Claim #1: An MPAC press release dated July 31st claims that a press release sent out by Rep. Sherman's office on July 30th "falsely alleged that MPAC sought to keep Steve Emerson…from speaking at the hearing". [1] However, in MPAC's letter to Rep. Sherman on July 29, 2008, MPAC urges the addition of a panelist from "an NGO, university, or think-tank".[2] If Rep. Sherman is unable to find a witness "that can balance the current witness panel, we request that you cancel or postpone the panel until such time as the committee is able to convene an unbiased slate of witnesses". Similarly, in a press release that same day, MPAC urged members to call or fax Rep. Sherman and tell him to "either provide unbiased, qualified experts for this Thursday's hearing - or cancel the panel."[3]
Claim #2: MPAC then claims Rep. Sherman "alleged that MPAC Senior Advisor, Dr. Maher Hathout, is allied with certain "terror watch list" organizations." There is no evidence that Rep. Sherman made such an allegation in his July 30th, 2008 press release, nor did he say that Dr. Maher Hathout was allied with such organizations during the July 31st, 2008 hearing in front of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade.
However, Dr. Maher Hathout has expressed his strong support for Hizballah, specifically saying:
"[What Hizballah does in Lebanon] is very American, is what America did in the beginning against the colonizing of the British, is what all honorable people in the world are doing. We have no apology for that statement."[4]
"Hizballah is fighting for freedom, an organized army, limiting its operations against military people, this is a legitimate target against occupation. The whole country keeps condemning Hizballah; I disagree with them on other issues, but on the issue of fighting to liberate their land and attacking only armed forces, this is legitimate, this is an American value - freedom and liberty."[5]
Claim #3: MPAC's release calls Dr. Hassan Hathout as a "world renowned Muslim American thinker, ethicist, and promoter of love between the interfaith communities."[6] This "world renowned Muslim American thinker, ethicist, and promoter of love between the interfaith communities" has made some inflammatory remarks about Christianity and Zionism:
"The term Judaeo-Christian is a misnomer, and, in my opinion, it was coined, politically, for the sole purpose of excluding Muslims."[7]
"The UN decreed the partition of Palestine to a Jewish state and an Arab state. That is tantamount to dividing my house between myself and an intruder."[8]
"And what about the Muslim majorities who are under persecution in their own land by tyrants and despots that our country supports and blesses? There must be a mistake there and we read a list of names of countries on the accusation and proposed for sanctions and economic pressure. Are we sure the list is complete? Then why don't we read Israel in it? I wouldn't say because Israel persecutes the Muslims, but I would like to say because Israel persecutes the Christians."[9]
"The way the Israeli government is handling the peace process is so futile that it becomes natural to expect that the only resistance is the armed conflict."[10]
These statements clearly do not promote love between interfaith communities.
Additionally, Hathout has made apologetic remarks concerning the use of terrorist tactics, disqualifying him from being an "ethicist." He had this to say in a 1998 speech given in response to Al-Qaeda's bombings of the American embassies in Tanzania and Kenya:
"We should first ask ourselves a few questions. What makes those people do what they do? Are there perhaps legitimate grievances that are not addressed? If you'd known in ordinary consular psychology that is not normal for people to behave normally under abnormal conditions and the treatments of terrorism will be addressing those abnormal conditions."[11]
Hathout also has ties to Hassan al-Banna, the founder of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood in 1928.[12] The Islamic Center of Southern California is MPAC's sister organization and produces its publication, The Minaret.[13] The "About the Authors" section of The Minaret says, "Hassan Hathout is a close disciple of the late Hassan al-Banna of Egypt."[14]
A March 1998 Minaret article titled, "In Appreciation of Dr. Hassan Hathout," also details Hassan's ties to al-Banna.
