The Arab News reports on a press conference in Saudi Arabia at the headquarters of the World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY), founded by the nephew of Osama bin Laden in the US, and under investigation since 1999 for links to terrorist groups including Hamas.

Attending this meeting were antisemitic ex-Congressman Paul Findley, and top representatives of the Council on American Islamic Relations—who announced they are launching a $50 million da’wa effort in the United States, with the eager assistance of US media: Media Campaign in US to Dispel Islamophobia.

RIYADH, 21 June 2006 — A survey conducted by Cornell University recently found that around half of Americans have a negative view of Islam and would like the US government to curtail the political activity of Muslims in the US.

Addressing a press conference at the headquarters of the World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY), Paul Findley, a former US Congressman, said that the cancer of anti-Muslim and anti-Islamic sentiments was spreading in American society and requires corrective measures to stamp out this malaise.

It was also announced that the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) would be launching a massive $50 million media campaign involving television, radio and newspapers as part of its five-year program to create a better understanding of Islam and Muslims in the US.

Referring to the anti-Islamic sentiments in the US, Findley said that the campaign was being spearheaded by a tiny but influential section of society, including some politicians, academics and opinion-makers. Findley commended CAIR’s initiative that he said could go a long way toward improving the image of Islam and Muslims, which has been badly dented in part due to the events of Sept. 11, 2001.

Speaking on his interaction with the US media, Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for CAIR, said that his own feeling was that American journalists are receptive to issues affecting Muslims. For this reason, nearly all American newspapers, print or online, refrained from reproducing the caricature of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) that were at the center of a controversy earlier this year. He said CAIR took advantage of the issue by distributing DVDs free of charge, bringing out a book on the Prophet, and launching an awareness campaign.

“All of this had a positive impact,” said Hooper.

Parvez Ahmed, CAIR chairman, spoke on what he described as the most “vicious attacks on Islam” he has ever seen in recent years, adding that the campaign is being orchestrated by a minority fringe element in the US seeking to drive a xenophobic wedge between Muslims and non-Muslims.

Speaking of WAMY, here’s a flash from the past that’s quite relevant in light of the Toronto terror arrests. In September 2003, we noted a report that WAMY was operating jihad camps in Ontario:

In an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Virginia, David Kane, a senior special agent with the Department of Homeland Security, quoted provocative sections of books published by WAMY. One of the books said, “Teach our children to love taking revenge on the Jews and the oppressors, and teach them that our youngsters will liberate Palestine and al-Quds [Jerusalem] when they go back to Islam and make jihad for the sake of Allah.”

Special Agent Kane said another book compiled and published by WAMY listed “Heroes of Palestine” who had been killed in attacks against Israelis, including a terrorist who hijacked a bus and drove it off a cliff, killing 14.

“The Jews are the enemies of the faithful, God and the angels,” Special Agent Kane quoted another WAMY book, entitled A Handy Encyclopedia of Contemporary Religions and Sects, as saying. “The Jews are humanity’s enemies; they foment immorality in this world; The Jews are deceitful, they say something but mean the exact opposite.”

WAMY Canada runs a series of Islamic camps and pilgrimages for youth.

A spokesman for WAMY Canada was not available for comment yesterday.

Special Agent Kane quoted from a publication prepared by the Camps and Conferences Unit of WAMY that said: “Hail! Hail! O Sacrificing Soldiers! To Us! To Us! So we may defend the flag on this Day of Jihad, are you miserly with your blood?! And has life become dearer to you? And staying behind sweeter?”

The special agent said 14- to 18-year-olds are the target audience for these teachings.

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