AP has reported that the developed of the “Ground Zero Mosque” is expected to address the 16th annual fundraising banquet of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR). According to the report:
WASHINGTON (AP) The developer of a controversial Islamic center near ground zero is slated to address the Council on American-Islamic Relations. In an e-mail announcement, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad says developer Sharif El-Gamal will speak at the group’s 16th annual fundraising banquet on Oct. 9 in Arlington, Va. The event is part of the organization’s leadership conference billed under the theme “Defining Our Faith, Defending Our Rights.” Awad says Islamophobia has become a growing threat to American Muslims and must be “challenged vigorously, methodically and comprehensively.”
Previous posts have discussed the statement of support for the project as well as its call for a week of interfaith dialog to discuss it. Other posts have discussed the CAIR banquet where Global Muslim Brotherhood leader Tariq Ramadan is expected to deliver the keynote. Ramadan has opposed the Ground Zero project.
Documents released in the Holy Land Trial have revealed that the founders and current leaders of CAIR were part of the Palestine Committee of the Muslim Brotherhood as well as identifying the organization itself as being part of the US. Brotherhood. A recent post discussed an interview with the Deputy leader of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood in which he confirms a relationship between his organization and CAIR. Investigative research posted on GMBDW had determined that CAIR had it origins in the U.S. Hamas infrastructure and CAIR and its leaders have a long history of defending almost all individuals accused of terrorism by the US. government, frequently calling such prosecutions a “war on Islam.”