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U.S. Muslim leader denies he's terrorist sympathizer

Appointment to congressional panel withdrawn

July 29, 1999
Web posted at: 1:18 p.m. EDT (1718 GMT)


In this story:

'Such a man should not be on the committee'
Gephardt: Security clearance would take too long
Muslims, Jews defend Al-Marayati

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Caught in a firestorm of controversy, Salam Al-Marayati, director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council in Los Angeles, is busy defending himself. His appointment to a congressional panel on terrorism now withdrawn, Al-Marayati says he has been unjustly branded a terrorist sympathizer.

"Because we've been critical of policies in Israel, that has been confused with sympathizing with terrorists," he told CNN.

House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt, D-Missouri, picked Al-Marayati in June for the 10-member congressional commission charged with reviewing U.S. policies on terrorism, then changed his mind.

'Such a man should not be on the committee'

Some Jewish leaders and several members of Congress objected, saying the 38-year-old nominee had justified acts of terror against Israel and the United States.

Gephardt and Al-Marayati
Gephardt, left, and Al-Marayati  

"Members of Congress that we and others approached and showed the writings and the views of Salam Al-Marayati were appalled by these writings," said Morton Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America.

"(They) very readily said that such a man should not be on the committee working to prevent and fight terrorism," said Klein, who spearheaded the effort to have Al-Marayati removed.

The appointment also had been challenged by the American Jewish Congress, the Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee.

David A. Harris, executive director of the American Jewish Committee, said Al-Marayati for a number of years had justified and minimized acts of terrorism against Israel and the United States.

Gephardt: Security clearance would take too long

Within weeks of announcing the appointment, Gephardt withdrew it -- but for another reason.

couple
Salam Al-Marayati, with wife Leila and their son, Malek  

Gephardt was unavailable to talk to CNN, but in a letter this month to House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R- Illinois, Gephardt said the Muslim leader had been recommended to him as having extensive public service experience and being involved in interfaith dialogue.

Gephardt said, however, the appointment was subsequently questioned, and since a security check could take a year, twice as long as the life of the commission, he was withdrawing the nomination.

The reasoning rings false to Al-Marayati.

"If there is a political will, there is a way to expedite the security clearance," he told CNN.

"When we criticize Arab governments, we're objective and fair. When we criticize the Israeli government, that's when we're branded as anti-Semite," says Al-Marayati, who is known as a moderate among American Muslim leaders.

His wife, Leila, recently was appointed to the U.S. Commission on Religious Freedom.

Muslims, Jews defend Al-Marayati

The Council on American-Islamic Relations denounced Gephardt's decision and said he had bowed to political pressure.

"This reversal by Representative Gephardt will only serve to institutionalize discrimination against American Muslims and their leaders," the council said in a statement. "Muslims have been widely stereotyped using the issue of terrorism, and it is therefore essential that a credible Muslim voice be heard."

Rabbi Fields
Fields, right, calls the withdrawal of Al-Marayati's appointment "greatly disappointing"  

The Muslim Public Affairs Council called on Hastert and Gephardt to reinstate their director "and allow the country to hear a Muslim voice" on the commission.

It accused the "pro-Israel lobby" of manipulating discussion of an important issue, and said the Jewish groups that opposed Al-Marayati were "extreme Zionist organizations" trying to establish a pro-Israel litmus test for any Muslim considered for national service.

Gephardt's move has also prompted Jewish leaders in Los Angeles to speak up on Al-Marayati's behalf.

Rabbi Harvey Fields of Wilshire Temple in Los Angeles called the nomination withdrawal "greatly disappointing."

Even more disappointing, Fields said, was the reaction of "some of the national Jewish leadership and what it attempted to do."

In his letter, Gephardt said Al-Marayati "is prepared to provide input to the commission on matters of interest and concern to the American Muslim community."

In the meantime, aides say Gephardt is close to naming a replacement, so the commission can begin its work.

Correspondent Jennifer Auther and The Associated Press contributed to this report, written by Jim Morris.



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Thursday, July 29, 1999

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