CAIR Slams Cruz's Comments on 'Muslim Neighborhoods,' Trump's Naming of Islamophobic Adviser

WASHINGTON, March 22, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today decried GOP presidential candidate Ted Cruz's call for law enforcement to "patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods" and the naming of notorious Islamophobe Walid Phares as one of leading GOP candidate Donald Trump's policy advisers

CAIR called on Cruz to retract and apologize for his unconstitutional policy proposal and for Trump to drop Phares as an adviser.

In a Facebook post, Cruz said: "We need to empower law enforcement to patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods before they become radicalized."

SEE: Cruz Calls for Patrols of Muslim Neighborhoods
http://tinyurl.com/grgdlnp

SEE: Cruz Faces Backlash for Call to 'Patrol And Secure' Muslims
http://tinyurl.com/h5phq6d

CAIR: Ted Cruz Calls for Security Crackdown in 'Muslim neighborhoods' While Advocates Condemn Police State Mentality (Dallas Morning News)
http://tinyurl.com/zf3za49

In a recent meeting with The Washington Post's editorial board, Trump named Phares as one of his foreign policy advisers. As the Post pointed out, "Phares was once a leading ideologue in an armed Christian faction during Lebanon's grim, bloody sectarian civil conflict of the 1980s."

SEE: The Dark, Controversial Past of Trump's Counterterrorism Adviser Walid Phares
http://tinyurl.com/glfbmtr

A 2011 Mother Jones article noted: "During the 1980s, Phares, a Maronite Christian, trained Lebanese militants in ideological beliefs justifying the war against Lebanon's Muslim and Druze factions, according to former colleagues."

SEE: Top Romney Adviser Tied to Militia That Massacred
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/10/walid-phares-mitt-romney-lebanese-forces

Also in 2011, Rep. Peter King (R-NY) was forced to drop Phares as a witness at one of his controversial hearings on alleged Muslim "radicalization" once Phares' past associations and extremist views were made public.

King: Phares Not Testifying
http://www.politico.com/blogs/ben-smith/2011/02/king-phares-not-testifying-033668

In a statement, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said:

"The actions and policy recommendations of the two leading GOP presidential candidates send an alarming message to American Muslims who increasingly fear for their future in this nation and to all Americans who value the Constitution and religious liberties. Mr. Cruz's call for law enforcement to 'patrol and secure' neighborhoods in which American Muslim families live is not only unconstitutional, it is unbefitting anyone seeking our nation's highest office and indicates that he lacks the temperament necessary for any president.

"Mr. Trump's naming of a policy adviser who was once linked to a foreign anti-Muslim militia sends the message that American Muslims would be targeted in a Trump administration.

"We urge Ted Cruz to retract his call for fascist-like treatment of American Muslims and to offer an apology to all Americans.

"We ask Donald Trump to immediately drop Walid Phares from his team of advisers because of his extremist views and his past associations with a violent foreign militia."

Last week, CAIR called on Cruz to drop designated hate group leader Frank Gaffney Jr., retired Lieutenant General William G. "Jerry" Boykin and other Islamophobes as foreign policy advisers.

SEE: CAIR Asks Ted Cruz to Drop Hate Group Leader Gaffney, Discredited General, Other Islamophobes as National Security Advisers
http://tinyurl.com/j6vl2yt

Ted Cruz Stumbles as CNN's Blitzer Presses Him on Anti-Muslim Conspiracies of Foreign Policy Adviser Frank Gaffney
http://mediamatters.org/video/2016/03/21/ted-cruz-stumbles-as-cnns-blitzer-presses-him-o/209437

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. 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.

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CONTACT: CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, [email protected]; CAIR Communications Coordinator Nabeelah Naeem, 202-341-4171, [email protected]

SOURCE Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)

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