US media is reporting that a top White House official accompanied leaders representing US Muslim Brotherhood organizations who denounced the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) during a Wednesday press conference. According to the report:
09/10/2014 WASHINGTON — A top White House official accompanied Muslim political and religious leaders as they repeatedly denounced the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria terror group during a Wednesday press conference.
The press conference took place hours before President Barack Obama was expected to begin an extended campaign against the Islamic States, which cites Islamic theology to justify its attacks on the Iraqi government and unarmed civilians, and its murders of journalists.
But the Islamic leaders admitted that Americans Muslims are joining the jihadi groups, and that they need to step up their theological arguments against the jihadis’ use of pro-jihad language in Islamic’s primary book, the Koran.
‘In this country, we are having a challenge right now,’ said Johari Abdul Malik, the outreach direct at the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center, in Fall Church, Va.
‘Young men are feeling frustrated, seeing the the death and destruction around the world, and saying ‘What can I do about it,’ and as a result of that, some of them have been deceived into thinking there is shortcut to social change, that it comes from the barrel of a gun,’ he said, adding that he works with other Muslims to contain radicalism.
The top White House official, Rand Beers, told the meeting that ‘it is absolutely critical that civic engagement and discourse be a part of this’ effort to prevent radicalization of Muslim youth.
Read the rest here.
The report goes on to identify leaders of the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), and the Dar Al-Hijrah mosque among those participating in the press conference. All three organizations have had highly problematic records over the years when it comes to terrorism.
For a profile of MPAC, go here.
For a profile of ISNA, go here.
For a profile of Dar Al-Hijrah, go here.