Judging by its MSM press clippings, one would think the Council on American-Islamic Relations is an innocuous civil-rights group along the lines of the Catholic League or the Anti-Defamation League. To take one example of many, in "Muslim Civil Rights Group Marks 10 Years of Advocacy," the Religion News Service informs readers that CAIR "is in a unique position to track discrimination against Arabs and Muslims, and educate the American public about the world's second-largest religion." There is not a hint of criticism, not a thing to suggest to readers that this is anything but a wholesome addition to North American democratic life.
But I know otherwise, and I recently collected some of CAIR's unethical steps at "CAIR's Dirty Tricks against Me." Here are others worthy of note, in reverse chronological order:
Spitting incident: An altercation took place outside a talk I gave on Oct. 30 at Florida Atlantic University; Joe Kaufman describes how CAIR exploited it:
Evidently, during the protest, one of the demonstrators, Sana Akhtar, was spat upon (or near) by an attendee. The attendee, an FAU employee, thought better of what she had done and apologized for the incident, and Akhtar did not press charges. Normally, that would be the end of it, but when it comes to CAIR, it's just the beginning. CAIR saw the spitting episode as an opportunity to go after Pipes. The organization issued a press release that it was holding a press conference at the entrance of the university.
The press conference consisted of about 17 supporters, the majority of which were from CAIR, the MSO and ANSWER, which stands for Act Now to Stop War and End Racism. The event was supposed to be about getting the university to issue an apology to the girl who had got spat upon (near). However, when one views the amount of statements made against Dr. Pipes at the press conference, he/she will begin to understand that the reason for it taking place had nothing to do with the girl and everything to do with the bashing of Pipes.
Kaufman goes on to give excerpts from the press conference. He concludes that CAIR "needed to call a press conference in the guise of a serious subject, in order to further the anti-Pipes hate. CAIR, in truth, has created a circus on the back of the FAU administration, using a sideshow of a girl that claimed she was spit on. This type of exploitation and deception is nothing new for CAIR." (November 26, 2007)
Muslims voting: Parvez Ahmed, wrote in the "Rhetoric undermines the war on terror," Austin American-Statesman: "Daniel Pipes questions the wisdom of allowing American Muslims to vote." I have never said such a thing; this is pure fabrication. (November 15, 2007)
Awad quote at Barry University: CAIR issued an apologia today, "Top Internet Misinformation and Conspiracy Theories About CAIR," that lists as #5:
CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad publicly declared support for Hamas at Barry University in Florida in 1994, saying"I'm in support of the Hamas movement."
It goes on:
CAIR detractors—such as Steven Emerson and Daniel Pipes—selectively recycle this and other incomplete statements to assert their pre-fabricated conclusions. In response to a direct question from an audience member about social programs in the occupied territories, Awad said, "I'm in support of the Hamas movement more than the PLO."
But my only mention of that Barry University statement gives Awad's full sentence:
Awad publicly declared his enthusiasm for Hamas at Barry University in Florida in 1994: "I'm in support of Hamas movement more than the PLO."
Comment: CAIR can't even get the smallest details right when it comes to me. (May 22, 2013)
