Ex-CAIR Leader Hassan Shibly Responds to FrontPage Mag Exposé
Cries "Islamophobia" over articles exposing terrorist ties and alleged domestic violence.
Over the course of the past year, I have composed a number of articles related to Muslim leader Hassan Shibly and his alleged physical and mental abuse of his wife, Imane Sadrati. Sadrati’s accusations against Shibly led to his resignation from his job with the Hamas-linked Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). On November 14, 2022, FrontPage Magazine published a report of mine discussing how another group, the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), hired Shibly to partake in a series of fundraising videos, despite the allegations leveled against him. Shibly responded, crying “Islamophobia.” The following will show why my concerns were valid.
If one were to look up the term ‘Muslim extremist,’ one could easily imagine seeing Hassan Shibly’s picture next to it. For years, his name was found on the federal ‘terrorism watch list.’ He has described Hezbollah as “basically a resistance movement” and “absolutely not a terrorist organization.” From 2019 till now, he has been trying to get ISIS bride Hoda Muthana, who threatened President Obama’s life, to be let into the US. In May 2021, he posted a viciously anti-Semitic video on Instagram, telling Israeli Jews to “go back to Europe.” And in October 2021, Shibly advocated for female al-Qaeda operative Aafia Siddiqui to be freed from prison.
This past November, Shibly made several posts on social media sharing ex-Guantanamo Bay prisoner Mansoor Adayfi’s wild claims that then-US military officer and current Florida Governor Ron DeSantis played a role in the torture of Guantanamo prisoners. According to a June 2008 Department of Defense memorandum, Adayfi – the individual Shibly was proudly quoting – “is an admitted member of al-Qaida who possessed prior knowledge of the 11 September 2001 attacks as well as other planned attacks against US interests” and who was part of a “small group” tasked by Osama bin Laden “to establish an al-Qaida base of operations in Yemen.”
In December 2020, Shibly’s then-wife, Imane Sadrati, created a GoFundMe page publicly claiming that Shibly emotionally/physically abused her, while she was pregnant and in front of their kids. As well, during a 911 call to police, Sadrati confided that Shibly had been “beating” her “for 12 years” and accused him of threatening to kill her. According to court documents, during one purported incident, Shibly “twisted Sadrati’s arm, slapped her and shoved her against a wall.” As a result, Shibly resigned from his position as Executive Director at CAIR-Florida. At the time, Shibly was one of the most prominent leaders of CAIR, nationwide.
This past October, Shibly was featured in videos sponsored by ICNA Relief, the social services division of ICNA. The article that I wrote for FrontPage, titled ‘Ex-CAIR Hassan Shibly’s New Terror-Linked Shills, ICNA and MAS,’ was in response to both ICNA and the Muslim American Society’s (MAS) embrace of Shibly so soon following his domestic violence scandal and his abrupt departure from CAIR.
Shibly reacted to my piece with a disdainful post on Twitter. His post evasively left out anything regarding his scandal and attempted to cancel all my information – every bit of which was backed up by proof – with the bogus “Islamophobia” label. He wrote, “LOL I love how the Islamophobia’s publish regular hit pieces highlighting all the charitable work Allah blesses me to do as if it’s a bad thing.”
The “charitable work” Shibly is most probably referencing is the fundraising he was doing on the videos to, according to ICNA, assist Florida victims of Hurricane Ian. While this would normally be viewed as a virtuous cause, ICNA, it must be noted, is a radical Muslim organization, and any charitable work that is done with or for ICNA should be considered tainted by terrorism.
ICNA is an active partner/donor to the Pakistani Hamas financier Al-Khidmat Foundation (AKF). ICNA has promoted Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF), a banned front for Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), the culprit of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. ICNA has spent over 30 years harboring and placing in top ICNA leadership positions Ashrafuzzaman Khan, a death squad commander from the 1971 Bangladesh genocide. ICNA Relief USA’s Government Affairs Coordinator, Syed Ammar Ahmed, once joked about threatening to blow up a school. And the ex-webmaster for ICNA’s Southeast division, Syed Khawer Ahmad, was a website designer for Hamas.
Of course, Shibly does not wish for any of this to be written about or spoken of. Given his own level of fanaticism, why would he? He just conveniently dismisses any exposure as “Islamophobia.”
However, it is not “Islamophobia” to point any of this out. Nor is it Islamophobia to discuss Shibly’s alleged domestic violence or to question why any group would wish to associate with him so soon after his scandal. These are legitimate concerns that should be examined and investigated.
