The Council on American-Islamic Relations has announced that its Arizona Chapter will host informational sessions with the FBI and local Muslims at the Islamic Community Center (ICC) of Tempe and at Al Rasool Masjid in Phoenix. CAIR, which had its origins in the Hamas infrastructure in the U.S and continues as an important component in the U.S Muslim Brotherhood network, posts a comprehensive list on its website of what it calls its “work with local state and federal law enforcement authorities.” Sources indicate that FBI cooperation with CAIR is controversial within the agency and that the policy is favored by important FBI official within FBI headquarters although the decision whether or not to pursue cooperation is left up to local FBI field offices. Muslim Brotherhood affiliated organizations in the U.S., along with their defenders, often cite their relationship with government agencies as a defense against their critics.