This item is available on the Militant Islam Monitor website, at http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/7978
Letter Is Signed By 82 Pro Terror Orgs & Mosques - Calls Investigative Project On Terrorism An "Anti Muslim Hate Group"
February 2, 2022
MIM: The Council On American Islamic Relations, a Saudi funded front group for Hamas, is furious at the alleged discovery of an informant in their midst. They are accusing the Investigative Project On Terrorism and its founder Steve Emerson of "spying" on them and are attempting to sic the Department of Justice on the IPT.
The letter below was sent to the DOJ.
In it CAIR refers to the "so called Investigative Project for Terrorism" (sic) a delicious irony for a group which has been named as a defendant in a 9/11 lawsuit, is an unindicted co conspirator in a Hamas funding trial, is calling for the release of 'Lady Al Qaeda' Aafia Siddiqui, had members jailed for terrorism offences and is listed as a terrorist organization by the UAE.
CAIR = Hamas
See: CAIR -Council on American Islamic Relations defendant in 9/11 class action lawsuit - linked to Al Qaeda
https://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/359
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SENT VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL
January 31, 2022
Attorney General Merrick Garland
Inspector General Michael Horowitz
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Kristen Clarke U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001
RE: Request that Justice Department Investigate Anti-Muslim Hate Group's Systemic Spying on American Muslim Community
Dear Attorney General Garland, Inspector General Horowitz, and Assistant Attorney General Clarke:
We, the 82 undersigned American Muslim community organizations and houses of worship, write to request that the Justice Department investigate evidence that an anti-Muslim hate group has spent over a decade conspiring to infiltrate and spy upon prominent mosques, Muslim advocacy groups, and Muslim leaders, including a member of Congress, for the benefit of a foreign government.
Over the past month, The Washington Post and other major news media outlets have detailed testimonial and documentary evidence showing that the so-called Investigative Project for Terrorism, a non-profit organization founded and led by anti-Muslim extremist Steve Emerson, has spent years secretly paying "spies" to record Muslim leaders and organizations across America without permission as part of an effort to undermine our community's civic and political engagement.
This systematic campaign of spying touched nearly every prominent Muslim organization in the United States, including the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), the Islamic Networks Group (ING), the Muslim Alliance of North America (MANA), Muslim American Society (MAS), the Muslim Legal Fund of America (MLFA), Muslim Advocates, the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), among others, and even an educational institution, Zaytuna College.
Last month, the Ohio chapter of CAIR announced the termination of its local director Romin Iqbal, who had been allegedly acting as a spy for IPT since at least 2008—recording private strategy discussions, forwarding confidential emails to the hate group and spying on Muslim leaders' interactions with legislators.
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IPT was also allegedly targeting houses of worship, including Park51 in New York City, Dar-al- Hijrah in Falls Church, Va., the Islamic Center of Jamaica Queens, the Islamic Center of Passaic County and numerous other known and unknown mosques.
According to the evidence detailed by The Washington Post and other media outlets, the hate group was also obsessively targeting a sitting member of Congress, Representative Keith Ellison, the first American Muslim elected to serve in the House of Representatives. IPT spies sought to collect as much information as they could about how the American Muslim community engaged with then-Rep. Ellison, allegedly going so far as to infiltrate, record and then leak a private meeting between Rep. Ellison and American Muslim donors.
In response to IPT's efforts to target and undermine the American Muslim community, Mr. Ellison told The Washington Post, "The truth about the long campaign of disinformation — spying on Muslims engaged in legitimate First Amendment activity, paying people tens of thousands of dollars to conduct smear campaigns based on deception — continues to come out... If the last 10 years have shown us anything, it is that the so-called 'Muslim scare' was always deliberate disinformation pitting Americans against each other."
Emails provided by an IPT whistleblower appear to show that Mr. Emerson's hate group was communicating with and aiding Yossi Kuperwasser and Ido Mizrahi, Israeli intelligence officials working in the office of then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In one alleged exchange, a person identifying himself as Mizrahi asks Emerson for information about an American college student group, Students for Justice in Palestine. In the subject line of another email sent to his own staff, Emerson allegedly writes, "Urgent research request from Netanyahu office."
Both the IPT whistleblower and a Virginia Muslim who was paid to spy on the American Muslim community for IPT have released statements admitting what they did, apologizing, and sharing details about the hate group's activities. According to them, IPT was engaging in these activities in order to adversely impact the progress of the American Muslim civil rights movement for the benefit of a foreign government.
Virginia resident Tariq Nelson, who spied on the Muslim community from 2008 to 2012, wrote, "For about four years starting in 2008, I provided information to IPT. Emerson used SAE Productions, one of his for-profit companies, to pay me about $3,000 per month. Looking back on those times, it's now clear to me that Emerson's main goal in spying on Muslims was to protect the Israeli government; essentially, to ensure there would never be a 'Muslim AIPAC' to challenge U.S. support for Israel."
The IPT whistleblower wrote in a statement, "I came to realize that IPT's main concern was not protecting our nation from legitimate threats, but protecting a foreign government—Israel—from legitimate criticism. We were essentially being used as an Israel lobbying organization. Demonizing people who simply have opinions we may not agree with has become sport, yet I was doing it as part of my job."
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As American Muslim leaders, organizations and houses of worship, we are concerned that IPT's alleged actions were meant to impact our community's ability to religiously assemble and provide ministry; peacefully assemble to politically organize; petition the government; meet with state and federal elected officials; mobilize get out the vote campaigns; and defend the civil and constitutional rights of American Muslims through advocacy and legal representation.
