EXCLUSIVE: Family Member of Hamas Operatives Claims “New Stage Of Islamophobia”

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The New York Times has published a story that asserts “It seems to some that the days of McCarthyism are back.” According to the report:

Muslims in Western countries say they have gotten used to the fact that as elections get closer, politicians pump up the volume of accusations against them, whether they are Sunni, Shiite or of another sect. In some European nations, it was the debate over women wearing the veil that set off the attacks. Now in the United States, where pivotal elections are looming, accusations against Muslims have reached a new level. It seems to some that the days of McCarthyism are back. Representative Michele Bachmann, a Minnesota Republican and a member of the Tea Party movement, claimed in a recent letter that the Muslim Brotherhood had gained influence over the U.S. State Department. She cited Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s longtime aide Huma Abedin as the reason, questioning Ms. Abedin’s loyalty. One of the few Muslims in a prominent government position, Ms. Abedin is a trusted adviser who is known to the public; many have defended her against Mrs. Bachmann’s charge. This accusation was a disturbing development for four Muslim women who work for the U.S. government and spoke on the condition that they not be identified because they were not authorized to make comments to the media. It is ‘so sad to see,’ one of the women said. ‘There is already a lack of Muslims in government positions, but now this debate just shows no matter how loyal you are, some people will always attack you because you are Muslim.’ It is not the first time that Muslim women involved in politics have been attacked because of their backgrounds.

One of the women cited in article is Linda Sarsour, described as follows:

Linda Sarsour, a community worker from Brooklyn, a borough of New York City, has also been the focus of a recent debate after she was appointed to a neighborhood advisory panel. The main reason for the controversy: Members of her family had been arrested on accusations of supporting Hamas, the Islamist group that governs the Gaza Strip. One member of the Tea Party and other community workers asked that she be removed. For ‘Michele Bachmann and some people of the Tea Party movement — the fact that we are Muslim means we are disloyal to our country and have hidden agendas,’ Ms. Sarsour said. She denies having any contact with Hamas or other radical Muslim groups. Otherwise she never would have received a ‘Champion of Change’ award from President Barack Obama some months ago, she said. Ms. Sarsour, 32, sees the attacks against her and Ms. Abedin as a new stage of Islamophobia.‘Michele Bachmann, Peter King and their colleagues are trying to further marginalize Muslim Americans from civic engagement and political life,’ she said. ‘I have news for them: It’s not working.’

One of the Sarsour family members is Salah Sarsour, known to have been a board member of Americans For Palestine a board member of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee and the registered agent for the Wisconsin chapter of the Muslim American Society (MAS), a part of the US Muslim Brotherhood closely tied to the Egyptian organization. His brother Jamil is a Milwaukee businessman and known Hamas operative. Jamil Sarsour was arrested in Israel in 1998 for providing financial and other assistance to HAMAS military commander Adel Awadallah who is known to have planned suicide bombings in Israel. Jamil Sarsour eventually pleaded guilty in an Israeli military court to giving $40,000 to Awadallah. During an interview with Israeli police, Jamil Sarsour said his brother Salah had been arrested by the Palestinian police in 1995 and when he visited him saw that he shared a cell with Awadallah. Jamil Sarsour described to the Israelis his brother Salah’s involvement with Hamas and fundraising activities by the U.S.-based Holy Land Relief Foundation (HLFRD) on behalf of Hamas. Sarsour told the Israelis that some of the members of the Islamic Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and his brothers Salah and Imad were involved in raising money in the name of HLFRD that was actually intended or HAMAS.

Imad Sarsour (aka Emad Sarsour), also living in Milwaukee, was a member of the board of the Islamic Association of Palestine (IAP), a part of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas support infrastructure. Imad Sarsour was also one of the incorporators of the Al-Aqsa Educational Fund along with Abdelhaleem Ashqar, a former Howard University professor and U.S. Muslim Brotherhood leader who was convicted in 2007 of obstruction of justice and criminal contempt for refusing to testify in front of a grand jury about Hamas. Ashqar had attended the Islamic University in Gaza, discussed earlier as a center for Hamas. AAEF had originally been incorporated in Oxford, Mississippi in 1993 by Ashqar was was studying at the University of Mississippi for a doctorate in management information systems, the same degree later pursued by Dr. Moin Shubib in Wales. Dr. Shubib is also one of the original founders of AAEF and is listed on the group’s 1993 IRS Form 990 as the secretary of the AAEF Executive Committee.

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