Needless to say, as they do following all prominent terrorist attacks, US Muslim Brotherhood organizations were quick to condemn the horrific violence in Paris on Friday. Nevertheless, despite many years of practice in composing such condemnations, the very same Brotherhood organizations often cannot seem to resist the opportunity to use these tragedies to make self-serving statements regarding their own agendas. For example, the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) issued a statement claiming that it has “repeatedly condemned all acts of terrorism wherever they have occurred”:
November 13, 2015 The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today condemned terror attacks in Paris that left many people dead and injured.
In a statement, CAIR said:
‘These savage and despicable attacks on civilians, whether they occur in Paris, Beirut or any other city, are outrageous and without justification. We condemn these horrific crimes in the strongest terms possible. Our thoughts and prayers are with the loved ones of those killed and injured and with all of France. The perpetrators of these heinous attacks must be apprehended and brought to justice.’
CAIR has consistently and repeatedly condemned all acts of terrorism wherever they have occurred.
As our profile observes, CAIR has actually had a long and highly problematic relationship with terrorism:
The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) describes itself as “a grassroots civil rights and advocacy group and as “America’s largest Islamic civil liberties group.” CAIR was founded in 1994 by three officers of the Islamic Association of Palestine, part of the U.S. Hamas infrastructure at that time. Documents discovered in the course of the the terrorism trial of the Holy Land Foundation confirmed that the founders and current leaders of CAIR were part of the Palestine Committee of the Muslim Brotherhood and that CAIR itself is part of the US. Muslim Brotherhood. In 2008, the then Deputy leader of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood acknowledged a relationship between the Egyptian Brotherhood and CAIR. In 2009, a US federal judge ruled “The Government has produced ample evidence to establish the associations of CAIR, ISNA and NAIT with HLF, the Islamic Association for Palestine (“IAP”), and with Hamas.” CAIR and its leaders have had a long history of defending individuals accused of terrorism by the US. government, often labeling such prosecutions a “war on Islam”, and have also been associated with Islamic fundamentalism and antisemitism. The organization is led by Nihad Awad, its longstanding Executive Director and one of the three original founders.
The Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) issued a statement trumpeting its relationship with US law enforcement:
November 14, 2015
The attacks in Paris were horrific and despicable, and taking innocent life violates the principles of every faith.
The orchestration of multiple locations and maximization of casualties shows a sinister disregard for life that is grossly at odds with any and all of us as human beings and as American citizens.
We must redouble our efforts for partnership and cooperation with law enforcement, as they have the challenging dual responsibility to neutralize any terrorist threat and also to protect communities from any backlash.
Our country must be united in this time of crisis; unity will enhance our efforts to fend off any violent extremism and preserve the values of our society.
To mitigate any attempt by ISIS in their recruiting efforts in the U.S., we are promoting programs to build resilience against its terrorist ideology.
Our prayers and condolences go out to the families and loved ones of the victims. We share these same condolences with the French Embassy, and later this week, plan to visit the Embassy with our interfaith partners as a way to express our collective concern and solidarity.
We also acknowledge the carnage that took place in Beirut. Our hearts go out to those impacted by that attack and to all victims of terrorism around the world.
In peace, Salam Al-Marayati President
Also, as we note in our profile on MPAC:
MPAC has since developed into the political lobby arm of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood and has opposed almost every counterterrorism action proposed or carried out by the U.S. government, often suggesting that the efforts were aimed at the U.S. Muslim community. MPAC has also acted to support a variety of Palestinian terrorist organizations as well as facilitating a wider range of terrorism by defending or justifying violence carried out by Islamic groups. Nevertheless, MPAC has developed particularly extensive relationships with agencies of the U.S. government including meetings with the Department of Justice and the FBI.
Finally, the US Muslim Brotherhood as a whole has once again taken the opportunity to portray itself as a “broad coalition of Muslim groups” as it held a press conference to jointly condemn the attacks. The groups identified as part of the coalition are in fact almost all tied to the US Muslim Brotherhood.