The Middle East Forum (MEF) is <a href="https://bridge.georgetown.edu/research/factsheet-middle-east-forum/">often</a> <a href="https://cdn.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/issues/2011/08/pdf/islamophobia_chapter2.pdf">defamed</a> as an “anti-Muslim organization” — by Islamist and left-leaning groups alike. Most recently, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) released a <a href="https://www.cairflorida.org/images/pdf/2019-CAIR-Islamophobia-Report-EMBARGOED.pdf">report</a> — co-authored by CAIR staffers Abbas Barzegar and Zainab Arain — about the evils of the American “Islamophobia Network,” in which MEF apparently occupies a prominent place.
So, what did MEF do to earn this distasteful moniker? CAIR’s report <a href="https://www.cairflorida.org/images/pdf/2019-CAIR-Islamophobia-Report-EMBARGOED.pdf#page=81">claims</a> MEF “has spread malicious lies” but offers not a single example. The report also claims that MEF “pushes for mandatory anti-Muslim law enforcement training,” apparently referencing MEF’s <a href="https://www.meforum.org/activities/the-washington-project">argument</a> that DHS officers should be trained to deal with jihadi threats. In fact, MEF works closely with Muslim organizations and has long argued that moderate Islam is the precise antidote to poisonous Islamism.
Nonetheless, Barzegar <a href="https://www.cairoklahoma.com/blog/new-cair-report-anonymous-donors-use-mainstream-philanthropic-groups-to-funnel-millions-to-anti-muslim-hate-groups/">claims</a> that MEF (along with other “anti-Muslim” groups) helps to spread a “hate-filled agenda.” CAIR <a href="https://www.cairflorida.org/images/pdf/2019-CAIR-Islamophobia-Report-EMBARGOED.pdf#page=81">accuses</a> MEF of using “millions of dollars to attack American Muslim institutions like &#8230; the Islamic Circle of North American [sic] [ICNA], the Islamic Society of North America [ISNA] &#8230; [and] the Muslim American Society [MAS],” while the Southern Poverty Law Center — which <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/news/islamic-reformer-to-meet-with-splc-president-demand-explanation-for-anti-muslim-extremist-label/">arguably</a> takes its <a href="https://cis.org/Cadman/Democrats-SPLC-and-CAIR-Argue-Against-Collecting-Data-Alien-Prisoners-Georgia">anti-Muslim</a> <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/its-not-easy-to-fight-extremists-if-youre-called-one-why-the-sclc-had-to-pay-maajid-nawaz-dollar3375-million">designation</a> cues <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/data-projects/tracking-anti-muslim-legislation-across-us">from CAIR</a> — <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/ideology/anti-muslim">notes</a> that the crimes of “anti-Muslim groups” include “constantly attacking Muslim civil rights groups and American Muslim leaders for their supposed connections to the [Muslim] Brotherhood.” Indeed, ICNA chapter leadership has <a href="https://www.icna.org/first-american-muslim-mobile-clinic-in-us-begins-services/">complained</a> of being “shocked by the allegations being made against ICNA. There were false claims &#8230; saying we support the Muslim Brotherhood &#8230; .”
Claiming that multiple American Muslim organizations such as CAIR and ICNA are all connected with the Brotherhood or other extremist groups might well have constituted bigotry — except that the claim is accurate, and these groups’ radical ties are blatant and numerous. Just last month, ICNA hosted its <a href="https://icnaconvention.org/">annual convention</a> featuring CAIR’s <a href="http://9xtzfh.m.attendify.com/app/speakers/9hmrtCWhkuTlCtZ83M/details">Barzegar</a> himself as a speaker, and co-sponsored the event with MAS — an organization <a href="https://www.investigativeproject.org/documents/case_docs/542.pdf">described by federal </a><a href="https://www.investigativeproject.org/documents/case_docs/542.pdf">prosecutors</a> as “the overt arm of the Muslim Brotherhood in America”.
ICNA-MAS even jointly invited actual members of the Brotherhood to speak. One of these appears to have been <a href="https://www.terrorism-info.org.il/Data/pdf/PDF_10_157_2.pdf#page=71">Akram Kassab</a>, the <a href="https://i.imgur.com/fbpzF23.png">long-time</a> office <a href="https://imgur.com/4eZW9Nw">manager</a>, <a href="https://i.imgur.com/FEz8zgX.png">researcher</a>, <a href="https://i.imgur.com/jVktpJt.png">website editor</a>, and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15352771.Akram_Kassab">personal assistant</a> to Muslim Brotherhood <a href="https://www.meforum.org/3394/qaradawi-murder">spiritual leader</a> <a href="https://www.meforum.org/3734/qaradawi-us-jihad">Yusuf Al-Qaradawi</a>. A Brotherhood member himself (<a href="http://www.egypttoday.com/Article/2/66846/Turkey-violates-UNSC-resolution-allows-broadcast-of-MB-channels-Complaint">according</a> to Egypt Today), Kassab <a href="https://medium.com/columbiajourn/amid-election-day-chaos-imam-considers-moving-to-us-32e464c7db31">became</a> an imam at a MAS mosque in 2016 and has <a href="https://www.facebook.com/bxmuslimcenter/photos/a.777637548974734/2572992479439223/?type=1&amp;theater">spoken</a> for the group on numerous occasions. He co-founded the <a href="https://www.meforum.org/57690/ensconced-doha-islamists">International Union of Muslim Scholars</a> with <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=373590636154300&amp;set=pb.100005100998923.-2207520000.1558481433.&amp;type=3&amp;theater">Qaradawi</a>, and has <a href="http://www.thereference-paris.com/496">reportedly</a> issued <a href="https://www.arabmediasociety.com/islamonline-net-independent-interactive-popular/">fatwas</a> <a href="https://qatarileaks.com/en/leak/akram-kassab-qaradawis-successor-in-turkey">approving</a> of the use of using bombs against Egyptian houses and <a href="https://zahma.cairolive.com/%D8%A3%D9%83%D8%B1%D9%85-%D9%83%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%A8-%D8%B9%D8%B6%D9%88-%D8%A7%D8%AA%D8%AD%D8%A7%D8%AF-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%A1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B3%D9%84%D9%85%D9%8A%D9%86-%D8%A7%D8%BA/">calling</a> the <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-egypt-judges/egypts-judges-new-frontline-in-battle-against-militancy-idUKKBN0O51E620150520">assassination</a> of anti-Brotherhood judges a “duty.”
Another convention speaker was Ahmed Shehata, a <a href="https://www.meforum.org/MiddleEastForum/media/MEFLibrary/pdf/Islamic-Relief-FINAL-v3-Online-(002).pdf#page=12">prominent</a> Islamist activist in America and an open <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/foreign-policy/200149-group-uses-democratic-rhetoric-to-push-its-own-agenda">lobbyist</a> for the Muslim Brotherhood (he was even <a href="https://www.elwatannews.com/news/details/341683">named</a> by Egyptian newspaper El Watanas a Brotherhood <a href="https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&amp;tl=en&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.elwatannews.com%2Fnews%2Fdetails%2F341683">operative</a>). Shehata recently <a href="https://www.meforum.org/islamist-watch/58247/the-egyptian-brotherhood-goes-to-washington">participated</a> in an annual Egypt-focused congressional lobbying day to express support for deposed Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood president Mohamed Morsi. Shehata was accompanied in his lobbying efforts by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/hani.elkadi?__tn__=%2CdlC-R-R&amp;eid=ARDwkXHFhWZ6lFOO1DZiNjwKRHKFAFnU3HVaySea93_adal_qWIYKBVBZWyNoTOrPa4AwNY-K_dz9Oya&amp;hc_ref=ARTy7WWNXFAJpWubdh34xKt9jisDPfCOFZStQ7F4lgoHvU_nBMhVstshRJ2_5hcXtZI">Hani Elkadi</a>, a New Jersey-based activist who is <a href="https://www.youm7.com/story/2017/5/3/%D8%AE%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%81-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D8%B1%D9%87%D8%A7%D8%A8-%D8%AA%D8%AA%D8%AC%D9%88%D9%84-%D9%81%D9%89-%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%B9%D9%89-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%83%D9%88%D9%86%D8%AC%D8%B1%D8%B3-10-%D8%A5%D8%AE%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%8A%D8%B7%D9%88%D9%81%D9%88%D9%86-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%89/3217429">referred</a> to in Arabic media as a Muslim Brotherhood “<a href="https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&amp;tl=en&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youm7.com%2Fstory%2F2017%2F5%2F3%2F____-_______-_____-__-_____-________-10-_____-______-___%2F3217429">leader”</a> in America; Amr Darraj, who is <a href="https://hawadeth.akhbarelyom.com/newdetails.aspx?g=4&amp;id=538288">wanted</a> by Egyptian authorities on charges of coordinating terrorist activity in Egypt from his home in Turkey; and <a href="https://www.meforum.org/7015/journalist-ayat-oraby-mainstream-or-extreme">Ayat Oraby</a>, who openly supports the Brotherhood and has urged Egyptian Muslims to boycott the minority Egyptian Copts.
MAS <a href="https://www.muslimamericansociety.org/faq/">claims</a> on its website to have “no affiliation” with the Brotherhood, but given that ICNA and MAS themselves knowingly invited Brotherhood activists to speak at one of their biggest events of the year, it is not “anti-Muslim” of MEF to highlight the obvious role played by the Brotherhood in the ICNA-MAS network.
CAIR, meanwhile, has long employed Islamists who support, excuse, or have worked directly with the Brotherhood&#8217;s violent Palestinian-Arab offshoot, Hamas. Ghassan Elashi, the founder of CAIR&#8217;s Texas chapter, was <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,153402,00.html">convicted</a> in April 2005 of knowingly doing business with Mousa Abu Marzook, a senior Hamas leader whom the U.S. State Department named a “specially designated terrorist” in 1995. Mustafa Carroll, a former CAIR-Texas executive director, defended Hamas in 2009, saying “I think you can only blame Hamas for so long” after Hamas terrorists fired more than <a href="https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129563349">6,000 rockets</a> at civilian targets in Israel. And Nihad Awad, CAIR <a href="https://www.meforum.org/4321/cair-founded-by-islamic-terrorists">co-founder</a> and executive director, and former official for <a href="https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-12-09-slaying-suit_x.htm">now-defunct</a> <a href="http://www.algemeiner.com/2011/12/14/american-muslims-for-palestines-web-of-hamas-support/">Hamas-front</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/19961106064059/http:/iap.org:80/">Islamic Association for Palestine</a>, once <a href="http://www.islamist-watch.org/blog/2017/06/isna-shows-its-colors">referred</a> to the genocidal jihadist groups Hamas and Hezbollah simply as “liberation movements” in an <a href="http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.aljazeera.net/Channel/archive/archive?ArchiveId=89300&amp;date=2011-02-03">interview</a>.
Moreover, the Brotherhood is not the only extremist overseas groups to which organizations such as CAIR and other ICNA-MAS participants are connected. ICNA itself has openly admitted its <a href="https://www.meforum.org/islamist-watch/57929/catalogue-of-icna-links-to-jamaat-e-islami">connections</a> with Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), an extremist group that is well-known for its participation in Pakistani war crimes during the 1971 Bangladeshi war of independence. (ICNA&#8217;s own former Vice President Ashraf Uzzaman Khan was convicted in absentia by Bangladesh in 2013 of being part of the Pakistan-backed <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/04/world/asia/bangladesh-sentences-2-to-death-for-war-crimes.html">Al-Badr death squad</a>, and for having personally murdered seven professors and intellectuals.) Indeed, one of ICNA’s <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150312160334/https:/icnaconvention.org/sh-yusuf-islahi/">most</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160323020812/http:/www.icnaconvention.org/sh-yusuf-islahi/">consistent</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170222040519/http:/www.icnaconvention.org/sh-yusuf-islahi/">conference</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180213175541/http:/icnaconvention.org/sh-yusuf-islahi/">speakers</a> is Yusuf Islahi, a <a href="https://www.meforum.org/6702/american-islam-most-extreme-conference">prominent figure</a> who is so open about his connection to JI that his ICNA conference <a href="https://icnaconvention.org/sh-yusuf-islahi/">biography</a> lists his JI <a href="http://jamaateislamihind.org/eng/advertisements/leaders/resumes/Maulana_Mohammad_Yusuf_Islahi.html/">membership</a> as a point of pride.
In fact, Islahi echoes the <a href="http://thechoice.one/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/002-Al-Baqarah-The-Cow-.pdf#page=89">hateful</a> philosophy of JI’s founding ideologues in <a href="https://www.amust.com.au/2019/03/maulana-islahis-public-lecture-in-sydney/">his book</a>, <a href="https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.532807/2015.532807.etiquettes-of_djvu.txt">Etiquettes of Life</a>. Islahi commands,
<blockquote>“Do not take the initiative in offering ‘Salam’ to the Jews or Christians. The Holy Qur’an affirms the fact that the Jews are the worst nation as regards their disbelief, denial of truth, tyranny and savagery, falsehood and deception … It is the same nation which assassinated the venerable Prophets sent by Allah. Hence the believer should eschew all such conduct which shows even the slightest trace of respect or esteem for the Jews.&#8221;</blockquote>
In its “Islamophobia report,” CAIR complains that MEF “attacks American Muslim institutions” and names ICNA and MAS as two of the institutions that have been undeserving victims of MEF’s ire. CAIR is correct on one point: MEF has indeed covered ICNA, MAS, and CAIR often — but MEF does so because of CAIR, ICNA, and MAS’s obvious connections (despite their denials) with overseas extremist movements and their apathy about their own speakers’ racism and anti-Semitism.
Our advice? If CAIR, MAS, and ICNA would rather MEF not attack their extremism, they should dispense with the extremists they currently support.
Samantha Rose Mandeles is the Coordinator for <a href="https://www.meforum.org/islamist-watch/">Islamist Watch</a>, a project of the <a href="https://www.meforum.org">Middle East Forum</a>.

MANDELES: ‘Islamophobia’ Critics Have Their Own Phobia

CAIR

Islam

Radical Islam

Radical Islamic Terror

In an age of a growing American Muslim population, the United States has seen an increase in the number of American <a href="https://www.niche.com/k12/search/best-islamic-schools/">Muslim private schools</a>. Lobbying over public school curricula is also an increasingly important area of focus for American Muslim organizations. By themselves, these phenomena are not problematic, especially with the <a href="https://www.soundvision.com/article/8-things-muslims-can-do-on-martin-luther-king-jr-day">focus on civil rights</a> so commonly advanced by Muslim educators. But a problem arises when powerful American Islamist organizations use the language of social justice activism as a cover for their efforts to impose their own illiberal values on Muslim communities.
One such organization is the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), which, among other pursuits, <a href="http://www.isna.net/education-forum/">organizes</a> annual &#8220;Education Forums&#8221; all over the country. Now in their <a href="http://www.isna.net/conxchicago/">20th year</a> and <a href="https://myemail.constantcontact.com/Weekly-Update.html?soid=1102610362609&amp;aid=ckFc7QxYYKU">drawing</a> hundreds of American Muslim educators with each occurrence, this ISNA educational conference claims to integrate Islamic teachings with social justice activism, working with Muslim educators who teach the next generation of American Muslims. But at its core, ISNA is an Islamist organization with deep ties to overseas terror networks. In the infamous <a href="http://archives/fbi.gov/archives/news/stories/2008/november/hlf112508">2007 Holy Land Foundation (HLF) terrorist financing case</a>, the U.S. Department of Justice <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/25/us/25charity.html?_r=0">named ISNA</a> an &#8220;<a href="http://www.investigativeproject.org/2340/federal-judge-agrees-cair-tied-to-hamas">unindicted co-conspirator</a>&#8221; &#8212; naming the group as one of a number of &#8220;entities who are and/or were members of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood.&#8221; Accordingly, ISNA&#8217;s conferences &#8212; replete with extreme speakers and exclusionary ideology &#8212; facilitate the tendentious education of Muslim American youth by narrowly defining &#8220;<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170127225014/http:/www.isna.net/event/%E2%80%8B18th-annual-isna-education-forum/">authentic Islamic studies curricul[a]</a>&#8221; and the &#8220;<a href="http://www.isna.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/ISNA-Space-Making-1.pptx">Muslim American Narrative</a>&#8221; according to ISNA&#8217;s Islamist ideals.
On April 19, ISNA&#8217;s latest nationwide educational conference took place outside Chicago, Illinois. This year, the theme was &#8220;Integrating Social Justice in Islamic Education: Ensuring equal access to success for all students, parents, and teachers.&#8221; Indeed, the keynote speaker, British journalist <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.meforum.org/islamist-watch/51085/extremists-headline-isna-conference&amp;sa=D&amp;ust=1554755515625000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFuJbaHpdqbtGITH13l_-RZPetYNw">Mehdi Hasan</a>, is an <a href="https://theintercept.com/2019/03/15/new-zealand-shooter-manifesto/">outspoken</a> commentator on the topical question of &#8220;Islamophobia&#8221; (a frequent ISNA educational <a href="http://www.isna.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/ef_presentation_book_2015.pdf#page=89">conference</a> <a href="http://www.isna.net/education-forum-call-for-proposals/">topic</a>). However, he is also known for a 2009 <a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/dissident-voice/2009/07/islamic-extremists-muslim">speech</a> at a Shia mosque in London in which he stated, &#8220;Once we lose the moral high ground we are no different from the rest, of the non-Muslims, from the rest of those human beings who live their lives as animals, bending any rule to fulfill any desire.&#8221; He was also recorded describing disbelief in Islam as an &#8220;infirmity&#8221; and approvingly citing the Qur&#8217;anic classification of atheists as &#8220;a people of no intelligence.&#8221;
While Hasan later published an article apologizing for his &#8220;phraseology&#8221; in those cases, he concurrently <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/mehdi-hasan/anatomy-of-a-hitchens-hatchet-job_b_1742497.html?">justified his speech</a> by pointing out that he had also called fellow Muslims &#8220;cattle.&#8221; And while he recently issued a sincere-sounding <a href="https://mobile.twitter.com/mehdirhasan/status/1109561845822697472">apology</a> on Twitter, reminding his readers that &#8220;words matter,&#8221; he has now nullified his own apology by agreeing to speak for such an extremist organization as ISNA.
Other speakers at the conference had similarly dubious credentials in fighting bigotry, but were still slated to lead workshops on social justice. One such session &#8212; &#8220;<a href="https://files.constantcontact.com/1f0f2b8b001/f5486103-e157-4553-a4b8-3c1d7ef083d2.pdf">Social Justice Warriors</a>&#8221; &#8212; hosted by Islamic <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/5-things-to-know-about-kitchener-s-1st-muslim-school-1.2588704">elementary school administrators</a> <a href="https://alfurqankitchener.wordpress.com/about/">Rania Lawendy and Asma Ahmadi</a>. Lawendy is evidently an avid supporter of the Egyptian Islamist Muslim Brotherhood. Her Facebook <a href="https://www.facebook.com/rania.lawendy">page</a> is <a href="https://imgur.com/zkGgDCv">littered</a> with <a href="https://imgur.com/CxU34Rw">images</a> of the <a href="https://imgur.com/F0f2GXk">four-fingered</a> Brotherhood symbol. In 2013, she <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_asJYPJTTQ">appeared</a> on a live broadcast in support of ousted Brotherhood president Mohammed Morsi, claiming &#8220;he&#8217;s committed no crimes&#8221; &#8212; despite <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2012/12/12/egypt-investigate-brotherhoods-abuse-protesters">accusations</a> that he and his <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/press-releases/2013/08/egypt-evidence-points-torture-carried-out-morsi-supporters/">supporters</a> <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20140427070146/https:/permanent.access.gpo.gov/gpo48165/pending-charges-against-mohammed-morsi.pdf">arrested</a> and tortured dozens of opposition members, and that he <a href="https://www.meforum.org/3739/muslim-brotherhood-al-qaeda-connection">worked</a> with foreign <a href="https://www.meforum.org/3521/benghazi-terrorists-egypt">terrorist</a> groups while in office. Lawendy has also <a href="https://imgur.com/CN6q9D2">posted</a> her <a href="https://imgur.com/ymRim1s">support</a> for <a href="https://www.meforum.org/islamist-watch/30056/tariq-ramadan-is-coming-to-new-york-care-to-greet">Tariq Ramadan</a>, a prominent Islamist academic, who is currently awaiting trial in France on multiple rape charges.
One might hope that these poor speaker choices represent momentary lapses in judgment by ISNA staff. Unfortunately, the radical lecturers at the recent ISNA educational conference are not anomalies. For example, in January, ISNA hosted a regional West Coast educational forum on the theme of &#8220;Teaching Values to Empower Students.&#8221; The conference&#8217;s banquet <a href="http://www.isna.net/wcef/">featured</a> the Islamist cleric, Yassir Fazaga &#8212; whose values seem like a poor choice with which to &#8220;empower&#8221; American students. Fazaga was <a href="https://www.investigativeproject.org/3860/justin-trudeau-islamist-revival">exposed</a> in 2012 for his extensive <a href="http://www.peacetv.tv/en-gb/speakers/yassir-fazaga">involvement</a> with Peace TV, an extremist media outlet founded by the Islamist televangelist Zakir Naik, who <a href="https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/controversial-muslim-televangelist-zakir-naik-banned-from-toronto-conference">says</a> that &#8220;Every Muslim should be a terrorist,&#8221; and that Jews are &#8220;our staunchest enemy.&#8221;
In 2007, the FBI investigated Fazaga and his mosque &#8212; the Orange County Islamic Federation (OCIF) &#8212; for extremist activity. And though Fazaga and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) subsequently <a href="https://www.hadsellstormer.com/blog/images/1 - Fazaga First Amended Complaint.pdf">sued</a> the Bureau as part of a class-action lawsuit, their own case files acknowledge that Fazaga and the OCIF did host speakers (<a href="https://www.hadsellstormer.com/blog/images/1 - Fazaga First Amended Complaint.pdf#page=50">including</a> the notorious <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/dont-ignore-webbs-bigotry/2017/02/03/33865a36-e830-11e6-903d-9b11ed7d8d2a_story.html?noredirect=on&amp;utm_term=.dd2bc54277bf">Islamist</a> homophobe Suhaib Webb) considered radical by the investigating FBI agents. Eric Holder, as Obama administration attorney general, <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/08/fbi-sting-lawsuit-blocked-state-secrets-doctrine/">successfully</a> sought the case&#8217;s <a href="https://fas.org/sgp/jud/statesec/fazaga-holder.pdf">dismissal</a> under state secrets privilege. Still, Fazaga insinuated the investigation was only motivated by bigotry, <a href="https://interactive.aljazeera.com/aje/2014/fbiinformants/index.html#one">saying</a> that the FBI&#8217;s strategy &#8220;literally boils down into, if you cannot find terrorists within the Muslim community, make terrorists. Create the terrorists.&#8221; (Fazaga, CAIR, and the ACLU have continued to appeal, and a February <a href="http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2019/02/28/12-56867.pdf">ruling</a> &#8220;affirmed in part and reversed in part the district court&#8217;s judgment in favor of the United States, the FBI, and federal officials.&#8221;)
At other past ISNA education conferences, ISNA has even honored the overtly <a href="https://www.meforum.org/islamist-watch/53865/another-anti-jewish-hire-at-the-islamic-society">anti-Semitic</a> activist Yahia Abdul-Rahman with a &#8220;Community Service&#8221; award. Among other indiscretions, Abdul-Rahman has approvingly <a href="https://www.facebook.com/yahia.abdulrahman/posts/1100910423270213">posted</a> a Facebook link to &#8220;The Ugly Truth,&#8221; a website that describes itself as &#8220;intelligent &#8216;anti-Semitism&#8217; for thinking Gentiles.&#8221; The site features claims that Israel orchestrated the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and discussions about &#8220;de-Judifying America.&#8221; Astonishingly, his Ugly Truth and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/yahia.abdulrahman/posts/1009283642432892">other</a> anti-Jewish conspiracy posts remain public and visible on his Facebook page.
Given the extremism of Lawendy, Abdul-Rahman and other speakers, teachers who attend ISNA&#8217;s education forums do not encounter genuinely liberal, pluralistic ideas &#8212; but rather encounter fig leaves for something more sinister. If ISNA&#8217;s vision of &#8220;authentic Islamic studies&#8221; includes these speakers&#8217; Islamist ideologies, Americans might well worry about what the next generation of our Muslim youth is imbibing.

Samantha Rose Mandeles is the coordinator of Islamist Watch, a project of the <a href="https://www.meforum.org">Middle East Forum</a>. Follow her on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/SRMandeles">@SRMandeles</a>.
Sean MacCormac is a writer for Islamist Watch.

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Samantha Mandeles

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