CAIR 'Appalled' by Appointment of Trump's New Acting National Security Adviser Who Served on Board of Anti-Muslim Hate Group

WASHINGTON, Sept. 10, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today said it is "appalled" by the appointment of Charles M. Kupperman as acting national security adviser following the resignation of John Bolton.

SEE: NSC official criticized by civil rights groups named acting national security adviser
https://tinyurl.com/CAIRKupperman 
Trump fires national security adviser John Bolton
https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2019-09-10/trump-fires-john-bolton-twitter

From 2001 to 2010, Kupperman served on the board of the Center for Security Policy (CSP), an organization headed by notorious Islamophobe and conspiracy theorist Frank Gaffney. The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has identified Gaffney as an anti-Muslim extremist and designated the CSP as a hate group, calling the latter "a conspiracy-oriented mouthpiece for the growing anti-Muslim movement in the United States."

CSP is famous for promoting the conspiracy theory that the Muslim Brotherhood has infiltrated all levels of the U.S. government and that Sharia law is on the rise in America.

SEE: Backgrounder on CSP
http://www.islamophobia.org/islamophobic-organizations/57-center-for-security-policy-csp.html 
SEE: SPLC Designated Hate Groups: Center for Security Policy
https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/ideology/anti-muslim

"While we welcome the resignation of John Bolton, who has a long track record of promoting anti-Muslim policies and associating with hate groups, we cannot simply replace one Islamophobe with another," said CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad. "CSP has continuously promoted Islamophobic conspiracy theories, and anyone, like Mr. Kupperman, who has so closely associated with them for so long is -- at the very least -- complicit in their brand of anti-Muslim bigotry and should not be entrusted with one of the highest ranking security roles in the United States."

In January, CAIR opposed Kupperman's appointment as Deputy National Security Adviser, citing the same concerns.

SEE: CAIR Calls on Trump Administration to Drop Security Adviser Who Served on Board of Anti-Muslim Hate Group
https://www.cair.com/cair_calls_on_trump_administration_to_drop_security_adviser_who_served_on_board_of_anti_muslim_hate_group

Backgrounder on Frank Gaffney:

Gaffney is a notorious anti-Muslim conspiracy theorist who has claimed that "most of the Muslim-American groups of any prominence in America are now known to be, as a matter of fact, hostile to the United States and its Constitution."

He is a key promoter of the bizarre conspiracy theory that Muslims in public service are infiltrating the government on behalf of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Gaffney has questioned "whether Mr. Obama is a natural born citizen of the United States," claimed the Missile Defense Agency logo is part of a "worrying pattern of official U.S. submission to Islam," claimed an aide to Hillary Clinton was a secret Muslim Brotherhood operative, was a key witness for the plaintiffs in a controversial lawsuit seeking to block construction of a Tennessee mosque, promoted the debunked claim that Dearborn, Mich., is a "ghetto enclave in which it's Muslim-only," and hosted "white supremacist" Jared Taylor on his "Secure Freedom" radio program.

He has in the past:

• Suggested that Saddam Hussein was behind the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.
• Claimed Gen. David Petraeus, commander of U.S. troops in Afghanistan, was submitting to Islamic law when he condemned the burning of a Quran by a Florida pastor.
• Objected to Reps. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) and Andre Carson (D-Ind.) serving on the House Intelligence Committee because they are Muslim.
• Accused Pope Francis of having "rabidly anti-American" views after the pope said it is "not Christian" to urge the deportation of undocumented immigrants and to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico.

Gaffney was banned from the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in 2011 after accusing fellow Republicans of having ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.

Anders Breivik, the Norwegian mass murderer, cited Gaffney in his anti-Muslim manifesto.
Gaffney's staff attorney, David Yerushalmi, has advocated outlawing the practice of Islam in America and is the key promoter of anti-Islam bills in state legislatures nationwide.
White supremacist and White House senior adviser Steve Bannon hosted Gaffney on his Sirius XM radio show "Breitbart News Daily" 29 times.

On November 9, CAIR will hold its 25th anniversary gala in Washington, D.C.

SEE: CAIR'S 25th Annual Gala
https://www.cair.com/25th_anniversary_banquet 

NOTE: Use #CAIRSnapshots on Twitter to view all the short videos highlighting CAIR's important work over the past quarter century. The #CAIRSnapshots campaign is just one of many activities and initiatives leading up to CAIR's 25th anniversary gala.
CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.

La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.

CONTACT: CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Coordinator Ayan Ajeen, 202-774-0770, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, [email protected]

SOURCE Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)

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