Hassan Shibly of Hamas-linked CAIR says that “for them this is worse than losing the life of a child, to have them join such a horrible, horrible gang of violent extremists.” So apparently one of the first things they thought to do while in their “extremely traumatized” state was contact the leader of a Hamas-linked Muslim Brotherhood organization in the next state, a group that has been designated a terror organization by the United Arab Emirates and that has several former officials in prison now for various jihad terror plots, and get him to act as their “spokesman.”
Why do they need a “spokesman” at all? If they’re traumatized and grieving, they could simply tell reporters that they’re not talking. Or say they’re traumatized and grieving. Why do they need a Hamas-linked CAIR operative to say it for them? And if they really feel the need for a spokesman, why not someone from the Birmingham Islamic Society? If I recall correctly, other families, Muslim and non-Muslim, who have had their adult children try to join the Islamic State have not had Hamas-linked CAIR spokesmen. Why this one? It suggests they are trying to deflect unwelcome law enforcement and/or media scrutiny.
To be sure, Shibly’s revulsion toward the Islamic State is genuine. The Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas are competitors of the Islamic State, as the Brotherhood has since its inception had the goal of restoring the caliphate, and the Islamic State stole its thunder.
A side note: compare the photo of Shibly here to that of Harun Mehicevic here. Mahicevic is the Muslim leader in Australia who has said: “Australian values are the values of the Kuffar (unbelievers). Your religion is not their values. They will not stop fighting you until you give up your religion or are martyred….Be careful what they ask us to say. There is no bayah (pledge) to Kuffar (unbeliever). We can only give a bayah to a Muslim leader. The (Australian) flag should be a warning to you that we do not belong here. It is a flag of the people of the Cross….Allah will help the mujahideen (holy warriors).” Shibly and Mehicevic clearly share the same beliefs about dress and personal grooming, and those beliefs, of course, come from Islamic directives. Shibly would have us believe that he differs sharply from Mehicevic on other matters: loyalty to an infidel state being chief among them, and that may be so, but then again, Shibly works for a group with documented links to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood. If he really wanted to reject all “violent extremism,” why would Shibly work for such an organization?
“Spokesman: Alabama woman left to join Islamic State group,” by Martin Swant, Associated Press, April 20, 2015:
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (AP) — A spokesman for a Muslim couple in Alabama on Monday said their 20-year-old daughter fled a Birmingham suburb to join Islamic State extremists in Syria after being recruited via the Internet.
Hassan Shibly spoke at the mosque on behalf of the parents of the young woman, whom he identified only as Hoda. He said the family has been “extremely traumatized” for months and has been in contact with law enforcement and government officials since she disappeared while also pleading with Hoda to return home.
“For them this is worse than losing the life of a child, to have them join such a horrible, horrible gang of violent extremists,” Shibly said, adding the father is worried about the mother’s health. “Nothing can describe the pain they are facing.”
Shibly, an attorney and chief executive director for the Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said Hoda left in November.
While he said it’s unclear when Hoda made contact with militants, he said she withdrew from the Muslim community in Birmingham more than a year before her disappearance. The woman’s whereabouts were not immediately known.
“The reason she withdrew from the community is because the Muslim community is very vocal against groups like ISIS … she made the decision based on her communication online with them that she wanted to join them,” Shibly said.
The family and the Birmingham Islamic Society have spoken out against violent extremism.
The account was first reported by Buzzfeed. There have been other reports of young people leaving or attempting to leave the U.S. for the Islamic State in recent months. In a criminal complaint unsealed on Monday, six Minnesota men were charged with terrorism-related offenses after authorities said they failed in attempts to travel to Syria.
Shibly said he’s talked with families who have also lost their children to the Islamic State group have similar stories.
“It’s often young, naive, impressionable, ignorant troubled youth who are dissatisfied with their life and are seeking a sense of belonging,” he said.
Members of the Birmingham Muslim community met on Monday evening to discuss how to protect other children from the influence of violent extremists.
“Other children”? She’s twenty years old.