Pat Dollard | Young Americans

An American Muslim group identified as an unindicted co-conspirator in a criminal terrorism case is being used by the FBI to train its agents about Islam.

The FBI declined to respond to Insight’s questions about this seeming disconnect, as one of the pre-eminent anti-terrorist research centers in America is set to release an extensive report on the same prominent U.S. Muslim group, accusing the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) of being a foe, rather than an ally, in the war on terror.

The 10-part report on CAIR from The Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT), led by Steven Emerson, debuts March 24. It tells the story of a group formed in the early 1990s to push an agenda of radical Islamists in the Middle East by portraying the war on terror as a war on Islam, and by defending those arrested on terror charges.

“After a careful review of the history, activities, statements, and causes of and by CAIR, it seems that its primary goals are to silence and de-legitimize its critics and redefine what it means to be a moderate Muslim,” says the IPT report, a copy of which was obtained by Insight. “And when it comes to U.S. efforts to crack down on terrorists and their financiers, CAIR takes an almost visceral stand in opposition.”

“CAIR consistently deceives the American public, law enforcement and politicians, portraying itself as a moderate and independent organization,” Emerson said to Insight. “But its own records, statements and other documents tell a different story which the public deserves to know.”

CAIR vigorously rebuts IPT’s allegations, which include the charge that it is a front for Hamas, a Palestinian militia designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the United States government.

“Steven Emerson’s allegations are utterly false,” CAIR spokesman Ahmed Rehab told Insight. “CAIR is not a front for Hamas, Hezbollah, or any other foreign group, nor has it ever been. CAIR is an independent American institution, established by Americans for the purpose of defending the civil rights of American Muslims and advocating fair and square on their legitimate concerns and interests. CAIR is committed to non-violent advocacy for justice and equality. CAIR unequivocally condemns all acts of violence against civilians by any individual, group or state.”

Rehab called Emerson part of a group of “Islamophobic pundits.”

The assessment of IPT, and other critics, comes as CAIR has grown to become the most influential Muslim organization in America, with over 30 chapters and offices nationwide and in Canada. It has waged an aggressive public relations campaign to depict itself as a civil rights champion. Its representatives make regular media appearances, commenting on the war on terror. At the same time, CAIR has formed alliances with private and government organizations to teach them about Islam.

CAIR’s website states it is a “Muslim civil liberties and advocacy group. CAIR’s vision is to promote justice and mutual understanding.”

But the IPT, government documents and people interviewed by Insight paint a different picture. Rather than being strictly a civil rights group, CAIR is a staunch defender of alleged terrorists nabbed in the U.S., a persistent critic of the war on terror and an unindicted co-conspirator with a foundation the government says funds terrorism.

“CAIR was designed to give a political cover and political front for Hamas in the United States and then it branched out to do other things,” said Emerson. “Its raison d’etre is really to influence policy on the Middle East and lobby for Hamas. They are the political lobbying arm for Hamas.”

Critics point to how CAIR was born. Its primary founders in 1994, Nihad Awad and Omar Ahmad, held senior positions in a group called the Islamic Association of Palestine (IAP). The U.S. government has branded that group as a front for Hamas. It has documented IAP meetings in which speakers urged the killing of Jews. IAP provided seed money to CAIR.

Hamas vows to destroy Israel and claim its territory. Hamas, an acronym for The Islamic Resistance Movement, has been involved in countless clashes with Israel, killing innocent Israeli civilians in the process. The group won last year’s legislative elections in the Palestinian territories. It then claimed the Gaza Strip in a bloody civil war and began launching scores of rockets at various Israeli targets. It dispatched a gunman to kill Israeli religious students in Jerusalem earlier this month.

“A long history of suicide bombings and other attacks on Israeli civilian and military targets has earned Hamas a well-deserved reputation as a murderous terrorist organization,” says the left-leaning Center for Defense Information in Washington.

When the State Department created its first list of foreign terrorist organizations in 1995, Hamas was in the report, and has remained in each update.

The most damaging charges against CAIR have emerged in recent months in the federal government’s criminal case against the Texas-based Holy Land Foundation. The Justice Department says Holy Land is a front for raising money for Islamic radicals–and that CAIR is a conspirator. The first criminal trial last summer ended in a mistrial. A new trial is scheduled for August.

Critics say the Holy Land prosecution confirmed their concerns about CAIR, as prosecutors unveiled documents that showed Holy Land’s ties to Hamas–and to CAIR. Prosecutors also produced the fruits of FBI surveillance of various American Muslims in an overall government effort to stop the financing of terrorist cells abroad.

Read the full article at Insight here.