To protect the civil rights of American Muslims, we ask the Department of Justice to launch an investigation to determine whether Steve Emerson or IPT broke any federal civil rights statutes or criminal laws by targeting the Muslim community. Specifically, we ask you to determine:
1) whether using paid spies to secretly record the private conversations and activities of American Muslim civil society organizations, houses of worship and leaders, including a Muslim member of Congress, without permission over the phone and in-person violated any federal laws.
2) whether using paid spies to infiltrate American Muslim civil society organizations, leadership circles and houses of worship in order obtain their private documents, record their private conversations and otherwise spy on them for the purpose of undermining their activities violated any federal laws.
3) whether Mr. Emerson transferred funds from the non-profit organization IPT to the company SAE Productions for the purpose of paying spies to target the American Muslim community on behalf of IPT in violation of any federal laws.
4) whether IPT provided any information about American Muslim leaders, civil society organizations, or houses of worship acquired through spying to the Israeli government or any other foreign entity in violation of any federal laws.
5) whether IPT spied on the American Muslim community in collaboration with, on behalf of, or for the purpose of benefitting other anti-Muslim hate groups, members of Congress, a foreign government or any other entity in violation of federal laws.
We also ask the Inspector General of the Department of Justice to determine whether any federal law enforcement agents were in communication with Steven Emerson or IPT, aware of IPT's covert spying on the Muslim community, and/or accepted information collected by IPT in violation of federal laws, regulations or policies.
Sadly, IPT's conspiracy to spy upon on American mosques and Muslim organizations was not surprising. Civil rights advocates have been targeted by infiltrators and saboteurs for decades. It is long past time for this behavior to come to an end.
Thank you for your prompt attention to these concerns, as well as your efforts to protect the civil rights of all Americans. Upon request, CAIR can provide the evidence it possesses related to this issue, as well as the contact information for relevant witnesses. You may contact CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, Esq. at [email protected].
We look forward to your response.
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Sincerely,
The All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) American Islamic Center of Florida (AICF) American Muslims for Palestine (AMP)
Arab American Civic Council
Arizona Muslim Alliance (AMA)
Blossom Valley Muslim Community Center (BVMCC)
Bridges for Yemen
Birmingham Interfaith Human Rights Committee
Center for Security, Race and Rights
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago (CIOGC)
Dar Alhijrah Islamic Center (DAH)
Emgage
Emgage Action
Equality Labs
Free Uyghur Now
ICNA Council for Social Justice
Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC)
The Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU)
Islamic Center of Boca Raton
Islamic Center of Fullerton
Islamic Center of Passaic County
Islamic Center of Riverside
Islamic Center of Weston
Islamic Center of South Bay-LA
Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA)
Islamic Community Cultural Center, NJ
Islamic Community of Tampa Masjid Al Qassam
Islamic Networks Group (ING)
Islamic Society of Central Jersey
Islamic Society of North America (ISNA)
Islamic Society of Orange County (ISOC)
Islamic Society West Valley
Islamophobia Studies Center
Iqra Academy of Palos Verdes
Jetpac Resource Center
Masjid Al-Ihsaan, FL
Majlis Ash-Shura: Islamic Leadership Council of New York
MSA West
MPower Change
The Mosque Cares Ministry of Imam W. Deen Mohammed (The Mosque Cares)
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Muslim Advocates
Muslim Alliance in North America (MANA)
Muslim American Society (MAS)
Muslims for Democracy and Fairness (MDF) MuslimsForPeace.org
Muslim League of Voters
Muslim Federation of South Jersey
Muslim Forum of the Pacific Northwest
Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC)
Muslim Ummah of North America (MUNA)
Muslims United for Justice
No Separate Justice
Northern California Islamic Council
Palestinian American Community Center
Pakistani American Congress (PAC)
Sanad Trust Foundation
San Ramon Valley Islamic Center
South Dakota Voices for Peace
South Asian Network
Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research
Young Muslims
U.S. Council of Muslim Organizations (members listed below)
o Arizona Muslim Alliance
o Americans for Palestine
o Baitulmaal for Relief and Development
o Burmese Rohingya Association of North America (BRANA) o Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago
o Council on American-Islamic Relations
o Daralhijrah Islamic Center
o Downtown Islamic Center – Chicago (DIC)
o Helping Hand for Relief and Development (HHRD)
o International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT)
o Islamic Association of North America (IANA)
o Islamic Center of Chicago Western Suburbs (ICW)
o Islamic Center of Detroit (ICD)
o Islamic Community Center of Illinois (ICCI)
o Islamic Center of Naperville (ICN)
o Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA)
o Islamic Leadership Council of New York
o Islamic Shura Council of Southern California (ISCSC)
o Mercy Without Limits (MWL)
o Mosque Foundation (MF)
o The Mosque Cares
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o Muslim American Society (MAS)
o Muslim Legal Fund of America (MLFA)
o Muslim Ummah of North America (MUNA)
o Muslim Forum of the Pacific Northwest (MFPNW) o New York Majlis Ashura
o North America Imams Federation (NAIF)
o Together We Serve (TWS)
o United Muslim Relief (UMR)
o United Hands Relief (UHR)
https://www.cair.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Muslim-Community-Letter-to-DOJ-January-31-2022.pdf
This item is available on the Militant Islam Monitor website, at http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/7978