Right Wingers War Against CAIR and Muslims in America
Holder to speak to CAIR-linked group
Attorney General Eric Holder has agreed to give a keynote speech next week to a Michigan group which includes the local branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations even though the FBI has formally severed contacts with the controversial Muslim civil rights organization.
On Nov. 19, Holder is scheduled to speak in Detroit to the first annual awards banquet of Advocates and Leaders for Police and Community Trust, a coalition of several dozen law enforcement and community groups. An online registration form for the event includes the Council on American Islamic Relations-Michigan on a list of “official & participating organizations.”
A spokeswoman for ALPACT confirmed that CAIR is a member of the coalition.
“CAIR has been involved for a while,” said Chandra McMillion, community development facilitator for ALPACT. “CAIR is listed as an official member.”
The executive director of CAIR’s Michigan chapter, Dawud Walid, also confirmed its involvement with ALPACT. “It’s really nothing controversial. We’ve been part of this organization for years,” he said. “We meet every month and included with us is the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI.”
Walid said he is a regular at ALPACT meetings—including one held Friday at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Detroit. “A lot of people are there: the NAACP, the ACLU, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee…the National Lawyers’ Guild,” he said.
The FBI claims it cut “formal contacts” with CAIR after federal prosecutors in the 2007 criminal trial of officers of a Texas-based Islamic charity, the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, introduced documents the government said showed links between CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood, which gave rise to Hamas.
“Until we can resolve whether there continues to be a connection between CAIR or its executives and HAMAS, the FBI does not view CAIR as an appropriate liaison partner,” FBI Congressional liaison Richard Powers wrote in an April letter to Senator Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.).
An FBI spokeswoman confirmed that the FBI’s Special Agent-in-Charge in Detroit, Andy Arena, will serve as co-chair for the Nov. 19 dinner.
“We are co-chairing the event. We are not sponsoring the event,” spokeswoman Jennifer Burnside said. She said the FBI “didn’t have any role” in selling tickets for the event or in issuing invitations.
Burnside also stressed the fact that the dinner is not a closed briefing. “It’s a public event and Joe off the street could attend,” she said.
Another factor contributing to federal law enforcement’s prominent role in the event is that the dinner will involve a tribute to Paul Sorce, an FBI agent killed in a traffic accident in March while conducting surveillance. “Honoring a fallen agent is very important to us,” Burnside said.
Asked about the FBI’s limits on contacts with CAIR, Burnside said, “Our policy doesn’t prohibit the FBI participating in meetings where CAIR is going to be involved.”
Former terrorism prosecutor Andrew McCarthy, a CAIR critic, said he was disappointed.
In the FBI’s letter to Kyl, the agency said the limits on contacts with CAIR stemmed from its status as an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land case. In 2007, five Holy Land officers were acquitted on some charges, while a mistrial was declared on others after jurors deadlocked. In a retrial in 2008, all the men were convicted.
In March, an array of American Muslim groups threatened to cut ties with the FBI, citing, among other concerns, the agency's treatment of CAIR.
McMillion said the connection ALPACT creates between CAIR and the FBI’s Detroit office has been vetted by top officials in Washington.
The relationship between the FBI and Muslim groups in Michigan has been strained in recent days after agents shot and killed a local imam they said was the leader of a radical fundamentalist group. Luqman Abdullah, 53, was killed on Oct. 28 in Detroit after he refused to surrender and opened fire on agents attempting to arrest him and a band of his followers on federal weapons and conspiracy charges, the FBI said. An FBI dog was also killed in the exchange of fire, the agency noted in press released.
Walid has been sharply critical of the FBI for using deadly force in the operation, but the CAIR official said that doesn’t mean the group is at loggerheads with the federal law enforcement agency.
Attorney General Eric Holder has agreed to give a keynote speech next week to a Michigan group which includes the local branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations even though the FBI has formally severed contacts with the controversial Muslim civil rights organization.
On Nov. 19, Holder is scheduled to speak in Detroit to the first annual awards banquet of Advocates and Leaders for Police and Community Trust, a coalition of several dozen law enforcement and community groups. An online registration form for the event includes the Council on American Islamic Relations-Michigan on a list of “official & participating organizations.”
A spokeswoman for ALPACT confirmed that CAIR is a member of the coalition.
“CAIR has been involved for a while,” said Chandra McMillion, community development facilitator for ALPACT. “CAIR is listed as an official member.”
The executive director of CAIR’s Michigan chapter, Dawud Walid, also confirmed its involvement with ALPACT. “It’s really nothing controversial. We’ve been part of this organization for years,” he said. “We meet every month and included with us is the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI.”
Walid said he is a regular at ALPACT meetings—including one held Friday at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Detroit. “A lot of people are there: the NAACP, the ACLU, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee…the National Lawyers’ Guild,” he said.
The FBI claims it cut “formal contacts” with CAIR after federal prosecutors in the 2007 criminal trial of officers of a Texas-based Islamic charity, the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, introduced documents the government said showed links between CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood, which gave rise to Hamas.
“Until we can resolve whether there continues to be a connection between CAIR or its executives and HAMAS, the FBI does not view CAIR as an appropriate liaison partner,” FBI Congressional liaison Richard Powers wrote in an April letter to Senator Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.).
An FBI spokeswoman confirmed that the FBI’s Special Agent-in-Charge in Detroit, Andy Arena, will serve as co-chair for the Nov. 19 dinner.
“We are co-chairing the event. We are not sponsoring the event,” spokeswoman Jennifer Burnside said. She said the FBI “didn’t have any role” in selling tickets for the event or in issuing invitations.
Burnside also stressed the fact that the dinner is not a closed briefing. “It’s a public event and Joe off the street could attend,” she said.
Another factor contributing to federal law enforcement’s prominent role in the event is that the dinner will involve a tribute to Paul Sorce, an FBI agent killed in a traffic accident in March while conducting surveillance. “Honoring a fallen agent is very important to us,” Burnside said.
Asked about the FBI’s limits on contacts with CAIR, Burnside said, “Our policy doesn’t prohibit the FBI participating in meetings where CAIR is going to be involved.”
Former terrorism prosecutor Andrew McCarthy, a CAIR critic, said he was disappointed.
In the FBI’s letter to Kyl, the agency said the limits on contacts with CAIR stemmed from its status as an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land case. In 2007, five Holy Land officers were acquitted on some charges, while a mistrial was declared on others after jurors deadlocked. In a retrial in 2008, all the men were convicted.
In March, an array of American Muslim groups threatened to cut ties with the FBI, citing, among other concerns, the agency's treatment of CAIR.
McMillion said the connection ALPACT creates between CAIR and the FBI’s Detroit office has been vetted by top officials in Washington.
The relationship between the FBI and Muslim groups in Michigan has been strained in recent days after agents shot and killed a local imam they said was the leader of a radical fundamentalist group. Luqman Abdullah, 53, was killed on Oct. 28 in Detroit after he refused to surrender and opened fire on agents attempting to arrest him and a band of his followers on federal weapons and conspiracy charges, the FBI said. An FBI dog was also killed in the exchange of fire, the agency noted in press released.
Walid has been sharply critical of the FBI for using deadly force in the operation, but the CAIR official said that doesn’t mean the group is at loggerheads with the federal law enforcement agency.
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