House Republicans protest use of Capitol meeting room by Muslim group

WASHINGTON — A Republican group in the House of Representatives said Monday that Democrats should retract an offer to let the largest Islamic U.S. civil liberties organization use a Capitol conference room for a seminar.

The House Republican Conference, a leadership group headed by Rep. Adam Putnam, referred to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as "terrorist apologists" and called on House leader, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, to cancel the forum scheduled for Tuesday.

Conference spokesman Ed Patru said Democrats are on "precarious footing" by setting up meetings with "pro-terror" groups. "They don't understand the nature of the enemy," he said.

"Democrats arrange official meeting with pro-Hamas, pro-Hezbollah group in U.S. Capitol," headlined a Conference press release carrying a Washington Times article on the planned meeting.

"It's really disappointing," said CAIR national communications director Ibrahim Hooper, that whenever there is an attack from elective officials "we don't even ask any more which party it is. It should be a concern to ordinary Republicans that the party is being viewed as a reservoir of anti-Muslim hate."

CAIR has 32 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada and says 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."

Tuesday's seminar takes up the U.S. policy implications of global attitudes on Islam-West relations. It is common practice for lawmakers to authorize use of rooms in the Capitol for advocacy group meetings. The CAIR meeting was arranged by Rep. Bill Pascrell, a Democrat,. The Speaker's office has no direct say over the room's use.

The Republican Conference also put out past statements by CAIR officials in support of the militant Palestinian group Hamas and seeming to justify suicide bombing. It quoted several Democrats who have voiced concerns about the group's ties to terrorists.

But Hooper said he did not remember CAIR ever mentioning Hamas, designated as a terrorist group by the U.S., in CAIR's 13 years of existence. He noted that the organization had launched public service ads on TV against terrorism and had worked closely with the FBI and other government agencies. CAIR officials joined President George W. Bush in a visit to Islamic centers after the Sept. 11 attacks, he said.

He said the convictions of two former CAIR officials _ one for funneling money to Hamas and another for conspiring to train terrorists in Virginia _ had nothing to do with the organization.

Earlier this year, Sen. Barbara Boxer, a Demcorat, rescinded an award her office had given to the head of the Sacramento chapter of CAIR, citing concerns about CAIR's positions on terrorist groups. After meeting with CAIR officials, Boxer said they had resolved to move forward on improving interfaith relations.

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On the Net:

House Republican Conference: http://www.gop.gov/

CAIR: http://www.cair.com/