Hmmm. Why might CAIR not have been invited to this? Maybe because it has had five officials associated with various terrorism-related activities and no longer contests statements connecting it with Hamas, and the organizers of the rally quite sensibly didn’t want people from such a group tainting their advocacy of the right of the people of Darfur to be protected from jihad genocide.
“Islamic Group Questions Darfur Rally’s ‘True Agenda,'” from CNS News, with thanks to all who sent this in:
(CNSNews.com) – An Islamic advocacy group wants to know why no one from the major American Muslim groups was invited to speak at Sunday’s rally to “stop the genocide” in Darfur.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations noted that CAIR and other American Muslim groups, including the Islamic Society of North America, the Islamic Circle of North America, the Muslim Public Affairs Council, and the Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation, are members of the Save Darfur Coalition.
Although several Muslims spoke at the rally, “they do not represent Islamic groups that are coalition members,” CAIR said in a Sunday press release.
Earlier this month, after noticing the lack of Muslim speakers on the program, CAIR said it wrote to rally organizers asking to have a representative speak at the rally.
The Save Darfur Coalition never replied to CAIR’s letter, CAIR said, even though CAIR is an original signatory of the coalition’s founding “Unity Statement.”
“It is unfortunate that the Save Darfur Coalition chose not to list any mainstream American Muslim groups in the rally program,” said CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad. “This disturbing omission calls into question the coalition’s true agenda at the rally.”
Awad said rally participants would have benefited from hearing American Muslim leaders offer support for those suffering in Darfur and in neighboring areas.
He added that CAIR recently renewed its call to end the violence and suffering in Darfur, asking American Muslims to contact their elected representatives to urge government action.
Awad noted that the conflict in Darfur often is portrayed in racial and religious terms, with “Arabs” killing “black Africans.”
CAIR says the conflict is about politics, and it has warned that some people may be exploiting the suffering to promote political or religious agendas.
In other words, CAIR wants to obscure the fact that not only Osama bin Laden, but also officials of the Khartoum government, have referred to the Darfur genocide as a jihad.
“The Darfur crisis is deeply troubling to our community,” CAIR Government Affairs Director Corey Saylor said last week. “We support measures that will end the fighting and stabilize the area so that aid groups can do their work.”