The Dual Life of a Pro-Terror Activist

FrontPageMagazine by Joe Kaufman | Thursday - February 12, 2009

Ahmed Bedier leads a dual life. As President of the Tampa/Hillsborough County Human Rights Council (THHRC), he enjoys the fortune of being mistaken by government officials and media personalities for a civil rights leader. The rest of the time, Bedier portrays his real self, an Islamist whose existence is devoted to hatred of Israel. Now, he has started a new group to fool the masses, United Voices for America (UVA). How long will those in positions of influence continue to fail to recognize the other side of Ahmed Bedier?

On February 6, 2008, a song invaded the Tampa, Florida, airwaves about “Palestine.” According to the vocalist, it was sung “in honor of our shahids” – shahid, meaning a holy martyr or an individual seeking death (suicide) in the cause of Allah, a term most widely used in association with terrorists. What followed the tune was an anti-Israel hatefest, the same hatefest that is heard week after week on WMNF-FM’s True Talk, a Muslim talk show hosted by Bedier and his cohort, Samar Jarrah.

Bedier has been involved with radical Islam since at least 2002, when he was the Outreach Director for the Islamic Society of Pinellas County (ISPC), a mosque whose website features material calling for violence against Jews. After the stint with ISPC, much of Bedier’s life has centered around organizations and individuals connected to and in support of anti-Israel terrorist groups overseas, including Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and Hezbollah.

Bedier and Hamas

In February 2003, Bedier began working for the Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Florida), soon to become the group’s Communications Director. In December of 2003, CAIR opened a separate office in Tampa, and Bedier was named its Executive Director. All of this was subsequent to CAIR’s involvement in the funding of Hamas, which took place prior to December of 2001, when Hamas’s American financing wing, the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF), was shut down by the U.S. government. CAIR was named as a co-conspirator in the 2008 HLF trial, where all of the defendants were found guilty of all charges.

Bedier left CAIR in May 2008, but that hadn’t stopped his association with those who support Hamas. On December 30, 2008, he joined hundreds of others in a pro-Hamas demonstration in Tampa, one of a number of similar protests which took place on the same date across the nation. The event, which was organized in large part by the extremist Muslim American Society (MAS), featured signs that read “End Zionism” and “Zionism is Cancer; Radiate It.” Additionally, some participants at the protest donned keffiyehs, Palestinian symbols of violence worn as scarves.

Bedier and PIJ

When Bedier joined CAIR in February of 2003, it was no coincidence that that same month terrorist and former University of South Florida (USF) professor Sami al-Arian had been taken into custody by the FBI. Al-Arian, along with others, was indicted for his leadership role within PIJ. Al-Arian founded a mosque, a children’s school, a think tank, and a charity all in the name of furthering PIJ operations at home and abroad. Since al-Arian’s activities were based in Tampa, Bedier was the perfect person to be brought in as his “unofficial spokesman.”

Bedier held press conferences voicing concern about the government’s treatment of al-Arian. As well, Bedier allowed his radio show to be used as a propaganda tool for al-Arian’s family and his PIJ colleagues.

In December 2005, Bedier appeared on local Fox 13 WTVT’s Your Turn with Kathy Fountain to discuss al-Arian’s legal troubles. During the show, Bedier was asked if he believed that al-Arian’s involvement with PIJ was immoral, to which he replied, “To a certain degree. Now, before 1995 there was nothing immoral about it.” This, while PIJ had taken credit for five terrorist attacks before 1995, including one suicide bombing, which resulted in the deaths of eight innocent people.

Bedier and Hezbollah

When it comes to controversial topics brought up on Bedier’s radio show, many times Bedier speaks through his guests. On July 21, 2006, in the course of Israel’s war in Lebanon against Hezbollah, Bedier’s entire show was devoted to lauding the terrorist group. All three of his invitees heaped praise on Hezbollah, such as:

• “I’m not very good at being brief about Hezbollah, but I’ll try. I’ll just say that it’s not at all the picture that is portrayed of it in the West, as some sort of cartoonish terrorist group. It is a liberation movement in many senses for the Lebanese Shia that has huge support, probably more than any party in Lebanon… It has quite a clean record, and its leader, Hasan Nasrallah, is revered probably by most Lebanese as a fairly eloquent and capable leader.”
• “Let everyone understand that Hezbollah is not a building, Hezbollah is [not] a street. Hezbollah is composed of families that believe in liberation, families that believe [in] dignity, families that believe [in] purpose.”
• “They have been trying to invade Lebanon since the first day. Yesterday alone, there was a 20-hour battle between the Israeli army and the National Resistance Movement of Hezbollah. For 20 hours they fought. This speaks volumes about the heroic nature of Hezbollah.”
• “The fact of the matter is that Hezbollah has a lot of the voice of the people here, so ultimately Hezbollah’s voice needs to be heard. You can’t just keep shutting it away, because it’s always gonna rise again.”

