OnIslam, the Islamic news portal associated with Global Muslim Brotherhood leader Youssef Qaradawi, is reporting on a new educational campaign on Shari’ah (Islamic Law) by the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA). According to the report:
March 2012 11:55 WASHINGTON – A leading US Muslim group has launched a campaign to educate Americans about Islamic Shari`ah long affected by post-9/11 politics as well as campaigns led by Republican presidential candidates. “ICNA is making an honest attempt to reach out and connect to our fellow Americans and introduce them to our Islamic faith,” Naeem Baig, the Islamic Circle of North America’s vice president of public affairs, told CNN on Friday, March 2. “We see it as our responsibility to clarify misconceptions about American Muslims.” The campaigns launched by ICNA is aimed at “educating Americans” on what it says is the noble meaning of Shari`ah. Using conferences, billboards, TV and radio ads, ICNA plans to draw in its 30-35 chapters across the country and will be highlighted prominently at the group’s annual convention in May in Hartford, Connecticut. The group is also launching a national hot line to answer questions about Shari`ah and Islam. Another website titled “Defending Religious Freedom: Understanding Shari`ah,” was launched, listing ways people can get involved and answering questions about Shari`ah. In the “Shari`ah FAQ” sections, it discusses what Shari`ah exactly is, whether it’s a threat and how it affects women. “Muslims are taught to respect the laws of the land they live in as long as they can still effectively practice being Muslim,” the website says. “Islam is a faith, a way to be in a community with others and be in a relationship with God. Like other people of faith, whose values are inspired by religious tradition, Muslims can be and are engaged citizens.” One public service announcement features Rais Bhuiyan, who was shot in the face as part of a post-9/11 revenge killing but went on to lobby for the right of his shooter. “Join me in the fight against hate, ignorance and Islamophobia,” Bhuiyan says in the ad. In Islam, Shari`ah governs all issues in Muslims’ lives from daily prayers to fasting and from, marriage and inheritance to financial disputes.
Read the rest here.
A post from August 2011 discussed a personal appeal for donations from the founder and former president of ICNA to support ICNA’s “Understanding Shari’ah” campaign.
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.
Dr. Akbar Ahmed has a long association with the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) established in 1980 by some of the most important figures in the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood. Dr. Ahmed has also been a member of the advisory board of the American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences, the publication of the Association of Muslim Social Scientists, another part of the U.S. Brotherhood and headquartered at IIIT .