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Thursday, August 10, 2006
C.A.I.R. Press Conference at Noon
Do you know what the people at the Council on American-Islamic Relations will do when they step before cameras at noon today? They’ll talk about backlash.
Do you know what they should do? They should tell law-abiding American Muslim men that they ought to fear for the lives of their sons and daughters and wives. CAIR should explain that, because insane Islamists overseas hold no regard for any corpuscle of life stained by the liberalism of America, Muslims in America are just as likely to die in the next terrorist attack. And CAIR should explain that today’s events demonstrated that the odds are that there will be a next terrorist attack.
CAIR should add that American Muslims, who attend mosque every Friday, are fundamentally advantaged to help prevent the murder of innocents. CAIR should impress upon American Muslims that nothing less than the bedrock of the Earth and the will of the God who created it demand that they turn that advantage to the maintainance of life. CAIR should urge its members to betray one another when they sense the whispering aspect of these lethal terrorist groups. It won’t create a “climate of fear”, CAIR should explain to Muslim Americans, any more than the willingness of American high school students to turn in their gun-wielding classmate creates a climate of fear, or any more than a babysitter’s likelihood of reporting abused children creates a climate of fear. CAIR should urge a climate of decency, of care.
CAIR should remind its members that it exists to protect and nurture the fraternity of American Muslims, and that even before Muslims were a significant portion of the population, America has tolerated and supported citizen brotherhoods of most any stripe. But America has only so tolerated such coteries so long as they are not used to veil criminals and criminal activity. CAIR should urge its members to add an item to their personal code: No brotherhood excuses murder.
Today, the day Scotland Yard discovered yet another suburban middle-class terrorist plot, the Council on American-Islamic Relations should remind its membership that if American-Islamic relations are to exist, then they will depend on America being sure that Islam is willing to betray its terrorists, its radicals, and its warriors. CAIR should tell American Muslims that this is a fair deal, since American Muslims have always been certain that any, say, Christian, who decided to murder large numbers of innocent Muslims, would either go to jail forever or be executed. He wouldn’t be protected by the brotherhood of his creed.
That’s what the Council on American-Islamic Relations should say, if it cares about American-Islamic relations. But CAIR will talk about backlash.
LATER: CAIR’s statement is reprinted below.
CAIR STATEMENT ON ALLEGED AIRLINE TERROR PLOT(WASHINGTON D.C., 8/10/06) - The Council on American-Islamic
Relations (CAIR) today issued the following statement at a news
conference in Washington, D.C., in response to the arrests of 21
individuals for allegedly plotting to use liquid explosives on
passenger flights traveling from the United Kingdom to the United
States. (NOTE: CAIR’s news conference was taped for later broadcast
by C-SPAN.)In its statement, CAIR said:
“American Muslims have consistently condemned all acts of terrorism,
whether carried out by individuals, groups or states. We repudiate
anyone or any group that plans or carries out a terrorist act. We
welcome early actions by law enforcement authorities against credible
threats to the safety of the traveling public.“The American Muslim community has always been dedicated to the
protection of our national security. It is also important that our
fellow Americans understand that Muslims are law-abiding citizens who
should not be targeted or singled out because of their faith or
national origin.“We have been contacted by federal law enforcement authorities who
are taking steps to ensure that there is no backlash against the
American Muslim community. We commend them for their pro-active
efforts. We ask local Muslim communities to step up security measures
at mosques and other Islamic institutions. We also urge local law
enforcement agencies to coordinate with Muslim leaders to deter hate crimes.“It is important, based on past counterterrorism cases that did not
lead to terror convictions, that we withhold judgment until all the
facts of this case come to light. We also ask public officials and
commentators to avoid using stereotypical and ill-defined terminology
when referring to this and similar cases.“As the largest American Muslim civil rights and advocacy group, it
is our religious and civic duty to reach out to all Americans to
reaffirm Islam’s teachings of peace, justice and tolerance for all.”CAIR, America’s largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 32 offices,
chapters and affiliates nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to
enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil
liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that
promote justice and mutual understanding.- END -
CONTACT: CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper,
202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail: ihooper@cair-net.org
Posted on August 10, 2006 10:40 AM. Permalink | E-mail This