CAIR trains FBI agents as new report cites
links to terror
http://www.insight-report.com:80/2008/080318/cair.html
An American Muslim group identified as an unindicted co-conspirator in a criminal
terrorism case is being used by the FBI to train its agents about Islam.
The FBI declined to respond to Insight’s questions about this seeming
disconnect, as one of the pre-eminent anti-terrorist research centers in America
is set to release an extensive report on the same prominent U.S. Muslim group, accusing
the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) of being a foe, rather than an ally, in
the war on terror.
The 10-part report on CAIR from The Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT), led by
Steven Emerson, debuts March 24. It tells the story of a group formed in the early 1990s
to push an agenda of radical Islamists in the Middle East by portraying the war on terror
as a war on Islam, and by defending those arrested on terror charges.
"After a careful review of the history, activities, statements, and causes of and by
CAIR, it seems that its primary goals are to silence and de-legitimize its critics and
redefine what it means to be a moderate Muslim," says the IPT report, a copy of which
was obtained by Insight. "And when it comes to U.S. efforts to crack down on
terrorists and their financiers, CAIR takes an almost visceral stand in opposition."
"CAIR consistently deceives the American public, law enforcement and politicians,
portraying itself as a moderate and independent organization,” Emerson said to
Insight. “But its own records, statements and other documents tell a different story
which the public deserves to know."
CAIR vigorously rebuts IPT's allegations, which include the charge that it is a front for
Hamas, a Palestinian militia designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the United
States government.
"Steven Emerson’s allegations are utterly false," CAIR spokesman Ahmed
Rehab told Insight. "CAIR is not a front for Hamas, Hezbollah, or any other foreign
group, nor has it ever been. CAIR is an independent American institution, established by
Americans for the purpose of defending the civil rights of American Muslims and advocating
fair and square on their legitimate concerns and interests. CAIR is committed to
non-violent advocacy for justice and equality. CAIR unequivocally condemns all acts of
violence against civilians by any individual, group or state."
Rehab called Emerson part of a group of "Islamophobic pundits."
The assessment of IPT, and other critics, comes as CAIR has grown to become the most
influential Muslim organization in America, with over 30 chapters and offices nationwide
and in Canada. It has waged an aggressive public relations campaign to depict itself as a
civil rights champion. Its representatives make regular media appearances, commenting on
the war on terror. At the same time, CAIR has formed alliances with private and government
organizations to teach them about Islam.
CAIR's website states it is a "Muslim civil liberties and advocacy group. CAIR's
vision is to promote justice and mutual understanding."
But the IPT, government documents and people interviewed by Insight paint a different
picture. Rather than being strictly a civil rights group, CAIR is a staunch defender of
alleged terrorists nabbed in the U.S., a persistent critic of the war on terror and an
unindicted co-conspirator with a foundation the government says funds terrorism.
"CAIR was designed to give a political cover and political front for Hamas in the
United States and then it branched out to do other things," said Emerson. "Its
raison d'etre is really to influence policy on the Middle East and lobby for Hamas. They
are the political lobbying arm for Hamas."
Critics point to how CAIR was born. Its primary founders in 1994, Nihad Awad and Omar
Ahmad, held senior positions in a group called the Islamic Association of Palestine (IAP).
The U.S. government has branded that group as a front for Hamas. It has documented IAP
meetings in which speakers urged the killing of Jews. IAP provided seed money to CAIR.
Hamas vows to destroy Israel and claim its territory. Hamas, an acronym for The Islamic
Resistance Movement, has been involved in countless clashes with Israel, killing innocent
Israeli civilians in the process. The group won last year's legislative elections in the
Palestinian territories. It then claimed the Gaza Strip in a bloody civil war and began
launching scores of rockets at various Israeli targets. It dispatched a gunman to kill
Israeli religious students in Jerusalem earlier this month.
"A long history of suicide bombings and other attacks on Israeli civilian and
military targets has earned Hamas a well-deserved reputation as a murderous terrorist
organization," says the left-leaning Center for Defense Information in Washington.
When the State Department created its first list of foreign terrorist organizations in
1995, Hamas was in the report, and has remained in each update.
The most damaging charges against CAIR have emerged in recent months in the federal
government's criminal case against the Texas-based Holy Land Foundation. The Justice
Department says Holy Land is a front for raising money for Islamic radicals--and that CAIR
is a conspirator. The first criminal trial last summer ended in a mistrial. A new trial is
scheduled for August.
