press_003

In Defense of the Constitution

Press Release 003/04
January 25, 2004

On January 16^th, 2004, Mr. Randall Royer pleaded guilty to charges of using and discharging a firearm during, and in relation to, a crime of violence; and with carrying an explosive during commission of a felony. Mr. Royer faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison. (Mr. Royer also uses the first name of “Ismail”)

At the time Mr. Royer committed crimes, he was in a leadership position at the Council on American Islamic Relations, (CAIR), a Washington DC based organization that claims to protect the civil rights of Muslims in the

United States

and

Canada

. (It should be noted that years earlier, as a student, Royer worked a short period with CAIR before he joined Bosnian Forces fighting Serbs in 1994.)

Anti-CAIR, (ACAIR), has been following the story of Mr. Royer’s “adventures” on behalf of militant Islam, in particular, our press release nr’s: 14, 15, 16, 18 & 25. Since Mr. Royer has pleaded guilty, we were curious as to the reaction of CAIR.

As part of Mr. Royer’s plea, he has agreed to “cooperate” with the government in on-going investigations into other members of their network. ACAIR is hopeful that Mr. Royer can be convinced to share any information he may have regarding CAIR’s activities.

Mr. Royer is the third person with ties to CAIR’s leadership who has either been convicted, or is under suspicion of aiding militant Islam. Despite this, major print and television media in the

United States

continue to consult CAIR on matters of importance to the Muslim community.

Several other CAIR officials have either proven or suspected ties to militant Islam. Mr. Bassem K. Khafagi has pleaded guilty to charges of visa and bank fraud in federal court in Detroit. Charges were brought against Mr. Khafagi for his role with the Islamic Assembly of North America. Mr. Khafagi was community affairs director for CAIR at the time of his arrest.

On February 2, 1995, Siraj Wahhaj was named as one of the “unindicted persons who may be alleged as co-conspirators” in the attempt to blow up targets in New York. Mr. Wahhaj, on CAIR’s advisory board, was described by CAIR as “one of the most respected Muslim leaders in

America

.”

We believe we know why Mr. Royer is “persona non grata” at CAIR, but we'd like to see the general MEDIA ask CAIR why they have turned their backs on Ismail Royer, and how his guilty plea affects CAIR?

Journalists must also ask CAIR: Exactly where does CAIR stand in the war on terror? Is CAIR an American-Muslim civil rights organization or a Militant-Islam civil rights group?

In a previous press release, Anti-CAIR (ACAIR), documented the relationship between the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Washington DC based organization that claims to protect the civil rights of Muslims in the

United States

and

Canada

As part of a continuing investigation into the sources of CAIR’s funding, we have come across Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali, the first, and present, president of the IDB. Why is Dr. Ali noteworthy? Dr. Ali served as Secretary General of the Muslim World League, (MWL), from 1993 to 1995. He was charged with “restructuring the MWL.”

As reported by the Washington Post, the Senate Finance Committee has asked the Internal Revenue Service, (IRS) to turn over the tax and finance records of dozens of Muslim charities. The MWL is among those groups that the committee will be investigating.

Interesting. Once again, CAIR has oblique ties to an individual with questionable ties to militant Islam.

On a normal day, this would be just another story about a rather dull senate committee looking into a group of organizations that may be under suspicion for committing crimes.

When the news of this investigation was announced, did CAIR rush to issue a press release calling on these Muslim “charitable” groups to cooperate? Did they ask these groups to be “good corporate citizens” and to willingly open their files for committee inspection?

“The Muslim community would view this as another fishing expedition solely targeting Muslims in

America

. Are they now going to start a witch hunt of all the donors of these now closed relief organizations, so that Muslims feel they’re going to be targeted once more based on their charitable giving?”

The Senate Finance Committee has no law enforcement capability and can only report its findings. If crimes have been committed, it will be up to law enforcement to take action.

