Islamist media is reporting on a new controversy erupting over the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) regarding Michigan Governor Rick Snyder’s comments on the Mideast conflict during his appearance at the recent ISNA annual convention. According to an Iqra.com report:
Islamic Society of North America
September 2, 2014 – Michigan Governor Rick Snyder’s remarks at the Islamic Society of North America’s opening session last Friday has drawn sharp criticism from American Muslims.
In his speech, Snyder affirmed Israel’s right to exist without making any mention of Palestinian human rights. Yesterday, ISNA issued an action alert calling on its members to contact the Governor’s office over his remarks.
‘Today the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) called on its members, the American Muslim community and all those concerned, to contact the office of Michigan Governor Rick Snyder over his insensitive comments during the opening session of the ISNA 51st Annual Convention last weekend in Detroit, Michigan,’ the organization stated in the release. ‘Unfortunately, near the end of his welcome remarks, Snyder unexpectedly affirmed Israel’s right to exist without any mention of Palestinian human rights. This was especially offensive in light of the recent massive deaths in Gaza due to Israel’s military campaign.’ ‘
We urge everyone to contact Governor Snyder’s office and express that Palestinians also have the right to exist, be free on their land and to an immediate end of Israeli Occupation,’ ISNA’s statement read.
Following Governor Rick Snyder’s speech, Dr. Hatem Bazian, a senior lecturer in the Departments of Near Eastern and Ethnic Studies at Berkeley University, issued a strong rebuke of ISNA’s response on his facebook page that generated debate in social media.
The GMBDW reported last month on the unusual public conflict that had broken out between leading Muslim Brotherhood figure Tariq Ramadan, the son-in-law of the Brotherhood founder, and ISNA over Ramadan’s criticism of what he claimed was ISNA’s failure to challenge the US government on a variety of issues including the Mideast conflict.
The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) emerged out of the early U.S. Muslim Brotherhood infrastructure and documents discovered in the course of the the terrorism trial of the Holy Land Foundation confirmed that the organization was part of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood. ISNA was named as a Holy Land unindicted co-conspirator as a result of what the US Justice Department called the organization’s ” intimate relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood, the Palestine Committee, and the defendants in this case.” In 2009, a US federal judge ruled “The Government has produced ample evidence to establish the associations of CAIR, ISNA and NAIT with HLF, the Islamic Association for Palestine (“IAP”), and with Hamas.” ISNA has had a long history of fundamentalism, anti-semitism, and support for terrorism. We also reported last month on the election of ISNA’s new President, an individual with troubling ties to the US Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas support infrastructure.
