Political Attacks Follow Growing American-Muslim Recognition

by Geoff Lumetta

“The American public…might be a bit surprised to learn that both the president and the first lady have closely embraced an Islamic fundamentalist group in the U.S. that champions and supports Hamas. This group also openly supports, lobbies for and defends other Islamic terrorist groups.”

—Steven Emerson, Wall Street Journal, March 13.

On Feb. 20, First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton hosted the first ever White House observance of a Muslim holiday by inviting children, families and community leaders to celebrate Eid Al-Fitr—the end of Ramadan. Less than a month later the Clinton administration was attacked for this outreach to some five million Muslim Americans. Steven Emerson’s article “Friends of Hamas in the White House” (quoted above) charged that the American Muslim Council—a major U.S. Muslim organization in the national capital—funds and supports terrorism. The article, which appeared in the opinion section of the Wall Street Journal, also charged that the White House takes policy advice from this group of “Islamic fundamentalists.”

No such accusations have ever before been made against the six-year-old organization, which has been consistently moderate in its statements and activities. Nor have there been any formal law enforcement investigations into the group’s actions. The AMC has worked closely with liberal Protestant, Catholic and Jewish groups over the years, and many of these groups came to its defense following the accusations.

Eleven organizations, including the National Conference of Catholic Bishops and the National Council of Churches, defended the AMC. In a joint statement they said, “The AMC has consistently emphasized the importance of building interfaith dialogue and multiethnic relationships around the challenge of establishing peace with justice at home and abroad....We are uniting at this time with AMC to express our concern over the recent incidents of Muslim bashing that have negatively impacted on the prospects for objective media coverage of American Muslims.”

Despite the support the AMC received and its own repeated denials of having any link to Hamas or any other terrorist organization, the accusations still were damaging. Congressional hearings were held to look into support in the United States for militant groups. AMC Executive Director Abdurahman Alamoudi and PLO Chief Representative to the United States Hasan Abdul Rahman testified before Congress on the issue. There were no calls for follow-up action after the hearings, but Alamoudi said that some Congressmembers still question the AMC’s credibility.

“I have assurances from the White House that they will keep good relations with us, but the allegations did inflict some injury in Congress,” Alamoudi told the Washington Report. He said one reason for the reservations some Congressmembers express concerning AMC is its unwillingness to denounce Hamas—the group that claimed responsibility for three of the February bombings in Israel. While Alamoudi repeats that “We are against terrorism and we are for peace and justice in the Middle East,” his organization never has publicly criticized Hamas—a point that was at the crux of Emerson’s article against the group.

The problem, however, reflects the complexity of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, and a misunderstanding of the dynamics of life in the occupied territories. Hamas provides much of the social safety net in Gaza and the West Bank. It has collected money abroad to build schools, hospitals and sewage systems for Palestinians, and it may be the most effective group working to improve their daily lives. A faction of Hamas called Izzadine al-Qassim Brigades, named after a Palestinian leader killed in the 1936 Palestinian uprising against British rule, has claimed responsibility for much of the violence perpetrated in the name of Hamas. However, the distinction between violent and nonviolent factions of Hamas has not yet reached the consciousness of most American journalists or American political leaders.

A Coalition of People

“As far as I’m concerned, Hamas is not a terrorist group,” Alamoudi said. “It is a coalition of people who mostly do humanitarian work. There is a splinter group of Hamas that bears arms and that group I have no problem denouncing as long as what they do is inflict the slightest harm on civilians.”

The Israeli Embassy confirms that Hamas is not classified as a terrorist group in Israel, but its violent Izzadine al-Qassim faction is considered a terrorist organization and Israel prohibits membership in that group.

Alamoudi compares the present American perception of Hamas to U.S. sentiment toward the PLO 10 years ago. “Back then, the PLO and anybody who talked to them were labeled terrorists,” he said. “Now Yasser Arafat is a Nobel Prize winner and the head of a legitimate government.” Alamoudi said he has never spoken to a member of Hamas, but he would not object to opening a dialogue with Hamas or any other nonviolent group that is working toward a solution to the Palestinian crisis. He also encouraged Israeli and U.S. officials to do the same.

