Fox News has published a report on Muslim Brotherhood and other controversial figures who have participated in weekly prayer session on Capitol hill sponsored by the Congressional Muslim Staff Association (CMSA). The report begins:
An Al Qaeda leader, the head of a designated terror organization and a confessed jihadist-in-training are among a “Who’s Who” of controversial figures who have participated in weekly prayer sessions on Capitol Hill since the 2001 terror attacks, an investigation by FoxNews.com reveals. The Congressional Muslim Staff Association (CMSA) has held weekly Friday Jummah prayers for more than a decade, and guest preachers are often invited to lead the service. The group held prayers informally for about eight years before gaining official status in 2006 under the sponsorship of Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., one of two Muslims currently serving in Congress. The second Muslim congressman, Rep. Andre Carson, D-Ind., joined as co-sponsor after he was elected in 2008. Among those who FoxNews.com determined have attended the prayer services during the Clinton, George W. Bush and Obama administrations are:
Read the rest here.
Among the individuals identified are Global Muslim Brotherhood leader Tariq Ramadan and leaders of the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), and the Muslim American Society (MAS), all identified in a Hudson Institute report as part of the US Muslim Brotherhood.
The Congressional Muslim Staffers Association (CMSA) web site describes itself as follows:
The Congressional Muslim Staffers Association(CMSA) is a chartered organization within the United States House of Representatives, established in 2006. CMSA is a non-dues paying membership association open to any Congressional employee who defines his- or herself as “Muslim”, regardless of their race, gender, school of thought, personal level of “religiosity”, and country of origin. Members can be employees of any office, committee, or department within the House of Representatives, Senate, Library of Congress, Congressional Budget Office, Congressional Research Service, and the Capitol Hill Police Department. Any Muslim Congressional employee is considered a CMSA member regardless of their level of participation or the degree that they publicly identify themselves as “Muslim”.
Previous posts have described various activities involving joint activities of the CMSA and U.S. Muslim Brotherhood organizations including meeting with a Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) youth group, a June 2009 CMSA “social” attended by three U.S.Brotherhood organizations, and promoting the January Capitol Jummah (Friday prayer) led by Muslim American Society (MAS) President Esam Omeish, and hosting the 1st Muslim Student Association Day ever to be held on Capitol hill.
It should also be noted that, despite a disclaimer, the CMSA web site links primarily to organizations associated with the U.S. Brotherhood.