American Muslims Repudiate Zawahri's Racist Slurs

WASHINGTON D.C.

The American Muslim Taskforce on Civil Rights and Elections (AMT), a
national coalition of major Muslim American groups, today joined many of its
member organizations in rejecting Al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri's racist
remarks contained in a newly released video.

SEE: Al Qaeda Coldly Acknowledges Obama Victory (New York Times)
www.nytimes.com/2008/11/20/world/middleeast/20qaeda.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

The AMT statement in part reads:

As a coalition that strongly supports and works for civil rights, we condemn
these racist slurs in the strongest possible terms, unequivocally reject
Al-Qaida's philosophy, and reaffirm our opposition to all forms of bigotry,
intolerance and racism.

As Muslims and as Americans, we are perfectly capable of speaking for
ourselves and we are particularly offended by Al-Qaida's temerity to speak
on our behalf.

We see Senator Barak Obama's victory as moment of redemption in which our
nation has risen to new majestic heights. And so do majority of the Muslims
worldwide.

SEE: AMT Congratulates President-Elect Obama On His Historic Victory
www.americanmuslimvoter.net/images/special/AMT%20CONGRATULATES%20OBAMA.htm

Zawahri has insulted all of us by mocking President-Elect Barak Obama,
former Secretary of State Colin Powell and the current Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice. His ugly rhetoric reveals his total ignorance, especially
about Secretary Powell's courageous denunciation of Islamophobia.

Islam, as Malcolm X, had asserted after his pilgrimage to Mecca, rejects
racism in all its manifestations and seeks to build communities around
values of shared humanity and inherent dignity of the human individual.

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*** The American Muslim Taskforce on Civil Rights and Elections (AMT) is an
umbrella organization representing American Muslim Alliance (AMA), American
Muslims for Palestine (AMP), Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR),
Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), Muslim Alliance in North America
(MANA), Muslim American Society-Freedom Foundation (MAS-FF), Muslim Student
Association - National (MSA-N), Muslim Ummah of North America (MUNA), and
United Muslims of America (UMA). Islamic Educational center of Orange County
(IEC), Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and Muslim Public Affairs
Council (MPAC) are affiliated with AMT as observers.

CONTACT: Muhammad Salim Akhtar, 773-507-5335, bestusa80@hotmail. com

www.americanmuslimvoter.net