The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has issued a statement on U.S. PResident Obama’s mideast policy speech, saying it set “the right tone’ referring only to the President’s comments on Mideast developments in general but not on his comments about the Israel-Palestinian conflict. According to the statement:
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 5/19/11) — The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today said that President Obama’s speech this afternoon on the ‘Arab Spring’ freedom movements in the Middle East and North Africa sets the right tone but needs to be translated into policies and actions.
In a statement, CAIR’s Awad said:
‘We appreciate President Obama setting the right tone by applauding the recent freedom movements across the Middle East and North Africa, but the true test of our nation’s commitment to freedom and human dignity will be in translating this speech into actions and concrete policies. ‘It is significant for the president of the United States to support the massive popular demonstrations for freedom and self-determination in the region, particularly since our country has supported some of the dictators who have been and are oppressing their people. ‘The president made the important point that all people deserve human dignity and self-determination, and we support his intention to defend those universal rights.'”
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.” In 2009, a US federal judge ruled “The Government has produced ample evidence to establish the associations of CAIR, ISNA and NAIT with HLF, the Islamic Association for Palestine (“IAP”), and with Hamas.”” The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT) along with CAIR are part of the US Muslim Brotherhood.
Interestingly, the CAIR statement noted that other leaders of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood were present in CAIR’s national office to watch the President’s address:
Representatives of the Syrian and Libyan American communities joined other leaders and members of the D.C.-area Muslim community to watch the address live at CAIR’s national office on Capitol Hill and share their reactions. Those who watched or spoke following the president’s speech included CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad, Naeem Baig of the Islamic Circle of North America, Mahdi Bray of the Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation, Mohammed Elsanousi of the Islamic Society of North America, Mouaz Moustafa of the Libyan Council of North America, and Louay Safi of the Syrian American Congress.