This item is available on the Militant Islam Monitor website, at http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/1035

White House representative / dhimmi Karen Hughes equates hatred towards Muslims with terrorism

Muslim leader Kareem Irfan who justified beheadings as a' primordial sense of retribution and revenge' says brochure against terrorism is 'crytal clear'
September 3, 2005

MIM:So sorry the President couldnt be here himself. But please tell us what more we can do to accomodate Muslims.

MIM: Karen Hughes presence at the Islamic Society of North America's convention - a group that is under Senate investigation for terrorism funding - is a travesty in itself . Hughes remarks are the epitome of dhimmitude and show that the administration has lost it's way regarding radical Islam and their purported committment to the war against terrorism.

U.S. official decries anti-Muslim hatred:

http://www.newkerala.com/news.php?action=fullnews&id=19369

CHICAGO: Karen Hughes, who is leading President George W. Bush's efforts to improve America's image in the Islamic world, said hatred directed at Muslims was no more acceptable than violence done in the name of that religion.

She also yesterday said her new post as undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs would cover efforts to respond to civil liberty concerns within the United States from Muslims whose lives and travel have been disrupted in the name of national security.

Hughes made the comments at the annual meeting of the Islamic Society of North America, one of the largest gatherings of its type in the United States attended by up to 40,000 Muslims.

"We want to be a welcoming country," she told reporters after private meetings with delegates and Islamic leaders.

"We have a common interest in confronting terror and violence and crime and hate that is committed in the name of any religion," she said.

Hughes, who has been one of Bush's closest communications advisers, praised the group for issuing a new pamphlet that takes a strong stand against violence and religious extremism.

It also urges people of all faiths to speak out against the "backlash and widespread demonization of Islam and Muslims" that followed such incidents as the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States and the London bombings this summer, acts blamed on Islamic extremists.

"What I also heard is that ... as we want Muslim voices to speak out against terror and violence and extremism, it is equally important that we be mindful of speaking out against all voices of hate and incitement including those raised against Muslims themselves," she said.

The group had urged President George W. Bush to appear before the convention in person, but leaders said Hughes had made a good impression.

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"...The ISNA gathering will also feature three evening entertainment sessions which include humorous skits and poetry by college students..."

http://www.islamonline.org/English/News/2005-09/03/article01.shtml

MIM: Islamonline gloats over the dhimmitude shown by Hughes and the White House.

ISNA Meeting Opens, Bush Aide Slams Anti-Muslim Hatred

Hughes, left, urged people to speak out against the "backlash and widespread demonization of Islam and Muslims".

By Abdullah Abdur Rahman, IOL Correspondent

CHICAGO, September 3, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) – A close aide of US President George Bush told an annual convention of American Muslims that hatred directed at Muslims was no more acceptable than violence done in the name of Islam.

"As we want Muslim voices to speak out against terror and violence and extremism, it is equally important that we be mindful of speaking out against all voices of hate and incitement including those raised against Muslims themselves," Karen Hughes told the opening of the annual meeting of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) on Friday, September 2.

Hughes, one of Bush's closest communications advisers, urged people of all faiths to speak out against the "backlash and widespread demonization of Islam and Muslims" that followed the 9/11 attacks and the London bombings, blamed on Muslim extremists.

ISNA's four-day annual convention is the largest gathering of Muslims in North America with up to 40,000 Muslims in attendance this year.

The 42nd convention is themed "Muslims in North America: Accomplishments, Challenges and the Road Ahead."

It features key Muslim scholars like Umar Faruq Abdullah, Abdullah Adhami, Abdalla Idris Ali, Zainab Alwani, Jamal Badawi, Abdul Hakim Sherman Jackson and Muzzammil Siddiqui.

ISNA is an association of Muslim organizations and individuals providing a common platform for presenting Islam, supporting Muslim communities, developing educational, social and outreach programs, and fostering good relations with other religious communities, civic and service organizations.

Civil Liberties

ISNA leaders addressing the plenary session.

