Department of Agriculture Builds a Stonewall Around the Muslim Brotherhood Grants Workshop

We sent an email to the Department of Agriculture yesterday afternoon, asking for confirmation concerning their co-sponsorship (with the Muslim Brotherhood-associated Coordinating Council of Muslim Organizations) of the Tuesday, August 31 special workshop on “direct access” grants and financial assistance, combined with an Iftar dinner with Muslim federal employees.  The “direct access” grants workshop was promoted by the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) to “cut the red tape”  with several federal agencies (Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, Agriculture, White House, Education, etc) for 20 invited – but unnamed – Muslim groups, under CCMO’s associated Muslim Brotherhood sponsorship.

We received a reply email from the USDA at 3:01 pm with the instructions, “You can feel free to attribute this to ‘a USDA spokesperson.’”  The email was not sent from the USDA  Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships Director Max Finberg, nor his colleagues Jon Granberg-Michaelson and Julie Curti, to all three of whom we had directed these questions:

Can you confirm that there will be a meeting with Muslim non-profits tomorrow at the Department of Agriculture HQ building?

When and where will the meeting be held?

Can press attend, given the public interest in knowing who is attending and the controversial background of the co-sponsor CCMO?

Can other non-profits attend, even if they are not Muslim?

Will you release the list of attendees, by name and organization, from non-profits and also attendees who are government employees, elected or appointed officials, or other individuals?

What did ISNA mean in their newsletter about “cut the red tape” and “direct access”?

Was your office aware of the background of the CCMO Officers? If so, when did you become aware of their background? If not, who handles vetting of co-sponsors in your organization, and why was the CCMO association with the Muslim Brotherhood not identified by that person or persons?

Who recommended CCMO as co-sponsor?

Is it the policy of the U.S. Department of Agriculture to co-sponsor events with organizations publicly associated with the Muslim Brotherhood, like the event being held tomorrow?

If so, what other events co-sponsored with these Muslim Brotherhood-associated organizations are planned, and who will sponsor and attend?

The response from “USDA spokesperson” was, in entirety:

To enhance our effectiveness in reaching those in need of USDA’s services, we continue to meet with a broad range of leaders and organizations to explain what services USDA provides to the American people and ways in which we can strengthen our outreach efforts. We have met with leaders from a number of groups representing underserved communities as well as a number of faith-based organizations such as Bread for the World, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, and Mazon: A Jewish Response to Hunger. These meetings are not open to press.

That doesn’t answer a single one of the questions, but it does show how much respect the Department of Agriculture’s current administration holds for the public’s interest in transparency when multiple agencies meet with known Muslim Brotherhood-associated groups like CCMO, including agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security, for special consideration for grants and financial assistance.

None at all.

And apparently they feel the Muslim Brotherhood is an underserved community.  I feel sure the Muslim Brotherhood would agree.

They indeed wish to be served by the U.S. Government and the American people.

And on August 31, at the event co-sponsored by CCMO, they got their wish.