Latest news with #Cair
Middle East Eye
5 days ago
- General
- Middle East Eye
Handful of US lawmakers demand Trump ban the Muslim Brotherhood
Calls on Capitol Hill are mounting to designate the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organisation after a suspect accused of attacking a pro-Israel rally in Colorado is alleged to have expressed support for a former Egyptian president who was a member of the group. Republican Senator Ted Cruz on Tuesday said he planned to re-introduce 'a modernized version of the Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act, which I have been pushing for my entire Senate career', in a post on X on Tuesday. Cruz accused the Muslim Brotherhood movement of using the Biden administration 'to consolidate and deepen their influence. But the Trump administration and Republican Congress can no longer afford to avoid the threat they pose to Americans and American national security'. Meanwhile, US Congressman Jared Moskowitz wrote a letter to President Donald Trump asking him to carry out an 'investigation to designate the Muslim Brotherhood a Foreign Terrorist Organization.' He accused the organisation of having a 'documented history of promoting extremist ideologies and supporting terrorist activities through various affiliates'. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters He accused Hamas of being one such affiliate. Other politicians, such as self-proclaimed Zionist Congressman Randy Fine, took the opportunity to take a swipe at US organisations such as Muslim civil rights and advocacy group Council on American–Islamic Relations (Cair) and Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), who he accused of being funded by the Muslim Brotherhood. Jewish Insider published an article on Wednesday saying that Fine accused the Muslim Brotherhood of funding Cair, SJP and other pro-Palestine groups. He also described Cair as the US 'mouthpiece' of the Muslim Brotherhood. Jewish Insider also reported that Fine had reached out to Cruz 'to offer to lead the Muslim Brotherhood legislation in the House'. Cair had not responded to a request for comment by the time of publication. Colorado attack The calls coincide with an incident on 1 June, where an Egyptian national, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, was accused of attacking protesters rallying in support of Israeli captives in Gaza. Eight people were injured during the attack. A profile by CNN said that Soliman had posted pictures on Facebook of Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Morsi, who served as the democratically elected leader of Egypt from 2012 to 2013 before he was ousted in a military coup that the US is said to have tacitly supported. Morsi died in 2019 after collapsing during a court hearing on espionage charges. Egyptian state TV reported he died from a heart attack. The Muslim Brotherhood called the death a "murder". CNN said Soliman's Facebook was last updated 10 years ago. The attack has fuelled calls for mass deportations of Muslims and another Muslim travel ban by leading MAGA figures such as Laura Loomer. Loomer, who has been calling Soliman a 'Muslim Brotherhood terrorist' for days, has also been calling for Muslim immigrants to be deported. In a post on X, she said, 'We are being killed and maimed by Muslim immigrants because Republicans were too afraid of being called 'Islamophobes'. She added that elderly Jews and young Christian Zionists were being 'murdered by these Muslim imports who hate our country and who hate everything non Islamic. They need to be removed from our country if they hate us.' In another post, she wrote, 'We need mass deportations and an Islamic travel ban ASAP!' Loomer has spent days calling for Soliman and his family to be deported. The Trump administration has been swift in its response. The White House announced on X on Tuesday that the wife and five children of Soliman had been 'captured' and were in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody and 'COULD BE DEPORTED AS EARLY AS TONIGHT'. Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem called Soliman a 'terrorist' and 'illegal alien' in a video on Tuesday and said that they were 'investigating to what extent his family knew about this heinous attack, if they had knowledge of it, or if they provided support to it'. Muslim Brotherhood The Muslim Brotherhood was founded in 1928 in Egypt, and in the 1940s formed a secret, armed wing to fight against British colonial rule. It renounced violence in the 1960s and later embraced electoral democracy instead. It is one of the largest and most well-known Islamic movements. It has long maintained that it is a peaceful organisation that wishes to participate in politics democratically, but many autocratic governments in the Middle East and North Africa consider it a major threat. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have all banned the Muslim Brotherhood. Jordan banned the organisation in April, allegedly after pressure from Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Israel. Jordan said they had arrested 16 members of the Muslim Brotherhood who had purportedly plotted attacks on targets inside the kingdom involving rockets and drones in April. In his first term, Trump toyed with the idea of banning the Brotherhood in the US, and could come under pressure to do so during his second term. The Trump administration considered designating the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organisation following Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi's visit to the White House in 2019. The Muslim Brotherhood remains Sisi's main source of opposition in Egypt, and the Egyptian president reportedly asked Washington to crack down on the group. However, the Defence Department, career national security staff, government lawyers, and diplomatic officials raised legal and policy objections. Sisi led the Egyptian army's overthrow of Morsi in 2013. Egypt has jailed thousands of Muslim Brotherhood members, sentencing many to death. International rights groups have estimated that tens of thousands of political prisoners have been detained in Egyptian jails since 2014. Earlier this year, Jordan told Trump they would ban the Muslim Brotherhood. King Abdullah's move firmly places Jordan in the western camp's push against political Islam. The US is not the only western power looking to ban the Muslim Brotherhood. A new report by France's interior minister, Bruno Retailleau, revives the spectre of the Muslim Brotherhood as an underground Islamist threat poised to capture local and national institutions.
