(ANAHEIM, CA, 12/9/2004) – The Southern California office of Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA) today called on the Simon Wiesenthal
Center in Los Angeles to repudiate Islamophobic comments blaming the faith
of Islam for terror made at a recent conference sponsored by the center’s
Canadian branch.
The comments were reportedly made by Bruce Tefft, a former CIA official, in
a panel discussion on “jihad and global terrorism” co-sponsored by the
Friends of the Simon Wiesenthal Center at the University of Toronto.
For the links between the two groups, see:
http://www.wiesenthal.com/about/office_canada.cfm
Tefft reportedly made the following statements:
“Islamic terrorism is based on Islam as revealed through the Qu’ran.”
“To pretend that Islam has nothing to do with Sept. 11 is to willfully
ignore the obvious and to forever misinterpret events.”
“There is no difference between Islam and Islamic fundamentalism, which is
a totalitarian construct.”
SEE: “Islamic Terror Based on Qu’ran: Ex-CIA Official”
http://www.cjnews.com/viewarticle.asp?id=5056
TO VIEW A NEWS RELEASE ABOUT THE EVENT, GO TO:
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/November2004/15/c3271.html
In a statement issued today, CAIR-LA wrote:
“We call on the Simon Wiesenthal Center to condemn these Islamophobic
remarks in the strongest possible terms. Characterizing Islam and its
revealed text as promoting terrorism can only lead to increased anti-Muslim
prejudice and intolerance.
“As an organization that says it is committed to ‘fostering tolerance and
understanding,’ the Simon Wiesenthal Center must immediately repudiate all
Islamophobic rhetoric and hold its Canadian office accountable for failing
to challenge the speaker’s hate-filled views.”
Just this week, CAIR representatives attended a U.N. conference on the
negative impact of Islamophobia.
SEE: http://www.cair-net.org/asp/article.asp?id=1348&page=NR
CAIR, America’s largest Muslim civil liberties group, is headquartered in
Washington, D.C., and has 29 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada.
Its mission is to enhance 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-LA, Sabiha Khan, 714-776-1847 or 714-390-0334, E-Mail: socal@cair.com