The following are letters between Islamic organizations such as CAIR, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), Islamic Scholars, Senator Larry E. Craig, and Senator Slade Gorton. One need only review the hypocritical demands by CAIR's Ibraham Hooper, the ADC's Hussein Ibish, and Mr. Jeff Siddiqui. Hooper and Siddiqui demand Senators Craig and Gorton 'punish' Mr. James George Jatras (foreign policy analyst) because they opine he made 'bigoted' political remarks pertaining to Islam, and therefore should not be allowed to remain in the role of a U.S. Government employee involved in policy decisions.
The reader will then see a letter written by the ADC condemning our Government for firing of Joseph Zogby (Arab-American) because he had expressed his political views of Palestine and Israel (guess which one Zogby supports).
CAIR and the ADC must realize that they can't have it both ways in regards to political expression. On one hand they demand punitive action if a non Muslim expresses a political view (based on fact) negative of Islamic beliefs, but then demand a Muslim should be allowed to express anti-U.S. political remarks, and further the Muslim in question (Zogby) should be allowed to influence U.S. foreign policy. Read the below letters from Hooper, ADC, and Jeff Siddiqui. Then review the letters they received from Senator Craig and Senator Gorton.
Essentially Craig and Gorton inform Hooper that he is a hypocrite, ill informed, and himself a bigot. Respectfully, Dave Gaubatz
For Immediate Release
April 22, 1999
Contact: Hussein Ibish
(202) 438-7297
ADC Condemns Attack on Arab-American State Department Staffer
The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) is appalled and outraged at demands
by the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) that the State Department purge one of its staff
members because of'his
ethnicity and political views. ZOA President Morton Klein has demanded that Assistant Secretary of State for Near East and South Asian Affairs, Martin Indyk, remove one of his staff assistants, Joseph Zogby. Zogby, an Arab-American, has expressed sympathy for Palestinian human rights and criticism of Israeli policies which deny these rights.
The ZOA claims that these views should "disqualify him from serving on the staff of U.S.
government officials, involved in shaping America's Mideast policies."
The ZOA and its apologists are engaged in an undisguised attack on a government employee
based on his political views, which they have shamelessly distorted with cut-of-context
quotations, and his ethnicity.
It is an open effort to silence all voices that might deviate from the
"Israel-can-do-no-wrong" dogma, and to exclude any Arab-American input into U.S. policy
making on the Middle East, which is heavily dominated by pro-Israel figures.
The ZOA has a long history of using McCarthyite tactics to advance its extremist pro-Israel
agenda. ZOA led the 1998 campaign to block the hiring of the distinguished Holocaust scholar
John Roth as director of research at the Holocaust Memorial Museum because he had expressed
sympathy for Palestinian human rights. ZOA's successful attempt to bully the Smithsonian
Institution into excluding any hint of criticism of Israeli policies from its "Israel at 50" program,
was aptly described by Anthony Lewis in the New York Times as "Jewish McCarthyism." ZOA
President Klein has condemned Mike Wallace, Thomas Friedman, Strobe Talbot, Martin Indyk
and Pete Seeger, to. mention but a few, as "anti-Israel."
It is now clearly up to the State Department to launch a clear, unequivocal and public
endorsement of
Joseph Zogby's right to his political opinions. Arab-Americans have been
systematically excluded from input into U.S. Middle East policy. As a result, this policy has for
too long been one-sided and ineffective.
ADC demands that Arab-Americans be included
in the U.S. policy making process on Mideast
affairs, both for the sake of fairness and in the interest of developing a more constructive, evenhanded and effective policy. We also insist that the government take steps to ensure that its staff will not be subjected to witch-hunts on the basis of their political beliefs.
(Note to editors: ADC is the largest Arab-American grassroots organization in the country, It is a non-sectarian, non-partisan service organization dedicated ID protecting the Civil rights of Americans of Arab descent and combating anti-Arab racism, discrimination and stereotyping.)
