Who Actually Represents American Muslims?

[Geee]

Gatestone Institute:

On November 12, 2015, the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), with the support of a number of local Islamic groups in Boston, organized a lobbying day at the Massachusetts State House, ostensibly to advocate on behalf of local Muslims.

 

Nadeem Mazen, a director of CAIR's Massachusetts branch (CAIR-MA) and an elected councillor for the city of Cambridge, explained: "We must be thought leaders and exemplars in our communities for basic social justice. And we're meeting with our legislators to remind them that we are hundreds, thousands, and in many cases tens of thousands strong in their communities."

 

Certainly, the discussions that took place fit the "social justice" narrative – the Boston Globe reports that participants argued for "increasing affordable housing, reforming school discipline, and reducing mass incarceration for non-violent offenders."

 

But who exactly was behind this lobbying day? And what does it mean for American Muslims that such groups claim to represent their interests in state legislatures?

 

The chief organizing body, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, is a prominent Islamic group, but which has a long history of involvement with extremist and terrorist causes. In 2009, during the Holy Land Foundation terror financing trial, U.S. District Court Judge Jorge Solis concluded that, "The government has produced ample evidence to establish the associations of CAIR... with the Islamic Association for Palestine, and with Hamas."

 

During the trial, CAIR was designated an "unindicted co-conspirator." As a result of CAIR's apparent links to a terrorist movement, the Justice Department in 2009 announced a ban on working with CAIR. The FBI also severed relations.

[Valin]

@Geee

 

 

In reality, American Muslims are extremely diverse, and no single group can claim to speak on their collective behalf. American Islam comprises dozens of different religious sects and political movements, many of which advocate distinctly different ideas

 

 

Sounds a lot like Americans.