Watchdog calls for greater scrutiny on Council for American Islamic Relations

Watchdog calls for greater scrutiny on Council for American Islamic Relations

Judicial Watch, a public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, believes the United States government needs to place greater scrutiny on a Muslim organization that has links to terrorism. The watchdog group is concerned about the Council for American Islamic Relations (CAIR) and has included it in a recently released report titled Muslim Front Organizations: Moderate Non-Profits or Elaborate Deceptions?

Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton says CAIR has been successful in portraying itself as a champion for all Muslims and "has been very effective in making themselves out to be the ACLU of Arab-Americans" when, in fact, "they are a narrow interest group funded by initially terrorist-associated organizations, and they've knowingly assisted violent Muslim Arab groups."

According to Fitton, CAIR should be considered a foreign-based, subversive organization. "It has tremendous influence, and we have to be aware of that," he asserts. "Their people regularly say outrageous things and promote terrorism." And at one point, the Judicial Watch spokesman contends, a CAIR board member even commented that "America is facing a terrible fate, and the reason for that is because the country stands condemned."

That is the kind of rhetoric coming from CAIR "that ought to be attacked and scrutinized," Fitton suggests. "But, instead," he points out, "the Department of Homeland Security recently is working with them to make sure the [Transportation Security Administration] folks are sensitive to Islamic traditions in terms of air travel."

Fitton notes that the Department of Homeland Security has recently published an online release expressing CAIR's approval of the Transportation Security Administration's "sensitivity training" about Islamic traditions.