The Ikhwanophobia website, affiliated with the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood has reported the contents of a letter written to an official of the American Muslim Taskforce (AMT) by a Massachusetts State Senator seeking to form a coalition with the AMT as well as looking for donations. According to the Ikhwanophobia site, the letter reads as follows:
Dear Tahir,
I want to thank you and the American Muslim Task Force to inviting me to part of your organization’s Town Hall forum on issues important to the Muslim-American community last night at India Kabob and Grill in Shrewsbury. I’m hoping you can pass on this message from me to all of the people who attended the forum last night, and the other members of the Task Force. I really enjoyed the conversations with my fellow panelists and the audience on a wide range of concerns that were expressed, including civil rights, human rights, economic development, public education, and taxes. I am very moved by the warm reception that I received, and was encouraged by the idea of creating a multi-cultural, multi-racial coalition to support the positions that I as a proud progressive Democrat are the foundation of my principles and beliefs. If I can be of any help in helping support the establishment of that coalition, please be in touch, and of course I hope to attend that meeting. I did not mention during the Town Hall forum that I do have a re-election this year, and would be honored to have the support of the Muslim-American community. To that point, if anyone would like to volunteer on the campaign, they can contact Kelsey Smithwood, my Field Director, at Kelsey@JamieEldridge.com or 978-202-3071, or stop by my campaign office at 19 Main Street in downtown Hudson. Further, if members would like to support me in another way, they can make a donation to my re-election campaign, as my Republican opponent does not share the same views that I do. To make a donation, members can go towww.JamieElridge.com to donate online, or send a donation to: the Jamie Eldridge Committee, P.O. Box 641, Acton, MA. Certainly if you or other leaders in the Muslim-American community would like to host a fundraiser for me, that would be extremely helpful, and would give me another opportunity to address the concerns of the Muslim American community in Massachusetts. Once again, thank you so much for inviting me to attend the American Muslim Task Force last night, and I feel that I have many new friends and supporters from the excellent, thoughtful discussion.
The AMT supplanted an earlier electoral coalition known as the American Muslim Political Coordination Council (AMPCC). According to its website, the AMT is made up of all the major U.S. Muslim Brotherhood organizations. In 2004, national news described the founding of the AMT as follows:
The leading Muslim organizations have been so outraged over the USA Patriot Act (search) that they have banded together as the American Muslim Taskforce (search) to make civil rights their top issue in the presidential race.
AMT activities appear to be similar to those of the AMPCC although consistent with the groups ostensible civil-rights agenda, the organization has defended high-profile terror suspects such as Sami Al-Arian. The AMT endorsed John Kerry for President in 2004 after its predecessor supported Bush in 2000.
It appears that the Ikhwanophobia site was the only source for this letter and it is not clear why an Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood site is in possession of the contents of a letter written to a US Muslim Brotherhood organization, particularly as the Egyptian Brotherhood denies any ties to the US Brotherhood.