In yet another example of the Muslim Brotherhood strategy of introducing Jews and Israel to a discussion in order to divert critics, the Associated Press reported that Parvez Ahmed, chairman of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), denied that CAIR or its current or former leaders had any ties to Hamas, blaming the concept on pro-Israel supporters. In the face of a large amount of documentary evidence linking CAIR and its leadership to Hamas, Mr. Ahmed stated:
That’s one of those urban legends about CAIR…It’s fed by the right-wing, pro-Israeli blogosphere.
Mr. Ahmed also called the now well-known meeting in Philadelphia attended by two of CAIR’s leaders where plans for a Hamas infrastructure in the U.S. were discussed:
an open meeting of Palestinian activists who came together to discuss the Oslo peace accords and their struggle to gain a homeland.
The documents linking CAIR to Hamas were introduced in the on-going trial of the Holy Land Foundation on charges of providing financial support to Hamas.