Militant Islam Monitor > Articles > Call PA Springfield CC/ Marriott To Cancel CAIR Event On 3/ 2: Hamas Public Relations Arm Incites Jihad & Jew Hatred
Call PA Springfield CC/ Marriott To Cancel CAIR Event On 3/ 2: Hamas Public Relations Arm Incites Jihad & Jew Hatred
Keynote Speaker PA Dem Rep. Summer Lee Cancels Talk - Speakers Called Israelis 'Demons' & Zionism ' A Sadistic Cult'
March 1, 2024
"Nihad Awad, the executive director of CAIR spoke at the American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) convention in Chicago on November 24, 2023, saying that he was happy to see the people of Gaza "break the siege" on October 7. He said that the people of Gaza have the right to self-defense, while Israel does not have this right. Awad continued to say that people who feel bad for the people of Gaza "don't understand the equation," because the Gazans were victorious. Video from the convention was posted on the YouTube channel of AMP. Another participant in the panel session titled "Gaza in Context" was Osama Abu Irshaid, national director of AMP."
https://www.memri.org/tv/cair-exec-director-nihad-awad-amp-happy-gaza-october-seven-victorious-israel
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'Prior to Lee's cancelation, CAIR defended the lawmaker and characterized the criticisms of its speakers as "disingenuous," with Philadelphia chapter executive director Dr. Ahmet Selim Tekelioglu saying in a statement Monday that "media pieces that take our leaders and speakers' comments out of context are being exploited by ill-intentioned circles."
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MIM: "Ill -intentioned circles" aka "mischief" makers:
إِنَّمَا جَزَٰٓؤُا۟ ٱلَّذِينَ يُحَارِبُونَ ٱللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُۥ وَيَسْعَوْنَ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ فَسَادًا أَن يُقَتَّلُوٓا۟ أَوْ يُصَلَّبُوٓا۟ أَوْ تُقَطَّعَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَأَرْجُلُهُم مِّنْ خِلَـٰفٍ أَوْ يُنفَوْا۟ مِنَ ٱلْأَرْضِ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ لَهُمْ خِزْىٌۭ فِى ٱلدُّنْيَا ۖ وَلَهُمْ فِى ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ ٣٣
"Indeed, the penalty for those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger and spread mischief in the land is death, crucifixion, cutting off their hands and feet on opposite sides, or exile from the land. This ˹penalty˺ is a disgrace for them in this world, and they will suffer a tremendous punishment in the Hereafter."
https://quran.com/en/al-maidah/33
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Stop This Hamas-Linked Group from Gathering in Philadelphia Suburb of Springfield
Stop This Hamas-Linked Group from Gathering in Philadelphia Suburb of Springfield
February 26, 2024
Editor's Note: Instructions to take action and voice opposition to this event are included at the conclusion of this article.
An embattled Muslim nonprofit that increasingly finds itself isolated and pushed out of social and political circles for its extremist views has found a welcoming reception in the Philadelphia suburb of Springfield Township, Pennsylvania. On March 2, the Springfield Country Club will play host to the Philadelphia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a group steeped in antisemitism that is accused of harboring links to Hamas, the terrorist organization that carried out the October 7 massacre in Israel.
True to form, CAIR-Philadelphia's 17th annual banquet, titled, "Safe, Seen, and Valued: CAIR-Philadelphia's Communal Vision 2024," will feature keynote speeches from a radical cleric who has demonized Jews and repeated Hamas propaganda. Even the comic relief, a Muslim comedian known to frequent the Islamist speaking circuit, has made genocidal threats to so-called Palestine's "oppressors."
Democratic Rep. Summer Lee (PA), a member of the progressive House "squad," will deliver "special remarks" at CAIR's fundraiser, despite taking heat from her Jewish constituents for failing to support policies that allow Israel "to protect its citizens against Hamas." Her re-election bid is being financed by some of Hamas's most prolific defenders in the United States, including CAIR's top leader.
Lee will join CAIR's keynote speaker, Yasir Fahmy, a scholar-in-residence at the New Jersey-based Islamic Center of Passaic County (ICPC), where the lead imam Mohammed Qatanani has evaded deportation for years stemming from his alleged membership in Hamas. During an October sermon at the ICPC, Fahmy railed against news reports of Hamas atrocities in Israel.
