CAIR Mobilizes Its Response

Politico is retailing the CAIR talking points about the uproar caused by the publication of Muslim Mafia:

Islam Group Ridicules Muslim ‘Spies’ Claim

Four Republican lawmakers have accused the most prominent Islamic advocacy group in Washington of trying to plant “spies” as interns on Capitol Hill.

The claim was quickly denounced as “racist” and “insidious” by the Council on American Islamic Relations, and the effort appears to have little support from GOP leaders.

In an unusual announcement this morning, four conservative Republicans — Reps. John Shadegg (Ariz.), Paul Broun (Ga.), Trent Franks (Ariz.) and Sue Myrick (N.C.) — formally asked the House Sergeant at Arms to launch an investigation of the Center for American-Islamic Relations. They accused CAIR, a non profit group, of trying to infiltrate Capitol Hill with interns and staffers.

Shadegg said Wednesday that CAIR is an organization that “members of Congress should be aware of and that should be investigated by the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service.”

And the response from CAIR?

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“We would love to help people find jobs on Capitol Hill,” said Ibrahim Hooper, the communications director for CAIR. “There’s a Muslim Staffer Association. Should they be investigated?”

[…]

The lawmakers also released a one page “strategy” document they said they obtained from CAIR. But the document basically lays out a fairly straight forward public relations and lobbying strategy and indeed, one of the goals is “placing Muslim interns in congressional offices” and registering people to vote.

Hooper ridiculed the claims.

“All they can come up with is that we are political active?” Hooper asked. “The terror threat is that Muslims are politically active?”

You’ll notice that, as usual, the problem isn’t with the Muslims, it’s with their fully dhimmified fellow-travelers in Congress:

Democrats weren’t amused by the accusations, and Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.) said she was “appalled” by the situation.

“I urge the rest of my colleagues to join me in denouncing this witch hunt, which is clearly intended to create fear and distrust in our Capitol Hill community,” Sanchez said in a statement.

[…]

Hooper pointed out that there are indeed many Muslim staffers on Capitol Hill, CAIR is a lobbying organization, and its executive director is on Capitol Hill today — speaking at an interfaith forum on health care with other religious groups in the Rayburn building.

As this issue builds, expect a combination of two strategies.

On the one hand there will be a media strategy to generate hundreds of sound bites and talking-head appearances that will keep up the incessant drumbeat of “racism… Islamophobia… racism… Islamophobia”.

Meanwhile, brigades of expensive lawyers will be mobilized to courthouses all over the land, bearing writs, subpoenas, motions, and all the other legal devices known to lawkind. Their actions, both civil and criminal, will tie the book’s authors and publishers up in expensive legal action for the foreseeable future.

This is the way CAIR fights, and thanks to the Saudi petrodollars, it will be a well-funded counterattack.


Hat tip: KGS.