Saturday, August 25, 2007

CAIR Thugs on Islamophobia Patrol

Ahmad Al-Akhras
This is a tale of CAIR intimidation of a citizen for daring to exercise his right of freedom of speech. When strangers come to your house at night and berate you for a bumper sticker, things have gone way too far. Here is a rather long but detailed report on a CAIR venture into personal intimidation. Visit Patrick's fine blog EXISTENTIAL SPACE

FSM Contributing Editor Patrick Poole characterizes CAIR’s harassment of a private citizen in his home, which CAIR describes as an “invitation to dialogue”, as nothing more than a masquerade for their alarming scare tactics. Jackboot thuggery or inter-faith engagement? You decide.


CAIR Thugs on Islamophobia Patrol: Coming Soon to Your Neighborhood?

By Patrick Poole
FROM FAMILYSECURITYMATTERS.COM:
Three officials of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in Ohio admit to going unannounced to a man’s home to confront him over a bumper sticker on his car – a testament, they claim, of their tolerance and moderation. The incident occurred last year, but the CAIR trio involved – Ahmad Al-Akhras, CAIR national vice chairman, Asma Mobin-Uddin, CAIR-Ohio president, and Abukar Arman, CAIR-OH board member – have recently recounted this incident to the local establishment media as an example of how they “invite dialogue”.

Others, however, believe the incident is additional proof that CAIR regularly resorts to threats, intimidation and demonization to silence its critics. Earlier this month, attorneys for CAIR sent a letter threatening legal action against the Young Americans Foundation if they allowed NY Times bestselling author and JihadWatch director, Robert Spencer, to speak at their conference on “The Truth of the Council on American-Islamic Relations”. This thuggery is reminiscent of CAIR’s 2004 lawsuit against independent journalist Andrew Whitehead of Anti-CAIR, a suit which was dropped by CAIR in order to avoid responding to required interrogatories about its historic ties to HAMAS and role in terror financing.

The CAIR-OH incident is without known precedent, harassing a private citizen at his home because CAIR officials did not like one of his bumper stickers. One of the trio, Abukar Arman, has described how they set upon their unwitting victim:

Several months ago, a non-Muslim fellow in the inter-faith community brought to the attention of CAIR-Ohio a picture of his neighbor’s truck with a bumper sticker that read “Jesus loves you, and Allah wants you dead”.

Some of us thought that the appropriate thing to do was to get media involved and use this truck owner as a poster-child of the prevalent assertive ignorance that is widening the post 9/11 political divide between Muslims and non-Muslims. Others, on the other hand, saw this as an opportunity for human contact, discourse, and to build bridges of understanding.

The latter opinion prevailed.

Therefore, I had the privilege of being one of three Muslims (2 male and a female with Islamic veil) who paid a neighborly visit to the truck owner.
READ THE WHOLE THING: