- CAIR Asks Mich. School Not to Host Anti-Muslim 'Charlatan'
- CAIR-CT: Conn. Coalition to Urge Reform Following Arrests of Police
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CAIR, PFAW ASK MICH. SCHOOL NOT TO HOST ANTI-MUSLIM 'CHARLATAN' - TOP
Self-proclaimed 'ex-terrorist' called 'fraud' by professor who researched his bizarre and unsubstantiated claims
(SOUTHFIELD, MI, 1/24/12) -- The Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI) and People for the American Way (PFAW) today asked a school superintendent in Allegan, Mich., not to host a "charlatan" who "spreads hatred and intolerance" at an event this week at a public high school in that state.
CAIR-MI says self-proclaimed "former terrorist" Kamal Saleem, whose real name is reportedly Khodor Shami, is scheduled to speak at the Allegan High School Events Center on Thursday at the invitation of a local political organization called Constituting Michigan-Founding Principles.
SEE: Alleged Former Terrorist Kamal Saleem to Speak in Allegan
In a letter to Allegan Public Schools Superintendent Kevin Harness, CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid and PFAW President Michael B. Keegan challenged Saleem's false and defamatory assertions about Islam and his "ridiculous" claims about his background as an "ex-terrorist" who entered the U.S. illegally.
The letter said, in part:
"While Saleem has every right to his bona fide beliefs, even if bigoted, we believe that the misinformation he conveys about American Muslims as a fifth column in our country is not only inaccurate but also promotes intolerance ... .
"We are asking that you not allow a charlatan that promotes misinformation and division among fellow Americans to use any Allegan school building. Allengan's schools have the intended purpose of educating our youth them to be competitive in a global economy and to embrace the American values of diversity and pluralism. Providing a venue for Saleem runs counter to that purpose."
Saleem has made a number of outlandish and unproven claims about his past as an "ex-terrorist." He recently told an audience in Michigan: "I came to the United States of America not to love you all. I came to be -- exactly -- to destroy this country as a terrorist. We crossed the Canadian border. We brought weapon caches right through cities, through Windsor."
He also claims to have been a member of both the Palestinian Liberation Organization and the Muslim Brotherhood when he came to the U.S. in 1979.
Saleem claims that a near-fatal car accident led to his conversion to Christianity but has never identified what city or state the crash occurred.
His bizarre claim that "in my family was the Grand Wazir of Islam" promoted Calvin College history professor Douglas Howard to investigate Saleem's background. [NOTE: The title "Grand Wazir of Islam" has never existed.]
"I concluded this person is a fraud," said Howard after his investigation into Saleem's claims.
Howard says Saleem "preys on people's lack of information and their worries and their fears and their wanting to find a way to justify their own attitudes toward Islam and Middle East policy."
The Military Religious Freedom Foundation reported in 2008 that Saleem worked for Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network for 16 years and in 2006 launched Koome Ministries with the mission to "expose the true agenda of [Muslims] who would deceive our nation and the free nations of the world."
SEE: Self-Declared 'Former Terrorist' Speaks at Agema Rally
Fake 'Ex-Terrorist' Wants Sharia Banned in Missouri (Loonwatch)
Saleem is -- along with Walid Shoebat and Zachariah Anani -- one of the self-described "three ex-terrorists."
CNN aired a two-part series exposing Shoebat as an anti-Islam fraud.
Video: CNN Exposes Walid Shoebat's Terror Training Scam
Part 1, Part 2
SEE ALSO: USAF Pays Fake 'Terrorism Experts' Speakers to Bash Islam?
The third "ex-terrorist," Zachariah Anani, says he is an advocate against what he calls "the violent doctrines of Islam." (Michigan Daily, 1/30/07)
Terrorism experts also cast doubt on Anani's claims. "Mr. Anani's not an individual who rates the slightest degree of credibility, based on the stories that he has told," said Tom Quiggin, Canada's only court-qualified expert on global terror and a former RCMP intelligence and national security expert.
SEE: Doubt Cast On Anani's Terrorist Claims (Windsor Star)
CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.
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CONTACT: CAIR-Michigan Executive Director Dawud Walid, 248-559-2247, 248-842-1418, E-Mail: dwalid@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, or 202-488-8787, E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com; CAIR Communications Coordinator Amina Rubin, 202-488-8787, 202-341-4171, E-Mail: arubin@cair.com
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CAIR-CT: CONN. COALITION TO URGE REFORM FOLLOWING ARRESTS OF POLICE -TOP
(HARTFORD, CT, 1/24/12) -- On Wednesday, January 25, the Connecticut chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CT) will join with the Connecticut Civil Rights Coalition at a press conference to discuss the arrest of four East Haven police officers on federal civil rights charges and to stress the need for reform across the state.
SEE: FBI Arrests 4 East Haven Police Officers
WHEN: Wednesday, January 25, 12:30 p.m.
WHERE: Room 1B of the Legislative Office Building, 300 Capitol Avenue, Hartford, CT
The coalition’s sponsoring organizations include the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut, CAIR-CT, the Bill of Rights Defense Committee, the Civic Trust Public Lobbying Company, the Hart Monitor and Trinity College Stop the Raids, as well as Hartford City Councilman Luis Cotto.
MEDIA CONTACTS: CAIR-CT Executive Director Mongi Dhaouadi, 860-514-8038, E-Mail: mdhaouadi@cair.com, Jeanne Leblanc, ACLU of Connecticut, 860-471-8468, jleblanc@acluct.org
CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.
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