CAIR-MI Decries Official Platform Given to Hate Group Speakers
(SOUTHFIELD, MI, 9/13/2011) - The Michigan
chapter of the Council on American-Islamic
Relations (CAIR-MI) today expressed concern over
Michigan State Representative Dave Agema’s
(R-Grandville) endorsement of speakers who
expressed xenophobic and anti-Muslim views at a
hearing and rally at the Michigan State Capital Building today in Lansing.
Agema, who sponsored Michigan House Bill No. 4026
Occupational Code Bill, promoted views and
statistics on immigration by the Federation of
American Immigration Reform (FAIR), which the
Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has designated
a “hate group” for its ties to White Supremacists.
FAIR: Crossing the Rubicon of Hate (SPLC)
http://www.splcenter.org/blog/2007/12/11/fair-crossing-the-rubicon-of-hate&splcnewsletter=panewsgen-121107/
Also testifying at the hearing and later speaking
at the rally was controversial, self-proclaimed
ex-terrorist Kamal Saleem, who has been connected
to “ex-terrorist” Walid Shoebat.
CNN recently aired a two-part series exposing Shoebat as an anti-Islam fraud.
Video: CNN Exposes Walid Shoebat’s Terror Training Scam (CAIR)
Part 1 –- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJN00dBhZVk
Part 2 — http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74Tzz51VYXg
SEE ALSO: USAF Pays Fake ‘Terrorism Experts” Speakers to Bash Islam?
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/02/08/452610/-USAF-Pays-Fake-Terrorism-Experts-Speakers-To-Bash-Islam-
Fake ‘Ex-Terrorist’ Wants Sharia Banned in Missouri (Loonwatch)
http://www.loonwatch.com/2011/03/kamal-saleem-fake-ex-terrorist-wants-sharia-banned-in-missouri/
Saleem today asserted without empirical evidence
that undocumented immigrants are a threat to
national security and that sleeper cells are in
Michigan, an Islamophobic claim similarly made by
Agema in the context of immigration enforcement.
SEE: Is Farmworkers’ Challenge For Legislators
Supporting Strict Immigration Reform to ‘Take Our
Jobs’ Bogus? (Grand Rapids Press)
http://www.mlive.com/business/west-michigan/index.ssf/2010/07/is_farmworkers_challenge_for_l.html
Also speaking at the rally was Oakland County
Commissioner Jim Runestad (R-Waterford).
Supporters during the hearing made racist
statements that immigrants bring diseases such as
“tuberculosis” and “bed bugs” into Michigan,
reflecting past statements of Agema relating to immigrants and disease.
CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid offered
testimony at today’s hearing regarding the need
for comprehensive immigration reform at the
federal level as well as pointing out to
committee members the bias motives behind Agema’s FAIR-driven legislation.
“Instead of introducing bills that will unite us
as a state and attract investments, Agema is
introducing controversial and xenophobic
legislation,” said CAIR-MI Executive Director
Dawud Walid. “We call on Agema’s colleagues
within the state house to disassociate themselves
from bias-driven legislation and from those who promote such bizarre bills.”
Walid also noted that Agema is the sponsor of
Michigan House Bill Ho. 4679 also called an
“anti-Sharia bill,” which has been resolutely
condemned by civil rights organizations such as the ACLU and NAACP.
SEE: Detroit Legislators, Civil Rights Groups
Speak Out Against ‘anti-Sharia’ Bill (Mlive.com)
http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2011/08/detroit_legislators_civil_righ.html
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-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid,
248-842-1418, E-Mail: dwalid@cair.com, CAIR-MI
Outreach Coordinator Raheem Hanifa, 248-559-2247, E-Mail: rhanifa@cair.com
Weblog of Dawud Walid 