The founder and former president of the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) has made a personal appeal for donations to support ICNA’s “Understanding Shari’ah” campaign. According to the appeal posted on the ICNA website:
Dear brothers and sisters,
I still remember Labor Day weekend of 1968, when a small group came together to form the Islamic Circle of North America, an organization that would serve the needs of the community and proudly exercise the right of American Muslims to practice their religion without restraint. I never expected that 43 years later that very right would be under attack. Anti-Shariah efforts have taken our country by full force, and 21 states have moved to ban Shariah altogether. Fear mongering has led to a full-fledged movement against the rights of American Muslims, and millions of dollars are being spent to fuel this anti-Islamic sentiment. ICNA needs your support to counter these attacks with an educational initiative of its own. In May 2011 ICNA launched the Understanding Shariah campaign, a nationwide grassroots initiative to help media personnel, elected officials and the public better understand Shariah. This campaign is crucial to protecting the religious freedoms on which our country was founded; we must act now to stop Islamophobia from dominating our culture and infringing upon our rights. I turn to you today, a supporter of ICNA, with a sincere sense of urgency. I look at my grandchildren and wonder what kind of America they will see five years from now. Will they be fined for making wudu in public restrooms? Will my little granddaughter be barred from attending public school because she wears hijab—a measure already being taken in France? I write to you because our freedoms are in danger, and ICNA needs your help.
Your donation to the campaign will support projects such as:
• A comprehensive website on Shariah, with explanations from scholars and lawyers on the concept of Islamic law and its place in the lives of Muslims
Read the rest here.
The Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) is a less well-known part of the Muslim Brotherhood network in the U.S., generally thought to be closely tied to the Jamaat-e-Islami organization of Southeast Asia, itself known to be allied with the Muslim Brotherhood. ICNA is particularly close to the Muslim American Society, a part of the US Muslim Brotherhood and tied to the Egyptian organization, and the two organizations have been holding joint annual conventions for many years. Previous posts have discussed ICNA ad campaigns intended to present Islam to the U.S. public. The New York campaign drew national media attention when it was reported that Siraj Wahajj, an American Islamic convert associated with the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood and an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, was behind the New York campaign.