In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

CAIR ACTION ALERT #390

DANIEL PIPES COMPARES 'ISLAMIC PEOPLE' TO 'NAZIS'
White House asked to drop nomination of 'Islamophobe'

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 7/27/2003) - CAIR today called on President Bush to
withdraw the nomination of Daniel Pipes to the board of the United States
Institute of Peace after he was quoted by an online news service as
comparing "Islamic people" to "Nazis" and rejecting aid to Afghan civilians.

That demand after CAIR learned of a July 25 article on CNSNews.com
describing Pipes' address to the Young America's Foundation National
Conservative Student Conference in Washington, D.C., that stated:

"Pipes added that he doesn't perceive the Islamic people as divided into
two groups: the radical terrorists and those who are not. He said 'there is
no history behind such an outlook and nothing that would support such
optimism.' 'It would be like saying there were good and bad Nazis,' Pipes
noted." (SEE: http://www.cnsnews.com/ Search using the term "Daniel Pipes.")

"This quote alone, without even taking into consideration Mr. Pipes' long
history of anti-Muslim bigotry, is sufficient to disqualify him from
helping to direct a taxpayer-funded organization dedicated to the peaceful
resolution of international conflicts," said CAIR Board Chairman Omar Ahmad.

In that same article, Pipes said it would be difficult to get Middle
Easterners to accept Western ways because they are reluctant to "go the
Christian way." Pipes also said he thought it was unnecessary to provide
aid to Afghan civilians because in a time of war, they are the enemy. "We
have no moral responsibility to the Afghans," Pipes said. "If we help them,
we should do it in the prism of our own interests."

At a meeting last week of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
Committee, the body that must take the initial vote on Pipes' nomination,
several senators expressed opposition to Pipes' anti-Muslim views. Sen.
Harkin (D-IA) spoke at length about Pipes' statement warning of the
"dangers" posed by the enfranchisement of American Muslims and of his web
site (www.campus-watch.org) that sought to create "dossiers" on academic
critics of Israeli policies.

Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) objected to what he said were Pipes' "derogatory
statements about Muslim immigrants as 'brown-skinned peoples cooking
strange foods and not exactly maintaining Germanic standards of hygiene.'"
(Jerusalem Post, 7/24/03) Kennedy also criticized Pipes' support for racial
and religious profiling and his belief that mosques in America should be
targets of police surveillance.

Pipes faces mounting criticism from American Muslims, Arab-Americans and
interfaith groups because of his past inflammatory remarks about issues
related to Islam, the Middle East and conflict resolution. Muslims say
Pipes, who is often referred to as the nation's leading Islamophobe, holds
extremist anti-Muslim views and lacks the peace-making credentials
necessary to be on the USIP board.

IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUESTED: (As always, be POLITE and RESPECTFUL. Calls are
best, followed by faxes and then e-mails.)

Contact President Bush to ask that he withdraw the nomination of Daniel
Pipes to the board of the United States Institute of Peace.

CONTACT:

President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W.
Washington, DC 20500

COMMENTS: 202-456-1111
FAX: 202-456-2461
E-MAIL: [log in to unmask]
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Send copies of your correspondence to other members of the Senate Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee by going to:
http://www.cair-net.org/asp/dpcommittee.asp

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