CAIR’s Executive Director and Founder Nihad Awad (L) and National Legislative Director Corey Saylor announcing the release of their agitprop report on “Islamophobia,” whose aim was to shut down discussion on Islamism.
When the United Arab Emirates designated CAIR as a terrorist group for its affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood, they decided the backlash was worth it.
By Ryan Mauro:
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, Muslim American Society (CAIR) and Islamic Relief Worldwide, the parent organization of Islamic Relief USA, are protesting the United Arab Emirates after the Muslim-majority country banned them alongside 80 other groups including the Muslim Brotherhood.
The United Arab Emirates banned the Muslim Brotherhood, as Egypt and Saudi Arabia have done, but went several steps further by listing Brotherhood entities in Europe and the U.S. In taking this step, the UAE made a conscious decision to expose these groups as Brotherhood affiliates.
In response, the American-Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD), a Muslim group opposed to Islamism, said the ban is counterproductive. The organization argues:
“Ideally, the UAE’s move would cause individuals associated with these groups and broader American society at large to see these organizations for what they really are: purveyors of Islamist apologetics and the malignancy of supremacism. Unfortunately, however, this list will do no such thing. Rather, it places CAIR in exactly the position they most enjoy: that of the victim.”
The AIFD says bans do not undermine the Islamist ideology, especially because governments like those in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar “just want a single tribe to control the Islamist government rather than a populist movement.”
These are valid points worth considering, however, the Muslim Brotherhood qualifies as a terrorist organization. Hamas, the Palestinian wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, is officially branded a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S. State Department.
In America, the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood set up a section called the Palestine Committee with the specific objective of financing Hamas. This was accomplished by the Holy Land Foundation, an entity of the Palestine Committee, until it was shut down. CAIR is another entity of the Palestine Committee according to the U.S. Justice Department.
These Brotherhood-linked groups are now responding to the press attention by asking the UAE for explanations. One group, the Muslim American Society (MAS), said it would try to get help from the U.S. government.
Another group banned by the UAE is the Muslim American Society(MAS). This organization was “founded as the overt arm of the Muslim Brotherhood in America,” according to federal prosecutors in a 2008 court filing. The Clarion Project has documented MAS’ history of extremism, including its Brotherhood links and its leadership’s affection for Hamas.
Read more at Clarion Project
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Lawfare Project director Brooke Goldstein discusses the UAE’s designation of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and Muslim American Society (MAS) as terror organizations on Fox News’ The Kelly File.
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