Refutation
of DMN article on ISNA
ACTION ALERT
Refutation of DMN article on ISNA Source: ISNA
& Invaider
Blog
(Plainfield, IN – February 11, 2010)
The Dallas Morning News (DMN) published on Sunday, February 7, 2010, an article
by Brooks Egerton under the title “U.S. torn over whether some Muslims pose
threat or offer insight.” The article painted the Islamic Society of North
America (ISNA) and Dr. Louay Safi, the Director of Communications and
Leadership Development, in a negative light, and presented a distorted picture
of ISNA that belies its actual work and contribution to society.
The article was written in a disparaging and condescending manner, using pejorative terms, such as “Islamist” and “Jihadi”, and rehashing smears that one usually finds in the rants of Islamophobic bloggers intent on undermining mainstream Muslim organizations. It is disturbing to see the DMN resort to innuendo, half-truths, and guilt by association to smear the largest Muslim American organization. It did not matter to Mr. Egerton that ISNA works to develop a robust interfaith dialogue and cooperation, to educate the community to ensure that mosques are not exploited by violent extremism, and to provide opportunities for consultation and cooperation between the Muslim community leadership and government agencies. It seems that Mr. Egerton was intent on utilizing some allegations and incidental associations for establishing presumption of guilt.
The article was written in a disparaging and condescending manner, using pejorative terms, such as “Islamist” and “Jihadi”, and rehashing smears that one usually finds in the rants of Islamophobic bloggers intent on undermining mainstream Muslim organizations. It is disturbing to see the DMN resort to innuendo, half-truths, and guilt by association to smear the largest Muslim American organization. It did not matter to Mr. Egerton that ISNA works to develop a robust interfaith dialogue and cooperation, to educate the community to ensure that mosques are not exploited by violent extremism, and to provide opportunities for consultation and cooperation between the Muslim community leadership and government agencies. It seems that Mr. Egerton was intent on utilizing some allegations and incidental associations for establishing presumption of guilt.
We are disappointed that the DMN did
not heed the wise words of Rabbi Marc Schneier to ensure a meaningful and
fair-minded presentation of ISNA. In his response to Mr. Egerton’s effort to
brush ISNA with the anti-Semitic label on the basis of a statement by one out
of some 200 speakers in its 2009 convention, Rabbi Schneier told him that ISNA
“should be remembered for its extensive outreach to Jews, not Umar’s
‘repulsive’ remarks.” Rabbi Schneier tried to teach his questioner another
principle about fair reporting. “That’s not the ISNA I see today,” the Rabbi
responded to questions aimed at spouting doubts through issues that took place
in a different time governed by a different reality, and then added:
“Institutions evolve.”
On the Unindicted Coconspirator
Designation
ISNA has been designated as
unindicted coconspirator (UCC). ISNA continues to pursue all legal avenues to
remove the stigma that was placed on it unfairly, and which has been badly
exploited by Muslim bashers and has been continuously used every time they
reference ISNA with the hope that this cheap and abusive tactic would frighten
the public and intimidate those who interact with ISNA. ACLU has summed up the
predicament facing law-abiding individuals and institutions who are branded
with this designation. “By publicly branding these groups as criminals without
providing a forum for them to defend themselves or clear their names,” an ACLU
statement reads, “the government has acted with blatant disregard for their
constitutional rights.”
The government conceded, through
exchange with ACLU lawyers, that it had absolutely no evidence proving that
either ISNA, or its service organizations, had engaged in a criminal conspiracy.
The U.S Attorney told ISNA’s legal counsel “that ISNA was not subjects or
targets in the HLF prosecution or in any other pending investigation.” The U.S.
attorney also acknowledged that the public labeling was simply a “legal tactic”
intended to allow the government to introduce hearsay evidence against HLF
later at trial.
The DOJ Attorneys’ Manual instructs
U.S. Attorneys not to name unindicted co-conspirators in indictments and
directs them to avoid publicly naming unindicted co-conspirators. The public
naming of ISNA is a clear violation of the Department of Justice (DOJ) guidelines
and established court rules.
ISNA’s many interfaith partners
expressed dismay when ISNA was slammed with the UCC designation. The Union of
Reform Judaism echoed the concerns expressed by the ACLU, stating that “Because
ISNA is one of the nation’s largest Muslim umbrella organizations, the charge
is also damaging, and has a chilling effect on the entire American Muslim
community…It is our sincere hope that the damage that ISNA has had to
endure…can and will be properly reversed, so that together we can all work to
fulfill God’s vision of a world at peace with ourselves and with one another.”
Similarly, Michael Kinnamon, General
Secretary, National Council of Churches (NCC) expressed solidarity with ISNA on
this issue. “As an ally and friend of the Islamic Society of North America
(ISNA)…the label of ‘co-conspirator’ is damaging to the excellent reputation of
ISNA and those who collaborate with them to build a better America.” He added
“In my experience working with ISNA, their leaders have offered the United
States a strong and consistent Muslim voice of peace.”
Robert Edgar, Former Congressman and
President and CEO, Common Cause, echoed the same sentiment. “As a former
United States Congressman…I am personally offended by the United States Justice
Department’s apparent designation of the Islamic Society of North America
(ISNA) as an ‘unindicted co-conspirator’ in the Holy Land Foundation case. This
reminds me of the so-called ‘witch hunts’ of the 1950s,” he stressed. “As a
United Methodist pastor and former General Secretary of the National Council of
Churches…I urge that this harmful designation be ‘expunged’ immediately,” he
asserted.
