CAIR Calls on GOP to Demand Dismissal of Trump Adviser Steve Bannon After Revelation of His Anti-Muslim Film Proposal

WASHINGTON, Feb. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called on Republican Party leaders to demand that President Donald Trump dismiss Steve Bannon as White House strategist following revelations that he promoted virulently anti-Muslim conspiracy theories in a 2007 film proposal.

[NOTE: Bannon was the reported architect of the recent "Muslim ban" targeting seven Islamic nations. He is also reportedly behind a rumored soon-to-be-released presidential executive order to designate the Muslim Brotherhood, which Bannon vilified in his film proposal (see below), as a terrorist organization. Many Muslims and civil libertarians believe that designation is a prelude to a Trump administration "witch hunt" targeting American Muslim civil rights and advocacy organizations. CAIR itself is falsely labeled a "cultural jihadist" group in Bannon's proposal.]

"Republican Party leaders must push back against the anti-Muslim conspiracy theories being promoted, and enacted into public policy, by a cabal of Islamophobes in the White House," said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad.

The Washington Post revealed today that Bannon once outlined a documentary-style movie "that envisioned radical Muslims taking over the country and remaking it into the 'Islamic States of America.'"

Bannon's proposal for "Destroying the Great Satan: The Rise of Islamic Facism [sic] in America" contained a list of possible on-air experts, including Walid Phares, a former official of a group implicated in the 1982 massacre at Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, and Robert Spencer, "labeled by the Southern Poverty Law Center as an anti-Muslim propagandist."

According to the Post: "It names the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Islamic Society of North America as examples of such 'cultural jihadists.' The proposal also lists other 'enablers,' including The Post, the New York Times, NPR, 'Universities and the Left,' the 'American Jewish Community,' the ACLU, the CIA, the FBI, the State Department and the White House."

SEE: Bannon Film Outline Warned U.S. Could Turn Into 'Islamic States of America'
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/bannon-film-outline-warned-us-could-turn-into-islamic-states-of-america/2017/02/03/f73832f4-e8be-11e6-b82f-687d6e6a3e7c_story.html

Aspects of the proposal resulted from a meeting Bannon had with notorious Islamophobe Steven Emerson. Emerson was ridiculed by then British Prime Minister David Cameron as "a complete idiot" after the self-proclaimed terrorism expert falsely claimed that Muslims in Europe set up so-called "no-go zones" that people of other faiths and police are not allowed to enter. Fox News was forced to apologize for Emerson's claim. Bannon's film proposal listed Emerson as an executive producer.

SEE: Fox News Apologizes for False Claims of Muslim-Only Areas in England and France
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/19/world/europe/fox-news-apologizes-for-false-claims-of-muslim-only-areas-in-england-and-france.html

The post noted that Trump administration officials are considering designating the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization. Bannon's 2007 proposal calls the Muslim Brotherhood "the foundation of modern terrorism."

Other media reports recently revealed that Bannon once stated that Islam is "the most radical" religion in the world and that America is engaged in a civilizational struggle with that faith.

SEE: ABC World News Tonight Explores Steve Bannon's Anti-Muslim Extremism https://mediamatters.org/video/2017/02/01/abc-world-news-tonight-explores-anti-muslim-extremism-trumps-white-nationalist-advisor-stephen/215214

Steve Bannon's Own Words Show Sharp Break on Security Issues
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/01/31/bannon-odds-islam-china-decades-us-foreign-policy-doctrine/97292068/

Bannon, formerly head of White supremacist mouthpiece "Breitbart News," promoted conspiracy theories that "paint a dark and paranoid picture" of American Muslims. Breitbart News traffics in misogynistic and racist stories targeting women, people of color and immigrants.

A White Nationalist Is the New White House Chief Strategist
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/steve-bannon-chief-strategist_us_5828e1d4e4b0c4b63b0d33d7  

Trump Campaign CEO Was a Big Promoter of Anti-Muslim Extremists
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/09/stephen-bannon-donald-trump-muslims-fear-loathing

CAIR has in the past expressed concern about a "troubling Islamophobic trend" in President Trump's appointments and nominations.

SEE: CAIR Concerned About 'Troubling Islamophobic Trend' Following Trump's Nomination of Sessions, Pompeo
http://www.cair.com/press-center/press-releases/13901-cair-concerned-about-troubling-islamophobic-trend-following-trump-s-nomination-of-sessions-pompeo.html

Muslim community members who believe their rights have been violated are being asked to contact local police and CAIR's Civil Rights Department at 202-742-6420 or by filing a report at: http://www.cair.com/civil-rights/report-an-incident/view/form.html  

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

La misión de CAIR es mejorar la comprensión del Islam, fomentar el diálogo, proteger las libertades civiles, capacitar a los musulmanes estadounidenses, y construir coaliciones que promuevan la justicia y la comprensión mutua.

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CONTACT: CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, [email protected]

SOURCE Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)

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