Posted on 08/22/2003 10:07:30 AM PDT by chance33_98
Muslims Declare 'Moral Victory' in Pipes Appointment; Move Shows Lack of Support for Nominee, Led to Formation of Coalitions
8/22/03 12:12:00 PM
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To: National Desk
Contact: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, or cair@cair-net.org; Rabiah Ahmed, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441, or rahmed@cair-net.org; both of the Council on American-Islamic Relations
WASHINGTON, Aug. 22 /U.S. Newswire/ -- A prominent national Islamic civil rights and advocacy group is declaring a "moral victory" in the fight to prevent Daniel Pipes from being appointed to the board of the United States Institute of Peace (USIP). According to media reports, President Bush will today bypass the Senate confirmation process and issue a recess appointment for Pipes, who is regarded by many Muslims as the nation's leading Islamophobe.
SEE: PIPES TO BE NAMED TO THINK TANK -- http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28713-2003Aug21.html
In a statement released this morning, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said:
"While a defeat for democracy, the president's backdoor appointment of Daniel Pipes is a moral victory for the tens of thousands of American Muslims, Arab-Americans, Christians, Jews, and civil rights activists who contacted the White House and the Senate since the nomination was announced in April.
"By issuing this recess appointment, the president acknowledges that Pipes' nomination would have been turned down by the Senate, despite that body's Republican majority. Without being approved by the Senate, Pipes will serve just 18 months of what would have been a four-year term.
"The campaign to defeat Pipes' nomination and to expose his bigoted views also showed the Muslim and Arab-American communities that there are those in Congress who will stand up for what is right, despite tremendous political pressure to remain silent. At a July 23 Senate committee meeting on Pipes' nomination, Sens. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) and Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) all opposed the appointment. Sen. Harkin, who was involved in the formation of the USIP, spoke at length about Pipes' statements warning of the 'dangers' posed by the enfranchisement of American Muslims and his 'dossiers' on academic critics of Israeli policies.
"Perhaps the most positive by-product of the campaign was the creation of a broad coalition of religious, ethnic, and civil liberties groups that will last long after Pipes takes his seat on the USIP board."
CAIR, America's largest Islamic civil liberties group, is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and has 16 regional offices nationwide and in Canada.
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CONTACT:
NOTE: CAIR offers an e-mail list designed to be a journalist's window to the American Muslim community. Subscribers to the list, called ISLAM-INFONET, receive news releases and other materials dealing with American Muslim positions on issues of importance to our society.
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to: http://cair.biglist.com/islam-infonet/.
Islamism however, is antithetical to Judeo-Christian civilization, and so is going to have to be crushed for Western values to survive.
It's really that simple.
Stop the presses! Bush asserts presidential authority in the face of Senate obstructionism!
It may well be true that by making this recess appointment, Bush is circumventing the Senate ... it may well be at the behest of Senators (including Republicans) who want Pipes appointed without having to do something that will antagonize Arab voters and contributors to their campaigns.
CAIR must be terribly upset that the terrorism think tank can't be entirely packed with Arab sympathizers.
I agree with all three of your comments.
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