The Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) is reporting that on Wednesday, eight US Muslim organizations will announce the formation of the US Council of Muslim Organizations (USCMO), described as “an umbrella group that will serve as a representative voice for Muslims.” According to the ICNA announcement:
WASHINGTON, D.C., 3/10/14) – On Wednesday, March 12, eight* major national American Muslim organizations will hold a news conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., to announce the formation of the US Council of Muslim Organizations (USCMO), an umbrella group that will serve as a representative voice for Muslims as that faith community seeks to enhance its positive impact on society.
The new national council’s first priority will be to build on Muslim citizenship rights by conducting a census of American Muslims to create a database that will be used to enhance political participation in upcoming elections. WHAT: Major National Groups to Announce Launch of US Council of Muslim Organizations WHEN: Wednesday, March 12, 1 p.m. (Eastern) WHERE: Murrow Room, National Press Club, 13th Floor, National Press Building, 529 14th Street N.W., Washington, D.C. CONTACT: USCMO Secretary General Oussama Jammal, 708-288-1914, 202-683-6557, secretary_general@uscmo.org In a statement prior to the planned launch, USCMO Secretary General Oussama Jammal said: ‘A national council unifying Muslims in the United States has long been a dream of our community. The goal of the US Council of Muslim Organizations is to help strengthen relationships among the member organizations in order to better serve members of the Muslim community and all Americans. ‘A detailed census will allow the larger Muslim community to better participate in our nation’s political process.’
* Organizations participating in the initial launch include: (More organizations may be added at a later date.) The Mosque Cares (Ministry of Imam W. Deen Mohammed), Muslim American Society (MAS), American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Islamic Circle of North American (ICNA), Muslim Legal Fund of America (MLFA), Muslim Alliance in North America (MANA), Muslim Ummah of North America (MUNA) – END -“
The USCMO appears to be comprised almost solely of elements of the US Muslim Brotherhood:
- CAIR, ICNA, and the MAS are part of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood while the AMP is part of the U.S. Hamas support infrastructure and the MFLA had its origins in the defense of the leaders of the Holy Land Foundation, convicted in the financing of Hamas.
- The Muslim Alliance in North America (MANA) is headed by General-Secretary Ihsan Bagby, an Islamic convert and Professor of Islamic Studies who is a member of several U.S. Muslim Brotherhood organizations including the Fiqh Council of North America, the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), and the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR). Other members of the MANA Executive Committee and/or Shura Council include Siraj Wahhaj, an Islamic convert who was an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and has been active in the American Muslim Council, ISNA (former V.P.) and CAIR and Johari Abdul Malik; head of the National Association of Muslim Chaplains in Higher Education, director of community outreach for the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center and President of the Muslim Society of Washington.
- The Muslim Ummah of North America (MUNA) is a relatively obscure organization that links on its web page only to CAIR, MAS, ISNA, and ICNA.
- The USCMO Secretary-General Oussama Jammal has long been a leader of the Bridgeview Mosque and its Mosque Foundation, the focus of a 2004 Chicago Tribune investigation which revealed that as much as $1 million a year had been raised from mosque members which was then sent to overseas Muslim charities, principally in support of Hamas. The article also detailed the mosque’s ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.
As noted by our predecessor publication, one of the common tactics of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood is to construct coalitions of its own front organizations as well as inter-related groups and individuals, giving the appearance that the Brotherhood has more broad-based support than it actually enjoys. The new US Council of Muslim Organizations is just the latest in a long series of such “umbrella groups” formed by the US Muslim Brotherhood.