"My father would tell me that Hassan Hathout was a companion of Hassan al-Banna…Hassan Hathout would speak of al-Banna with such love and adoration; he would speak of a relationship not guided by politics or law but by a basic sense of human decency."[15]
Claim #4: Next, the July 31st press release attempts to legitimize MPAC by citing past recommendations it offered for effective US Counterterrorism Policy. Upon closer examination, these recommendations for counterterrorism policy are mostly concerned with implying that the United States is unfairly targeting Islam and Muslims:
MPAC's 2003 counterterrorism publication entitled "A Review of U.S. Counterterrorism Policy: American Muslim Critique & Recommendations" states: "Sensationalized allegations have become common features in terrorism-related prosecutions, perhaps as means of bolstering cases that otherwise appear to be built on pretexts. The arrests of individuals connected with Muslim charities accused of involvement in terrorist financing, in particular, many of those that had been under investigation for several years prior to September 11th, bare [sic] strong signs of politicization."[16]
"A Review of U.S. Counterterrorism Policy" also noted, "The current system [of freezing charities' assets] largely relieves law enforcement authorities of the burden of having to prove actual involvement in terrorism or terrorist financing prior to taking action against them. The government's broad interpretation of statutory provisions banning ‘material support' for terrorists allow it to prosecute nearly any person, regardless of whether the individual has knowledge or intent of terrorist involvement, coming into contact or conducting a transaction with a person or group designated by the government as terrorist."[17]
MPAC's 2003 counterterrorism paper stated: "Some have begun to question whether alleged terror plots, such as those in Seattle, Buffalo, Portland, and Detroit, actually posed threats as serious as the government initially claimed them to be."[18] MPAC's statement refers to cases in which individuals within the United States actively supported terrorist activity. In Seattle, James Ujaama pleaded guilty in 2003 to providing support to the Taliban in Afghanistan.[19] In and around Buffalo, six American men pleaded guilty in 2003 to training in Al Qaeda camps in Afghanistan.[20] And in Portland, the six men known collectively as the Squad of Death[21] pled guilty to attempting to go to Afghanistan in order to fight against U. S. soldiers.
"These cases demonstrate that federal law enforcement officials have engaged in speculation and the dissemination of innuendo at the expense of the Arab and Muslim communities. Whereas a few judges have demonstrated integrity in the face of intimidation, these tactics have prejudiced jury pools and some judges. Whether such tactics are aimed at capturing headlines, prejudicing judges and juries, or both, such behavior makes the communities accused of crimes vulnerable to unfair hearings and a lack of due process."[22]
MPAC's September 2003 publication falsely claims that Muslims are unable to participate in the political process in the U.S.: "So blurred have become the lines between fact and innuendo, between evidence and hyperbole, that is has become nearly impossible for Muslims to participate in the political process without incurring allegations of having ‘ties to terrorism' of one sort or another. National Muslim organizations involved in advocacy work are sometimes simply dismissed as ‘terrorist sympathizers,' while Muslim political contributions are challenged as ‘blood money'…."[23]
In the same MPAC publication "A Review of U.S. Counterterrorism Policy", MPAC advocated martyrdom, while incorrectly disassociating martyrdom from suicide bombings and terrorism: "…[A]ttempts to conflate ‘martyrdom' with ‘suicide bombings' or ‘terrorism,' … dehumanize Palestinians and perpetuate perceptions of Islam as violent and alien." [24]
MPAC's Counterterrorism paper noted, "The…assumption…that an Al-Qaeda sleeper network exists in the United States which is helped or concealed, wittingly or unwittingly, by the broader American Muslim community [is] open to question." [25]
In a 1999 MPAC publication entitled "A Position Paper on U.S. Counterterrorism Policy," MPAC's Salam al-Marayati asserted that the 1983 Marine barracks bombing in Beirut "was a military operation, producing no civilian casualties -- exactly the kind of attack that Americans might have lauded had it been directed against Washington's enemies."[26]
