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CAIR responds to ‘spying' claims by anti-Islam activists
CAIR said on Thursday that anti-Islam activists have vowed to destroy American Muslim groups and asked for support in empowering Muslims and standing up for their constitutional rights.
Four House Republicans held a press conference on Wednesday and charged the council of planting Muslim interns on national security committees. They also accused CAIR of illegal lobbying practices and asked for an investigation of Muslim “spies” on Capitol Hill.
The accusations came in advance of a book titled “Muslim Mafia: Inside the Secret Underworld that's Conspiring to Islamize America.” A co-author of the book, P. David Gaubatz, is known as an anti-Islam activist who wrote last year that “a vote for Hussein Obama is a vote for Sharia Law.”
İbrahim Hooper, the communications director for CAIR, defended his council, saying they would love to help people find jobs on Capitol Hill. “Is all they can come up with is that we are politically active? Is the terror threat that Muslims are politically active?” he asked. CAIR also said one of its directors received a death threat after the Wednesday launch of the “Muslim-bashing” book.
Democrats weren't amused by the accusations, and Rep. Loretta Sanchez said she was “appalled” by the situation.
“I urge the rest of my colleagues to join me in denouncing this witch hunt, which is clearly intended to create fear and distrust in our Capitol Hill community,” Sanchez said in a statement.
Several US publications also threw their support behind CAIR and denounced the “defamatory claims” by right-wing figures. An article in Politico said the alleged spying by Muslims was in fact a “fairly straightforward public relations and lobbying strategy,” with goals of "'placing Muslim interns in congressional offices” and registering people to vote.
In response to the right-wing smears, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution called CAIR a “mainstream, all-American civil liberties and advocacy group.”
An article on salon.com called the actions of the elected officials who launched the anti-Muslim book the “most despicable domestic political event of the year.” The article called the co-author of “Muslim Mafia” a “ranting, insane hatemonger.”
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