CAIR Press Release - January 4, 1999
As-salaam alaykum: The office of Rep. Jim Saxton has so far refused to respond to Muslim concerns regarding defamatory remarks the Congressman made recently about the Prophet Muhammad. (See attached Action Alert.) Please take a few minutes to CALL his office (9-5 Eastern) at the number listed below to request POLITELY that he respond. Ask for Mark O'Connell, Saxton's Chief of Staff. (Residents of New Jersey should make a special effort.) NOTE - We believe O'Connell's e-mail address is mark.oconnell@mail.house.gov. The person whose e-mail address was listed previously left Saxton's staff on January 1st. You may wish to resend your previous message to this new address. E-MAIL: mark.oconnell@mail.house.gov
COPY TO: jim.saxton@mail.house.gov
Action Alert 196
MUSLIMS URGED TO DEFEND PROPHET MUHAMMAD (WASHINGTON, D.C., 12/31/98) - CAIR is urging Muslims to contact Rep. Jim Saxton (R-NJ) to ask for a retraction and apology for a published statement claiming the Prophet Muhammad upheld terms of a treaty only when it was politically expedient to do so. In an essay titled "My Almost-Trip to Israel," published on an Internet web site of the right-wing Israeli organization "Gamla Shall Not Fall Again" (http://www.gamla.org.il/english/article/1998/dec/saxton.htm), Saxton commented negatively on what he termed the Middle East "peace process." Saxton wrote: "...how can anyone trust an agreement compared to the Treaty of Hudaibiya enacted by the Prophet Muhammad, in which a treaty lasts as long as political expediency dictates..." CAIR sent a letter to Rep. Saxton asking that he retract the defamatory statement and apologize to the American Muslim community. CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad wrote: "It is disturbing that you, in your capacity as a United States Congressman, would make such a deeply offensive and demonstrably false statement regarding the Prophet of Islam, the religion of six million Americans and more than one billion people worldwide." CAIR has not yet received a response from Rep. Saxton's office. In 1996, U.S. News & World Report had to retract a similar accusation of deceit on the part of the Prophet. The magazine's editors wrote, "...We deeply regret any ambiguity in the language...it was the Meccans, not the prophet Muhammad, who broke the peace of Hudaybiah of 628." (June 24, 1996) Other articles featured on the "Gamla" web site included statements such as: "One understands the Arabs, driven by racistic (sic) Islamicideology, want the Jews driven from every part of the land," and, "Remember, for Arabs and Muslims, words of agreement are not binding..." and, "If you are a Muslim and defender of the faith, breaking commitments for the sake of Allah is an act of absolute faith." "One has to wonder where Representative Saxton obtained the inaccurate and offensive information he used to defame the Prophet Muhammad," said CAIR Board Chairman Omar Ahmad. "If this smear was supplied by foreign sources, Mr. Saxton had a duty to check the facts before causing offense to millions of Muslims in this country and worldwide," said Ahmad. Ahmad added that Muslims cannot afford to ignore such statements by an elected official. Rep. Saxton chairs The House Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare, an unofficial body set up in 1989. Yossef Bodansky, the task force's director since its inception, is a native Israeli who became a naturalized American citizen. Even pro-Israel writers have denounced Bodansky's work. Daniel Pipes, editor of Middle East Quarterly, called Bodansky's writing "absolutely alarmist and unreliable." In March, The Washington Jewish Week wrote regarding Saxton's task force, "A common theme laced throughout their reports is the danger of a world- wide Arab-Muslim conspiracy to destroy Israel and the West." Barry Rubin, editor of Middle East Review of International Affairs, said task force reports are the "product of extremists who care nothing for serious research...or accurate analysis." (Metro West Jewish News, 2/6/97). IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUESTED: (Be FIRM but POLITE. Hostile or disrespectful comments are harmful to the image and interests of the Muslim community.) CONTACT Rep. Saxton's office to ask that he retract and apologize for his statement attacking the integrity of the Prophet Muhammad.
TALKING POINTS: The Prophet Muhammad never broke any agreement. There is not one shred of evidence to back up this false allegation. According to authorities such as Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Saad, Al-Hakim and Bukhari, the following is an outline of the events surrounding the Treaty of Hudaybiah, the usual basis for this false allegation: 1) The Prophet and his companions were prevented by the pagan Arabs from performing their pilgrimage to Mecca (Umrah). Instead of fighting, and despite the willingness of his followers to enforce their religious rights, the Prophet chose a peaceful settlement. 2) Two years later, the pagan Arabs broke the treaty by attacking and killing 20 allies of the Muslims as they slept. It is internationally recognized that when one party breaks a treaty, the other party is released from its obligations. 3) Even after this attack, no revenge was taken against those who broke the treaty. In fact, when the Muslims finally entered Mecca, amnesty was granted to nearly all former enemies.
4) The Quran states: "Yes, whoever fulfills his pledge and fears Allah
much; verily, then Allah loves those who are the pious." 3:76. Also:
"And fulfill (every) covenant." 17:34.
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