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The WorldNetDaily story below
is a triumph of good investigative journalism. CAIR (The Council on
American-Islamic Relations) repeatedly denies ties to terrorist
organizations, but the evidence disputing those denials continues to grow. As
the old saying goes, "where there’s smoke, there’s fire." In CAIR’s
case, there’s so much smoke CAIR must be hoping that the smoke will blind our
eyes from seeing the fire.
HOMELAND INSECURITY
CAIR called
‘turnstile’ for terrorist suspects
‘Proven record
of senior officials being indicted, imprisoned, deported from U.S.‘
Posted: December 4, 2007
1:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com
As the Council on American-Islamic Relations lobbies Congress to help
strike its name
from a list of co-conspirators in a federal terror case, WND has learned
the Muslim group’s ties to terrorism and extremism are far more extensive
than first believed.
Although CAIR is a nonprofit organization, it does not disclose complete
directories of its staff or advisory boards, and even refuses to make its
federal tax filings readily available to the public.
But a review of federal criminal court documents, past IRS 990 tax records
and Federal Election Commission records detailing donor occupations, reveals
that Washington-based CAIR has been associated with a disturbing number of
convicted terrorists or felons in terrorism probes, as well as suspected
terrorists and active targets of terrorism investigations.
"Their offices have been a turnstile for terrorists and their
supporters," said one FBI veteran familiar with recent and ongoing cases
involving CAIR officials.
As previously reported, three CAIR officials
have been linked to terrorism. But WND has learned that at least 11 other
CAIR officials have been caught up in terror investigations, bringing the
total to 14.
Congressional leaders say they are warning lawmakers and other Washington
officials to disassociate from the group due to its growing terror ties.
"Groups like CAIR have a proven record of senior officials being
indicted and either imprisoned or deported from the United States," said
U.S. Rep. Sue Myrick, R-N.C., co-founder of the House Anti-Terrorism/Jihad
Caucus.
CAIR itself recently was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in an
alleged scheme to funnel $12 million to the terrorist group Hamas. In the
Holy Land Foundation case, federal prosecutors also listed CAIR as a member
of the U.S. branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, a worldwide jihadist movement
that gave rise to Hamas, al-Qaida and other terrorist groups. The government
will retry the Holy Land case, which ended in a hung jury.
"There was a lot of evidence presented at the recent Holy Land
Foundation trial which exposed CAIR and others as front groups for the Muslim
Brotherhood in the United States," Myrick said.
Still, CAIR is lobbying House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers
and other sympathetic members of Congress to pressure the Justice Department
to expunge its name from the case, arguing the negative publicity has hurt
membership and fundraising.
The federal judge during the trial refused a written request by the group
to strike its name from the list of co-conspirators. The petition is still
pending before the court.
CAIR denies supporting terrorism and continues to claim to be a
"moderate" voice for Muslims in America. The group says its critics
are the extremists, including radio personality Michael Savage, whom the
group is now attacking with a boycott campaign. So far it has convinced Wal-Mart,
OfficeMax, AT&T, JCPenney and other companies to stop advertising on
Savage’s popular show.
In response, Savage last week filed a
lawsuit against CAIR, accusing the organization of being a
"political vehicle of international terrorism" that seeks to do
"material harm to those voices who speak against the violent agenda of
CAIR’s clients."
Ibrahim Hooper, communications director for CAIR, told WND the group
would not comment on Savage’s action until the document had been
reviewed.
CAIR, which runs 33 offices and chapters nationwide, also recently helped
defeat an anti-terror plan by Los Angeles police to map the local Muslim
community for extremist neighborhoods. Now it’s pressuring GOP presidential
hopeful Mitt Romney to back down from his position against appointing a
Muslim to his Cabinet.
Critics counter that CAIR has no legitimate voice to make such complaints,
because the group is itself an extremist organization that has employed or
appointed to its boards of directors and advisers an inordinate number of
radical co-conspirators, suspected and convicted terrorists, and other
criminals.
To read the rest of this article, click
here.
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