Seif Ashmawy, the American-Muslim publisher of the Voice of Peace in New Jersey, disagrees with this view, however. He was quoted in the Emerson article as saying “The American Muslim Council is a radical group that supports radical Islamic terrorist movements…I am shocked and outraged that the White House would embrace them [AMC].”

Ashmawy told the Washington Report that he does acknowledge and appreciate the humanitarian work Hamas does, but he adds that the main group of Hamas must break off from the violent faction if it is going to gain legitimacy. “It must not only break off, but they must denounce killing innocent people."

Ashmawy said that American Muslims and Muslim organizations must do a better job of speaking out against violent acts. "If we do not speak out, then our silence will be interpreted as supporting terrorists."

Since the February suicide bombings in Israel by the Islmaist Izzadine al-Qassim Brigades and by Islamic Jihad, the AMC has not been the only Muslim and Arab-American organization to be accused of having ties to radical groups. A number of these attacks have come from Jewish organizations and members. Based on charges by the B'nai B'rith's Anti-Defamation League, Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY) asked the Internal Revenue Service to revoke the tax-exempt status of two groups she accused of helping Hamas, The Holy Land Foundation and the Islamic Association for Palestine. Similarly, in England, the Palestinian Relief and Development Fund came under attack by Jewish political groups who asked that the fund be closed because, they charged, it was a threat to Israel's security.

All of these groups respond that they have no ties to political movements in the occupied territories and they challenge their critics to back up their charges with facts.

In a letter to the Wall Street Journal responding to the allegations, Alamoudi called into question Steven Emerson's own motives for attacking the AMC. Since the early 1980s, Emerson has written many books and articles critical of Arab and Muslim activity in the United States. He also produced the PBS film "Jihad in America," which charged that Iranian-inspired Islamic terrorists were gaining a U.S. foothold.

Funding for Emerson's came from the Lynde and Henry Bradley Foundation of Milwaukee, WI. The same foundation funded the infamous book The Arabists: An American Elite by Robert D. Kaplan. By selective interviews, Kaplan implied that the U.S. State Department's Arabic speakers are misfits or eccentrics who are out of touch with American life. Worse, he implied that they were responsible for the obvious failures in U.S. Middle East policy. The book ignored the fact that State Deparment policy is controlled by presidents and influenced by members of Congress who are motivated by domestic politics. Their decisions often are made over the objections of career foreign service officers and regional specialists. Kaplan also thanked the "Foreign Policy Research Institute" of Philadelphia for helping fund his book. The institute is headed by Daniel Pipes, a contributing editor of both the Middle East Quarterly and Atlantic Monthly. Both have been criticized by Arab and Muslim Americans as being hostile to their communities.

Emerson was also one of the first commentators to suggest that Islamic terrorists were responsible for the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995. On the April 19 CBS Evening News, Emerson told a reporter, "Oklahoma City, I can tell you, is probably considered as one of the largest centers of Islamic radical activity outside the Middle East." On the same newscast he is featured saying, "This [the bombing] was done with the intent to inflict as many casualties as possible. That is a Middle Eastern trait."

Executive Director Khalil Jahshan of the National Association of Arab Americans charges that attacks such as Emerson's on the AMC are meant to squelch the growing prominence and acceptance of Muslim and Arab Americans. "These are part of an ongoing attempt by those who are uncomfortable with Muslims being a part of the mainstream in this country," he said during a press conference in support of the AMC.

President James Zogby of the American Arab Institute also said it is no coincidence that these attacks have come after the increased recognition of American Muslims by the White House. He said the accusations are a part of "political defamation and marginalization" that is common when a group starts gaining some power. He said the big and well-organized organizations are generally the target of racist sentiment.

"They always say 'we are not against Muslims or Arabs,' but they know that Muslims in general are discredited by the attacks," Zogby said.

Alamoudi said that, despite the setback in Congress, most AMC supporters still are adamantly behind the group and AMC will continue its mission. "We are appreciative of the support we have received from the administration and friends," he noted, "and we will continue to work diligently to give American Muslims a political voice."