In this same 1999 position paper, MPAC criticized the U.S. policy of opposition to Hamas and explicitly justified terrorism:
A further impediment to the U.S. ability to deal with terrorism is the manipulation of U.S. policy on this issue…The Israeli confrontation with HAMAS is the direct result of its, often brutal, occupation of the West Bank and Gaza for over 31 years…The use of terror by [Hamas and Hizbollah] in question is the direct result of their (often illegal) exclusion from the political process and also resultant from the use of repressive or primary terrorism by the governments in question.[27]
MPAC stated in a 2002 position paper entitled "MPAC Perspective on the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict", "The Palestinians have the moral and legal right to resist the Israeli occupation and MPAC supports that right."[28]
Reacting to an August 9, 2001 suicide bombing at a Jerusalem pizza parlor that killed 15 people, including seven children,[29] MPAC stated in a press release, "[The Jerusalem bombing] is the expected bitter result of the reckless policy of Israeli assassination that did not spare children and political figures...MPAC holds Israel responsible for this pattern of violence."[30]
Claim #5: Finally, the MPAC press release tries to attack Rep. Sherman's call for MPAC to apologize for the statements made by Salam Al-Marayati, executive Director of MPAC, immediately following the attacks on September 11, 2001. In a radio interview with KCRW-FM's Warren Olney, Al-Marayati unmistakably placed Israel on the suspect list for 9/11.[31] Marayati said:
"If we're going to look at suspects, we should look to the groups that benefit the most from these kinds of incidents, and I think we should put the state of Israel on the suspect list because I think this diverts attention from what's happening in the Palestinian territories so that they can go on with their aggression and occupation and apartheid policies."[32]
The MPAC release goes on to say that Al-Marayati's claim that Israel should be placed on the suspect list for 9/11 was "resolved and clarified" in an opinion piece that Marayati wrote to the LA Times on November 3, 2001.[33] However, the op-ed piece written by Marayati did not resolve or clarify the issue. In the op-ed piece Marayati admits that he placed Israel on the suspect list, and attempts to write this off by saying he was only speaking hypothetically:
"There was some confusion after the events of Sept. 11 and my interview on a radio program hours later. We went ahead with that interview even though our whole point throughout the day was not to jump to conclusions, not to oversimplify. Obviously the interview did not go in that direction, but I had been speaking hypothetically."[34]
The MPAC release echoes Marayati's dismissal of his comments, claiming that Al-Marayati "simply offered a hypothetical rejoinder to someone blaming Islam for 9/11."[35] However, Al-Marayati's suggestion that Israel be placed on the list was in no way a "hypothetical" suggestion. Al-Marayati was undoubtedly advocating for Israel's actual placement on the list of suspects by stating, "I think we should put the state of Israel on the suspect list."[36] Through this statement, he could not have made himself any clearer.
[1] "MPAC Letter to Brad Sherman." July 29, 2008 http://www.mpac.org/docs/Letter-to-Brad-Sherman-7-29-08.pdf.
[2]. "MPAC Letter to Brad Sherman." July 29, 2008 http://www.mpac.org/docs/Letter-to-Brad-Sherman-7-29-08.pdf.
[3] MPAC Press Release "Congressman Brad Sherman Resorts to Personal Attack and Denies Access." July 31, 2008. http://www.mpac.org/article.php?id=674.
[4] Maher Hathout, "Debate on Terrorism," L.A. radio station, November 13, 1998, posted on the Voice of Islam website.
[5] Maher Hathout, "Afternoon Newsmakers," Speech at the National Press Club, Washington D.C., June 18, 1998.
[6] MPAC Press Release "Congressman Brad Sherman Resorts to Personal Attack and Denies Access." July 31, 2008. http://www.mpac.org/article.php?id=674.
[7] Hathout, Hassan, Reading the Muslim Mind, Plainfield, Indiana: American Trust Publications, 1995, p.16.
[8]Audio, Dr. Hassan Hathout, "Palestine Over the Last 50 Years," 5-15-98.
[9]Audio, Dr. Hassan Hathout "Islam Versus Contemporary Intolerance" August, 16, 1997.
[10] Audio, Dr. Hassan Hathout, The Promise Keepers, Friday Khutba, 10/10/97.
[11] Audio, Dr. Hassan Hathout, "An Ounce of Prevention," 8-14-98.
[12] "Jordanian paper says front plans protest against arrest of Islamists in Egypt," BBC Worldwide, April 11, 2008. LEXIS/NEXIS, Accessed August 5, 2008.
[13] The Minaret is published monthly by the Islamic Center of Southern California, 434 South Vermont, Los Angeles, CA 90020. See: The Minaret, July/August 2004.
[14] Hassan Hathout, Maher Hathout, and Fathi Osman, In Fraternity: A Message to Muslims in America, "About the Authors" (The Minaret Publishing House, 1989).
[15] The Minaret, March 1998, 41.
[16] "A Review of U.S. Counterterrorism Policy: American Muslim Critique & Recommendations," MPAC, September 2003, http://www.mpac.org/bucket_downloads/CTPaper.pdf (accessed July 12, 2004), 47.
[17] "A Review of U.S. Counterterrorism Policy: American Muslim Critique & Recommendations," MPAC, September 2003, http://www.mpac.org/bucket_downloads/CTPaper.pdf (accessed July 12, 2004), 59.
[18] "A Review of U.S. Counterterrorism Policy: American Muslim Critique & Recommendations," MPAC, September 2003, http://www.mpac.org/bucket_downloads/CTPaper.pdf (accessed July 12, 2004), 55.
[19] "Earnest James Ujaama Pleads Guilty Conspire to Supply Goods to the Taliban, Agrees to Cooperate in Terrorism Investigations," Department of Justice, April 14, 2003.
[20] Michael Powell, "No Choice but Guilt", Washington Post, July 29, 2003.
[21] U.S. v Jeffrey Leon Battle and Patrice Lumumba Ford, 02-CR-399-JO, "Sentencing Memorandum" (D.O. November 19, 2003).
[22] "A Review of U.S. Counterterrorism Policy: American Muslim Critique & Recommendations," MPAC, September 2003, http://www.mpac.org/bucket_downloads/CTPaper.pdf (accessed July 12, 2004), 49.
[23] "A Review of U.S. Counterterrorism Policy: American Muslim Critique & Recommendations," MPAC, September 2003, http://www.mpac.org/bucket_downloads/CTPaper.pdf (accessed July 12, 2004), 10.
[24] Id at 3.
[25] "A Review of U.S. Counterterrorism Policy: American Muslim Critique & Recommendations," MPAC, September 2003, http://www.mpac.org/bucket_downloads/CTPaper.pdf (accessed July 12, 2004), 46.
[26] Salam al-Marayati, "A Position Paper on U.S. Counterterrorism Policy." MPAC, Multi Media Vera International. June 1999, 13.
[27] MPAC, "A Position Paper on U.S. Counterterrorism Policy," June 1999.
[28] "MPAC Perspective on the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict," MPAC Position Paper, June 27, 2002, http://www.mpac.org/home_article_display.aspx?ITEM=20 (accessed July 12, 2004).
[29] "Suicide Bombing at the Sbarro Pizzeria in Jerusalem," August 9, 2001, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/2000_2009/2000/10/Suicide%20bombing%20at%20the%20Sbarro%20pizzeria%20in%20Jerusale (accessed July 12, 2004).
[30] "MPAC Issues Statement on August 8 Bombing in Jerusalem," MPAC Press Release, August 9, 2001, http://web.archive.org/web/20010915155303/mpac.org/news/press_010809.shtml (accessed July 12, 2004).
[31] Larry B. Stammer, "After the Attack: Jewish-Muslim Dialogue Newly Tested," The Los Angeles Times September 22, 2001.
[32] Larry B. Stammer, "After the Attack: Jewish-Muslim Dialogue Newly Tested," The Los Angeles Times September 22, 2001.
[33] MPAC Press Release "Congressman Brad Sherman Resorts to Personal Attack and Denies Access." July 31, 2008. http://www.mpac.org/article.php?id=674.
[34] Salam Al-Marayati, "Focus on Local Relations," The Los Angeles Times, November 3, 2001, in print edition B-23.
[35] MPAC Press Release "Congressman Brad Sherman Resorts to Personal Attack and Denies Access." July 31, 2008. http://www.mpac.org/article.php?id=674.
[36] Larry B. Stammer, "After the Attack: Jewish-Muslim Dialogue Newly Tested," The Los Angeles Times September 22, 2001.