Hughes said her new post as undersecretary of state for public diplomacy, which she assumed last month, would cover efforts to respond to civil liberty concerns within the United States from Muslims whose lives and travel have been disrupted in the name of national security.

"We want to be a welcoming country," she told reporters emerging from the meeting.

"We have a common interest in confronting terror and violence and crime and hate that is committed in the name of any religion," she said.

Hughes, asked by Bush to help restore the US public image abroad badly shaken after the invasion of Iraq, praised ISNA for issuing a new pamphlet that takes a strong stand against violence and religious extremism.

US Muslim leaders complained in August that they were sidelined by the Bush administration in the fight against extremism, demanding a more robust role in policy discussions on combating the phenomenon.

Policies of the Bush administration, coupled with some media campaigns, are widely blamed for increasing hatred toward the Muslim minority in the US, following the 9/11 attacks.

Many American Muslim leaders praised Bush's initial outreach to the Muslim minority after the 9/11 attacks.

But they said that such high-profile efforts had waned in the years that followed the deadly attacks.

A May 2004 report released by the US Senate Office Of Research concluded that Arab Americans and the Muslim minority have taken the brunt of the Patriot Act and other federal powers applied in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks.

Parallel Programs

The ISNA convention features tens of parallel programs and sessions covering challenges facing Muslims in North America and many social and health aspects.

The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) will dedicate a seminar on countering Islamaphobia and defamation in America.

Senior US Muslim imams like Zoubir Bouchiki, Rashied Omar and Yusuf Zia Kavakci will also address the role of imams in community leadership and development.

Married couple and renowned authors Ekram and M. Rida Beshir will join the prominent scholar Zainab Alwani to explore the parent/child relations in the Muslim family in North America.

The ISNA Matrimonial Committee, chaired by Tasneem Osmani, will host a banquet, which last year brought together well over 420 participants, with the aim of helping young Muslims tie the knot.

ISNA also organizes a health fair with a special focus this year on blood donations for the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

ISNA has donated $20,000 for humanitarian and relief efforts for the victims affected in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi.

CAIR, for its part, has urged American Muslims to offer assistance to alleviate the suffering of fellow Americans impacted by the killer hurricane.

The ISNA gathering will also feature three evening entertainment sessions which include humorous skits and poetry by college students.

In addition, the youth will enjoy a basketball tournament and a well organized children's program for kids ages 6 – 12 years.

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Posted on Sat, Sep. 03, 2005

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/living/religion/12549492.htm
Hughes reaches out to Muslim group

By Tara Burghart
Associated Press

ROSEMONT, Ill. - Karen Hughes, one of President Bush's closest advisers, told a gathering of American Muslims yesterday that part of her new State Department job was to help amplify the voices of groups such as theirs that condemn terrorism and religious extremism.

The Islamic Society of North America had invited Bush to its convention. He sent Hughes, recently confirmed as undersecretary of state for public diplomacy. Her tasks include improving the U.S. image in Muslim countries.

"We need to foster a sense of common interest and common values among Americans and people of different faiths and different cultures," she said at a news conference. "Frankly, who better to do that than many of our American Muslims themselves, who have friends and families and roots in countries across our world."

The Indiana-based ISNA is an umbrella association of U.S. and Canadian Muslim groups and mosques. Its convention comes a month after U.S. Muslim scholars issued a fatwa, or religious edict, condemning terrorism after deadly attacks in London and Egypt.

"The fatwa says that there is no justification in Islam for terrorism. Those are words the entire world needs to hear," Hughes said.

ISNA yesterday unveiled a brochure outlining the Islamic position against terrorism and religious extremism. It states that terrorism "is the epitome of injustice because it targets innocent people."

Kareem Irfan led the committee that produced the brochure and will launch other initiatives to promote what ISNA calls "balanced Islam." Despite "crystal-clear statements stating the position of Islam and Muslims" against terrorism, there remain "inklings of doubt from segments of society," he said.





This item is available on the Militant Islam Monitor website, at http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/1035