ACTION ALERT: Voice Concern about Dr. Jasser’s Appointment to USCIRF

Contact Your Local Elected Official

March 29, 2012


MPAC urges all concerned citizens to contact their local elected officials and voice their concerns about the appointment of Dr. Zuhdi Jasser to the United States Commission on International Freedom (USCIRF).

SEE:Muslims Call New Religious Freedom Appointee a ‘Puppet’ for Islam Foes” (Washington Post)

Jasser is the founder and President of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, a Muslim American advocacy organization. He also is a board member and receives funding from the extremist group Clarion Fund, which has produced several anti-Islam films that warn of Muslim conspiracies and implicates Muslim Americans as attempting to re-establish a global caliphate.

As a private citizen, Jasser is free to express his views on Islam; however, as an appointee to a government commission that seeks to “monitor the status of freedom of religion or belief abroad and provide policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and Congress,” this is an affront to all Muslims.

Despite seeking to position himself as an authority on Muslim political movements and the interpretation of Islamic religious traditions, Jasser has no formal credentials to back up his authority.

Jasser’s biography on his organization’s website describes him as doctor with a medical degree, who specialized “in internal medicine and nuclear cardiology.” His biography makes not mention of a degree in Middle Eastern or Islamic Studies. In 2007, Jasser admitted he is “not a formal expert in Koranic Arabic, or in Sharia (Islamic jurisprudence).”

What makes his appointment worse is that Jasser’s lack of qualifications is coupled with actions that show he does not fully support religious freedom in America. His organization supports state-wide legislative bans on personal religious practices relating to marriage, prayer and wills.

Jasser’s appointment to USCRIF is counterproductive to America’s foundation and push for international religious freedom.

TAKE ACTION:

  • Visit Congress.org and enter your zip code to get all the necessary contact information for your elected representatives. In just five minutes, you can make a phone call and send an email voicing your concerns over his appointment and your support for America being the beacon of religious freedom.
  • Dr. Jasser is free to form and voice any opinions on Muslims and Islam, but to do so within a government capacity is wrong and appropriate actions to rectify the situation should happen.
  • His appointment to USCIRF is disturbing considering his serious lack of qualifications on Islam in general and religious freedom specifically.

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