By J.M. Phelps and Philip Haney (One News Now)
A counterterrorism expert recognized by both the FBI and U.S. senators for his expertise on the Muslim Brotherhood says the feds as well as state leaders need to cut all ties to a front group for Islamic terrorist groups.
Last month, the Arkansas House and Senate overwhelmingly passed a resolution “to encourage law enforcement to suspend contact and outreach with the Council on American-Islamic Relations [CAIR].” While the Louisiana House took a similar stand against CAIR in 2016, Arkansas becomes the first state to enact such a resolution through its entire legislature.
The Louisiana and Arkansas resolutions have “the effect of keeping law enforcement – at least state agencies – from working with a front for the terrorist group Hamas,” according to John Gaundolo, president and founder of Understanding the Threat.
He tells OneNewsNow, “this is a critical and courageous effort because local, state, and federal entities, including dozens of Members of Congress and others, treat CAIR as if they are a civil rights organization when, in fact, they are a terrorist organization.”
Gaundolo, who served in the FBI’s counterterrorism division post-9/11, bases his statements on evidence that was presented in federal court during the phases of the 2008 Holy Land Foundation (HLF) trial. HLF was established by the Muslim Brotherhood network in the U.S. to provide financial support to Hamas. Entered into evidence during that trial was a key document entitled “An Explanatory Memorandum: On the General Strategic Goal for the Group in North America.”
The Explanatory Memorandum explained the Muslim Brotherhood’s strategic goals of the global Islamic movement in North America – which basically is to implement Sharia law. The memorandum also revealed a long list of “like-minded organizations,” including CAIR, the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), and the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT).
Gaundolo explains that CAIR, acting as the public relations arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, is really a front group for the federally designated terrorist organization Hamas. And despite several legal attempts to have its name removed from the list of HLF co-conspirators, CAIR – along with ISNA and NAIT – remains on the list to this very day.
As a result, Guandolo argues that members of Congress – along with FBI, DHS, and DOJ officials, or local and state law enforcement officers – cannot reasonably deny the facts and evidence presented in the HLF case. He says anyone who continues to affiliate themselves with CAIR – either by working directly with any of its leadership, or by participating in public meetings, photo ops, outreach, dialogue, etcetera – must be fully aware that CAIR was irrefutably proven to be tied to the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas almost ten years ago.
In further agreement with the resolutions to halt the contact of law enforcement with CAIR, Guandolo points OneNewsNow to the 2008 U.S. v. Sabri Benkahla terrorism case appeal to describe the nefarious nature of CAIR. He cites a statement by the U.S. government: “From its founding by the Muslim Brotherhood leaders, CAIR conspired with other affiliates of the Muslim Brotherhood to support terrorists.” Guandolo finds it unsurprising that CAIR’s ties to the designated terrorist organization of Hamas has caused the “FBI [to suspend] all formal contact with them.”
In conclusion, the counterterrorism expert notes that President Donald Trump “has yet to move to designate the Muslim Brotherhood [as a terrorist group], so for now this is one action states can take to remind the president the jihadi threat is growing exponentially at home, putting American citizens at grave risk.”
J.M. Phelps is a Christian activist and journalist based in the Southeastern U.S. He is also editor and publisher of the website Lantern of Liberty.
Originally published by One News Now on Tuesday, March 12, 2019.
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