The Bergen Record

Letters to the Editor

A reason for wariness

Regarding Ahmed Soliman's "Islamophobia is alive and well in Congress" (Other Views, Oct. 22):

Soliman accuses several members of Congress of "Islamophobia" because they called for an investigation of the efforts of the Council on American-Islamic relations to place interns in congressional offices. Soliman presents CAIR as an upstanding non-profit organization whose only goal is to promote good relations. The congressmen and congresswoman could only be motivated, therefore, by prejudice in their call for an investigation.

But Soliman whitewashes the truth. CAIR has been classified by the U.S. government as an unindicted co-conspirator in a terrorist funding case against the Holy Land Foundation in 2007. The terrorist organization of which they were accused — and the Holy Land Foundation was ultimately convicted — of helping was Hamas.

And Soliman served as the master of ceremonies for a CAIR event in Philadelphia a short time ago. Interesting.

The Record readership should know that the good representatives are not wary of Muslims. They are merely wary of terrorists and those who support them.

Benjamin Shull

Woodcliff Lake, Oct. 23

The writer is rabbi of Temple Emanuel of the Pascack Valley.