Islamic group CAIR receives both support and suspicion

In early June, as Lodi Muslims struggled with the arrests of five men on terror and immigration charges, the rift in their community made it difficult for leaders to respond with one voice.

Then Basim Elkarra stepped forward to speak for local Muslims. Elkarra is young, articulate, and media-savvy.

During the days following the arrests, he could be found with a bank of microphones in front of him telling journalists how the Muslim community was dealing with the arrests, and even went so far as to say the FBI had come to Lodi on a witchhunt.

But Elkarra doesn't live in Lodi. He never has. He does not regularly attend the Lodi Muslim Mosque, either.

Elkarra is the executive director of the Sacramento Chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations, or CAIR. The group has drawn both high praise and bitter criticism. Some say the group provides much-needed public relations, education and mediation for Muslims in the U.S. at a time of extreme stress and scrutiny. But others have deep suspicions about CAIR, and point out that some members have been convicted on terror charges. Some even claim the group is funded in part by groups with terror connections. Locally, a local imam who has agreed to be deported had ties with CAIR's regional leadership.

One such critic, columnist and author, Daniel Pipes, contends that Muslims should avoid CAIR.

"CAIR is harmful for all Americans ... but mostly for Muslims, who are tainted by its actions," he said.

Founded in 1994, and headquarted in Washington, D.C., CAIR has positioned itself as one of the leading voices for American Muslims. The organization has more than 30 chapters and 100,000 members across the nation and in Canada.

The nonprofit organization's mission, according to an official statement, is to "promote a positive image of Islam" through "media relations, lobbying, education and advocacy."

Projects by the local Sacramento Valley chapter include working with the Sacramento Police Department to improve officers' understanding of Muslim culture, promoting youth leadership and lobbying at the Capitol.

And the group regularly holds lectures during which CAIR staff educate Muslims on their civic rights.

Nationally, CAIR distributes information through near-daily "action alerts" on issues concerning Muslims. A recent alert included reports on hate crimes against Muslims, listings of upcoming CAIR events and articles on racial profiling as a means to combat terrorism.

CAIR has a high profile image and is often looked to by journalists in search of quotes by Muslim experts. When the terror investigation in Lodi came to light, Elkarra was there to provide those comments.

CAIR in Lodi

That investigation put two men, Umer Hayat and his son, Hamid, in custody to face charges they lied to the FBI about their alleged links to terror. And two former Lodi Imams, Mohammed Adil Khan and Shabbir Ahmed, have been charged with immigration violations.

The FBI has made claims the clerics have at least indirect links to al-Qaida.

Adil Khan and his 19-year-old son have agreed to be deported back to Pakistan. Ahmed has decided to fight the charges. He admits to making anti-American statements in the past, but disavows those now.

On Tuesday, the lead FBI agent on the investigation into Ahmed and Khan testified that the two were working to set up a school in Lodi to further spread extremist Islamic thought. The agent, Gary Schaaf, also said the agency believes Khan and Ahmed had been part of an al-Qaida chain of command and had received information that Ahmed may have been planning a terrorist attack.

Naheem "Nick" Qayyum, a mosque board member, said he and other mosque members had heard about Ahmed's earlier condemnation of the United States and praise for the Taliban well before the FBI's investigation went public.

Qayyum said he approached CAIR for some help with the mosque's imam situation. He said he believed CAIR leaders had some influence with Adil Khan, who in turn had a close relationship with Ahmed.

"I asked CAIR to help out in the community because he (Adil Khan) was causing a lot of problems," Qayyum said. "At that time, CAIR pretty much told me to go away."

It wasn't as if CAIR wasn't familiar with Adil Khan.

The president of the CAIR's Sacramento chapter, Dr. Hamza El-Nakhal, had actually worked with Adil Khan for several years prior to the FBI's investigation. In late June, about two weeks after the arrests in Lodi, El-Nakhal told the Davis City Council to consider the arrests in Lodi as a reason to reaffirm the city's opposition to the Patriot Act.

During a meeting reported on by the Davis Enterprise newspaper, El-Nakhal said he had known Adil Khan for more than 20 years and believed him to be a respected leader. The CAIR president also said that Lodi's Muslim community was under siege.

El-Nakhal was also quoted as saying if he learned of someone who wanted to harm the country, he would be the first to report that person to the authorities.

And at a reception in May 2004 to welcome Elkarra as the CAIR's executive director, Mohammed Adil Khan read a recitation from the Quran. Elkarra said Adil Khan is well-known in the Sacramento-area for his spiritual and community work, and that El-Nakhal got to know him through interfaith projects.

"No one's going to know their past back in Pakistan," he said.

El-Nakhal did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

Taj Khan, a leader in the Lodi Muslim community and columnist for the Lodi News-Sentinel, testified at Ahmed's Tuesday hearing in support of the former imam, saying he has never made any anti-American statements and has been a good leader for the community.

After federal agents arrested Adil Khan and Ahmed on immigration charges, Qayyum said CAIR moved strongly into the media spotlight. He said CAIR made headlines with claims that residents were the subject of intense questioning and harassment by the FBI.

"They kind of blew the thing out of proportion for whatever reason," he said. "Maybe they were just trying to get their name out there."

Despite the claims of FBI heavy-handedness, CAIR could not provide specific information to back those claims up.

And Qayyum said he wasn't happy when Elkarra held a news conference at the Lodi Mosque, making it the subject of the intense gaze of several TV cameras.

But while Qayyum had concerns about some of what CAIR has done in Lodi, he stressed the organization has also been helpful in trying to get the two sides in Lodi's Muslim community to come back together. Mosque members have been divided over the planned construction of an Islamic school, among other issues.

Working to heal rift

Qayyum said recently that CAIR's El-Nakhal has been trying to set up talks between the two camps, and he has had "very good, healthy" meetings with him.

Elkarra said he did not know much about the details of the ongoing mediation, aside from the fact that El-Nakhal is just trying to reach some common ground between them.

"He's trying to bring both sides together, trying to get them a peaceful resolution," he said.

Taj Khan, a leader in the effort to establish the Islamic school, said he would not discuss the ongoing friction, or any efforts by CAIR to heal the rift between the two groups.

"I don't think I want to talk about that issue, that's still going on, and I don't want to derail that process," he said.

He said CAIR has been a wonderful influence in Lodi, helping to make local Muslims aware of the rights and said Muslims in town wholeheartedly support them.

"I think its a very good organization and they've done some very good things," he said.

'Islamofascists'

But not everyone is so enamored with CAIR.

Andrew Whitehead, who lives in Stockton and is a county employee, runs the Web site http://www.anti-cair-net.org. He describes CAIR as an "Islamofascist" organization and said he has just one simple goal for the group: "I want to see it shut down."

He became involved with groups against CAIR after a longtime friend of his died in the Pentagon attack of 9/11.

"It has now become very personal with me," he said.

He claims the national chapter of CAIR has received funds from the Islamic Development Bank, which he contends has supported families of suicide bombers.

CAIR is currently suing Whitehead for defamation for calling CAIR a "terrorist-supporting front organization" that wants to "overthrow constitutional government in the United States," according to an amended court motion posted on Whitehead's site.

"I never allow my personal animosity to interfere with the accuracy of the material we post on our Web site," Whitehead said. "To be blunt, I feel Anti-CAIR is doing the work the mainstream press has failed to do, which is to carefully examine and report on the Islamist threat to America."

While Whitehead had much to say about CAIR as a national group, he did not have any specific claims to make against the Sacramento Valley chapter.

Whitehead's criticism of the group is similar to that of columnist Pipes, whose Web site http://www.danielpipes.org includes a litany of claims against CAIR. Pipes describes the group as "not the noble civilization of Islam but an aggressive and radical strain similar to that which led to the (9/11) suicide hijackings."

Pipes is director of the Middle East Forum. He is a frequent commentator on the Muslim world and the author of 12 books, four of which examine radical Islamic thought. He's written more than three dozen articles on CAIR and said studying the organization is one of his top priorities.

He contends two of CAIR's founders had connections to the group Hamas through the Islamic Association of Palestine, a Muslim charity reportedly founded by a member of Hamas.

"The grandchild of Hamas, a terrorist organization, CAIR by its nature and charter apologizes for Islamist terrorism," he said. "One striking result of this soft spot is that no less than five persons associated with CAIR have been convicted, listed as an unindicted co-conspirator, or deported on terrorism-related charges."

One of those men, Randall Royer, is serving a federal prison term for possessing an assault rifle and conspiring to support al-Qaida and the Taliban. Royer, who had served as CAIR's civil rights coordinator, admitted in court that he had organized a group of young men from the Washington, D.C. suburbs to fight jihadist battles overseas.

And a founder of a Texas chapter, Ghassan Elashi, was convicted in 2004 for sending computer equipment to Lybia and Syria. He was also convicted of giving more than $12 million to Hamas while running a relief agency that was eventually shut down by federal authorities.

But, like Whitehead, Pipes said he knew "nothing particular" about the Sacramento Valley Chapter.

'Islamophobes'

CAIR itself does not pass up an opportunity to brand Pipes and his ilk as "Islamophobes" who only wish to sully their faith and organization.

Elkarra said a few members of CAIR may have been convicted for terrorist connections, but with more than 100,000 members, it's hardly fair or accurate to try and create terror links for the whole group based on just a few people.

"We can't take account for every single member," he said.

After working as a research assistant at the University of California at Berkeley, Elkarra came to CAIR in May 2004. While he was an undergraduate in Berkeley, Elkarra led the Muslim Student Association.

A first-generation American who comes from a Palestinian family, Elkarra said activism has always been important to him. He said he sees American Muslims as a vitally important bridge between two cultures and he views his role as furthering their integration.

CAIR's national office regularly sends out news updates concerning Pipes, most of which are often concluded with a reference to the fact the columnist has expressed support for the interment of Japanese Americans during World War II. A recent news release focused on Pipes reportedly saying he was "encouraged" by a recent survey that reported 44 percent of Americans support limiting the rights of Muslims.

Lodi Muslim Taj Khan, said Pipes and people who adhere to his views are "Islamophobes" who "say things and do things to degrade" Muslims to "create rifts and incite people toward hate."

Pipes points to an article he wrote in June of 2004 to defend himself against the Islamophobe charge. He said he studies Islam as a religion and notes how "deeply rewarding Muslims find Islam as well as the extraordinary inner strength it imbues them with."

What Pipes can't tolerate, he said, is Islamism. He likens Islam to Christianity and Islamism to Marxism, a "global affliction" that is as dangerous to moderate Muslims as non-Muslims.

Elkarra said CAIR's most vocal critics remain on the fringe because the national media has largely deemed them extremists.

He said for years those groups have called on Islamic organizations to condemn terror and despite numerous public statements by Muslim leaders denouncing terrorists, those critics remain unsatisfied.

Elkarra recently joined several other Muslim and non-Muslim leaders on the steps of the state Capitol to express their support for a "fatwa," or religious ruling by Muslim leaders in North America that denounced targeting civilians or property through suicide bombings is forbidden and a sin.

Despite such actions, Elkarra said it never seems to appease his group's critics.

"They don't like the Muslim community empowered," he said. "They don't like the growing political power of Muslims."

Contact reporter Andrew Adams at andrewa@lodinews.com.

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Islamic group CAIR receives both support and suspicion

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