A controversial national Islamic civil liberties organization has revived its Minnesota chapter after a series of highly publicized incidents involving Muslim taxi drivers, store clerks and airline passengers.Saudi funded terrorist lawsuits to commence in 30 minutes
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which has 32 chapters in the United States and Canada, will open a St. Paul office this weekend, leaders said Thursday. CAIR Minnesota's resurrection, months in the making, comes as the state's Muslim community is being scrutinized as never before.
This week, six imams (prayer leaders) who were removed from a US Airways flight in Minneapolis in November sued the airline and the Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC). In addition, some Muslim taxi drivers who refuse to ferry alcohol and dogs are awaiting a ruling on the issue from the MAC. And some Target Muslim store clerks have refused to scan pork products.
The incidents have triggered widespread anger against Muslims, despite pleas for tolerance. "The Muslim community in Minnesota is very diverse," stressed Zafar Siddiqui of the Islamic Resource Group. "We have people ranging from indigenous Muslims to immigrants from East Africa, South Asia, the Middle East, the Far East and Europe," and just as wide a spectrum of views on hot-button topics.
Since 9/11, CAIR has grown from a half-dozen chapters to more than two dozen nationwide, said Ibrahim Hooper, a CAIR spokesman in Washington, D.C.
Ibrahim, Hamas called, they want their monthly check
CAIR Minnesota leaders said they decided to restart the chapter after hearing stories about Muslims being subjected to racial profiling.
Ya that 9-11 thing kind of piss us off dickweeds
Spokeswoman Valerie Shirley, a Muslim convert and University of Minnesota graduate student, said she and others have heard story after story about Muslims being "harassed and pulled aside for searches" at airports.
Convert, U o M student, now there's a surprise...
"The community here needs somebody to stand up for them when their rights are being stomped on like that," she said. "So a group of us got together and decided to revive it."
Their action comes at a time of increased national scrutiny of CAIR, which some have speculated is linked to terrorist organizations in the Middle East. CAIR representatives deny any link to terrorism.
And pigs fly, well maybe over the Kaaba
The local CAIR chapter, which first organized in the mid-1990s, had been dormant for more than a year when it began reorganizing late last year, said Lori Saroya, an American-born Muslim who will be the chapter's chairwoman.
Reaction from other groups to the CAIR Minnesota revival was less than enthusiastic. Steve Hunegs of the Jewish Community Relations Council said he hopes the local group will not push the same agenda as CAIR's national office. "National CAIR has given a platform to the academics who accuse our pro-Israel community of subverting and distorting American foreign policy, which is simply not true," he said. "These accusations are an attempt to intimidate the pro-Israel community into not exercising its constitutional rights to lobby Congress and the executive branch."
Omar Jamal, executive director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center in St. Paul, said he was dismayed by the news. "CAIR pushes issues from the Mideast under the guise that it's an umbrella organization for all Muslims," he said. "But it does nothing for Somali Muslims."
Interesting, he gets it
| Partly. He's still in favor of 'death to the Jooooooz'. |
Mouth open jaw dropped
"The agenda we are pushing is a world agenda -- and that's civil rights," she said. "And that crosses all boundaries."
Sharia Law, Dhimmitude. No reading between the lines here