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Tags: terror list | UAE | CAIR | MAS | Muslims | Islamist

Two US Muslim Groups Protest Inclusion on UAE Terror List

Monday, 17 November 2014 01:40 PM EST

Two Islamic groups in the United States are outraged that they were listed as terror organizations over the weekend by the United Arab Emirates.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which calls itself "America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization," and the Muslim American Society (MAS), which bills itself as "a religious community service organization," were among 80 groups on the UAE list, according to CNS News.

The CAIR is demanding that the United Arab Emirates immediately clarify the so-called moderate group's "bizarre and shocking" addition to the list, which was approved by the Middle East country's cabinet.

"There is absolutely no factual basis for the inclusion CAIR and other American and European civil rights and advocacy groups on this list," CAIR said.

"Like the rest of the mainstream institutions representing the American Muslim community, CAIR's advocacy model is the antithesis of the narrative of violent extremists."

The MAS, which also claims to be moderate and mainstream, said it was "shocked" to learn it's listed as a terror group and called for clarification from the UAE, while urging the U.S. government help "to address this issue," according to CNS News.

"The Muslim American Society is a religious community service organization that serves people in the United States," it said. "We have no dealings with the United Arab Emirates, and hence are perplexed by this news."

The long terror group list also includes al-Qaida and various affiliates in Pakistan, Syria, Yemen, and North Africa; as well the Islamic State (ISIS); the Muslim Brotherhood; and Iranian-backed radical Shiite groups.

Hamas, the Palestinian affiliate of the Muslim Brotherhood, was notably missing from the list, likely due to the fact that the UAE is a well-known supporter of the Palestinian cause, CNS reported.

Hezbollah, Iran's Shiite offshoot in Lebanon, was also absent, even though Hezbollah-linked groups in the Gulf states and Iraq were included.

Under recent legislation enacted in the UAE, people who support designated terror groups face severe penalties, including death, the report stated.

"Whoever seeks or communicates with a foreign state, terrorist organization or with anyone who works for their interests, to commit any terrorist act, shall be punished with imprisonment for life while the death penalty will be imposed if the terrorist act has been carried out," the law says.

Despite their outrage at being tied to terrorism, CAIR and MAS have both been plagued by allegations tying them to terror groups, according to CNS News.

CAIR was named by the Justice Department in 2007 as "unindicted co-conspirators" in a case against the Holy Land Foundation in Texas on charges of raising money for Hamas, CNS said.

Ghassan Elashi, who was sentenced to 65 years in prison in the case, was the founder of CAIR's Texas chapter.

Due to its fight against anti-Muslim discrimination in the U.S., CAIR has received widespread media coverage, while calling its leading critics "notorious Islamophobes," according to CNS News.

The Muslim American Society claims that it has "no affiliation" with the Muslim Brotherhood, despite being founded by Muslim Brotherhood members in the 1990s.

Although MAS admits that the Brotherhood's writings are important in its history, the group says it has identified "many areas where such literature was deemed irrelevant or unacceptable to Muslims in America and therefore should not be part of any foundational thought."

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Two Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Muslim American Society are outraged that they were listed as terror organizations over the weekend by the United Arab Emirates.
terror list, UAE, CAIR, MAS, Muslims, Islamist
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2014-40-17
Monday, 17 November 2014 01:40 PM
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