C.A.I.R. and Muslim American Society Seek Clarity After UAE Designates
Them on Terrorist List
The Huffington
Post | By Antonia Blumberg , Posted: 11/18/2014 4:15 pm EST
Updated: 11/18/2014 4:15 pm EST
The United Arab Emirates designated two
top U.S. Muslim organizations as terrorists groups on Saturday, drawing
"shock" and confusion from representatives.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations
(CAIR) and Muslim American Society (MAS) were included in an approved list of
designated terrorist organizations under an anti-terror law issued by President
His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Emirates News Agency reported.
"You see across the board groups
reacting with shock," CAIR spokesperson Corey Saylor told The Huffington
Post by phone. "It's truly bizarre."
CAIR published a response on its
website Sunday calling on the United Arab Emirates to reevaluate the list,
which also names al Qaeda and the Islamic State, and remove organizations "that
peacefully promote civil and democratic rights and that oppose terrorism
whenever it occurs, wherever it occurs and whoever carries it out.”
Saylor said CAIR has not yet
communicated with the UAE's government but is seeking clarification on why
these designations were approved.
"The message the UAE is sending is
that people who engage in peaceful political activism will be designated as
terrorists. I think that’s a terrible message for the youth," Saylor said.
"You want young people to see [that] working within the system pays
off."
The Muslim American Society (MAS) said in a statement that it was "shocked" and
"perplexed" by the news and called upon the U.S. government to
investigate the report.
Saylor added that CAIR's efforts, which
include anti-discrimination work and education about Islam, would not change in
light of the UAE's decision but that it was the U.S. government's
responsibility to counter the designation.
"Our government is free to have a
very vocal conversation with the UAE and deliver a clear message that, like all
minority groups, our political activism will be respected," Saylor said.
State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke told reporters on Monday the administration was in
contact with UAE officials to seek clarity but would not acknowledge the
history of positive interactions between CAIR and the State Department.
CAIR faced scrutiny in 2011 when it was
accused of being an “unindicted co-conspirator
or joint venturer” with the Holy Land Foundation case -- an Islamic charity that
was convicted of funding Islamic militant groups in 2008. A federal Judge Jorge
A. Solis denied CAIR's request to be removed from the list of
"co-conspirators," which included 245 other groups and individuals,
but Washington Post notes that the government has never raised criminal charges
against the group.
Emirates News Agency reported on the
news of the UAE's terror list a day after the Washington National Cathedral
hosted its first Muslim prayer, with the support of CAIR and other
Muslim organizations. Despite brief interruption by a heckler, the prayer went
off smoothly and was hailed by participants as a "testament of
solidarity" between Christians and Muslims in the United States.
Saylor said he did not believe the
designation of CAIR and MAS as terrorist organizations was connected to
Friday's prayer and was hard-pressed to find "any logic" to the UAE's
decision.
The Embassy of the UAE did not offer
The Huffington Post a comment despite repeated phone calls.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/18/uae-cair-terrorist-organi_n_6178786.html
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