On the Anti-Semitism Allegation
The DMN article makes reference to a
15-year-old conversation that reportedly was part of an FBI eavesdropping on
Sami Al-Arian. Mr. Egerton used a brief exchange that was incidental to a
telephone conversation that took place in 1995. He concludes after citing two lines
of a conversation that Dr. Safi agreed that “Jews controlled the U.S.
government.” There is a deliberate attempt to build on a couple of sentences
translated from Arabic and taken out of context to insinuate that Dr. Safi
harbors anti-Semitic prejudice. There was no reference to Jews in the exchange,
and Dr. Al-Arian expressed a tired conspiracy theory expression about Zionism
and Dr. Safi responded with a bland statement to move on to the main
subject. Anyone aware of Dr. Safi’s statements in condemning
anti-Semitism or his involvement in interfaith dialogue with Jews and
Christians knows that the picture DMN depicts is completely false and
misleading.
Dr. Safi expressed in a press
release he issued on behalf of ISNA in late 2009 in response to a pejorative
statement about the Jews “complete rejection of all prejudicial views and
bigoted stances toward the Jewish community and any other community of
faith.”
On the Fort Hood Attacks
The report insinuated that Ron
Taylor, the president of AUSA Fort Hood chapter, was confused about ISNA’s
intention to provide $100,000 on top of the first check of $10,000 Dr. Safi
presented during his visit to Fort Hood. “Taylor admitted to wondering what was
going on,” the report states. The article goes on to state that “Mr. Taylor
recalled how Safi described Hasan to him – not as a religiously motivated
extremist who planned to kill soldiers but as “someone who just lost it that
particular day and did some bad things.”
This is again a complete
mischaracterization of Dr. Safi’s and ISNA’s position on the Fort Hood attacks.
Not only did ISNA condemn the killing of the unsuspecting soldiers and call the
action a crime and betrayal, it went on to establish a fund for the attack
victims. Dr. Safi was part of the team that worked on raising the
fund. Following in the footsteps of Muslim bashers, the DMN shamelessly
turned a positive act into a negative coverage.
The inaccuracies are not limited,
though, to the above facts, but include a host of claims based on sloppy
reporting. These include the fact that Dr. Safi is not a subcontractor of the
military; his presentations on Islam were made in response to invitations by
the Leadership Development and Education for Sustained Peace; he has not been
suspended from visiting military bases; and the claim that Dr. Safi is under
criminal investigation is not only cannot be substantiated, but also the
information ISNA obtained thus far indicate that it is not true.
On Muslim Brotherhood Document and
Affiliation
The insinuation that ISNA is an arm
of the Muslim Brotherhood has been promoted by Muslim bashers. Now DMN decided
to echo their methods and amplify their lies. The DMN report’s assertion
that ISNA is a member of a foreign organization with plans to “overtake the
United States” is based on a document in Arabic dated May 19, 1991, and signed
by an obscure author. The document is written as a blueprint for gaining
control over several Muslim American organizations. The document named ISNA as
one of the prime targets of the author’s ambition, and this, Muslim bashers
think, gives them the liberty to brand ISNA as a Brotherhood vehicle. Muslim
bashers do not explain how they could appropriate the fantasy of an unknown
author to assert that ISNA is an arm of the Muslim Brotherhood.
The Islamic Society of North America
is an independent Muslim American organization governed by an elected council
and led by an elected president. It has no affiliation with the Muslim
Brotherhood, and has a membership that is too diverse in its religious orientation
and so broad in its political views to be boxed into a singular ideological
profile. ISNA has been on the forefront of working towards the integration of
Muslim Americans into mainstream society, is committed to building bridges of
cooperation and understanding through religious and ethnic lines, and is
actively engaged in interfaith dialogue and cooperation.
Rather than working to eliminate and
destroy Western civilization from within, as the Muslim bashers’ favorite
document alleges, ISNA members have been working on strengthening their society
by serving as medical doctors, public servants, professionals, professors,
social workers, chaplains, and, yes, soldiers. Anti-Muslim hate mongers have
been using the Brotherhood-linked document to defame Muslim Americans and
discredit their mainstream organizations in the same way the Protocols of the
Elders of Zion was used by anti-Semitic pundits against Jews.
Finally, it is disturbing that the
whole approach of the article is to link ISNA with terrorism and to cast
aspirations on the organization that offers the widest platform to bring
diverse Muslim American communities in conversation and partnership with people
of other faiths and good will. ISNA is ready to work with DMN to provide an
accurate report on the Islamic Society of North American and the Muslim
American community in general.
Action Requested
The negative article by Brooks
Egerton was published on the front page of the Sunday edition of the Dallas
Morning News. ISNA appeals to members of the Muslim community in general, and
the Texas Muslim community in particular, to let the newspaper know about their
feelings regarding this negative presentation. Please make sure that you speak
respectfully but firmly on this issue.
Please contact Ms. Maud Beelman, the
DMN News Editor, and Brooks Egerton, the article writer, at the Dallas Morning
News and request that the newspaper issue a retraction and allow ISNA to
publish rebuttal on the DMN op-ed page.
- Maud Beelman, The DMN News Editor
Mbeelman@dalasnews.com
214-977-8456
214-977-8456
- Brooks Egerton, staff writer
begerton@dallasnews.com
214-977-7622
214-977-7622
Please circulate this action alert
to your email list and members of your organization and community.
Note: This response was published on ISNA Website in February 2010. Dallas Morning News website agreed to publish a shorter version of it on its website. Since then both the above response and the shorter version have disappeared from both websites. I was able to find a copy of the original on an unknown website called In-Vaid-Ing in the blogosphere, and decided to republish it on my website for the record.
