Spin Zone: O'Reilly cowed by terror apologist Ahmed Rehab

Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Barack Obama's Muslim "out-reach coordinator" had unexpectedly resigned.

Chicago lawyer Mazen Asbahi, who was appointed volunteer national coordinator for Muslim American affairs by the Obama campaign on July 26, stepped down Monday after an Internet newsletter wrote about his brief stint on the fund's board, which also included a fundamentalist imam...

...The Obama campaign is trying to strike a balance between courting Muslim American voters and dispelling rumors intended by some to link the candidate to radical Islam... In 2000, Mr. Asbahi briefly served on the board of Allied Assets Advisors Fund, a Delaware-registered trust. Its other board members at the time included Jamal Said, the imam at a fundamentalist-controlled mosque in Illinois.

The eight-year-old connection between Mr. Asbahi and Mr. Said was raised last week by the Global Muslim Brotherhood Daily Report, which is published by a Washington think tank and chronicles the activities of the Muslim Brotherhood, a world-wide fundamentalist group based in Egypt. Other Web sites, some pro-Republican and others critical of fundamentalist Islam, also have reported on the background of Mr. Asbahi. He is a frequent speaker before several groups in the U.S. that scholars have associated with the Muslim Brotherhood.

The Justice Department named Mr. Said an unindicted co-conspirator in the racketeering trial last year of several alleged Hamas fund-raisers, which ended in a mistrial. He has also been identified as a leading member of the group in news reports going back to 1993.

Spinning the move as part of an organized campaign of bigotry against Muslims was Ahmed Rehab, Chicago's Council on American-Islamic Relations' (CAIR) executive director. On Fox News' "The O'Reilly Factor," Rehab characterized Asbahi's resignation as a bigoted political maneuver:

I think that Mazen Asbahi is a victim of what I would call the anti-Muslim smear and fear campaign that we have seen in this election cycle time and time again. In this case, like many, the allegations started on a web site that did not corroborate what they are allegating (sic) with any evidence. They stated that he had certain links with fundamentalists, in this case the allegation was against imam Jamal Said, who I know personally to be a great American faith leader and not a radical imam as the Wall Street Journal falsely stated.

IPT deconstructs the spin for O'Reilly, who seemed unable or unwilling to counter Rehab's fabrications.

Some of Asbahi's associations with Muslim Brotherhood groups have raised legitimate questions about whether he holds radical views. There is plenty, however, to show that Said does. Asbahi's association with Said and the fund raised legitimate issues for journalistic pursuit. Start with the fact that Allied Assets is a subsidiary of the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT)... an unindicted coconspirator in the terrorism financing trial against the Holy Land Foundation [which] is set for a retrial next month...

...It is listed eighth among "A list of our organizations and the organizations of our friends" in a 1991 US Muslim Brotherhood memorandum entitled "On the General Strategic Goal for the Group in North America." This document calls for a "grand Jihad" geared towards "eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within..."

...There's more linking NAIT to extremists, including payments to Hamas official Mousa Abu Marzook and his family during the 1990s... Imam Jamal Said also is an unindicted co-conspirator in the HLF case. Like NAIT, he is listed among "members of the US Muslim Brotherhood's Palestine Committee and/or its organizations." Evidence in that trial shows the Brotherhood created the Palestine Committee to advance Hamas' agenda in the United States.

Justifiably outraged, radio host Ben Barrack sent the following letter to Bill O'Reilly earlier today.

Mr. O'Reilly,

You appeared to exhibit cowardice while interviewing CAIR's Chicago Exec. Director Ahmed Rehab about the resignation of Obama's Muslim Outreach Coordinator, Mazin Asbahi on your television program on August 6th...

As you may know, Asbahi resigned due to his association with radical imam Jamal Said, who led a mosque in Chicago to become radicalized...

On your program, Rehab asserted Said was not radical or tied to Hamas. You NEVER ONCE challenged him on it, which means you either......

A.) didn't do your homework on Said
or..
B.) were intimidated by Rehab

Both are unacceptable in a "No Spin Zone"

I've attached a photo I found on CAIR's website that shows Rehab and Said together...

Very sad, Mr. O'Reilly. Very sad. Maybe you can have the Body Language lady on your next program to analyze your indisposition to live up to your show's tagline.

Where is the O'Reilly that led the charge against Sami al-Arian?? I want him back. There are a lot more al-Arian's out there, Mr. O'Reilly. In fact, Said has ties to al-Arian! Cut out the ponderous stuff like "The Body Language Lady" and do what's right in the "No Spin Zone".

Ben Barrack

Proverbs 28:23
He who rebukes a man shall afterward find more favor than he who flatters with the tongue.