"The Irvine 11" and Their Supporters

The Muslim American Society has announced that it will assist in the defense of the 11 students arrested at UC-Irvine on Monday for disrupting a speech by Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren.


MAS Freedom to Assist the UC Irvine Eleven


WASHINGTON, DC (MASNET) Feb. 11, 2010 - MAS Freedom Executive Director Mahdi Bray has been contacted by a family member of the Irvine Eleven (see article below) and is offering its services to the UC Irvine Muslim students. Mahdi Bray of MASF said of the arrests: "Non-violent direct action is part and parcel of the American protest culture, think where this nation would be if students didn't disrupt the segregated lunch counters in the south, or if Dr. King didn't disrupt the status quo of Jim Crow and discrimination in our nation. The Irvine Eleven are not criminals but students of conscience who have taken a principled stand on human rights and the sanctity of all life, non violent protest is as American as apple pie."


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Below is an article published by the Anti-Defamation League in regards to a convention hosted by MAS and the Islamic Circle of North America in Chicago in December of 2009. (I cannot speak as to the accuracy of the charges.)

Muslim-American Organizations' Anti-Radicalization Effort 'A Sham'

New York, NY, January 11, 2010

"As the number of American Muslim extremists allegedly involved in terror plots in the U.S. and abroad continues to grow, major Muslim-American organizations have publicly acknowledged the existence of a problem in their community and vowed to tackle it head on.



But the initial effort to root out radicalization – announced by a few of these groups in the wake of the arrests in Pakistan of five Muslim-American students from Virginia for allegedly attempting to join a terrorist group – has proven to be a sham and a cover for anti-Semitism and extremism, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).



The Muslim American Society (MAS) and the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) held a major community convention in Chicago in December 2009 where the convention chair called for an Islam "clean and clear of all extremism."



But the convention, which had been specifically identified by MAS and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as the venue to begin the effort to combat radicalization, failed to seriously address the problem. In fact, it provided a platform for extremist views, according to ADL. The Chicago convention, which attracted more than 1,000 participants, served as a forum for religious scholars and political activists to rail against Jews, call for the eradication of the state of Israel and accuse the United States government as waging a war against Muslims at home and abroad.



It is shocking that this conference, identified by some major Muslim-American groups as the venue to start the process of reform at a time of growing attacks and threats by American Muslim extremists, was a sham and nothing more than a cover for the dissemination of hateful anti-American and anti-Israel views and anti-Semitism," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director. "The fact that it provided a platform for extremist views calls into question the sincerity of the effort to serve as a legitimate counterbalance to radicalization. No legitimate blueprint for change can emerge from a convention permeated by messages conveying hatred of Jews, the denial of Israel's right to exist and the idea that the U.S. is at war with Islam."



ADL pointed to numerous troubling speeches and other developments during the annual convention of the Muslim American Society (MAS) and the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) held December 23-27:



Religious scholars and political activists railed against Jews from both a political and theological standpoint. Rafiq Jaber, former President of the Islamic Association of Palestine, a Hamas-affiliated anti-Semitic propaganda organization, described Jews to the audience as "the worst kind of people," who came to Jerusalem "with false pretenses."



Hamed Ghazali, Chairman of the MAS Council of Islamic Schools and professor at the Islamic American University in Michigan, told the audience in Arabic that "Allah gave us the Jews" as the primary historical and religious example of those who "take the wrong path."



Other speakers argued that the eradication of the state of Israel is a religious duty. Sheikh Raghib Al Serjani, an author and physician from Egypt, declared in Arabic, "It is the duty for all Muslims to liberate all of Palestine from the North to the South, from Al Quds to the sea, it's a duty for all Muslims to liberate one complete full land of Palestine… It's not just about liberating Al Quds. It's all occupied!"



Materials sold at the convention included books and CDs by radical anti-Semitic sheikhs such as Yusuf al-Qaradawi, a leading Muslim Brotherhood ideologue based in Qatar who is known for his support of terrorist groups such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah; and Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S. born Muslim cleric based in Yemen who has encouraged American Muslims to attack non-Muslims and Western targets.



