Council on American-Islamic Relations

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The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is an advocacy group which seeks "to enhance understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding."^[1]

CAIR is a major non-profit, non-governmental, Muslim organization in North America, funded by American Muslims and also in significant part by Islamic Middle Eastern sources such as the Al Maktoum Foundation, which is headed by the crown prince of Dubai and which owns the deed to CAIR's headquarters in Washington, D.C. [1].

Contents 1 Overview 2 Funding 3 Projects 4 Disputes and dialogue 5 Criticism 6 References 7 External links 7.1 Official 7.2 News articles 7.3 Criticism

[edit] Overview

Headquartered in Washington, D.C., with 32 regional offices and chapters in the U.S. and Canada, CAIR was founded in 1994 by Nihad Awad, Omar Ahmad, and Rafeeq Jaber^[2][3] of the Islamic Association of Palestine ) with funding from the Hamas group Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development.^[4] The Holy Land Foundation was later closed as a money-laundering scheme for terrorist support. Hamas is still denominated as a "Designated Foreign Terrorist Organization" by the United States Department of State. [2]

CAIR’s literature claims its vision as a Muslim civil liberties and advocacy group is to build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding^[5]. Its mission is based on 3 core goals – enhancing understanding of Islam, promoting Islamic justice [3][4]and empowering American Muslims.

CAIR works in close cooperation with other civic and civil liberties groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International, NAACP, Hispanic Unity, Organization of Chinese Americans, Japanese American Citizens League, Sikh Mediawatch and Resource Task Force, among many others. In 2003, the Ohio chapter of the ACLU gave its annual Liberty Flame Award to the Ohio chapter of CAIR "for contributions to the advancement and protection of civil liberties." [5].

CAIR has successfully formed partnership with the National Council of Churches and held dialogue with representatives of the National Association of Evangelicals.

CAIR has been critical of a number of U.S. criminal prosecutions, arguing, for example in one of many cases, that Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, deemed the ringleader of the World Trade Center bombing in 1993, and convicted of conspiring to blow up the Lincoln Tunnel and other New York City landmarks, did not receive a fair trial.

CAIR commonly works to defend supposed "Islamic Charities" accused of sending money to terrorist groups in the Middle East. CAIR has issued a statement condemning the most recent indictments against members of the Islamic American Relief Agency, the American branch of which was closed in 2004 after being declared a global terrorist organization. [6]

[edit] Funding

In 1999, the Islamic Development Bank gave a 250,000 US dollar grant to CAIR to purchase land for a national headquarters.^[6]

In 2002, the World Association for Muslim Youth (WAMY), a Saudi government-funded organization, financed a 2002 weekly advertising campaign in American publications estimated to be worth $1.04 million dollars^[7]

In 2003, Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal donated $500,000 to place books in US libraries.

In 2006, Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Minister of Finance and Industry, financed the building of a property in the US to serve as an endowment for the organization.^[8] This gift is thought to generate income of approximately 3 million US dollars a year.

[edit] Projects

CAIR claims that it works to promote a positive image of Islam and Muslims in America through media relations, lobbying, education, and public advocacy. CAIR tries to get a Muslim voice represented in the media, and to present American Muslims' side of issues in current events. Its members often appear on news programs when a story involves Muslims in America. Over the years, CAIR has become an often-cited source for journalists who are seeking input or a quote from Muslim leaders or the Muslim community.^{[citation needed]}

CAIR issues "Action Alerts" to its online subscribers to call attention to hate crimes or harsh statements against Islam and Muslims in the media. Often, it will encourage a letter-writing campaign to ask politicians or editors to condemn hate speech. It also publishes positive reports of interfaith cooperation and examples of businesses that reach out to Muslims, and often asks the subscribers to write letters of gratitude to those leaders and companies.^{[citation needed]}

CAIR also focuses on the civil rights of Muslims in America. It advocates on behalf of Muslims and others who have experienced religious discrimination, defamation, or hate crimes. It often mediates with employers to ensure that companies respect the religious rights of their Muslim workers, such as the right to wear a hijab at work or get time off for Islamic holidays.^{[citation needed]}

CAIR also conducts research on the American Muslim community, releasing annual reports on civil rights and statistics on the Muslim community. It also sponsors voter registration drives in communities and outreach and interfaith relations with other religious groups in America.

