CAIR Pressures Tennessee Lawmakers to Drop Key Counter-Terrorism Bill

From Act for America:

Washington, DC: Today, ACT! for America rebuked efforts by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a front group for the terrorist organization Hamas, and other so-called “civil rights” groups to stop the passage of Tennessee’s “Material Support to Designated Entities Act of 2011,” House Bill 1353 and Senate Bill 1028. The twin bills, aimed at providing a powerful counterterrorism tool to state and local law enforcement by allowing for civil and/or criminal penalties against anyone providing material support or resources to terrorist organizations, have gained momentum since their introduction in February.

The bills, criminalizing support of “designated sharia organizations,” closely model federal anti-terrorism designation and material support statutes which have been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court and the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals.

“Yet again CAIR has willfully misled the American public about tools that will allow law enforcement in Tennessee to decisively act before acts of terrorism are committed, instead of having to pick up the pieces later” said Brigitte Gabriel, president of ACT! for America. “The bills purposefully mirror federal laws in targeting those who plan, finance and support others who commit acts of terrorism, but they expressly protect the peaceful practice of Islam by its adherents.

“Contrary to CAIR’s misinformation and fear-mongering, the bills address those individuals who knowingly adhere to sharia and its doctrine of jihad to commit acts of terrorism. CAIR’s repeated defense of sharia law—which allows for terrorism in the name of jihad—is reprehensible.”

CAIR’s goal to impose sharia law in America is illustrated by Omar Ahmad, CAIR co-founder, who was quoted in a July 4, 1998 San Ramon Valley Herald article as saying: “Islam isn’t in America to be equal to any other faith, but to become dominant. The Qur’an should be the highest authority in America.” Ibrahim Hooper, long-time spokesman for CAIR, expressed a similar sentiment when he told the Minneapolis Star Tribune on April 4, 1993: “I wouldn’t want to create the impression that I wouldn’t like the government of the United States to be Islamic sometime in the future.”

In Senate hearings, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) said that CAIR is “unusual in its extreme rhetoric and its associations with groups that are suspect,” Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said the group has “ties to terrorism” and “intimate links to Hamas” (“Terrorism: Two Years After 9/11, Connecting the Dots,” Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security hearing, 09/10/03).

CAIR’s record is long and well-documented:

• A number of CAIR’s former employees and founders are criminals with terrorist ties including:
  • Randall “Ismail” Royer, Former CAIR Communications Director, Connected to a Jihad Network that trained to kill US Soldiers, sentenced to 20 years in prison (Rep. Sue Myrick (R-NC) official website, 03/07/10).
  • Ghassan Elashi, Founding Member of the CAIR Texas Chapter, convicted of shipping high tech goods to Hamas in Syria (Rep. Sue Myrick (R-NC) official website, 03/07/10).
  • Bassem Khafagi, Former CAIR Communications Director, was charged with funneling money to promote terrorist activities and pled guilty to bank fraud.
  • Mr. Rabih Haddad, a CAIR fundraiser, was deported to Lebanon due to his ties to terrorist organizations (“CAIR and terrorism,” The Washington Times, 07/23/04).

• The Department of Justice has connected CAIR to Hamas, a terrorist group, through the Palestine Committee (Justice Department Letter to Rep. Sue Myrick (R-NC), 02/12/10).

• CAIR was named an unindicted co-conspirator by the Department of Justice in the U.S. v. Holy Land Foundation case (“FBI: CAIR is a front group, and Holy Land Foundation tapped Hamas clerics for fundraisers,” Dallas Morning News, 10/07/08). CAIR’s subsequent effort to have this designation removed was opposed by the Justice Department and its motion denied in court.

• In November, 2009, a grand jury subpoenaed CAIR records to investigate possible violations of federal laws barring financial transactions with terrorist groups and countries subject to U.S. sanctions (“CAIR-related probe focuses on possible sanctions violations,” POLITICO, 02/02/10).

• Because CAIR has received millions of dollars in contributions from foreign entities, and has not registered as a foreign agent with the Department of Justice, it has been alleged that CAIR is violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) when it engages in “influence” activities, such as criticizing Ms. Gabriel and demanding that elected officials, tea party organizations and candidates for office do its bidding.

ACT! for America is an issues advocacy organization dedicated to organizing and mobilizing a grassroots network committed to informed and coordinated civic action that will lead to public policies that promote America’s national security and the defense of American democratic values against the assault of radical Islam.

For further information, please contact Jameson Cunningham with Shirley & Banister Public Affairs at (703) 739-5920 or (800) 536-5920.