The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is doing it’s best to prove what the FBI and DOJ (under Bush #41) warned congress and the public, that they are a pro-terrorism, Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated organization. A Muslim/Pakistani group placed two billboards over Chicago highways with the hopes of fighting both terrorism and Islamophobia.
The billboards which read “Muslims to Muslims: See Something. Say Something. Save Innocent Lives,” were paid for by the Association of Pakistani Americans of Bolingbrook (Bolingbrook is a Chicago suburb).
“We are trying to tell average Americans this is who we are, and we do not condone (terrorism),” said Talat Rashid, founder of the group, who also is a member of Bolingbrook’s Planning Commission and was the suburb’s 2003 Citizen of the Year. “If we see anyone in our community that is off track, we will let the authorities know.”
It seems like a noble goal, but not everyone thinks so. Ahmed Rehab, executive director of Chicago’s Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), says there is no data that proves that Muslims don’t speak up when they see suspicious activity and thinks the billboard can create problems of Islamophobia for the Muslim in the community.
Understand where Mr Rehab is coming from. CAIR was named as a Muslim Brotherhood/Hamas front group by the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office named the group an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation federal criminal trial which showcased that the group was not only created by, but raised funds for, the terrorist group Hamas. One of the key pieces of evidence in the Holy Land case was a wiretap recording that put CAIR’s executive director, Nihad Awad, at a Philadelphia meeting of Hamas leaders. Participants hatched a plot to deceive Americans and disguise payments to Hamas as it launched a campaign of terror attacks. CAIR co-founder Omar Ahmad joined Hamas big shots at the summit.
Therefore it is not too much of a stretch to understand why he doesn’t want people to speak out.
“I’m in the business of countering Islamophobia. I know that work needs to be done,” Rehab was quoted as saying. “I just don’t think that cementing a misperception on a billboard is going to help.
Actually, “saying something” goes against the CAIR philosophy. For example the poster below was used to announce a February 2011 CAIR event at the East Side Cultural Center in Oakland. The event was called, “FBI Raids and Grand Jury Subpoenas: Know Your Rights and Defend Our Communities.”
Now to be fair, once the sign became news, Ibrahim Hooper of CAIR said, “I think it’s subject to misinterpretation. We decided out of extreme caution to take it down.”
Misinterpretation? What could be misinterpreted? Did they mean build a fence of resistance instead of build a wall? Oh, I know when they said “Don’t Talk To The FBI” they meant US Muslims shouldn’t talk but whisper, or maybe even sing in a strong baritone. Come on, this is the same double-speak CAIR pulls over the eyes of TV hosts when they appear to claim that Islamic terrorism has nothing to do with Muslims.
Let’s face it, if CAIR gave a rats arse about stopping terrorisms or islamophobia they would be doing all they can to support the effort of the Association of Pakistani Americans of Bolingbrook, perhaps even by a few more billboards. Instead CAIR is objecting to the billboards as they often do when the FBI arrests a terrorist.