Beila Rabinowitz, Director of Militant Islam Monitor, contributed to this report.
'Unacceptable': Biden Administration Opposes Jewish Prayer at Jerusalem Holy Site
Latest stance contributes to growing rift between Biden admin, new Israeli government
The Biden administration says it would be "unacceptable" for Israel to end the restriction on Jewish prayer at the Temple Mount and it would oppose any effort to disrupt the "historic status quo" that only allows Muslims to pray at the site. The stance is a blow to diplomatic relations between the United States and the newly installed Israeli government and signals the Biden administration intends to call out the Jewish state on issues other administrations might address behind closed doors.
When asked by the Washington Free Beacon this week if the Biden administration would back changes proposed by conservative Israeli leaders that would allow Jews to pray at the holy site revered by both Muslims and Jews, a State Department spokesman said it is "unacceptable" for Israel to depart from longstanding policies.
"The United States stands firmly for preservation of the historic status quo with respect to the holy sites in Jerusalem," the spokesman said. "Any unilateral actions that depart from the historic status quo is unacceptable."
The Biden administration’s tough diplomatic stance is leading to concerns about a growing rift between the United States and Israel. President Joe Biden sparked criticism last year when he did not immediately phone Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to congratulate him on his election win, which observers saw as a sign of chilly relations between the world leaders. The Biden administration also launched an FBI investigation into the death of a Palestinian-American journalist, despite Israel and the State Department determining the killing was accidental. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was also dispatched in early December to headline a conference organized by J Street, a leading anti-Israel group working to oppose Netanyahu’s government.
The Biden administration’s willingness to join the international chorus of Israel bashers has sparked outrage among pro-Israel lawmakers in Congress and former U.S. officials who see the United States as distancing itself from the Jewish state.
"Should it really be this difficult for the U.S. government to publicly affirm that Jews have a right to visit the holiest site in their religion?" said Richard Goldberg, a former White House National Security Council official who serves as a senior adviser to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank. "Is the policy of the State Department: Freedom of religion for all except Jews?"
The Temple Mount—a religious area in Jerusalem’s Old City—emerged as a flashpoint in U.S.-Israel relations earlier this month when Israeli leader Itamar Ben-Gvir visited the area and suggested Israel could shift policy to allow Jews to pray at the site.
Longstanding policy has allowed both Jews and Muslims to visit the site, but only Muslims are allowed to pray there. This "historic status quo," as it is known in diplomatic parlance, was enacted to prevent violence from breaking out on the Temple Mount area, frequently a site where Palestinians revolt against the Israeli government. Ben-Gvir, a national security minister in Netanyahu’s conservative government, signaled during his visit that the Temple Mount’s status could change under the Netanyahu administration.
When pressed to expand on its stance, specifically whether Jews have a right to visit and pray on the Temple Mount, the State Department spokesman said, "It is not up to the United States to define the historic status quo. That is a question for the parties."
Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement that the Biden administration has a "pathological obsession with undermining Israel [and] is endangering the national security of America and our allies."
"It should not be controversial for a Jew to visit the holiest site in Judaism," Cruz said.
Jews are permitted to visit the Temple Mount, but prayer is specifically verboten. Ben-Gvir, while visiting the site this month, said, "We don’t give in. We don’t surrender. We don’t blink." He also told the Wall Street Journal in a recent interview, "Why are Arabs permitted to worship and Jews forbidden? I want equal rights."
Ben-Gvir’s actions prompted an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council last week, which accused Israel of breaching the longstanding agreement that restricts Jews from praying on the Temple Mount. The Biden administration, which scolded Israel after Ben-Gvir’s visit, said it is ready to reiterate its opposition to any change in the status-quo governing the site.
"If a member of the U.N. Security Council requests a meeting on this issue, we will be ready to reiterate our views to our fellow Security Council members," the State Department told the Free Beacon.
Israeli officials lambasted the session, claiming that Ben-Gvir’s visit was not part of a bid to stoke tensions with the Arab world.
"Minister Ben-Gvir’s recent visit to the Temple Mount was not an incursion into al-Aqsa or any other fabrication that the Palestinians branded his visit as," Israeli ambassador to the U.N. Gilad Erdan said during last week’s session. "Minister Ben-Gvir’s visit was in line with the status quo, and whoever claims otherwise is only inflaming the situation."
"Jews," Erdan added, "are allowed to visit the Temple Mount. Every Jew!"
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