Jennifer DeMaster previously worked for the Clarion Project and clerked for the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), two groups with a history of targeting Islam and American Muslims
(WASHINGTON, D.C, 11/3/2021) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called on Milwaukee, Wisc., City Attorney Tearman Spencer to terminate Jennifer DeMaster, an attorney who reportedly has a history of working with anti-Muslim hate groups, unless Ms. DeMaster takes immediate steps to address the concerns of local community members.
From 2015-2017, DeMaster worked as a legal analyst for the Clarion Project (formerly known as the Clarion Fund), a major proponent of Islamophobia in the United States and with a history of producing anti-Muslim films such as Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West and The Third Jihad: Radical Islam’s Vision for America. Jeff VanDenBerg, director of Middle East Studies at Drury University, called Obsession “a blatant piece of anti-Muslim propaganda.” Dr. Khaleel Mohammed, a Muslim interviewee for Obsession, called the production a “vile piece of propaganda.”
According to the Bridge Initiative, DeMaster “previously worked for the anti-Muslim group, Clarion Project, and also wrote a book arguing that Islam is not a peaceful religion.”
“It is inappropriate for a lawyer with a history of working with anti-Muslim hate groups to wield decision-making power as an assistant city attorney,” said CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell. “Unless Ms. DeMaster renounces her reported work with anti-Muslim hate groups, meets with local Muslim leaders to address their concerns, and pledges to impartially uphold the law, City Attorney Tearman Spencer should relieve her of her position.”
SEE: Bice: Muslim Leaders Criticize City Attorney Tearman Spencer for Hiring Lawyer Who Worked for Anti-Islamic ‘hate groups’
SEE: Clarion Project
The Southern Poverty Law Center also designated the Clarion Project as an anti-Muslim hate group.
SEE: The Year in Hate and Extremism 2019
https://www.splcenter.org/sites/default/files/yih_2020_final.pdf
Prior to her work at the Clarion Project, DeMaster worked as a law clerk at the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), where she worked on “Sharia law (and) radical Islamic ideology,” according to a resume she filed with a federal court.
SEE: Muslim Leaders Criticize City Attorney Tearman Spencer for Hiring Lawyer Who Worked for Anti-Islamic ‘hate groups’
In 2010, the ACLJ supported Oklahoma’s “Save our State” amendment, which was designed to prohibit state courts from considering foreign law or Sharia when constructing procedures. The amendment was later struck down in federal court and was found to be unconstitutional on the basis of its potential to do harm to Muslims, a ruling that was upheld by the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in January 2012.
Despite the dismissal of its unconstitutional Sharia law ban proposal, the ACLJ continued to promote and advocate for its implementation. In 2011, the ACLJ published an anti-Muslim pamphlet titled “Shari’a Law: Radical Islam’s Threat to the U.S. Constitution,” which claimed that “devout Muslims cannot truthfully swear oath to become citizens of the United States of America.”
SEE: American Center for Law and Justice
In May 2019, CAIR released a groundbreaking report, called “Hijacked by Hate: American Philanthropy and the Islamophobia Network,” listing the philanthropic foundations that were used by anonymous special interest donors to funnel almost $125 million to anti-Muslim hate groups, including ACLJ and Clarion Project, between 2014 and 2016.
SEE: Hijacked by Hate
In 2016, the San Diego chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-San Diego) called on the San Diego Police Department (SDPD) and other law enforcement agencies in California to investigate whether any officers attended a training conference later this month featuring notorious anti-Muslim conspiracy theorist and Clarion Project’s national security analyst Ryan Mauro, who promotes the debunked “Muslim no-go-zones” myth.
SEE: CAIR Asks San Diego Police Department, Other Agencies to Probe Training by Islamophobe Ryan Mauro
In 2008, CAIR asked the IRS to investigate whether the Clarion Project, which was behind the distribution of an anti-Muslim film to 28 million homes in presidential election swing states, violated laws governing its tax-exempt status.
SEE: CAIR Asks IRS to Probe Group Behind Swing State Anti-Muslim DVDs
CAIR is America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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CONTACT: CAIR Director of Government Affairs Department Robert S. McCaw at 202-999-8292, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com