The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) has issued a statement calling on the Obama Administration to take steps to end what it calls “the ongoing massacre of pro-democracy protesters in Egypt and to seek the restoration of democracy.” According to the CAIR statement:
August 14, 2013 The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization, today called on the Obama administration to take concrete steps to end the ongoing massacre of pro-democracy protesters in Egypt and to seek the restoration of democracy.
In a statement, CAIR said:
‘CAIR joins all those who value freedom in strongly condemning today’s massacre of pro-democracy protesters in Egypt and calls for lifting the newly-imposed state of emergency and its inevitable denial of basic human rights. Those responsible for these horrific attacks on peaceful sit-ins must be held accountable and brought to justice.
‘As we condemn the killing of peaceful protesters, we also condemn the reported attacks on Christian properties in Egypt and call for calm and national unity in the face of concerted campaigns to divide Egyptian society along religious and political lines.
‘We welcome our own government’s condemnation of the violent suppression of democratic rights, and we urge President Obama to move beyond condemnations to take concrete steps to help restore democracy and the rule of law in Egypt through dialogue. The first steps in creating an atmosphere conducive to dialogue would include the release of all political prisoners and respecting the right to peaceful protest.
‘President Obama should follow existing law by ending the flow of American taxpayer funds to Egypt’s military, which is using brute force to impose its will without regard to the results of the first free elections in that nation’s history.’
CAIR noted that Mohamed ElBaradei, one of the coup leaders, has resigned as vice president because of the attacks on the protesters.
The GMBDW notes that CAIR issued no statements during the tenure of former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi regarding his rule.
The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) describes itself as “a grassroots civil rights and advocacy group and as “America’s largest Islamic civil liberties group.” CAIR was founded in 1994 by three officers of the Islamic Association of Palestine, part of the U.S. Hamas infrastructure at that time. Documents discovered in the course of the the terrorism trial of the Holy Land Foundation confirmed that the founders and current leaders of CAIR were part of the Palestine Committee of the Muslim Brotherhood and that CAIR itself is part of the US. Muslim Brotherhood. In 2008, the then Deputy leader of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood acknowledged a relationship between the Egyptian Brotherhood and CAIR. 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.” CAIR and its leaders have had a long history of defending individuals accused of terrorism by the US. government, often labeling such prosecutions a “war on Islam”, and have also been associated with Islamic fundamentalism and antisemitism. The organization is led by Nihad Awad, its longstanding Executive Director and one of the three original founders.