Critics say the Holy Land prosecution confirmed their concerns about CAIR, as prosecutors
unveiled documents that showed Holy Land's ties to Hamas--and to CAIR. Prosecutors also
produced the fruits of FBI surveillance of various American Muslims in an overall
government effort to stop the financing of terrorist cells abroad.
These documents, the IPT report, and other sources show:
-CAIR's two principal founders attended a critical meeting of Muslims in Philadelphia in
1993 that was under surveillance by the FBI. The two are Ahmad, CAIR founding chairman;
and Awad, its executive director. The meeting was hosted by the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood's
Palestine Committee, which the federal government says is a front group for Hamas. One
topic discussed at the meeting was how to derail the 1993 Oslo Accord between Israel and
the Palestinians. Attendees expressed support for Jihad. Ahmad, now CAIR's chairman
emeritus, and Awad founded CAIR shortly after this important strategy meeting.
Rehab, the CAIR spokesman, downplays the 1993 meeting's importance.
"Nihad Awad and Omar Ahmad have never been members of or associated with or tied to
Hamas," he said. "The 1993 public meeting to which you refer has no bearing on
CAIR which did not come to existence until 1994 based on a transparent mission and vision.
Since its inception, CAIR has grown exponentially as an expression of the American-Muslim
grassroots ... [CAIR] counts as its workforce hundreds of staff, interns, and volunteers
of every race, faith, age, and professional background--all are proud Americans."
-CAIR conspired with Holy Land to raise money for Hamas. The Justice Department labeled
CAIR as an unindicted co-conspirator. "Its conspiratorial relationship with the Holy
Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF) was confirmed by testimony and
documentary evidence admitted at trial," prosecutors said in a brief in U.S. District
Court. Internal documents seized by the FBI shows that CAIR was a member of the Palestine
Committee. Court documents show chairman Ahmad mediated a funding dispute between Holy
Land and Abdelhaleem Ashqar over funding for Hamas founder Sheik Jamil Hamami.
Rehab downplayed the government labeling his group as a co-conspirator, noting it was one
of hundreds named in the case.
"That allegation has never faced nor withstood scrutiny in a court of law,” he
said. “In other words, that label is a statement on the subjective feelings of the
prosecution, not on the objective judgment of a U.S. court. Being named an unindicted
co-conspirator is not a pronouncement of any guilt or even guilt by association. It allows
for an exception to the hearsay rule making 'co-conspirator' statements admissible as
evidence in the case. “
-CAIR publicly has vouched for the innocence of Muslims arrested in the United States on
terrorism charges--sometimes even after their convictions.
Awad strongly defended Mousa Abu Marzook, a Hamas official who founded the Islamic
Association of Palestine. The U.S. government listed Marzook as a specially designated
terrorist. It indicted him in 2004 and he subsequently fled the country.
Perhaps the most celebrated case is that of Sami Al-Arian. A professor at the University
of South Florida, al-Arian was indicted in 2003 on charges he raised money for the
Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). Like Hamas, PIJ is committed to the destruction of
Israel, conducts suicide attacks against Israeli citizens and is a U.S.-designated foreign
terror organization.
Al-Arian was held in prison without bail for contempt for refusing to testify before a
federal grand jury. He became a cause celebre to the political Left--and to CAIR.
When Al-Arian was arrested in February 2003, CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper went on
MSNBC’s “Buchanan & Press” and suggested the charges were
“politically motivated.”
"I think the problem we're seeing is that the Israelization of American policy and
procedures, the failed tactics of the Israelis, where, if you just kill a few more people,
destroy a few more homes, seize a few more acres, everything will be OK.,” Hooper
said on Feb. 20. “We don't want to take that and translate it into the American
setting…The entire controversy began with the attack dogs of the pro-Israel lobby
going after Sami Al-Arian… .”
In 2003, Al-Arian pleaded guilty to a single charge of aiding PIJ. A federal judge called
him a "master manipulator" who could have stopped planned terror attacks against
innocent Israelis. The judge sentenced him to 57 months in prison, after which he is to be
deported.
"Whenever a Muslim indictment is announced, virtually all the time CAIR will come to
their defense," said Emerson. "There has never been an instance when CAIR has
supported an Islamic indictment."
Asked why CAIR has supported Marzook and other terror suspects, Rehab said, "Our
nation’s values assert that being charged with a crime and being guilty of a crime
are two different things. CAIR, an organization that does much work in the civil liberties
field, seeks to ensure that the objective legal process that makes our nation an object of
envy around the world is followed in the cases we monitor. We believe that justice is a
process before it is an outcome."
