The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) has issued a statement calling on Egyptians to “continue to raise their voices and demand their rights of democracy and justice” and suggests the US withhold aid. According to the statement:
As millions of Egyptians of all faiths – young and old, men and women – continue to raise their voices and demand their rights of democracy and justice, we at ISNA view this as another nail in the coffin of another myth about Arabs, Muslims, and the Middle East. Namely, that these groups hate us, Americans, for our freedoms and that people in the Middle East do not yearn for Democracy or freedom. We are optimistic that this time, our government will be on the right side of history in the Middle East. We also know that old habits die hard and there are many quarters who prefer the status-quo of oppression and corruption and will try hard to pressure our government to take the wrong side once again. “ISNA supports the right of the Egyptian people to peacefully protest and are appalled at the use of violence in response to these protesters We believe the Egyptian government should listen and should grant the people what is rightfully theirs: a voice in their government. The people’s aspirations should be respected; the people should be allowed to decide their future,” said ISNA Vice President Azhar Azeez. ISNA believes that the U.S. government can help through many means, one of which is by withholding military aide to Egypt until the voices of the people are heard.
A report by the Hudson Institute has identified ISNA as a major part of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood. The organization has a long history of fundamentalism, anti-semitism, and support for terrorism and during the recent Holy Land Foundation terrorism financing trial, ISNA was named as an unindicted co-conspirator. Although recently ISNA has issued condemnations of terrorism which for the first time identify Hamas and Hezbollah by name, there is no indication that the organization has ever addressed or acknowledged its history.
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