CAIR Leader Calls For Overthrow of US Government

 

It is not intolerant nor is it racist to call violence what it is.  Nor is there anything wrong with identifying threats to the Republic and addressing them as provided by law, consistent with Constitutional protections.

Laws might be ill-conceived, enforcement might be incompetent, but as long as equal protection under the law exists and the laws are enforced in the same way regardless of ethnicity or religious practice, racism is not present.  Screaming “racism” when there is none becomes just an illegitimate tool for advancing social change through attempted intimidation.

That such an introduction is necessary is a measure of how polarized political discourse in America has become.

The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) is controversial, to say the least.  It is an organization whose leaders have claimed to be above the laws in the US because they are Muslims.  They’ve also called for an alliance with groups such as Black Lives Matter in order to accomplish their agenda.

CAIR has a history of using intimidation to advance its goals.  However, when it starts advocating the violent overthrow of the US Government it has stepped outside the bounds of constitutionally protected free-speech and has engaged in criminal behavior.  Those perpetrating this should be charged and prosecuted.  And racism has nothing to do with it.

So when Hussam Ayloush, the Los Angeles head of CAIR tweets on election night the line which translated from Arabic means, “The people want to overthrow the regime,” it’s worth taking a look to see if this is his organization’s real position or not.  After all, this isn’t a slogan Ayloush just thought up — “It was a slogan first used during the Tunisian revolution, which kicked off the Arab Spring, where dozens of totalitarian Islamic nations were either toppled or faced serious street demonstrations. It was also the slogan during the overthrow of Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak.”

According to Daniel Pipes of the Mideast Forum, “that second line is Arabic (“الشعب يريد إسقاط النظام‎‎”) for ‘The people wants to bring down the regime.'”

Not exactly subtle.

The slogan was first used during the Tunisian Revolution which kicked off the Arab Spring. It was also used frequently during the Egyptian revolution in which the regime of Hosni Mubarak was overthrown.

Despite Ayloush’s tweet, other CAIR leaders showed restraint in the face of Trump’s election.

According to The Daily Caller, Nihad Awad, the longtime CAIR executive director and Hamas sympathizer, struck a conciliatory tone.

“As citizens of this great nation, we accept the result of the democratic process that has bound us together as one nation,” Awad said. “Regardless of who won or lost yesterday’s election, American Muslims are here to stay. We are not going anywhere, and will not be intimidated or marginalized.

Like those who have made similar comments, Mr. Ayloush has backtracked by saying it was something of an inside joke.  If so, it’s not funny.  Perhaps he should check out the law.

In 18 U.S. Code § 2385, it reads:

“Whoever knowingly or willfully advocates, abets, advises, or teaches the duty, necessity, desirability, or propriety of overthrowing or destroying the government of the United States… Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both.”

The law is for everyone.  And there’s no racism in that statement.