Middle East Eye
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Bill that would punish Americans boycotting Israel pulled from US Congress
An anti-boycott, divestment and sanctions bill scheduled for a vote on Monday has been pulled from the US Congress after severe backlash from several 'America First' Republican lawmakers and social media podcasters. 'I'm told we are no longer voting on this. It's been pulled,' Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene posted on X on Monday, in reference to the bill that particularly targets Israel. Congressman Thomas Massie, a libertarian Republican who is critical of Israel's influence on Capitol Hill, also confirmed the bill "has been pulled from the schedule for this week'. The bill, dubbed the International Governmental Organization (IGO) Anti-Boycott Act, would effectively criminalise boycotting Israel. It was drafted by Republican Mike Lawler and Democrat Josh Gottheimer in January, and co-sponsored by 22 other lawmakers from the Republican and Democratic parties. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters The legislation was slammed by both free speech activists and pro-Palestinian organisations, uniting various constituencies that would otherwise find themselves on opposite sides of US domestic issues. 'It is my job to defend Americans' rights to buy or boycott whomever they choose without the government harshly fining them or imprisoning them,' Greene wrote on X on Sunday ahead of the vote. 'But what I don't understand is why we are voting on a bill on behalf of other countries and not the President's executive orders that are FOR OUR COUNTRY???' She added. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (Cair) also denounced the bill as a 'threat' to 'First Amendment free speech rights". Trump allies say 'Mossad agents' and 'warmongers' trying to derail Iran talks Read More » "The right to boycott is an intrinsic part of the First Amendment and a cornerstone of American democracy - from resisting British colonial rule to supporting civil rights and opposing apartheid in South Africa. That right must not be infringed,' Cair said. Under the sweeping bill, US citizens, businesses and organisations could face civil penalties, criminal fines of up to $1m, and potentially imprisonment of up to 20 years for aligning with internationally backed calls to boycott Israel. Progressive Democratic lawmakers opposed the bill, but for political watchers, the more interesting opposition emerged within the Republican Party and among fervent supporters of President Trump. Charlie Kirk, an influential conservative media personality, on Sunday launched a campaign against the bill on X, saying the 'right to speak freely is the birthright of all Americans'. Steve Bannon, the former Trump advisor whose podcast War Room has become required listening to those trying to discern Trump's America First world view, also supported Kirk and Green's remarks against the bill. For decades, Republicans have been stalwart supporters of Israel, maintaining their vocal support even as progressive democrats became more critical. Although the anti-boycott bill galvanised free speech advocates, the response from conservative personalities reflects a growing trend in the US to view Israel with scepticism, which has intensified since the Hamas-led 7 October 2023 attacks on southern Israel, which sparked the Israeli invasion of Gaza and a simmering Middle East war. According to a Pew poll published in April, 53 percent of Americans now express an unfavourable opinion of Israel, up from 42 percent in March 2022. The deep scepticism of Israel among Trump allies has been playing out in the podcast space. Last month, conservative talk show host Tucker Carlson hosted media personality Matt Walsh for a discussion where the two talked briefly about whether Israel should 'exist' as a country if it has to rely on US military support. The shift in negative sentiment on Israel has been notable among young Republicans under 50, who are more likely to tune into podcasts like Carlson's and be motivated by free speech concerns and the disbursement of foreign aid.
Middle East Eye
17-02-2025
- Middle East Eye
Two Israelis shot in Miami by man who thought he was targeting Palestinians
A man who was reportedly hunting Palestinians was arrested over the weekend after shooting two Israelis in Miami Beach, mistaking them for Palestinians. Mordechai Brafman, 27, was detained on Saturday night and faces two counts of attempted second-degree murder. Surveillance footage showed Brafman's truck making a U-turn, stopping directly in front of a vehicle, exiting his truck and shooting at two people inside the vehicle. He shot at the vehicle 17 times with a semi-automatic handgun, the arrest report stated. One of the victims was wounded in the shoulder, while the other suffered a graze wound on the forearm. Brafman, described by Israeli outlet Ynet as a "Florida Jew", was arrested shortly after the shooting. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters According to the arrest report, Brafman told police in an interview: "While I was driving my truck, I saw two Palestinians and shot and killed both." Neither of the victims were killed, and the police said they were visitors from Israel. Citing a local Instagram account that posts about Jewish life, the Miami Herald reported that the victims were an Israeli father and son. Police confirmed that the victims had no prior connection to Brafman. 'Hate crime charges' The Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (Cair) called for federal hate crime charges to be brought following the shooting. "We urge state and federal law enforcement authorities to bring hate crime charges in this case based on the alleged perpetrator's statements to police that reportedly indicate an anti-Palestinian motive," Cair's Florida communications director Wilfredo Amr Ruiz said. 'It is the alleged shooter's reportedly bias-motivated actions, not the ethnicity of the victims, that should be the determining factor for charges in this disturbing case' - Wilfredo Amr Ruiz, CAIR "It is the alleged shooter's reportedly bias-motivated actions, not the actual ethnicity of the victims, that should be the determining factor for charges in this disturbing case." There has been a marked spike in Islamophobic and anti-Palestinian attacks in the United States since war broke out in Gaza 16 months ago. In October 2023, a six-year-old Palestinian-American was fatally stabbed 26 times and his mother seriously wounded in Illinois, in an attack officials say was linked to the Israel-Palestine war and because they identified as Muslim. Wadea al-Fayoume, a six-year-old boy, was stabbed 26 times and had a 12-inch serrated military knife with a seven-inch blade lodged in his body. Two months later, three Palestinian-American college students were speaking Arabic and wearing keffiyehs, a scarf synonymous with Palestinian solidarity, and were en route to dinner when they were shot by a gunman in Burlington, Vermont. One of them is now paralysed from the chest down and may not be able to walk again.