All three of the groups mentioned – Hamas, PIJ and Hezbollah – are found on the U.S. State Department’s list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs), yet Bedier has sought to surround himself with individuals and groups associated with and in support of them. This is troubling in itself, but what makes it more so is the fact that Bedier has persisted in his quest to gain access to those in positions of power and influence.

As President of the Tampa/Hillsborough County Human Rights Council, Bedier has had unwarranted interaction with the Tampa Mayor’s office, which has provided a personal liaison to his group. He has also been granted accreditation by members of the media, who mistakenly consider him a legitimate source of information. Now, Bedier is looking to expand his sinister ambitions with a brand new group he established, a political advocacy organization called United Voices for America.

On March 9th and 10th, Bedier and his UVA will be hosting what he calls a “Lobby Day” in Tallahassee, the location of the Florida legislature. According to a February 9th letter he had e-mailed, the event, entitled “Florida Muslim Capitol Day,” will provide members of his organization a “unique opportunity of speaking directly with your elected legislators and [this] empowers us collectively to change Florida.”

The change which Ahmed Bedier seeks for Florida, given his extensive terrorist ties, can and should be viewed as a threat to America, her ally Israel and Israel’s backers in the Sunshine State, which as of now includes most if not all of the Representatives and Senators he is targeting. If Bedier has his way, those in office will turn their backs on America’s friend abroad. It is incumbent upon all to recognize the true nature of this man, for a man with dangerous intentions, such as Bedier has, will never stop until he is convincingly turned away.

Joe Kaufman is the Chairman of Americans Against Hate, the founder of CAIR Watch, and the spokesman for Terror-Free Oil Initiative.

Islamist Masquerading as Human Rights Leader

FrontPageMagazine by Joe Kaufman | Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Ahmed Bedier, the former Executive Director of the Tampa office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Tampa), is now the President of the Tampa/Hillsborough County Human Rights Council (THHRC), a group that the local Tampa government has involvement with. Given Bedier’s lengthy extremist past, isn’t this a conflict of interest for the city?

Bedier first arrived on the scene with CAIR, a group with deep ties to Hamas, in February of 2003. February 2003 was also the month that federal authorities took Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) operative and co-founder of CAIR’s parent organization, the Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP), Sami Al-Arian, into custody. It seems that this was no mere coincidence, for all throughout Al-Arian’s ordeal, Bedier was his unofficial spokesperson in the media. Anytime anything regarding Al-Arian came up, it was Bedier who was there to discuss the matter. Al-Arian was part of Tampa, and CAIR had its guy in Tampa to defend him.

Bedier was with CAIR for over five years, ending his association last May. During that time, CAIR was named in two federal trials brought by the U.S. Justice Department, one as a co-conspirator and the other as a supporter of terrorists. As well, in that time, three of CAIR’s former representatives were convicted of terror-related crimes. One, Randall Todd “Ismail” Royer, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for plotting to go overseas to join Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Pakistani group responsible for the recent attacks on Mumbai, India.

Besides Al-Arian, another terror-related individual that Bedier acted as spokesperson for is Ahmed Abdellatif Sherif Mohamed, who was sentenced last week to 15 years in prison for creating a video showing would-be terrorists how to turn a remote-control toy into a bomb detonator. Mohamed, along with Youssef Samir Megahed, two Tampa-area students, were indicted in August of 2007 for transporting explosive materials across state lines. Bedier claimed that their arrests amounted to nothing more than ‘racial profiling’ due to their Middle-Eastern backgrounds.

The video that Mohamed got in trouble for was produced for YouTube. Bedier, himself, has produced videos for YouTube, one of which featured an individual at a July 2006 rally stating to a cheering crowd, “What we pray all the time is that the state of Israel be dismantled, totally dismantled...” Bedier's YouTube account was later suspended for a “Terms of Use” violation, and all of his videos were removed. Today, Bedier has a new YouTube account, which apparently attracts extremists, as one of his “Subscribers” uses the Hezbollah logo for an icon.

Bedier has utilized the radio show that he has co-hosted since July of 2005, True Talk on WMNF, to defend Al-Arian and the two student radicals. On his show, he has provided their attorneys and members of their families a forum to speak. Primarily, though, Bedier’s radio show is used to give voice to those who vehemently hate Israel, which includes those who support anti-Israel terrorists. An entire show, in July of 2006, was devoted to promoting Hezbollah, and all three of his guests lauded the terror group, one calling it “heroic.”

No longer with CAIR, today Bedier heads up a new organization. He is President of the Tampa/Hillsborough County Human Rights Council (THHRC), a volunteer position voted in by the group’s membership. And just as its name implies, the group’s mission is to advocate for the human rights of the community. Yet, with someone such as Bedier, one has to question how that is possible.