-Awad openly voiced his support for Hamas in 1994. "I used to support the PLO, and I
used to be the President of the General Union of Palestine Students which is part of the
PLO here in the United States, but after I researched the situation inside Palestine and
outside, I am in support of the Hamas movement more than the PLO," he said.
-In 2004, CAIR condemned Israel's killing of Ahmed Yassin, the Hamas founder whom
intelligence sources say directed suicide bombing killings against Israelis.
A CAIR press release called Yassin "a wheel-chair-bound Palestinian Muslim religious
leader" and called on the United States to cut off support to Israel.
In its statement, CAIR said: "We call on the United States to join its allies in
condemning this political assassination and to make that condemnation meaningful by
cutting the flow [of] American-taxpayer dollars to Israel. It is these tax dollars that
pay for the weapons Israel uses to carry out such illegal attacks. American repudiation of
Israel's brutal policies could also be demonstrated by the cancellation of Ariel Sharon's
upcoming visit to Washington."
-Some CAIR officials reject evidence that al Qaeda carried out the 9/11 attacks. The
executive director of CAIR-New York told Newsday in October 2001, "Mohammed Atta [the
9/11 ring leader and hijacker] is alive and living in the United Arab Emirates. His
passport was stolen."
FBI Embraces CAIR
There is a disconnect in the government's prosecution of Holy Land officials. On the one
hand, federal prosecutors in Dallas accused CAIR of being a co-conspirator, and cite
FBI-gathered evidence. On the other hand, the FBI embraces CAIR.
CAIR trains FBI agents across the country on Islam and how to treat Muslims. CAIR's
archived press releases show numerous instances of CAIR representatives training the FBI,
as well as the Marine Corps, local law enforcement and government employees.
"CAIR-CT Trains FBI Agents on Islam," said a May 2007 press release about
instructions given to agents in Connecticut.
"Representatives of the Connecticut chapter of the Council on American-Islamic
Relations (CAIR-CT) recently offered diversity and sensitivity training on Islam and
Muslims to officials at the New Haven office of the FBI," the release said. "The
hour-long training included information on basic Islamic beliefs and practices."
The public affairs office of FBI headquarters in Washington did not respond to questions
from Insight on whether the bureau would continue to rely on CAIR.
At the Justice Department, spokesman Dean Boyd said, “We can't provide any comment on
CAIR vis-a-vis Holy Land. There is a gag order that remains in place in connection with
the Holy Land Foundation case.”
Despite its critics, CAIR is growing bolder. It has announced a major new public relations
campaign dubbed "Beyond Stereotypes." CAIR is distributing to reporters 40,000
handbooks called, "American Muslims: A Journalist's Guide to Understanding Islam and
Muslims."
CAIR'S Critics
CAIR's public campaigns have spurred a counter movement--groups established or redirected
to rebut its assertions. Emerson's IPT monitors CAIR constantly, posts relevant documents
on its Web page and issues reports, such as this new 10-part dossier.
There is one non-profit, Anti-CAIR, founded by Andrew Whitehead, which devotes all of its
energies to exposing what it considers CAIR's shady practices. It was Anti-CAIR that
publicized the fact that a link on CAIR's website soliciting donations for New York
firefighters actually took contributors to the home page for Holy Land--the accused backer
of Hamas.
National security analyst Daniel Pipes regularly blogs about radical Islam and CAIR.
And the Center for Security Policy, headed by former Reagan administration official Frank
Gaffney, has produced a lengthy, yet-to-be-released analysis of how CAIR functions in
America.
The paper, a copy of which was obtained by Insight, depicts CAIR as a secretive group that
excludes secular, pro-American Muslims.
"CAIR has opposed efforts by the U.S. government to rid the country of terrorist
activity on the grounds that civil rights might be violated, and routinely urges its
constituency to challenge government authority," the center's report states.
"They are certainly not a civil rights group as we understand it,” said Alex
Alexiev, the center's vice president for research. “They have transformed into a
fifth column, infiltrating and establishing themselves in our society, politics,
governments. It's a lot more than just a funding mechanism."
"Their objective is to legitimize themselves as the representative of Muslims and
drive the Islamic agenda," he told Insight. "It is essentially a fifth column.
Unfortunately a lot of people bite, including people in law enforcement, the media.
Unfortunately, our media is just clueless. They are willing to believe these people
because they are anti-Bush."
CAIR’s Weapon against Critics: Lawsuits
As its critics increased following the 9/11 attacks, CAIR went on the offensive by suing
people. "CAIR has been turning to courts in the United States and Canada to silence
its critics," writes Pipes, a Middle East expert whose books include, "Militant
Islam Reaches America."
