The U.S. Muslim Brotherhood has reacted with a flood of support to Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Sami-Al-Arian who was recently released from prison pending his trial on charges of refusing to testify before a grand jury. The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) issued a press release calling the case “disturbing”:
“We welcome Dr. Al-Arian’s release and hope that it is an indication that justice may ultimately be served in this disturbing case,” said CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad. “After so many years of anguish, the Al-Arian children will finally be able to spend Ramadan with their father.”
The Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) also issued a press release implying that the case was an example of “political persecution” of American Muslims:
Since his arrest five years ago, Al-Arian’s case has become an example of what many American Muslims perceived to be numerous post-9/11 political persecutions of individuals using tactics that amount to little more than guilt by association
Finally, the Muslim American Society (MAS) presss release called the case a “tragic miscarriage of justice “:
MAS Freedom, and many other organizations and individuals, have been working a long time for this day, and we hope that Dr. Al-Arian’s release initiates the vindication process in the tragic miscarriage of justice that has been inflicted on Dr. Al-Arian and his family,” stated MAS Freedom Executive Director, Mahdi Bray.
All three organizations are part of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood.
The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) describes Palestinian Islamic Jihad as follows:
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) is an Islamic, Palestinian nationalist organization that violently opposes the existence of Israel. Designated as a U.S. State Department terrorist organization in 1997, the PIJ targets Israeli civilian and military personnel in its commitment to the creation of an Islamic regime in “all of historic Palestine,” according to the State Department’s 2006 Country Report on terrorism. The PIJ, unlike Fatah or Hamas, does not participate in the political process.
The April 2008 CFR report goes on to identify 11 terrorist attacks in Israel for which PIJ has claimed responsibility.
It has been widely reported that Al-Arian admitted raising money for PIJ and conspiring to hide the identities of other PIJ members , including his brother-in-law. He also admitted knowing “that the PIJ achieved its objectives by, among other means, acts of violence.” Numerous prior posts have discussed Al-Arian, his relationship the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) and his support by the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood.