Washington Scene - Muslim
Organizations:
MUSLIM ORGANIZATIONS IN USA --
CO-OPTED, LEADERLESS, OVER THEIR HEADS
"I came to the conclusion many years ago that Arafat,
Hussein, Fahd, Mubarak and other leaders are not totally responsible for
our problems. The majority of sheikhs, imams and other Muslim 'leaders'
are actually the reason for Arab and Muslim problems."
--Ali Baghdadi
Publisher, Arab
Journal (5/27/98)
NOTE: If you missed previous MER articles
about Arab "client organizations" and censorship of MER many of these articles
will be republished in June. For latest details email to INFOMER@MIDDLEEAST.ORG
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MER - Washington - 29 May:
Muslim organizations in the USA use to be centered
around the local mosques and dealing primarily with social and religious
issues in their communities. But for a variety of reasons -- including
the rise of Muslim movements in the Middle East and the failure of secular
Arab institutions both in the region as well as in the USA -- in recent
years a number of Muslim organizations have set up shop in Washington and
Muslim students have become active on the internet.
In the Washington community itself, the Saudis working
in tandem with other Arab countries, long ago took over the local Washington
mosque, quickly ending its useful, but threatening, independent existence.
Still to this day more than 15 years later, those who were thrown out of
the Mosque, included the only elected Imam, Mohamed al-Asi, can be seen
praying on Fridays on the sidewalk across the street from the Mosque on
Massachusetts Avenue. It was a battle of integrity and independence against
the Arab "client regimes"; and corruption, money, and the power they bring
prevailed as is increasingly the case in contemporary Washington.
As for the "Muslim" organizations that have been
expanding their presence in Washington in recent years, the following is
a short summary:
AMC - American Muslim Council: By far the most co-opted
of the new organizations, AMC's upcoming conference in Washington next
month could have been approved at the Saudi Embassy (it probably was!).
None other than "Uncle Jim" -- Jim Zogby of the "Arab-American Institute"
(AAI) -- is working closely with AMC these days. Zogby is trying desperately
to infiltrate and control the American Muslim community just as he has
done with some success to the Arab-American community -- all on behalf
of the Arab "client regimes" and some say the American intelligence community.
In short, the close alliance between former Ex. Dir. Abdurahman Alamoudi
who set up AMC, and Zogby, has fatally flawed AMC making it a "client organization"
that should be shunned, not attended.
MPAC - Muslim Public Affairs Council: MPAC is primarily
the outgrowth of wealthy establishment Arab-Americans in California who
have never shown much political sophistication or courage, and who always
trail behind coming forward only when it becomes clear what is politically
correct at the moment. MPAC now has a small Washington office but is nearly
totally subsumed in the American capital by the other groups. Bottom Line:
MPAC is always far too little, far too late, much too self-serving -- and
that's by purposeful design, the well-healed California crowd always waiting
to see which way the wind is blowing, what is in it for them, and what
government official they can next get their picture taken with as an excuse
to visit Washington one more time to hobnob with the powerful.
CAIR - Council on American-Islamic Relations: Not
nearly as co-opted as AMC, but at a heavy price. CAIR is nearly always
outflanked by AMC and left to handle matters that are relatively easy,
not very controversial, and not very big-league political -- i.e., not
very important. CAIR does have something of a grassroots following, unlike
the other groups which are top-heavy in the extreme; but caters to internal
and local concerns rather than to the big really important matters of the
day. Executive Director Nihad Awad may mean well as many say; but he's
outgunned and outclassed at practically every turn that matters.
MSANEWS - Muslim Student Association News (on the
Internet): Many Muslim students around the country have become affiliated
with MSA and many are well-meaning and dedicated. It's just that they are
badly lead, oftentimes exceedingly naive, far too often informationally
misguided, and usually politically lost in the woods. As for MSANEWS, though
the product of considerable hard work, in short it has become an effort
way, WAY, over its head politically while more and more co-opted and manipulated
by others, including the very same organizations and personalities who
have so infected and corrupted the secular Arab organizations, and ironically,
by a few of the disguised Zionist organizations as well. Moreover, MSANEWS
is terribly hamstrung by its own internal divisions and contradictions,
contributing little original information, providing no leadership, but
taking the easy way out by having learned to hit the resend button.
UASR - United Association for Studies and Research.
Headquartered in a small office building in the Virginia suburbs this little
organization, usually thought of as affiliated informally with Hamas and
related organizations, desperately tries to put out a few publications,
hold a few meetings, and sends it representatives, primarily Ahmed Yusef,
around Washington to lunch with others. It was this organization that deported
to Jordan Hamas Leader Musa Abu Marzook was affiliated with. Overall UASR
is insignificant on the Washington scene though what some of those associated
with it might be doing behind the scenes is hard to fathom.