"'They're killing the babies, they're raping the women' – zero verification!" said Fahmy. "They didn't even wait a moment to try to verify it. It's, 'We got it, the engine is running, push the narrative, pump it out, because we own it all, we own the airwaves, we own every government, everyone's gonna say the same thing.'"
During another fiery sermon recited later the same month at ICPC, Fahmy repeated anti-Semitic tropes regarding Jewish money and influence, calling "Zionism" a "sick and sadistic ideological cult."
"All they can do is throw money at things," he said. "Bribing, bribing, bribing … Who do they have on their side? It's anyone they have been able to purchase. It's elected officials. It's media outlets. Show me where the Palestinian savagery is. Show me! You can't show me," Fahmy concluded.
Nadirah Pierre, an up-and-coming comedian known to frequent Islamist events, will provide the entertainment at CAIR's fundraising gala. In between social media skits showcasing her observational humor, Pierre occassionaly gets more serious, like when she prayed in November that Palestine's "oppressors die horribly and suffer eternally."
To be sure, CAIR is no laughing matter. The nonprofit's origins trace back to a 1993 meeting at a Marriott Hotel in Philadelphia. FBI agents were covertly monitoring the gathering, which was organized by the now-defunct Islamic Association of Palestine (IAP), a Hamas front group under the leadership of then-global Hamas leader Mousa Abu Marzook. CAIR's future leaders were part of IAP and were present at the Philadelphia meeting, where the discussioncentered on the need to establish an Islamic organization that could secretly lobby on behalf of Hamas's interests.
Less than a year later, CAIR was established.
Likewise, CAIR's Philadelphia chapter is linked to the same Hamas front. Members of an IAP chapter that went under the name "American Muslim Society of the Tristate Area of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, & Delaware," or "AMS Tri-State," created CAIR-Philadelphia in 2004. Incidentally, that was the same year that IAP closed down under the burden of lawsuits that found it liable for judgements awarded to the American victims of Hamas terrorist attacks. Iftekhar Hussain, a current member of CAIR-Philadelphia's executive committee and board of directors, formerly served as the secretary general of AMS Tri-State.
In the past, CAIR-Philadelphia sought to shrug off allegations of antisemitism that have saddled other CAIR chapters by pointing to its Jewish American director Jacob Bender. However, this was merely a case of tokenization, as Bender, now retired, was fiercely critical of Israel and took every opportunity to vilify the Jewish state.
In April 2019, he issued a press release in light of the Poway synagogue mass shooting in San Diego. As the Jewish community mourned, Bender took the opportunity to slam Israel and argued that if "mainstream Jewish organizations" wanted to fight white supremacy, "they should stop attacking the organization for which I am proud to work" and stop "acting as a defender" of Israeli policies. In a 2020 blog post, Bender wagged his finger at American Jews for for devoting "untold resources" towards "maintaining the priority of the Holocaust" and using the genocide "as a weapon to delegitimize criticism of Israel's occupation of Palestinian lands…"
For years, local activists and politicians have called on Springfield Country Club to end its business relationship with CAIR, and lawmakers who attend the annual banquet are known to take flak from their constituents. In 2011, then-Rep. Pat Meehan (R-PA), whose district included Springfield, warned about "major concerns" with CAIR's banquet and its "featured speakers." The congressman pointed to CAIR's status as an unindicted co-conspirator in a 2007 Hamas-financing trial.
Rep. Lee doesn't appear to share Meehan's reservations. She is not only headlining CAIR-Philadelphia's event; the congresswoman accepted a $1,000 donation from CAIR founder and lifetime director Nihad Awad, even after videoemerged where he called Gaza a "concentration camp" and said he was "happy to see people breaking the seige" on "October 7th."
Lee isn't the only public servant responsible for legitimizing CAIR's fundraiser. Springfield Country Club sits on public property, and its banquet facilities are owned by Springfield Township. Service operations at the country club are leasedto Metro Philly Management, whose owner Patrick Burns paid for the development of an adjoining hotel in 2013, the Courtyard by Marriott Philadelphia Springfield.