Speaking as the THHRC President, Bedier, earlier this month, appeared on Fox-13’s Your Turn to discuss the Mumbai attacks. During the program, he implied that America was responsible for the terrorist training camps located in Pakistan, in effect blaming the U.S. for the attacks. He stated, “[I]t goes back to who created those training camps, and it goes back to the United States’ involvement in that area, when it was convenient to support these militant groups when they were at war against the Soviets and supporting activity in Afghanistan.”

Bedier had been on Your Turn prior to this. On one of his appearances, in December of 2005, he uttered a statement that has since become notorious. When asked if it is immoral to associate with Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), he replied, “To a certain degree. Now, before 1995 there was nothing immoral about it.” This, while PIJ, prior to 1995, had carried out five terrorist attacks, which included a suicide bombing, resulting in the murders of eight innocent people. As well, in May of 2004, when given the chance, Bedier refused to condemn PIJ as a terrorist organization.

Bedier’s position in the THHRC poses a troublesome conflict with the local Tampa government, as the city openly supports the group. In fact, the Mayor’s office has designated a liaison to the council. This has been a disturbing trend from Mayor Pam Iorio, who last month issued a Proclamation declaring November 15th “CAIR Day,” the fourth year in a row she had awarded CAIR such recognition.

Given Bedier’s extremist past, how could the local government continue to have a relationship with the THHRC? In good conscience, it can’t, and that is why it is this author’s opinion that the city of Tampa end its association with the group – at least until Bedier steps down or the THHRC membership seeks his removal.

Tampa needs to consider the interests and wellbeing of its citizens. It cannot do this, if it is supporting an entity whose leader is someone who propagates hatred and support for those who commit violent acts – in the guise of a religion, hidden behind the label of human rights.

Beila Rabinowitz, Director of Militant Islam Monitor, contributed to this report.

Joe Kaufman is the Chairman of Americans Against Hate, the founder of CAIR Watch, and the spokesman for Terror-Free Oil Initiative.

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FBI Cuts Off CAIR Over Hamas Questions

IPT News by Mary Jacoby

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The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has cut off contacts with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) amid mounting concern about the Muslim advocacy group's roots in a Hamas-support network, the Investigative Project on Terrorism has learned.

The decision to end contacts with CAIR was made quietly last summer as federal prosecutors prepared for a second trial of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF), an Islamic charity accused of providing money and political support to the terrorist group Hamas, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

CAIR and its chairman emeritus, Omar Ahmad, were named un-indicted co-conspirators in the HLF case. Both Ahmad and CAIR's current national executive director, Nihad Awad, were revealed on government wiretaps as having been active participants in early Hamas-related organizational meetings in the United States. During testimony, FBI agent Lara Burns described CAIR as a front organization.

Hamas is a US-designated foreign terrorist organization, and it's been illegal since 1995 to provide support to it within the United States.

The decision to end contacts with CAIR is a significant policy change for the FBI. For years, the FBI worked with the national organization and its state chapters to address Muslim community concerns about the potential for hate crimes and other civil liberty violations in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

But critics said the FBI improperly conferred legitimacy on CAIR by meeting with its officials, even as its own investigative files contained evidence of CAIR leaders' ties to Hamas.

Last autumn, FBI field offices began notifying state CAIR chapters that bureau officials could no longer meet with them until CAIR's national leadership in Washington had addressed issues raised by the HLF trial, according to people with knowledge of the notifications.

CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper declined to comment Wednesday when the IPT called for comment. Before hanging up, Hooper said "We're more than happy to cooperate with legitimate media. But we don't cooperate with those who promote anti-Muslim bigotry."

In one letter obtained by IPT News, James E. Finch, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Oklahoma City field office, canceled a meeting of the local Muslim Community Outreach Program, a state-federal program designed to enlist Muslims in terrorism prevention and investigate reports of civil liberties violations.

"Regrettably, due to circumstances beyond my control, the meeting will be postponed until further notice as a result of the planned participation by the Oklahoma chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations," Finch's Oct. 8, 2008 letter to Muslim groups in the Oklahoma outreach program said.

Finch made clear the Oklahoma office valued its relationship with local Muslims. He said the stumbling block to further outreach was CAIR's national leadership.

"[I]f CAIR wishes to pursue an outreach relationship with the FBI, certain issues must be addressed to the satisfaction of the FBI. Unfortunately, these issues cannot be addressed at the local level and must be addressed by the CAIR National Office in Washington, D.C.," the letter said.

A spokesman for the FBI's Oklahoma City office referred questions about the letter to the FBI's national press office. In Washington, FBI spokesman John Miller said, "We've certainly been in contact with CAIR chapters" about the un-indicted co-conspirator designation. "The letter speaks for itself."

Letters with similar wording were sent in other states, people with knowledge of the matter said. It is not known how many letters were issued, but the FBI has had strong working relationships with CAIR chapters in states including Ohio, Michigan, Arizona and Florida.

Hamas was formed in 1987 as the Palestinian wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, the global Islamic political movement that aims to spread the rule of Shariah, or Islamic law, throughout the world.

A North American branch of the Brotherhood supervised HLF, CAIR and other organizations to build political, financial and public relations support for Hamas, evidence at the HLF trial showed.

The U.S.-based Brotherhood formed a Palestine Committee, headed by Hamas official Mousa Abu Marzook, in 1988 during the first intifada uprising in Palestinian territories against Israel. Hamas's stated policy is for the destruction of Israel.

CAIR co-founders Ahmad and Awad were early active members of the Palestine Committee, evidence showed. Wiretaps recorded the two CAIR leaders participating in strategy meetings of the committee in the 1990s, and both were also on a phone list of its members, the evidence showed.

The first HLF trial in Texas ended in a mistrial in October 2007. In November 2008, the second trial resulted in convictions of five former HLF officials on all counts of providing material support to Hamas.

It is unclear what changed between the first and second HLF trials to make the FBI rescind its policy of outreach to CAIR. The un-indicted co-conspirator designations were made on May 27, 2007 in connection with the first HLF trial. Moreover, much of the evidence linking the CAIR officials to Hamas was aired in an earlier public trial in 2006.

CAIR, however, vigorously challenged the un-indicted co-conspirator designation as a violation of its First and Fifth Amendment rights, accusing the government of "demonization of all things Muslim" in a brief filed in the summer of 2007 with the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

The co-conspirator designation is "particularly insidious and ironic as CAIR is an organization dedicated to fostering acceptance of Muslims in American society and protecting the civil liberties of all Muslim Americans," CAIR's brief read.

The government filed a brief on Sept. 4, 2007 opposing CAIR's filing, arguing the group lacked standing to challenge the co-conspirator designation and that the matter was moot, as the evidence was already entered into the public record. The judge never ruled on CAIR's request.

The HLF trial showed that CAIR was formed to covertly influence US opinions of the Palestinian conflict and Islam, but without revealing its connections to Hamas.

For example, prosecutors introduced transcripts of wiretaps from a 1993 meeting in Philadelphia of the Palestine Committee,called to order by Ahmad (see page 10 of the hyperlink) and attended by Awad. In that meeting, Ahmad and others discussed the need to create a new political organization seemingly unconnected to Hamas or the Brotherhood.

In one excerpt, (see page 4 of the link) an unidentified male said: "We must form a new organization for activism which will be neutral, because we are placed in a corner, we are place in a corner. It is known who we are, we are marked and I believe there should be a new neutral organization which works on both sides."

CAIR was founded a year later, in 1994, by Ahmad and Awad. In March 1994, Awad was taped at Miami's Barry University publicly declaring his support for Hamas: "I am in support of the Hamas movement more than the PLO," Awad said.

A July 30, 1994 agenda for the Palestine Committee, seized by federal agents and introduced at trial, showed that "suggestions to develop the work" of HLF, CAIR and other organizations was on the agenda.

Under the heading "The need for trained resources in the media and political fields," the agenda said: "No doubt America is the ideal location to train the necessary resources to support the Movement worldwide."

By 1995, CAIR was conducting public relations work to counter the US detention of Mousa Abu Marzook, the Hamas official and Palestine Committee member who was also head of the Muslim Brotherhood in the US.

A transcript of an August 1995 phone call intercepted by government investigators showed HLF officials Shukri Abu Baker and Ghassan Elashi talking about CAIR's efforts (see page 12 of the link).

Days before the 2001 terrorist attacks, the FBI raided the offices of Infocom, a Texas internet company connected to HLF. CAIR's Nihad Awad appeared at a press conference outside Infocom headquarters to denounce what he called an "anti-Muslim witch hunt."

CAIR remained a vocal player in the public debate after 9/11. It developed relationships with members of Congress. FBI officials frequently attended CAIR fundraising banquets, and CAIR cited such contacts in its own literature and Web site as evidence of its good standing with the government.

Mary Jacoby is an award winning reporter who has worked for the Wall Street Journal, Salon.com, the St. Petersburg Times, Chicago Tribune and Roll Call. She may be reached at writetomaryjacoby@gmail.com

For more on CAIR's roots and its history of attacking law enforcement investigations and supporting Islamic terrorists, see the IPT's dossier on the group. Check back at the IPT website tomorrow for a report on CAIR's consistent refusal to condemn terrorist organizations and its rationalization of suicide bombings.