of monkeys and pigs." The three were scheduled to speak again in December at an Islamic conference in Kissimmee, Fla.

Siddiqi, who writes a weekly column for a Pakistani publication, has spoken at pro-Hezbollah and pro-Hamas rallies, and has supported an Islamic state in the U.S., while praising martyrdom for the Islamic cause, according to the SITE Institute, an anti-terror watchdog group.

On Oct. 28, 2000, Siddiqi issued a stern warning to America during an anti-Israel rally across from the White House. He and other Islamic leaders had organized the demonstration to protest America's pro-Israel policy and to support what they called just resistance to Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory.

"America has to learn," Siddiqi was quoted as saying, "if you remain on the side of injustice, the wrath of God will come. Please, all Americans. Do you remember that?"

Then he stressed: "If you continue doing injustice, and tolerate injustice, the wrath of God will come."

Abdurahman Alamoudi, the former American Muslim Council president arrested last year on terrorism-related charges, appeared with Siddiqi at the 2000 protest rally. And he proclaimed: "Hear that, Bill Clinton! We are all supporters of Hamas. I wish to add that I am also a supporter of Hezbollah."

ISNA's secretary-general, Sayyid M. Syeed, is the former director of academic outreach at the International Institute of Islamic Thought, a Northern Virginia think tank raided in 2002 by federal authorities on suspicion of terror-financing.

The book "Silent No More" describes Syeed, a native of Kashmir, as a "prominent mainstream Muslim."

The FBI fears al-Qaida is recruiting American converts like Gadahn to blend in to American society and not raise security suspicions before carrying out suicide attacks in America.

Agents are searching for Gadahn and six other al-Qaida suspects in an attempt to disrupt a possible al-Qaida plot to attack America again this summer.

Previous stories:

Look who's teaching Johnny about Islam

FBI puts agents through Muslim-sensitivity training


Paul Sperry is Washington bureau chief for WorldNetDaily and author of "Crude Politics."

---------------------------------------------------

Also see:

Islamic Groups Named in Hamas Funding Case BY JOSH GERSTEIN - Staff Reporter of the Sun
June 4, 2007
http://www.nysun.com/article/55778?access=284047

------------------------------------------------------

ADC Congratulates President-Elect Obama

Washington, DC | November 5, 2008 | www.adc.org | The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) congratulates President-Elect Barack Obama on his election as the 44th President of the United States of America. ADC also thanks the Arab and Muslim American communities for their engagement, involvement, and historic voter turnout in this election.

ADC Communications Director Laila Al-Qatami said, "This is truly a watershed moment for our nation. ADC looks forward to working with the new Administration to overcome the challenges facing our nation." http://www.adc.org/index.php?id=3377

-----------------------------------

MIM: The congratulatory message of the Islamic Circle of North America a group tied to Al Qaeda.

For more on ICNA see:

ICNA Congratulates President-elect Barack Obama

New York, Nov 05, 2008

Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), the largest grassroots-based Islamic organization of America has congratulated President-elect Barack Obama on his historic electoral victory and becoming the 44th President of the United States of America.
In a statement, ICNA's President Dr.Khurshid Khan said:
"ICNA congratulates President-elect Barack Obama on his historic electoral victory and becoming the 44th president of our country. President-elect Obama's victory has raised the height of American as a nation and has sent an unmistakable message to the world about the power of American democracy as well. Indeed, America is the land that provides and cherishes the equal opportunity of all people of all backgrounds. Our diversity is our strength and we all can contribute to this great nation through unique ways. We pray and hope that under the able leadership of President Barack Obama America will prosper and our ideals will inspire the entire world. May God bless America." http://www.icna.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=71&Itemid=28

Press Contact: Naeem Beig
Secretary General
Islamic Circle of North America
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Office: (718) 658-1199
Cell: (917) 202-2118

---------------------------------------------------

MIM: The American Muslim Taskforce published a paen to Obama saying that "our nation has risen to new majestic heights".

AMT Congratulates President-Elect Obama At His Historic Victory

Washington, D.C. 11/04/08: The American Muslim Taskforce on Civil Rights and Election (AMT***), an umbrella group representing major Muslim organization, has congratulated president-elected Barak Obama at his world-historic victory and pledged their full support for his efforts to build a better world.

The AMT statement in part reads:

"Today, as a nation we have given substance to the Declaration of Independence, especially its foundational principle that all men are created equal. Our nation has thus risen to new majestic heights.

"Today, America has redeemed itself and the nation has undergone a cultural transformation that has the potential of impacting the whole world.

"We applaud the graciousness shown by Sen. John McCain in his concession speech, and we offer our full support and cooperation to president-elect Barak Obama in his efforts to build a better America and a better world."

"Today, all of us hear America sing. We conclude with the timeless words of Whitman:

I HEAR America singing, the varied carols I hear;

Those of mechanics—each one singing his, as it should be, blithe and strong;

The carpenter singing his, as he measures his plank or beam,

The mason singing his, as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work;

The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat—the deckhand singing on the steamboat deck;

The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench—the hatter singing as he stands;

The wood-cutter's song—the ploughboy's, on his way in the morning, or at the noon intermission, or at sundown;

The delicious singing of the mother—or of the young wife at work—or of the girl sewing or washing—Each singing what belongs to her, and to none else;

The day what belongs to the day—At night, the party of young fellows, robust, friendly,

Singing, with open mouths, their strong melodious songs

________________________________________________________________

(***The American Muslim Taskforce on Civil Rights and Election is an umbrella organization representing American Muslim Alliance (AMA), American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), Muslim Alliance in North America (MANA), Muslim American Society-Freedom Foundation (MAS-FF), Muslim Student Association - National (MSA-N), Muslim Ummah of North America (MUNA), and United Muslims of America (UMA). Islamic Educational center of Orange County (IEC), Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) are affiliated with AMT as observers.)

http://www.americanmuslimvoter.net/images/special/AMT%20CONGRATULATES%20OBAMA.htm

----------------------------------

MIM: The American Muslim Association of North America congratulated Obama.

FLorida, Miami - 11/5/08) — The American Muslim Association of North America (AMANA) And

American Muslims for Emergency & Relief (AMER) congratulate President- Elect Barack H. Obama on his victory and on the historic nature of his election as the 44th President of the United States of America.

We are proud to live in this powerful historical moment and to have the opportunity to be a part of the crucial work of putting our nation back on course. This election was historic in many ways and we know Muslims became actively involved.

AMANA & AMER also congratulate the Center for Voter Advocacy, the Arab American Institute Foundation, the millions projected Muslim American voters, and the legions of volunteers all around the country who put so much energy into registering, educating, and mobilizing people to fulfill their democratic responsibilities.

We pray to Allah, the greatest the most merciful to keep all of us rightly

guided and obedient to His will. Ameen.

[CONTACT: Br. Sofian Abdelaziz Zakkout, 305-898-9314, [email protected]]

http://al-amana.net/home/2008/11/05/amana-congratulates-president-elect-barack-h-obama/


MIM: For more on AMANA see: "Why Is The Department Of Homeland Security Funding The "Hardening" Of Florida Mosques?" http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/3424

Printer-friendly version   Email this item to a friend