Year after year, the Hamas-linked CAIR makes use of the country club facilities for its fundraising galas. Yet, local stakeholders who could move to cancel the 2024 banquet, or at the very least could publicly denounce CAIR, are apparently indifferent to the gathering of an extremist group in their own backyard.
Responding to an email sent to Springfield Township Manager J. Lee Fulton, Township Solicitor Jim Byrnes directed responsibility for the event to "a tenant who runs the food operations at the Township," and asked that messages from concerned citizens be "directed to that entity and not the Township Commissioners nor [the Township] manager."
Patrick Burns, the owner of the food vendor, failed to respond to a press inquiry. Calls and emails to Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA) went unanswered.
Banning CAIR from Springfield Country Club would hardly be controversial. In fact, CAIR and its coalition partners have experienced at least three event cancellations since October 7 at hotels in Arizona, Virginia, and Florida. All three incidents involved Marriott-franchised hotels and occurred after staff were inundated with phone calls from angry residents.
In December, the White House publicly disavowed CAIRafter it became aware of Awad's speech celebrating October 7. Then, in February, the Islamist group faced additional political setbacks. The Florida House of Representstives passed a bill denouncing CAIR and urging all local and state agencies to cease contact with it, joining legislatures in Louisiana and Arkansas that have passed similar resolutions. Next, Maryland's House of Delegates introduced a bill to remove CAIR from a Commission on Hate Crimes after a local CAIR leader compared Israel to Nazi Germany.
Despite the flurry of anti-CAIR activity, elected officials and business leaders remain unmoved by the impending CAIR banquet. Fortunately, the public can help.
Concerned citizens can respectfully voice their opposition to CAIR-Philadelphia's March 2 banquet by calling the individuals listed below. Tell them that organizations connected to U.S.-designated terrorist groups have no place in Springfield Township or Marriott-branded hotels.
Springfield Country Club: 610-690-7600 (select option 1)
Township Manager J. Lee Fulton: 610-544-1300 x136
Marriott International: 301-380-3000
To receive updates about this and other MEF Action campaigns from the Middle East Forum, please email: Action(at)Meforum.org
Joe Kaufman is a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center and the Chairman of the Joe Kaufman Security Initiative.
Beila Rabinowitz, Director of Militant Islam Monitor, contributed to this report.
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"CAIR claimed that comments from its upcoming speakers have been taken out of context."
"Prior to Lee's cancelation, CAIR defended the lawmaker and characterized the criticisms of its speakers as "disingenuous," with Philadelphia chapter executive director Dr. Ahmet Selim Tekelioglu saying in a statement Monday that "media pieces that take our leaders and speakers' comments out of context are being exploited by ill-intentioned circles."
(Statement Below)
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Far-left Rep. Summer Lee pulls out of CAIR Philly event over speakers' 'hateful' antisemitism — including one who called Israelis 'demons'
By Ryan King
NYPost - Published Feb. 27, 2024, 1:35 p.m. ET
Democratic Rep. Summer Lee reversed course Tuesday, scrapping plans to attend an annual fundraising banquet sponsored by the Council on American-Islamic Relations following backlash over antisemitic remarks by other would-be speakers — including disparaging of Israelis as "demons" and Zionists as adherents of a "sadistic cult."
Lee (D-Pa.) said in a statement that she had wanted to join the event hosted by CAIR Philadelphia due to rising "anti-Muslim hate and violence," but felt compelled to pull out following the controversy
I do not condone or endorse any of the other speakers' previous comments. I have and continue to condemn antisemitism, Islamophobia, homophobia, and transphobia everywhere it arises," she said in a statement.
"To prevent the Muslim community from being the target of any more politically-motivated Islamophobia and to ensure my Jewish and LGBTQ+ constituents know their concerns are heard, I will not be attending this event any longer," she added.
Last year, CAIR executive director Nihad Awad said he was "happy to see people breaking the siege and throwing down the shackles of their own land" after the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack that killed an estimated 1,200 people across southern Israel.
