CAIR’s Threat to National Security

CAIR leader Hussam Ayloush is on a crusade against the FBI; he’s upset by how the government agency fights terrorism. What he’s not upset by are the terrorists who threaten America and America’s allies.

It’s a pattern by Mr. Ayloush that could easily lead one to believe he is a threat himself.

Hussam Ayloush is the executive director of the California chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-California), also known as CAIR-Southern California or CAIR-Los Angeles. He has held the position since at least 2001. Between then and now Ayloush, while appearing to be a moderate, has been associated with extremists who convey hatred and violence.

In December 2001, CAIR-California’s website published a photo taken in Los Angeles of Ayloush shoulder-to-shoulder with the spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Yusuf al-Qaradawi. This was two years after al-Qaradawi had been banned from entering the United States.

Al-Qaradawi, whom the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) refers to as the “theologian of terror,” has incited violence against Jews, endorsed suicide bombings, called for homosexuals to be put to death, voiced his support for various terrorist organizations, called for the destruction of the state of Israel, and sanctioned attacks against U.S. troops abroad.

As reported by the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT) in November 2002 — again, after al-Qaradawi had been banned from the U.S. — Ayloush venerated him as a “scholar.” He stated:

Several people were asking about the eligibility claim for CAIR. And according to many scholars including Yusuf Qaradawi, basically this is one of the venues of zakat (charity) for your money as vis a vis basically educating about Islam in America and the West.

Al-Qaradawi is not the only threat to the U.S. whom Ayloush has described as a scholar. He said the same of Hamas and Muslim Brotherhood operative Wagdy Ghoneim, after Ghoneim was arrested in November 2004 on an immigration violation. Ayloush stated, “Wagdy Ghoneim is a highly regarded religious scholar who gives speeches around the country.” According to the State Department, his sermons targeted Jews, Christians, and the West. Ghoneim, who was then a mosque leader in California, would soon be deported to Qatar.

In August 2007, Ayloush published on his personal web blog a threat against President Bush. The threat was written by Sami al-Hajj, who at the time was being held at Guantanamo Bay prison, classified as an “enemy combatant.” It read, “America, you ride on the backs of orphans, and terrorize them daily. Bush, beware.” The threat is still on Ayloush’s site, along with a link to IslamiCity, a website that repeatedly calls for the murder of Jews and repeatedly curses Jews and Christians.

In August 2009, Ayloush published photos on his blog of Hamas members wearing scarves adorned with the Hamas logo on them. He lamented that these individuals were being mistakenly portrayed by some as “pedophiles.” He described it as “Islamophobic propaganda” meant to “demonize and dehumanize Palestinians.” Yet nowhere in his piece did he mention that the individuals were terrorists or were part of a terrorist organization.

Of course, by acknowledging that Hamas is a terrorist organization, Ayloush would in turn be calling into question the rightful existence of CAIR, which was created by Hamas. He would also be challenging his personal beliefs. Indeed, Ayloush once quipped that “‘intifada’ really indicates standing up against injustice.”

One “injustice” that Ayloush believes occurs is the way the FBI fights terrorism. At least, that’s what he says. Since February of this year, Ayloush has leveled attack after attack on the FBI via radio, television, and print. He has posted dozens of hit pieces concerning the FBI on his blog, and he has given sermons against the FBI at Islamic centers — making the wild claim that the agency seeks to “provoke” and “threaten” Muslims.

When Ayloush began his attack on the FBI, it was after the feds cut ties with CAIR and after the agency took into custody an individual, Ahmadullah Sais Niazi, who according to the U.S. government had links to al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Niazi attended a mosque that Ayloush has been involved with, the Islamic Center of Irvine (ICOI). Sadullah Khan, the leader of the radical mosque, describes Israel as “the enemy” and told his congregation in January 2009: “The statement that ‘Israel has the right to self-defense’ remains as ridiculous as ever.”

Ayloush and his fellow Islamists have worked hard to cause a rift between the FBI and the Muslim community, calling on Muslims to stop providing information to the agency. This, no doubt, has done harm to the security of the United States.

While it is true that Hussam Ayloush has associated with the most extreme of extremists and with an organization which was created by terror operatives, given all of the above is it not also true that Ayloush is one of those extremists himself?