He calls the suits "legal jihad." He has documented over a half-dozen such
lawsuits or threats of legal action.
For example, CAIR sued former North Carolina congressman Cass Ballenger, after he accused
the group of being a fund-raising arm of the Lebanese-based terrorist organization,
Hezbollah, and could blow up the Capitol. A U.S. District Court judge dismissed the suit,
and a federal appeals panel agreed with the decision.
This year, CAIR went after another congressman, Rep. Steve King, Iowa Republican. CAIR
called King "bigoted" after he predicted al Qaeda would be "dancing in the
streets" if a U.S. president with the name of "Hussein," a common Muslim
moniker, was elected U.S. president. It was a reference to Sen. Barack Hussein Obama.
CAIR has joined forces with liberal activists, such as the American Civil Liberties Union,
which has sued the Bush administration over its war-on-terror policies. CAIR calls
activists such as Pipes and Emerson "Islamophobes."
CAIR's spokesman Rehab defends the group's right to sue critics, saying, "We assert
the rights of our critics to say what they think. However, we are equally allowed to
express our opinions. Free speech is a two-way street. When our critics make allegations
that cross the line into defamation or other areas that deserve a legal challenge, we may
choose to file a lawsuit. This is simply working within our existing American system to
redress grievances. It is not a system we are inventing. As far as intent, it is not to
intimidate, but rather to protect our rights."
CAIR quickly mounted a public relations campaign in August 2007 against a report from the
intelligence branch of the New York City Police Department.
Entitled "Radicalization in the West: The Homegrown Threat," the report examined
how seemingly law-abiding Muslims in the U.S. can be turned into murderous jihadists.
"Jihadist or jihadi-Salafi ideology is the driver that motivates young men and women,
born or living in the West, to carry out 'autonomous jihad' via acts of terrorism against
their host countries," the NYPD said. "It guides movements, identifies the
issues, drives recruitment and is the basis for action."
CAIR immediately condemned the report.
"Whatever one thinks of the analysis contained in the report, its sweeping
generalizations and mixing of unrelated elements may serve to cast a pall of suspicion
over the entire American Muslim community," said CAIR chairman Parvez Ahmed.
"CAIR felt that the report was highly subjective with no empirical credibility or
scholarly prowess. Its conclusions were mostly speculative,” Rehab said.
“Shockingly, its wide dragnet effectively cast almost every American Muslim as a
potential terrorist. At the same time, the report’s authors admit that their findings
offer no useful way to identify real terror suspects. For us, the report was at best
sloppy, at worst, irresponsibly vilifying."
Not everyone, however, buckles to CAIR. In 2005, CAIR turned its guns on Andrew Whitehead,
suing him for libel. Whitehead offended CAIR by stating it was, "dedicated to the
overthrow of the United States Constitution and the installation of an Islamic theocracy
in America."
Whitehead did not take the suit lying down. He went on the offensive, counter-suing CAIR.
His attorney filed an extensive discovery request for internal documents.
CAIR never provided the documents. But it did file a brief with the court stating
"CAIR has established a status of enviable prestige within highest echelons of the
‘Washington establishment.'"
The case was eventually settled in 2006 under a confidentiality agreement. Whitehead said,
"The policies and procedures of anti-CAIR have not changed in any way as a result of
the CAIR lawsuit settlement."
Funding
CAIR is guarded in discussing its source of funds.
“CAIR’s operating budget is around $2.25 million,” said Rehab. “Like
other non-profit groups, CAIR does not publicize the names of individual donors. CAIR
follows best governance practices and makes its financial audits public.”
According to the IPT report, CAIR has stated it receives no "support from any
overseas group or government."
But IPT research shows it has gotten money from two Saudi Arabia-funded organizations--the
World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY) and the International Islamic Relief Organization
(IIRO). U.S. agents have raided their U.S. offices to investigate possible links to terror
groups.
The IPT says, "CAIR received $500,000 from a Saudi prince in 2002 and, in 1999,
$250,000 from a Saudi-based bank currently headed by the former director of the Muslim
World League (MWL), a charity identified by Osama bin Laden as a primary source of Al
Qaeda’s funds. MWL’s U.S. office has been raided by federal terrorism
investigators."
-Rowan Scarborough, a former national security reporter at The Washington Times, is a
special correspondent for Insight. He is the author of "Rumsfeld's War" and
"Sabotage." |
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