Senator Charles Schumer acknowledges that CAIR looms as a facet of the destructive Wahhabi network. During a September 2003 Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security hearing, he remarked, “We know [CAIR] has ties to terrorism.” At this same hearing, Senator Richard Durbin said CAIR is "unusual in its extreme rhetoric and its associations with groups that are suspect."

By not supporting the Senate Finance Committee, CAIR is defending some militant Islamic groups that have been closed on the orders of the president in time of war.

The

United States

has been attacked, numerous times, by militant Islamists and CAIR rises to the defense of organizations that support militant Islam.

Just exactly where does CAIR stand in the war on terror? Is CAIR an American Muslim civil rights organization or a militant Islam civil rights group? The answer seems to become more clear with this current development.

No, we are secular. We respect the right of all people to worship (or not) as they see fit. However, we believe that religious obligations should not infringe on others. We condemn any religious belief that condones injury or death in the name of any deity

How is ACAIR funded?

ACAIR is currently funded by Andrew Whitehead, who owns the domain name. The entire staff is voluntary.

Who maintains the web site?

The web site is maintained by a member of the ACAIR “core” group. The “core” group currently consists of five people, the director, assistant director and three researchers, for a total of five. We have many advisors who provide us tips on improving our services, etc., but they are not part of ACAIR and have no responsibility for what appears in our press releases or on our web pages

No, currently we communicate via e-mail. We do occasionally contact people by phone in regard to tips, etc., but this is case-by-case.

Do you associate with Islamophobes like Daniel Pipes and Steve Emerson?

This is a loaded question and ordinarily we wouldn’t respond to it. However, it is interesting in the way that it is asked. For instance, the writer could simply have asked our opinions of these two gentlemen, without the gratuitous “Islamophobes” label.

To answer the question: We very much respect the opinions of Dr. Pipes and Mr. Emerson. Quite frankly, both of these gentlemen were entirely correct about militant Islam long before 9-11 and if we had been listening to them ten years ago, just maybe we wouldn’t be in the mess we are now?

ACAIR is coming very late to the war on militant Islam, but we have learned a lot about CAIR and militant Islam from the writings of both Dr. Pipes and Mr. Emerson. We salute them and thank them for being in the “front lines”. Both Dr. Pipes and Mr. Emerson have been treated very unfairly by the mainstream press.

Why do you hate the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR)?

No, we are non-allied. However, we do communicate with other groups/persons and share information. Our policies are all our own, we speak only for ourselves. The links on our web site are for information only, we receive no payment for them and their presence doesn’t mean we endorse their policies or positions. (The presence of the ACAIR link on other web sites does not mean that they endorse our policies or positions.)

Only two people are authorized to publicly speak for ACAIR, the director and assistant director. (In cases of press inquiries, a researcher is normally assigned after initial contact. This is to facilitate deadlines, etc., and provide a single, knowledgeable point of contact.)

This is the hardest part in putting out the press release. We look at the source and just how credible it is. All stories have to meet some basic guidelines. They are-

1. Is the story backed up by the facts? All items we use must be supported by a minimum of three, independent sources. Exceptions are made if we personally know and trust the source or if the story comes from a CAIR press release or action alert.

2. Is the story, even if backed up with many sources, true? We have had to spike some items about CAIR because we simply didn’t feel that they were true. It’s pretty much a judgment call. We work on the premise that we won’t spread propaganda, no matter how good it may be to our cause.

ACAIR is pleased to answer any questions from the public and press.

Your comments, suggestions and tips are appreciated and all e-mail is read.
You may request our press releases by writing:

Andrew Whitehead
ACAIR
ajwhitehead@anti-cair-net.org
www.anti-cair-net.org

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TIPS:
All persons are invited to submit tips and leads. ACAIR will acknowledge receipt of all tips/leads, but we will NOT acknowledge the source of ANY tip or lead in our Press Releases or on our web site. Exceptions are made for leading media personalities at the discretion of ACAIR and only on request of the person(s) submitting the tip or lead.