AMERICAN-ARAB ANTI-DISCRIMINATION COMMITTEE
4201 Connecticut Avenue. NW., - Suite 3OO• Washington D,C.20008 • Tel: (202) 244-2990
Fax: (202) 244--3196 • E-mail: adc©adc.org
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
1050 17th Street, NW., Suite 490
Washington, D.C. 20036
Tel: 202-659-CAIR (2247)
Fax: 202-659-2254
Page: 202-490-5653
E-mail: cair1@ix.netcom.com
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
June 14, 1999
Mr. Jim Nicholson
Chairman
Republican National Committee
310 1SI Street, SE
Washington, DC 20003
Via Fax: 202-863-8774
Dear Mr. Nicholson:
I hope this letter finds you in the best of health and spirits. As you may know, there has been a recent controversy about deeply offensive Islamophobic statements made by
James George Jatras, a foreign policy analyst for the Senate Republican Policy Committee. (See attached Washington Post article.) In an undated article called "The Muslim Advance and American Collaboration" published online by The Christian Activist, a James George Jatras wrote: " ... Islam is a self-evident outgrowth not of the Old and New Covenants but of the darkness of heathen Araby." He also referred to the "pseudo-Prophet" Muhammad. (A version of the article first appeared in the February issue of Chronicles: A Magazine of American Culture.)
The same article refers to "Islam's fraudulent self-depiction as a pacific creed" and claims "Islam has been unthinkable without its mandate for violence, war, terror ... " Jatras writes: "Islam was born in violence." He adds: "I will leave it to the specialists to calculate which - Islam or communism - can claim the greater achievement as gigantic Christian-killing machines ... "
Jatras also referred to what he claims is the Islamic concept of heaven by saying: " ... it is beyond me what spiritual values any Christian has in common with someone whose idea of beatific bliss is boinking an endless parade of the well-rounded houris said to inhabit the Muslim paradise ..."
Concerning the building of a Muslim school in Northern Virginia, he wrote: "The importation of Shari'a [Islamic law] into a once-Christian commonwealth seemingly registered not at all in evangelical minds blissfully unaware of Islamic aims."
He also wrote: " ... in light of the growing volume of Muslim immigration, western Christians will soon find out... that confronting the Islamic advance has become ... a simple matter of physical survival." The article contains many other lslamophobic statements too numerous to mention. For example, Mr. Jatras writes of "business executives who would sell their grandmothers to Abdul Abulbul Amir (presumably a derogatory term for Arab Muslims) for oil drilling rights."
(See
http://www.tcal.org/volI3/Muslim.html) In a response to Muslim concerns, Senate Republican Policy Committee Chairman Sen. Larry E. Craig failed to acknowledge the offensive nature of Jatras's remarks and instead defended his right to examine "complex questions of history and international events that are legitimate subjects for study and commentary. "
CAIR respectfully requests that you, as Chairman of the Republican National Committee:
1) Acknowledge the deeply offensive nature of Mr. Jatras's Islamophobic statements.
2) Take appropriate action to ensure that a person with such views
does not have a hand in formulating American foreign policy.
Only these steps will help convince the American Muslim community that the Republican Party
represents all Americans, regardless of faith or national origin.
Thank you in advance for your prompt attention to this important matter.
Sincerely, Ibrahim Hooper
National Communications Director
Cc: Sen. Larry E. Craig,
Sen. Trent Lott
Jul 02 99 Jef'f' Siddiqui
Lynnwood, WA 98036
Senator Slade Gorton
To: U.S. Senate
730 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 205 I0-470 I
Dear Senator Gorton,
Thank you for your letter of June 17th in which you declined to do anything about George Jatras
of the Senate Republican Policy Committee and his statements against Muslims and Islam.
Let us be clear about one thing that we both agree on; I will personally defend Jatra's right to say what he likes, where he likes and how he likes. My complaint is that you have such a bigot on a Senate committee, on your payroll, who is helping formulate policy for the Senate of the United
States and thereby, for the United States itself.
