Terror-linked CAIR Taps Hizballah Apologist For Tampa Office

via The Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT) – CAIR Taps Hizballah Apologist For Tampa Office.

For a group which claims to stand against terrorism, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) made an odd choice for the new chief of its Tampa chapter.

Hassan Shibly has a track record of defending terrorist groups and acting as an apologist for radical Islam. Following the 2006 Israel-Lebanon War, Shibly granted legitimacy to Hizballah by characterizing it as a “resistance movement” that provides valued social services to the Lebanese people. “They’re absolutely not a terrorist organization,” Shibly said, and “any war against them is illegitimate.”

As a testament to his support for Hizballah’s cause, Shibly even expressed a desire to travel to Lebanon to aid the group’s war effort.

When asked to explicitly condemn Hamas and Hezbollah as terrorist groups, Shibly wouldn’t. “Of course we condemn every single act of violence directed against—by Hamas and by Hizballah—directed against civilians,” Shibly said in a Feb. 28 lecture at a church in Youngstown, N.Y. “But the trick we fall into is when we want to condemn them as a whole we completely cut off any chances for having a peace process.”

To the public, however, CAIR offers a gentler face for Shibly.

His CAIR biography casts him as a man who works actively with inter-faith and social service organizations to “promote cooperation and understanding between diverse faiths and cultures.”

In a statement to the Tampa public, Shibly wrote “It is essential we work together as a community, with all those who stand for peace, freedom, love, and mutual respect, to counter those who wish to promote fear, hatred, and violence.”

But on his own Facebook page, Shibly defended a radical imam killed by the FBI after he opened fire on agents moving in to arrest him. In an October 2009 post, Shibly questioned the use of force against Imam Luqman Abdullah even though the criminal complaint against him made it clear Abdullah advocated violent jihad and urged followers never to surrender peacefully to authorities.

CAIR also championed Abdullah’s case, with the executive director of its Michigan chapter, Dawud Walid, unleashing a series of conspiratorial tirades against the government for its actions against the armed imam.

Shibly’s online profile also features American-born Islamic cleric Khalid Yasin as an “Interest.” Yasin is known for his controversial views, including a 2005 interview in which he says that Muslims cannot be friends with non-Muslims; that suicide bombings are understandable; and that the U.S. orchestrated 9/11 to wage a war against Islam. “There’s no such thing as a Muslim having a non-Muslim friend,” he said. “If you prefer the clothing of the kafirs [disbelievers] over the clothing of the Muslims, most of those names that’s on most of those clothings is (sic) faggots, homosexuals and lesbians.”

Yasin goes further, encouraging children to take up the “honor” of throwing stones and confronting Israeli soldiers when there are no more men left to do it.

In an interview with Pajamas Media in July 2010, Shibly said he was unaware of Yasin’s contentious remarks and appreciated being informed of them. Yet almost a year later, Yasin still appears on Shibly’s profile.

These negative representations of Shibly become less surprising when one considers his religious inspiration. Shibly’s understanding of tolerance and justice admittedly come from his father, who studied under Sheikh Ahmad Kuftaro, the former Grand Mufti of Syria, and his protégé, Sheikh Rajab Deeb.

Read it all via IPT or Big Peace and contact your elected officials.

Florida is riddled with examples of terror-linked CAIR and sharia law, particularly Tampa Bay. Just a few examples:

• Florida Muslim Brotherhood’s Muslim Capitol Day (video)
• Florida judge orders Muslims to follow sharia law, against their will
• Florida: Muslim candidate for state House practices taqiyya
• Florida: Muslim cleric pleads guilty to molesting boy, CAIR defends
• Another ex-CAIR Islamist seeks another Human Rights position in Florida
• FL: Former CAIR leader’s new group assaults two at Muslim Capitol Day
• ex-CAIR leader continues CAIR’s deception as Islamic prayer opens Florida House session
• Tampa Mayor Proclaims “CAIR Day”
• CAIR tries to sabotage another law enforcement training program – this time in Florida