Author | Paul David Gaubatz and Paul Sperry |
---|---|
Cover artist | Linda Daly |
Language | English |
Subject | Islamic terrorism, Nonfiction |
Publisher | WND Books |
Publication date | October 15, 2009 (1st edition) |
Media type | Hardcover; electronic |
Pages | 448 |
ISBN | 978-1-935071-10-5 |
320.5/57 | |
LC Class | BP173.7 .G38 2009 |
Muslim Mafia: Inside the Secret Underworld That's Conspiring to Islamize America is a 2009 book by Paul David Gaubatz and Paul Sperry. [1] [2] According to the Charlotte Observer , it "portrays the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as a subversive organization allied with international terrorists." [3]
The book prompted endorsements from a number of conservative writers and requests by several conservative members of the United States Congress for investigations into CAIR's possible terrorist links and undue influence. It also prompted denouncements from CAIR, media outlets and other members of Congress. The manner in which its source documents were obtained led CAIR to sue one of the authors.
The book is based on a six-month undercover investigation of the Washington-based CAIR by Chris Gaubatz—son of co-author Paul David Gaubatz—who posed as a convert to Islam. The book uses documents Chris Gaubatz obtained as a CAIR intern to support the book's assertions that CAIR is a front for the Muslim Brotherhood, and that CAIR supports international jihad against the U.S.
With a foreword by U.S. Congresswoman Sue Myrick (Republican, North Carolina), the book attracted endorsements from three other Congressmen—Trent Franks (Republican, Arizona), John Shadegg (Republican, Arizona), and Paul Broun (Republican, Georgia)—as well as media attention beginning with its release in mid-October 2009. [4] [5] [6] [7]
The four Congressmen then wrote Attorney General Eric Holder on October 21, 2009, saying that in light of the book's claims of CAIR attempting to influence national security policy within Congress, they were very concerned about CAIR's relationships with terrorist groups, and requesting that the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) provide each Congressman a summary of DOJ's evidence and findings that led DOJ to name CAIR an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation terrorism trial. [8]
Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez (Democrat, California), "appalled" by the situation created by the book and the four Republican endorsements, said "I urge the rest of my colleagues to join me in denouncing this witch hunt, which is clearly intended to create fear and distrust in our Capitol Hill community." [9] [10] The book and its endorsement from the four Congressmen were denounced on the House floor by Congressman Keith Ellison (Democrat, Minnesota), the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Congress, in a speech that included a statement by the House's Tri-Caucus (consisting of about 87 House members), officially entered into the Congressional Record and broadcast on C-SPAN on October 26, 2009. [11] [12]
The four Republican Congressmen, joined by Senator Tom Coburn (Republican, Oklahoma) and Congressman Patrick McHenry (Republican, North Carolina), then wrote IRS Commissioner Douglas H. Shulman on November 16, 2009, asking that CAIR be investigated for excessive lobbying and failing to register as a lobbying organization. [13]
In the wake of the Fort Hood shooting, the book received an editorial endorsement from former Congressman Tom Tancredo (Republican, Colorado), writing in the November 6 edition of The Denver Post . [14]
Arab-American comedian Dean Obeidallah poked fun at the book, writing on October 14, 2009, in The Huffington Post that "a 'Muslim Mafia' does sound cool on some level. Americans love mafia shows, so this 'Muslim Mafia' could inspire the first show on US TV to star Muslims. Or maybe I like the term 'Muslim Mafia' so much because my father is Muslim and my mom is Sicilian. With this pedigree, I'm a shoe-in[ sic ] for a top position in the 'Muslim Mafia.'" [15] A highly critical opinion piece in Dubai's Khaleej Times opined that the book's "attack" on Muslim congressional interns and CAIR was "probably more politically significant" than the Fort Hood shooting." [16] Bahrain's Gulf Daily News called the book "extremely biased". [17] The TPMMuckraker also reported on the book and its reception, quoting Suhail Khan, the Fellow for Muslim-Christian Understanding at the Institute for Global Engagement, as saying: "Some perfectly well-meaning members—Myrick, Shadegg, Broun, and Franks, who I've met and are good people—have been really duped by this Gaubatz character." [18] [19] [20]
In November 2009 the book received further attention when federal judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ordered several of the book's source documents removed from Gaubatz's website, after CAIR brought a federal civil lawsuit against Gaubatz and his son (who had obtained the documents as a CAIR intern) for stealing the documents. [3] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly concluded that the Gaubatzs "unlawfully obtained access to, and have already caused repeated public disclosure of, material containing CAIR's proprietary, confidential and privileged information," which CAIR says included names, addresses, telephone numbers and e-mail addresses of CAIR employees and donors. As a result, the judge ordered Gaubatz to remove certain documents from his website. Judge Kollar-Kotelly also said that CAIR's employees reported a dramatic increase in the number of threats by email, letter, or phone by since the release of Gaubatz's book. [3]
Gaubatz agreed in early November to return more than 12,000 pages of CAIR records while the judge considered the lawsuit, but in late November before he could do so the U.S. Government, which previously had no role in the lawsuit, filed a sealed motion in the case and agents from the FBI served the Gaubatzes' attorneys with a grand jury subpoena demanding the records. [26]
Other media sources carrying commentary on the book included Politico , which reported on CAIR's lawsuit against the Gaubatzs, noting: "In an interesting twist, despite the book's harsh claims that CAIR is part of a 'jihadist network,' the suit does not allege libel or defamation". [27]
The Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR) is a Muslim civil rights and advocacy group. It is headquartered on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., with regional offices nationwide. Through civil rights actions, media relations, civic engagement, and education, CAIR's stated purpose is to promote social, legal and political activism among Muslims in America.
