Marco Rubio Slammed for Comments about US Muslim Institutions
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) on Friday sent a letter to Rubio calling on him to clarify and retract “dangerously reckless” comments he made during an interview with a racist radio host in which he appeared to entertain the idea of the State Department designating American Muslim institutions as terrorist organizations based on a debunked, Islamophobic conspiracy about the Muslim Brotherhood.
On Aug. 13th, Rubio participated in a telephone interview with Sid Rosenberg, a radio host with a history of making racist remarks comparing Black female athletes to animals.
During the interview, Rosenberg pressed Rubio and asked whether the State Department would designate “the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR” as terrorist organizations. He added, “Maybe not CAIR just yet, but certainly the Muslim Brotherhood?” In response, Rubio said, “All of that is in the works,” and noted the legal challenges involved in making such designations.
In a letter to Rubio, CAIR General Counsel & National Litigation Director Lena Masri wrote, in part:
“Your response, whether intentional or not, appeared to raise the possibility that the State Department is trying to find a way to weaponize federal terrorism laws against CAIR and other American Muslim institutions based on a debunked conspiracy theory.
“As you know, CAIR is our nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, as well as a duly registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
“Founded in 1994, CAIR now has 25 affiliated chapters nationwide and over 500 board and staff members across the country. Our mission is to enhance the public’s understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims. CAIR has spent 30 years vocally speaking up against all forms of bigotry, including anti-Black racism, Islamophobia, anti-Palestinian racism and antisemitism, as well as all forms of unjust violence, including hate crimes, ethnic cleansing, genocide and terrorism.
“CAIR has played a leading role in debunking the arguments of both anti-Muslim extremists and Muslim extremists who attempt to paint Islam as a religion of wanton violence. In fact, CAIR condemned terrorism so often that ISIS once put a target on our national executive director.
“Despite these facts, anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian hate groups have spent years falsely and nonsensically smearing CAIR and other American Muslim institutions as foreign agents of ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, Hamas, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the Muslim Brotherhood, all somehow at the same time. None of this makes sense because none of it is true.
“The truth is that CAIR is an independent American nonprofit organization that operates in full compliance with federal, state, and local laws. CAIR is not—and has never been—a member, chapter, offshoot, or affiliate of any foreign organization.”
CAIR’s letter to Rubio also noted that the conspiracy theory that the Muslim Brotherhood controls American Muslim institutions has been repeatedly debunked by experts, and that both the State Department and the Justice Department under prior administrations have rejected baseless calls to target American Muslim institutions like CAIR.
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Masri added: “The real reason anti-Muslim hate groups and pro-Israel lobby group obsessively target CAIR and other American Muslim institutions is because of our steadfast advocacy for Palestinian rights. To these groups, whose top priority is protecting the Israeli government from criticism, any American Muslims who recognize that Palestinians are human beings worthy of freedom are a threat who must be smeared and silenced.
These hate groups fear that American Muslims will continue to become more civically engaged and politically impactful, leading to the reorientation of American foreign policy in a more just and humane direction.
Although the Trump administration may strongly disagree with CAIR’s criticism of the Israeli government, that disagreement is not the basis for public smears, much less legal action.”
CAIR called on Rubio to clarify his remarks and affirm that the State Department will not misuse federal terrorism laws to target American Muslim institutions based on conspiracy theories or their exercise of free speech. CAIR also vowed to carry on its civil rights and advocacy work, including advocating for an end to the genocide in Gaza, regardless of threats and smears from extremist voices.
Source: Cair.com
