The fortunes of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) appear to be taking a nosedive - finally. FBI policy toward CAIR had been murky; on the one hand, it named CAIR as an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation case (the Holy Land Foundation was convicted last November of funding Hamas). On the other, local FBI offices used CAIR as an important conduit to the 'moderate' Muslim community.
Now, however, it appears that the FBI quietly severed those links last summer until 'certain issues' are addressed by the CAIR national office in Washington, DC. The chairman of the Congressional Anti-Terrorism Caucus and four other Republicans, citing the FBI's policy, has now sent a 'Dear Colleague' letter to all House members urging them 'think twice' before meeting with CAIR.
These governmental difficulties come on top of a recent federal lawsuit filed by a group of Muslims alleging that they had been defrauded in a scam under which CAIR was supposed to help them obtain U.S. citizenship. As CAIR has a record of threatening lawsuits to silence its critics, this looks like poetic justice.
CAIR was not the only unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation case; the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) shared that honor. Its president, Ingrid Mattson, participated in President Obama's inaugural prayer service. One wonders whether the FBI or anyone else had alerted the White House to ISNA's dubious status. One - at least this one - also wonders why the FBI failed to publicize its change of policy. Was it afraid of how CAIR or the American Muslim community might react?
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