CAIR Asks 'Where is the Outrage' Over VP Pence's Praise for Pastor Who Claims U.S. Muslims are 'Not Loyal to America'

WASHINGTON, July 9, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today expressed concern at the lack of official outrage after Vice President Mike Pence praised an Islamophobic religious leader who falsely claims that "while American Muslims live in America, 82 percent are not loyal to America" and that "Islamics [sic] have centralized and out vote the American people."

Yesterday, Pence praised Hagee at the Christians United for Israel Annual Washington, D.C., summit. Pence said: "To Pastor John Hagee, my thanks for your leadership and your ministry. It has made a difference for America and for Israel."

SEE: Vice President Pence's Remarks
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-vice-president-pence-christians-united-israel-annual-d-c-summit/ 
SEE ALSO: Under Trump, Islamophobic Pastor John Hagee's Star Rises Again
https://www.texasobserver.org/trump-pastor-john-hagee-texas-jerusalem/ 
Christian Zionist Lobby Is Built on Anti-Semitic Theology
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/Voices/2019/07/09/Christian-Zionist-lobby-is-built-on-anti-Semitic-theology/2621562674846/ 

"Hagee's vitriol fuels dangerous lies about Muslims and Islam, calling into question the decency and humanity of Muslims around the world. Unfortunately, his rhetoric fits into a larger more concerning pattern of far-right Christian anti-Muslim bigotry and Islamophobia," said CAIR National Research and Advocacy Director Abbas Barzegar. "We ask 'where is the outrage' when the vice president of the United States praises an individual who falsely claims that the vast majority of a religious minority are disloyal and claims that Muslim voters are not real 'Americans.'"

According to recent findings by CAIR, Christian organizations were among the lead financiers of the Islamophobia industry. Between 2014-2016, just three organizations -- Christian Advocates Serving Evangelism, the National Christian Charitable Foundation, and the Heavenly Father's Foundation -- raised almost $50 million that directly promoted anti-Muslim and Islamophobic institutions. Dozens of other Christian networks were responsible for millions more. 

Backgrounder on Islamophobic Statements by Pastor John Hagee:

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• "Why are Islamics [sic] so motivated to flood other nations by immigration? The answer is Hijrah, which gives each immigrant the reward of heaven. If a Muslim dies in the process of immigration, that essentially gives him or her the same reward if they died as a bomber or as a terrorist act." (13:50)
• "Other Muslim countries are not taking refugees in. Saudi Arabia is huge, very rich. They're not taking in anyone because this is an invasion, well organized, into Europe and America at the same time. This is not merely a humanitarian crisis. This is orchestrated. Its goal is to transform America, to overtax our economies, to tear down the wealthiest cities, to redraw our demographics and control the culture of America through Sharia law." (14:52)
• "Sharia is now in effect in some American cities where the Islamics [sic] have centralized and out vote the American people. For those who think it can't happen here, it's already happened." (15:33)
• "There are 1.5 billion people who believe the Islamic faith. I recognize that only one-third of them are radical. That means there are 500 million who feel they have a mandate from God to kill you." (24:01)
• "The President [former President Obama] brought 10,000 Syrians into America through New Orleans, November 2015. Where did they go? No one knows. Most were males between the ages of 18 and 35." (26:15)
• "The FBI and Homeland Security confirm that there are 50 terrorist cells operating in each of the 50 states of the United States of America. Can you imagine these Islamic immigrants as the American trojan horse? Can you imagine the hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens starting an orchestrated and simultaneous terrorist attack in all of our major cities at the same time?" (27:06)
• "What must happen for Islam to control the Middle East and be brave enough to launch a major attack on America?" (27:32)
   
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• "While American Muslims live in America, 82 percent are not loyal to America and are not willing to fight and defend America." (8:10)
• "Is the Islamic faith a faith of peace? This is a fact that 19 out of 19 terrorists who flew their hijacked planes into the World Trade Center and into the Pentagon were Islamic. They were quoting the Quran, not John 3:16. These weren't a bunch of angry Baptists or United Methodists. They flew their planes in the towers, quoting the Quran as they blew the lives of thousands of people to smithereens." (8:18)

The Washington-based Muslim civil rights organization has reported an unprecedented spike in bigotry targeting American Muslims, immigrants and members of other minority groups since the election of Donald Trump as president.

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 National Research and Advocacy Director Abbas Barzegar, 202-742-6413, [email protected]; CAIR National Research and Advocacy Manager Zainab Arain, 202-742-6410, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, [email protected]; CAIR Strategic Communications Manager Arsalan Bukhari, 206-931-3655, [email protected]

SOURCE Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)