After 9/11 Americans en masse took an increasing interest in Islam. CAIR created a "library project" which sold packages of educational books and tapes about Islam (over $300 worth per library) for donation to public libraries in the United States. In 2002 Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal donated $500,000 to CAIR to support the program. [7] The Washington Times noted in 2003 that although CAIR claimed to have sent 37 packets, the city had received only one.[8] The libraryproject.org page was last updated in 2005 and the domain became defunct.

CAIR coordinated the release of a fatwa (religious pronouncement) that stated in part, “Islam strictly condemns religious extremism and the use of violence against innocent lives. There is no justification in Islam for extremism or terrorism. Targeting civilians' life and property through suicide bombings or any other method of attack is haram or forbidden - and those who commit these barbaric acts are criminals, not martyrs.”

In 2005, following retracted media reports of the desecration of the Quran at Camp Delta in the Guantanamo Bay detainment camp, as well as negative stereotypes against Islam in the media, CAIR started an "Explore the Quran" campaign, intended to promote understanding of the Quran by distributing complimentary copies to any interested member of the American public.

In 2006, during the worldwide Muslim outrage over the publication of cartoons visually depicting the Prophet Muhammad, CAIR responded by launching an educational program "Explore the Life of Muhammad" aimed at providing free copies of a DVD or book about the life of the Prophet Muhammad to any person who requests it. Over 16,000 requests were received as of September 2006.

In June 2006, CAIR announced a $50 million project to influence the American media ($10 million per year for five years). According to the article, the project will be spearheaded by Paul Findleya former US Congressman. Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal was going to be contacted to help fund the project. [9]

[edit] Disputes and dialogue

CAIR has criticized several recent films and television shows featuring Muslim terrorists. For instance, it lobbied against the film The Sum of All Fears in a campaign lasting two years, during which time CAIR was in contact with Paramount Pictures and Mace Neufeld.[10] The campaign was ultimately successful and the Islamist terrorists which had featured in the original book were replaced with neo-Nazis in the film version.

CAIR also issued a complaint on September 29, 2005, following an ad for the Bell/Boeing CV-22 aircraft which portrayed soldiers storming a mosque.[11] The following day, Boeing sent a formal apology to CAIR, and Bell and the National Journal contacted CAIR to express their regret.[12]

On January 26, 2006, CAIR issued a complaint following a segment on Los Angeles radio program The Bill Handel Show which allegedly mocked the deaths of Muslims in a recent Hajj stampede.[13] CAIR had been monitoring the program for "anti-Muslim material" and had previously filed complaints over another inflammatory incident in 2004, which resulted in a formal apology issued on-air by the station (KFI).[14]

[edit] Criticism

Main article: Criticism of the Council on American-Islamic Relations

CAIR has received criticism from a number of both governmental and non-governmental sources, for actions it has taken and people and organizations it has been involved with.

The greatest source of criticism has involved CAIR's ties to terrorism and terrorist groups.^{[9][10][11][12][13][14]} As of 2006, at least four former CAIR officials have been charged with terrorism-related offenses. Critics claim CAIR is a spin-off of the Islamic Association for Palestine, which is alleged to be a “front group” for Hamas.^[15]

Critics have also taken aim at CAIR's fundraising and sources of funds. Shortly after the 9/11 attacks, CAIR's website solicited donations for what it called the "NY/DC Emergency Relief Fund."^[16] However, clicking on the donation link led to a website for donations to the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF).^{[citation needed]} It was later designated as a terrorist organization by the European Union and U.S., and shut down by the U.S. government.

CAIR has also been accused of doctoring photographs and reporting fraudulent statistics about the Muslim population of the United States in support of its own private agenda. Finally, another source of criticism is that CAIR attempts to suppress criticism of Islamic terrorism and intolerance through accusations of racism and anti-Muslim bias.

Investor's Business Daily publicly condemned CAIR as being "the PR machine of militant Islam" after CAIR "dispatched its henchmen" to try to shut down the first Secular Islam Summit. [15]

Among the numerous books donated to libraries in CAIR's "library project" was former congressman Paul Findley's 'Silent No More', which includes positive statements about convicted terrorist Abdul Rahman al-Amoudi.^[17]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

[edit] Official

• CAIR

[edit] News articles

• CAIR's legal troubles, 2003
• $50M Saudi-funded CAIR media initiative

[edit] Criticism

• Anti-CAIR
• CAIRwatch
• CAIR-The Nation's Loudest Baby
• Anti-Defamation League's CAIR Profile
• Saudi Support for Islamic Extremism in the United States (PDF): 2003, "Testimony of Matthew Epstein Before the United States Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology, and Homeland Security"