Islamists Claim Credit For Durbin Hearing

Leaders of a fundamentalist Hamas-linked mosque in Bridgeview, Ill., say they deserve credit for persuading Sen. Dick Durbin to hold his March 29 hearings on claims of “anti-Muslim discrimination.”

Durbin, the deputy chief Democrat in the Senate, visited the Bridgeview mosque around March, and had his picture taken with the mosque’s imam, Kifah Mustapha, and it director, Jamal Said. Both men were named an unindicted conspirator in a 2008 trial of five men who smuggled $12 million to the Muslim terror group, Hamas. The picture was discovered by the Investigative Report on Terrorism, a non-profit that tracks Islamist groups in the United States.

“He met with the [mosque] committee, listened to the concerns,” said Zaher Sahloul, the Syrian-born president of the mosque and of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago. “At that time there was the plan of Rep. [Pete] King … [to hold a March 10 hearing on Islamic radicalization and] we told him this was real real concern with us,” said Sahloul. “He’s a good senator, he listens to constituents … and he’s open-minded,” said Sahloul.

A March 24 statement issued by the mosque, which was released on the day Durbin’s hearing was announced, said “Durbin had promised that he would give the Muslim community a fair hearing and he has kept his word.”

Durbin’s office acknowledged that the senator visited the mosque, but denied the mosque’s claim of credit. “The notion that this [March 29] hearing was planned as a result of this meeting is simply incorrect,” said the statement. “The hearing has been long-planned and was first discussed internally late last year in response to stories about Quran [Koran] burnings and discrimination involving building permits for mosques.”

Politicians need to be careful when engaging with unfamiliar groups, said Jonathan Schanzer, the vice-president for research at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. “Sometimes the most recognizable or discernible mosque is the most radical one in a [Muslim] community, and the rest of the community is pinned to those messages unfairly,” he said. But, he warned “when engaging with any organization, it is important to understand what the leadership stands for.”

The mosque visit, and the Senate hearing, are part of a larger effort by Democrats to bring Muslim groups into their political coalition.

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