Would you have someone on a Senate Public Policy committee who says, "the N----- should go
back to Africa instead of endangering us Americans"?
Would you object if Jatras had said, "The Jews are a danger to the fabric of American society"?
Would you do anything if he had said, "There are too many Hispanics in the U.S., they are a
danger to us"?
I
believe you would at least try to get him as far away from a policy-making area as you could. If
I am mistaken then you should re-examine your views. Perhaps removing Jatras from his
position could be construed as punishing him for his opinions. But you have, as a Senator,
objected to people holding public office because of the views they expressed in their past. At
those times, your logic was that you did not want such a person representing the people of the
United States. Why would you not apply the same principle now?
As Muslims, we suffer because it is fashionable for people to take swipes at us. It is even
politically advantageous in some cases. We are however, citizens of the United States. As such,
we deserve the same recognition, respect and protection that you would advance to your better
known supporters.
I look forward to hearing from you in the near future.
Sincerely, Jeff Siddiqui
Cc: Seattle Times
Reply from Senator Larry E. CraigJune 9, 1999
Mr. Ibrahim Hooper
Council on American-Islamic Relations
1050 17th Street., N.W. Suite 490
Washington, DC 20036
Dear Mr. Hooper:
Thank you for your letter of June 8 with reference to the statements of Mr. James George Jatras, a policy analyst for the Republican Policy Committee.
As Mr. Jatras stated in the article you cited, "The Muslim Advance and American
Collaboration," the views expressed in it are his own and do not represent any Senate member or office. As chairman of the Policy Committee, I am conscious of the extent to which the
exchange of opinions and ideas - at times opinions and ideas that some might find disagreeable -
is an important part of the workings of free society. I encourage both you and Mr. Jatras, as well
as other members of the Committee staff and the American Muslim community, to continue to
engage vigorously in that exchange.
At the same time, I absolutely condemn any sort of bigotry or intolerance. I note that Mr. Jatras
nowhere suggests, nor does your letter accuse him of suggesting, hostility against any individual
or group of individuals. Rather, his writings examine, based upon freely available sources,
complex questions of history and international events that are legitimate subjects for study and
commentary. If CAIR or other organizations or persons disagree with his opinions, it seems to
me that the appropriate remedy is to state the reasons and the evidence for your disagreement in the forum of public debate or directly to him.
I note in passing that CAIR has itself been criticized for defending accused perpetrators of
terrorist actions in the United States by Islamic militants. ["Hamas Goes to Foggy Bottom," New
York Post, 9/15/98] Without a detailed knowledge of the basis of these charges, I am unable to
comment on their accuracy and I think you will agree it would be unfair of me to do so. In the
same manner, to take the action you request in your letter would not constitute the censuring of
bigotry, but its practice.
In your letter, you suggest that Mr. Jatras' opinions disqualify him for assisting in the formulation of U.S. policy. Our foreign policy is based not on religion, culture, or creed, but on the national security and economic interests of all Americans, including the American Muslim community. I trust you do not mean to suggest that my opposition to the Clinton Administration's policies in "the Balkans, notably in Kosovo, and that of many of my colleagues is based on any other consideration.
In closing, let me reiterate that I will not tolerate bigotry, nor will any other Senate Republican -
but we will always encourage the free exchange of ideas. I welcome your participation, as an
important American community, in those discussions and the development of our national
policies.
Larry E. Craig
United States Senator
June 17, 1999
Mr. Jeff Siddiqui
3107 206th Pl. SW
Lynnwood, Washington 98036-782G
Dear Mr. Siddiqui:
Thank you for contacting me about the writings of James George Jatras. I appreciate hearing
from you. The statements you quoted certainly appear uninformed and offensive. While I may not agree with the opinions of many who work on Capitol Hill, I recognize their right to express them under the First Amendment. I'm sorry that I am unable to assist you in this matter.
Again, thank you for writing.
Sincerely,
SLADE GORTON
United States Senator
