Grand Marshal, or Grand Prevaricator?

Joe Kaufman at Americans Against Hate was among the first to report that Minnesota's own esteemed U.S. congresscritter, Keith Ellison would be the Grand Marshall at New York City's Muslim Day Parade, sponsored in part by some fairly scary people:

The parade is being run by the Muslim Foundation of America (MFA), an organization located in the Astoria section of Queens that was founded in 1983, around the time of the first annual parade. In actuality, both the MFA and the parade appear to be the same entity with different names, as the MFA’s website, since it was first created in October of 2003, has been devoted almost entirely to discussing the parade.

Thousands are expected to attend this year’s event. In the past, the number of parade-goers has varied. While some participants may be coming out to experience a day of fun with their fellow religionists, others have an alternative agenda.

The Grand Marshal for the 2006 parade was Siraj Wahhaj, a Brooklyn imam who is known for his fiery speeches, including those that have been considered threatening to the United States. In February of 1995, Wahhaj was named – along with such people as Osama bin Laden and bin Laden’s mentor, Abdullah Azzam – as a potential co-conspirator to the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center.

Another Grand Marshal of a past parade was Muzzamil Siddiqi, the former President of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), a mosque umbrella organization that was recently named a co-conspirator to the financing of millions of dollars to Hamas. Siddiqi, like Wahhaj, has also verbally threatened the United States, stating in October of 2000, “America has to learn. If you remain on the side of injustice, the wrath of G-d will come.” There are pictures of Siddiqi speaking at the parade, on the MFA site.

Also pictured at the parade are:

• Ashrafuzzaman Khan, the ex-Secretary General of the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), which is one of the sponsors of the parade and a top donor to a Pakistani charity that has been providing tens of thousands of dollars to the head of Hamas, Khaled Mashaal. Khan is accused of being a death squad leader for Al-Badr, the Muslim Brotherhood of Pakistan’s former paramilitary wing, during the 1971 massacre that led to Bangladesh’s independence, believed to be personally responsible for the murders of seven Bengali teachers at Dhaka University.

• Dhabah “Debbie” Almontaser, the former Principal designate of the Khalil Gibran International Academy (KGIA), a controversial Arabic-language children’s school that is set to open its doors less than a week before the parade. Almontaser resigned from her position with KGIA, after it was discovered that a group she was affiliated with – the SABA Association of American Yemenis – had a connection to t-shirts calling for an intifada (violent uprising) in New York City. Almontaser defended the shirts by saying that they were an expression of solidarity with New York.

Ellison, being the up-front guy that he is, denies any knowledge of his being the Grand Marshal at the parade, despite the fact that two sites have had and/or have his picture prominently posted regarding the parade, and did indeed name Ellison as the grand marshal. On the first site, the parade organizers had this promotional banner:

Curiously, after the bru-haha that ensued when Joe Kaufman brought it to the attention of the American public, both Ellison's photo and mention of his name was removed.

However, another site still has Ellison named as the Grand Marshal (and continues to do so at the time of this posting):



Not only is Ellison blowing smoke regarding his affiliation with the less-than-moderate Muslim crowd, Ellison actually had the gall to accept a position on the new Congressional Anti-Semitism Task Force. This despite his refusal to denounce anti-semitic, "death to the Jews" propaganda put out by the Muslim American Society after being called upon to do so (See Gary Gross' Let Freedom Ring blog for more). Despite this, Ellison asserts, “I am honored to join the Congressional Anti-Semitism Task Force because it embodies the ideals and principles that have guided and shaped my life.”

Correct me if I'm wrong, but given this, isn't asking former Nation of Islam adherent Keith Ellison to join the Congressional Anti-Semitism Task Force a bit like asking Michael Moore to chair the Republican National Convention?

If he truly believes what his mouth preaches, then I call upon Mr. Ellison to immediately, and with extreme prejudice denounce the anti-Semitism put forth by the Islamic organizations with whom he has and continues to keep company. Any hesitancy on his part in doing so can lead one to conclude that Congressman Keith Ellison has no credibility on a committee that seeks to end anti-semitism; except, perhaps, as a subject of study.