Yerushalmi's group twists facts against CAIR

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has done incredible work promoting equal treatment of Muslims in the workplace and in countering false information about Islam and Muslims in the media, in government and from private individuals.

Of course the bigots and Islamophobes (whose hate of Muslims parallels the hate espoused by Al Qaeda for non-Muslims) cannot stand to see Muslims asserting themselves.  How dare we speak up for ourselves!

Over the years CAIR has been forced to divert its attention and resources from the good work of fighting discrimination and countering bias and hatred towards fending off unsubstantiated claims of radicalism and allegations that they are a Fifth Column in the U.S. seeking to destroy our country from within.

Yesterday a fellow named David Yerushalmi (he is the guy pictured with Jack Kemp)(from reading about him on his website I gather that he is a sensationalist looking to capitalize on Islamophobia for his own personal gain) had an "alert" published on a website for a group called "Mapping Sharia Project" which bashes CAIR.

It is simply amazing what lies and half-truths stacked one on top of the other can do to truth in the blogosphere!  Today blogs known to be rabidly Islamopbobic are running this so-called "alert" that bashes CAIR and their analysis (likely the result of not actually reading the details of the so-called "alert") is even more off base than that of Yerushalmi.

HERE IS THE REAL TRUTH ABOUT YERUSHALMI'S "ALERT"

A CAIR chapter in the Maryland/Viriginia region was apparently defrauded by a person claiming to be an attorney.  Subsequently this employee was terminated and clients of the CAIR staffer passing himself off as an attorney who wanted a refund of fees paid for legal services entered into settlements with CAIR.

As part of the settlements these clients and CAIR entered into a "Voluntary Agreement and Release of Claims".  This release document recites that CAIR does not admit any wrongdoing and it includes a confidentiality clause with a liquidated damages provision in the event the confidentiality clause is violated.  The confidentiality clause provides that CAIR will be entitled to $25,000 in liquidated damages in the event of a breach of the confidentiality agreement.

This release agreement and the confidentiality clause found therein is commonplace in legal disputes all over the U.S.  Similar agreements are entered into every day by litigants in civil matters of all sorts including tort litigation, contract disputes and employment discrimination litigation.

In this case there were two victims - CAIR and its clients.  Kudos to CAIR for refunding these peoples money and kudos to CAIR for conducting its affairs in a straightforward, legal manner.

HERE ARE THE ISLAMOPHOBE EXAGGERATIONS AND INUENDO

Yerushalmi's "alert" is misleading right from the get-go: it reads "CAIR Involved in Criminal Fraud".

If the employee of CAIR MD/VA did misrepresent himself as an attorney, then CAIR would have been a victim of criminal fraud.  When push comes to shove Yerushalmi will shrug his shoulders, throw up his hands and feign ignorance while saying "What?!  We wrote 'involved' and being a victim of criminal fraud makes CAIR 'involved'."

But the bloggers who are picking up this "alert" don't seem to have the time or desire to actually review what is being disclosed in this "alert" and are simply commenting on the title of the "alert"and their other misguided understanding of who CAIR is and what CAIR stands for.

Gates of Vienna (a blog that contends that "At the siege of Vienna in 1683 Islam seemed poised to overrun Christian Europe.  We are in a new phase of a very old war") claims in a blog post dated 9/4/08 that CAIR has "demostrably engaged in criminal fraud" based on Yerushalmi's "alert".

Gates of Vienna points to the "damning evidence" produced by Yerushalmi only, with no other independent corroboration. 

And of course the "damning evidence" is nothing more than a cut and paste job with bits and pieces of facts lifted and placed into the alert to make a situation look different from what it really is.  And for good measure Yerushalmi throws in his comrades in religious bigotry (Spencer, Pipes, etc...) to bootstrap his arguments.

In the end CAIR is guilty of nothing.  Of course that never stopped an Islamophobe from trying everything possible to tarnish CAIR's strong record of positive contributions.

Comments

[CAIR]

Didn't something like 5 or 6 of the CAIR main members already get arrested for terrorism. IS this really a witch hunt or do all these arrest prove that CAIR really is a fifth column of extremists? Even Malcolm X was killed by hi own, what religion was that again?

[James]

So did CAIR represent Morris Day as a CAIR approved attorney or not? As much as you cry "Islamophobe" over and over it is patently obiovus that you are merely race-baiting to divert attention from the fact that CAIR misrepresented one of its employees as a licensed attorney and then did everything possible to prevent defrauded consumers from speaking out.

[Junaid M. Afeef]

Guilt by association is so yesterday Mr. Anti-CAIR.

CAIR is operating at full speed. Given that our government has spent tons of our tax dollars trying to prosecute terrorists unsuccessfully since 2001, and given that they still have not brought charges against CAIR for any wrongdoing and given that CAIR has met with the FBI and has a working relationship with the FBI vis-a-vis all of the urban legends regarding CAIR, I'd say everything is all good at CAIR.

to James: the answer is "no".

Find something useful to do with your time - hyperventilating over these CAIR urban legends propogated by an echo chamber of self-annointed "experts" is not a good use of your time.