Another theme repeated throughout the convention was the notion that the U.S. government is attacking Islam as a religion. According to several speakers, the American government targets Muslims in the U.S. through its policies and Muslims abroad through its wars.



Even from the inception of the convention, serious questions arose as the organizers sought to draw participants by advertising two known anti-Semitic extremists from abroad as keynote speakers: Zaghloul Al Najjar, an Egyptian cleric who has described Jews as "devils in human form," and Ra'ed Salah, leader of the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel, who served jail time for financing Hamas. Neither of the advertised speakers attended the convention.


In 2009 alone, an alarming number of American Muslim extremists were charged, convicted or sentenced on terrorism charges, including terror plots in the U.S. and abroad. From the shootings at Fort Hood and at an Army recruiting center in Little Rock, Arkansas to plots in New York, Chicago, Massachusetts and elsewhere, the suspects were fueled by an extremist ideology that demonizes America, Israel and Jews."
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Here is the response to the ADL charges by the MAS:

MAS/ICNA Response to the ADL's Jan. 11 Statement Concerning Dec. 2009 Joint Conference in Chicago


ALEXANDRIA, VA (MASNET) Jan. 12, 2010 – On January 11, 2010 the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) issued a statement characterizing the December, 2009 joint MAS/ICNA Conference in Chicago as a "sham" and a "cover for anti-Semitism and extremism". This characterization was based on statements and presentations, reportedly made by speakers at the conference, that made disparaging comments about the Jewish people and allegedly called for the destruction of the State of Israel. Unfortunately, this characterization of our conference – a gathering of nearly 4,000 people from numerous organizations throughout the United States – failed to recognize the broader objective of the event, which did, indeed, call for the rejection of extremism and the promotion of the positive engagement of the American Muslim community in the civic life of the nation.

This theme was reflected in many workshops and sessions, and particularly in a session where some 700 Muslim youth from across the nation gathered to discuss the need to reject violence and extremism, while following a "straight path" of service to our community and nation.

In response to the ADL's statement, both MAS and ICNA categorically state that our organizations do not affirm any statements that reflect hatred of the Jewish people, or any other religious or ethnic community, or that call for the destruction of Israel. If any such unfortunate statements were made by any speakers at our conference in Chicago, we deeply regret them and affirm that such individuals will not be invited to future conferences.

We acknowledge the work of the ADL as a major advocacy organization that defends the legitimate human rights of the Jewish people. However, we believe that human rights are universal, and that they must apply not only to the Jewish people and the people of Israel, but equally to the people of Palestine, who suffer from both Israeli occupation and, within the state of Israel itself, systematic discrimination.

Both MAS and ICNA will continue to support the development of Muslim youth, as well as the entire Muslim-American community, and will continue to encourage our community's contribution to building a more just society and world that is free from all forms of prejudice and violence. We welcome constructive and mutually respectful dialogue with the leadership of the ADL toward this end.

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The Muslim American Society (MAS) is a charitable, religious, social, cultural, and educational, not-for-profit organization. It is a pioneering Islamic organization, an Islamic revival, and reform movement that uplift the individual, family, and society. Learn more visit http://www.masnet.org.
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Muslim American Society
6408 Edsall Road, 2nd Floor
Alexandria | VA | 22312
Phone (703) 642-6165
Fax (757) 299-9961
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Fousesquawk comment: First of all, Steven Emerson's Investigative Project on Terrorism describes the Muslim American Society as being connected to the Egypt-based Muslim Brotherhood. I note that in the MAS response, they did not deny the accusations that some speakers engaged in anti-Semitic rhetoric, but that such speakers would not be invited to future MAS events.

That kind of reminds me of the lawyer who asks an obviously unreasonable question of a witness knowing that the objection to the question or statement will be sustained and says, "I withdraw the question"-knowing that the jury has heard the question or statement."

How convenient.