MPAC Issues Statement Criticizing Iranian Government Violence

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Five days following a GMBDW post noting that the Muslim Public Affairs Council was one of the many U.S. Muslim Brotherhood organization which had not issued statements on Iran, the organization has issued a statement condemning the use of deadly force against demonstrators:

The disputed election results in Iran have snowballed into a historical crossroads for the nation and its ruling principles. As President Barack Obama has accurately said, the internal affairs of Iran are the sole business of the Iranian people and any foreign attempts to meddle in those affairs would be not only inappropriate but counterproductive. With that said, we at the Muslim Public Affairs Council feel that we have a duty to analyze current events through the lens of Islam and democracy. Islam’s teachings, as articulated in the Quran and through the example of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), revolve around the central notion of free will. The Quran guarantees human rights of freedom of expression, freedom from compulsion in religious affairs, and the right of the people to question their leaders. Any government claiming to be Islamic has a duty to respect the right of its people to vote for their leaders, to have input in determining the direction of their country, and to dissent when they disagree with their government’s actions. Authoritarianism and theocracy are unacceptable, according to Islam’s teachings, because they violate these human rights. Throughout the history of Islamic civilizations, clergy did not take part in government. They acted instead as the conscience of the nation by educating, reminding, and sometimes opposing the government or ruler. As described in the Quran, leaders should be selected from among the people, work for the people, and be held accountable by the people: “O you who have attained to faith! Pay heed unto God, and pay heed unto the Apostle and unto those from among you who have been entrusted with authority…” (4:59). The hundreds of thousands of Iranians we have watched take to the streets for the past two weeks began as silent demonstrators with no slogans or chants. According to all available reports, the government initiated the violence, not the demonstrators. We condemn the government’s use of deadly force against people who have gathered peacefully to voice their opinions. Ultimately, history will be decided by the Iranian people. We simply hope that the Council of Experts in Qum as well as other Iranian clergy and well-respected thinkers will make clear Islam’s opposition to imposing a leader whose so-called election victory is disputed by its own people. Our prayers are with the Iranian people as they face this historic moment.

MPAC was established in the mid-1980’s by individuals whose backgrounds are likely rooted in the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. Since its inception, MPAC has acted in concert with the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood. Although proclaiming a love for the Jewish people and engaging in interfaith dialog, MPAC has made frequent anti-Semitic statements that assert or imply an organized Jewish campaign to defame and exclude U.S. Muslims. MPAC has also gone beyond criticism of Israel, engaging in demonization of the Jewish state. Such demonization includes accusations of “rape of the Palestinians” in regard to the Al-Aqsa mosque, comparisons with Nazis, accusation of apartheid and genocide, accusations of “butchery”, and suggestions that Israel is seeking the eradication of Islam from its territories.

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