The Club for Growth is a 501(c)(4) conservative organization active in the United States, with an agenda focused on tax cuts and other economic policy issues.
Harold Trent Franks is an American businessman and former politician who served as the U.S. representative for Arizona's 8th congressional district from 2003 to 2017. He is a member of the Republican Party. During his tenure, Franks served as vice chairman of the United States House Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces and chairman of the United States House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.
John Barden Shadegg is an American politician and former U.S. representative for Arizona's 3rd congressional district, serving from 1995 until 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party.
The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) is the Republican Hill committee which works to elect Republicans to the United States House of Representatives.
Peter Thomas King is an American former politician who represented New York in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1993 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he represented a South Shore Long Island district that includes parts of Nassau County and Suffolk County and was numbered as the 3rd and later the 2nd district.
Nihad Awad is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
Colleen Constance Kollar-Kotelly is an American lawyer serving as a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia and was previously presiding judge of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.
The North American Islamic Trust (NAIT) is based in Plainfield, Indiana, owns Islamic properties and promotes waqf in North America. Many Muslim institutions founded by immigrants who arrived in the US during the 1960s have roots in the Muslim Students Association where they were college activists. In the 1970s and thereafter, NAIT helped provide college students with a place to provide worship services. NAIT does not provide any financial or other monetary support to the Muslim Student Association. NAIT serves as the trustee of about 200 Islamic centers, mosques and schools. The properties of those mosques are estimated to be worth in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center is a mosque in Northern Virginia. It is located in the Seven Corners area of unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.
Allen Bernard West is an American politician and retired military officer. A member of the Republican Party, West represented Florida's 22nd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 2011 to 2013 and served as the chairman of the Republican Party of Texas from 2020 to 2021.
Jamal al Barzinji was a Kurdish-American businessman, associated with the International Institute of Islamic Thought, the World Assembly of Muslim Youth, and the SAAR Foundation.
Anthony Robert Martin-Trigona, usually known as Andy Martin, is an American perennial candidate who has never been elected to office, running as both a Democrat and a Republican.
From 2011 to 2012, Ron Paul, a U.S. representative from Texas, unsuccessfully ran for the 2012 Republican Party nomination for the president of the United States.
The Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT) is a non-profit research group founded by Steven Emerson in 1995. IPT has been called a prominent part of the "Islamophobia network" within the United States and a "leading source of anti-Muslim racism" and noted for its record of selective reporting and poor scholarship.
John R. Bennett is an American politician who served as the chairman of the Oklahoma Republican Party from April 2021 to April 2022 and as a member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 2011 until 2019.
American Muslims often face Islamophobia and racialization due to stereotypes and generalizations ascribed to them. Due to this, Islamophobia is both a product of and a contributor to the United States' racial ideology, which is founded on socially constructed categories of profiled features, or how people seem.
Paul E. Sperry is an American author, writer and conservative investigative journalist. He is currently a reporter for RealClearInvestigations.
Chris Allen Gaubatz is an American national security consultant who is known for posing as an intern for the Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR) in order to gather information on the group's inner workings, which were published in the 2009 book Muslim Mafia by his father Paul David Gaubatz and Paul Sperry.