His remarks drew fierce backlash, including from the White House, with spokesman Andrew Bates saying at the time, "We condemn these shocking, Antisemitic statements in the strongest terms."
On Monday, Jewish Insider flagged past remarks from multiple scheduled speakers at the banquet –including author Ibrahim Jaaber, who described Israelis as "demons;" comedian Nadirah Pierre, who said, "May Allah destroy them even worse than they have tried to destroy others" after the Oct. 7 attack; and scholar Yasir Fahmy, who called Zionism a "sick, sadistic cult."
Criticism of Lee's planned attendance was led by a spokesperson for Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who said "hateful, antisemitic rhetoric cannot be tolerated — and it should be condemned, not elevated by our political leaders."
Edgewood Borough Councilwoman Bhavini Patel, who is mounting a Democratic primary challenge against Lee, also slammed her.
"Summer Lee needs to cancel this appearance and apologize for agreeing to share a stage with them in the first place," Patel wrote on X.
Republican Senate hopeful Dave McCormick went a step further, calling on Lee to quit Congress.
Lee is the first black woman elected to serve Pennsylvania in Congress and is often counted among the "Squad" of hardcore House progressives.
She has been critical of Israel's war against Hamas following Oct. 7.
(CAIR claimed that comments from its upcoming speakers have been taken out of context.)
Prior to Lee's cancelation, CAIR defended the lawmaker and characterized the criticisms of its speakers as "disingenuous," with Philadelphia chapter executive director Dr. Ahmet Selim Tekelioglu saying in a statement Monday that "media pieces that take our leaders and speakers' comments out of context are being exploited by ill-intentioned circles."
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MIM: Always the victims. CAIR Philly fuhrer Akhmet Selim Teklioglu whines they are being 'harassed' 'by ill intentioned circles' but does not mention that Dem Rep Summer Lee cancelled her appearance at the scheduled banquet.
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CAIR-Philadelphia Stands Tall Against Disingenuous, Islamophobic Attacks Targeting Its Banquet
- BYCAIR-PHILADELPHIA
- ONFEBRUARY 26, 2024
CAIR-Philadelphia today condemned disingenuous attacks targeting its banquet speakers and guest of honor Rep. Summer Lee.
CAIR-Philadelphia Executive Director Dr. Ahmet Selim Tekelioglu said:
"It is disingenuous for the likes of Bhavini Patel, an elected official, and Dave McCormick to antagonize CAIR, Pennsylvania's only Muslim civil rights group working around the clock to defend our community against Islamophobia and dehumanization. Media pieces that take our leaders and speakers' comments out of context are being exploited by ill-intentioned circles. These attacks are not new to us, but we speak here to inform those who may fall victim to such hateful campaigns.
"Our banquet has 750 guests currently registered to join from across the state and we expect our list to only grow in response to these attacks. We are excited to hear from Congresswoman Summer Lee and other speakers where a diverse group of interfaith and non-profit leaders will join our community to celebrate the steadfastness of Muslim Pennsylvanians and CAIR-Philadelphia's civil rights and advocacy work."
https://pa.cair.com/news/2024-banquet-attacks/
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MIM: On February 27, 2024 CAIR Philly fuhrer Ahmet Selim Tekelioglu dismissed documented pro jihad and Jew hating remarks by Muslims scheduled to speak at the CAIR event like Imam Yasir Fahmy, who called Zionism "a sick and sadistic ideological cult' and Ibrahim Jaaber who called Israelis 'demons' as 'mischaracterized personal remarks' belligerently adding that 'our civil rights group' (aka CAIR) ... will continue speaking up until all the false attacks on our communities come to an end God willing'.
"We refuse to be bullied into silence" (!)
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A Statement from CAIR-Philadelphia Executive Director Dr. Ahmet Selim Tekelioglu: Committed to Our Justice Work
- BYCAIR-PHILADELPHIA
- ONFEBRUARY 27, 2024
"Rep. Summer Lee is a friend of the Pennsylvania Muslim community and a vocal advocate of justice for people here and abroad, including Palestinians facing a genocide in Gaza.
