The Congressional Muslim Staffers Association has announced on Twitter that the sermon for the January 22 Capitol Jummah (Friday prayer) was to have been led by Muslim American Society (MAS) President Esam Omeish. The MAS was identified in a recent Hudson Institute report as a part of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood and closely tied to the Egyptian organization. Dr. Omeish drew national attention two years ago when he was appointed to a Virginia state immigration commission on Immigration. Omeish resigned less than a day later, after online emerged in which he accused Israel of genocide against Palestinians and exhorted Muslims to “the jihad way.” Another post reported that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the State Department invited Dr. Omeish to a National Conference Call to discuss reaction to President Obama’s Speech to the Muslim World. Dr. Omeish recently lost in the June 2009 Democratic primary in Virginian House District 35, finishing 3rd out of 4 candidates.
The Congressional Muslim Staffers Association (CMSA) web site describes itself as follows:
The Congressional Muslim Staffers Association(CMSA) is a chartered organization within the United States House of Representatives, established in 2006. CMSA is a non-dues paying membership association open to any Congressional employee who defines his- or herself as “Muslim”, regardless of their race, gender, school of thought, personal level of “religiosity”, and country of origin. Members can be employees of any office, committee, or department within the House of Representatives, Senate, Library of Congress, Congressional Budget Office, Congressional Research Service, and the Capitol Hill Police Department. Any Muslim Congressional employee is considered a CMSA member regardless of their level of participation or the degree that they publicly identify themselves as “Muslim”.
Previous posts have described various activities involving joint activities of the CMSA and U.S. Muslim Brotherhood organizations including meeting with a Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) youth group and a June 2009 CMSA “social” attended by three U.S.Brotherhood organizations. It should also be noted that, despite a disclaimer, the CMSA web site links primarily to organizations associated with the U.S. Brotherhood.