"That is the real reason anti-Palestinian and anti-Muslim voices have harassed, bullied and threatened Rep. Lee and others in recent days, not concerns about mischaracterized personal remarks some speakers made years ago.
"Our civil rights group and the broader Philadelphia Muslim community will move forward with our annual gala this weekend and continue speaking up against the Gaza genocide, discrimination our communities face, and false attacks against our communities until all of these come to an end, God willing.
"We refuse to be bullied into silence. Our track record on building coalitions, advancing interfaith understanding, combating Islamophobia and antisemitism, and other forms of bigotry, and protecting civil rights while under attack from ill-intentioned circles is a testament to our resilience.
"CAIR-Philadelphia looks forward to working with Pennsylvanians of all backgrounds who are concerned about the Israeli government's war crimes and rising hate against Muslim-Americans to advance justice for all."
https://pa.cair.com/news/statement-banquet-2024/
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CAIR Named as a Defendant in 9/11 Terror Lawsuit
by Daniel Pipes
Dec 30, 2004
updated Aug 18, 2005
A class action lawsuit in the name of John P. O'Neill, Sr., stemming from the 9/11 atrocity, has named the Council on American-Islamic Relations as a defendant. (For those confused about the multiple 9/11 court cases, there is help on the way at http://www.september11terrorlitigation.com/.) Here are the paragraphs dealing with CAIR's role in the events of September 11, 2001, from the second amended class action complaint, filed today:
86. Council on American Islamic Relations and CAIR Canada (collectively, CAIR), have aided, abetted, and materially sponsored and al Qaeda and international terrorism. CAIR is an outgrowth of the Hamas front group the Islamic Association of Palestine. The FBI's former associate director in charge of Investigative and Counter-Intelligence Operations described the Islamic Association of Palestine as an organization that has directly supported Hamas military goals and is a front organization for Hamas that engages in propaganda for Islamic militants. It has produced videotapes that are very hate-filled, full of vehement propaganda. It is an organization that has supported direct confrontation.
87. CAIR and CAIR-Canada have, since their inception, been part of the criminal conspiracy of radical Islamic terrorism. These organizations play a unique role in the terrorist network. They emanate from the notorious HAMAS terrorist organization and like so many of the terrorism facilitating charities named and indicted by the United States government they are engaged in fund raising under the guise of assisting humanitarian causes they are, in reality, a key player in international terrorism. The unique role played by CAIR and CAIR-Canada is to manipulate the legal systems of the United States and Canada in a manner that allows them to silence critics, analysts, commentators, media organizations, and government officials by leveling false charges of discrimination, libel, slander and defamation. In addition, both organizations have actively sought to hamper governmental anti-terrorism efforts by direct propaganda activities aimed at police, first-responders, and intelligence agencies through so-called sensitivity training. Their goal is to create as much self-doubt, hesitation, fear of name-calling, and litigation within police departments and intelligence agencies as possible so as to render such authorities ineffective in pursuing international and domestic terrorist entities.
88. The role of CAIR and CAIR-Canada is to wage PSYOPS (psychological warfare) and disinformation activities on behalf of Whabbi-based [Wahhabi-based, DP] Islamic terrorists throughout North America. They are the intellectual "shock troops" of Islamic terrorism. In the years and months leading up to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 these organizations were very effective in helping to ensure that North American law enforcement and intelligence officials were sufficiently deaf, dumb, and blind to help pave the way for the attacks on the United States. The role played by these entities is an absolutely essential part of the mix of forces arrayed against the United States as they help soften-up targeted countries so as to facilitate and enhance the likelihood for a successful attack.
Comment: (1) This filing explicitly ties CAIR to "the criminal conspiracy of radical Islamic terrorism" that carried out 9/11, a first to the best of my knowledge.
(2) If the suit is successful, CAIR (1) will have been legally tied to Al-Qaeda and (2) will be partially responsible for damages amounting to US$100 billion.
(3) This filing, when added to Anti-CAIR's counter suit, suggest that despite CAIR's growing litigiousness, it will find itself legally more on the defensive than the offensive in coming months. (December 30, 2004)
https://www.danielpipes.org/blog/2004/12/cair-named-as-a-defendant-in-911-terror
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