CAIR Refutes Wiesenthal Center’s ‘False Claims’ on Muslim Cemetery

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA) said today that it has sent a letter to the Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Center addressing what the Islamic civil rights group called “false claims” the center is using to justify building a museum of “tolerance” on a Muslim cemetery in Jerusalem.

According to historians, the planned museum site was once the largest Muslim cemetery in Palestine. Companions of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad and Islamic jurists and scholars are said to be buried there. The Israeli government go-ahead on Oct. 29 for construction of the museum came only after a lengthy court battle.

The Wiesenthal Center has falsely claimed that the land it is building on is a parking lot and that there have been no protests regarding building on the cemetery in the past 50 years.

SEE: An Intolerable Spot for a Museum (Forward)

http://www.forward.com/articles/14592/

In the letter to the Wiesenthal Center, CAIR-LA Executive Director Hussam Ayloush stated in part:

“As stated in our initial letter, the cemetery land, along with other property in the waqf Islamic trust, was designated as ‘absentee property’ when West Jerusalem came under Israel’s control after 1948. The land was ruled no longer sacrosanct in 1964 by a body called the ‘Islamic Sharia Court,’ whose members were appointed by Israel and largely distrusted by the Muslim population. In violation of international law, the land was then designated by Israel as public open space, and the municipality built a parking lot over it.

“Your additional claim that there has not been any opposition to the building of the parking lot ignores the fact that Israel imposed martial law on Palestinians from 1949 to 1966. Under this martial law, Israel ensured that any indications of national spirit or identity among Palestinians were quickly and forcefully crushed. Despite this, Muslims in Israel did legally oppose the designation of waqf land as absentee property in the 1960s, lobbied to rebuild and maintain the Ma’manullah graves after the 1967 war, protested the desecration of the graves in the 70s and 80s, and have been opposing the building of the Center for Human Dignity on the cemetery land. One cannot blame Muslims in Israel for sounding their claims upon deaf ears.

“…the land on which you plan to build is the site of a Muslim cemetery, a historic landmark, and a place revered by many. The Israeli Supreme Court’s decision cannot erase the fact that more than 150 skeletons have been unearthed at the cemetery, under the Wiesenthal Center’s supervision. Neither can the Court’s ruling erase the historic and religious value of the cemetery. You may claim the legal power to build the museum on the cemetery, but you do not possess the moral right to carry out such plans.”

SEE: CAIR-LA Response to Wiesenthal Center’s Letter

http://tinyurl.com/6qnguz

CAIR-LA has launched an online petition drive to halt the desecration of the Muslim cemetery.

SEE: Urge Wiesenthal Center to Halt Construction of Museum on Muslim Cemetery

http://www.gopetition.com/online/23494.html

In November, CAIR-LA and three American Jewish groups called for a halt to the Wiesenthal Center’s building plans.

SEE: Joint Letter from U.S. Muslims and Jews to the Wiesenthal Center

http://tinyurl.com/5bu27w

SEE ALSO: U.S. Muslims, Jews Ask Wiesenthal Center Not to Build on Muslim Cemetery

http://tinyurl.com/5tkgwh

CAIR, America’s largest Islamic civil liberties group, has 35 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

CONTACT: CAIR-LA Communications Coordinator Munira Syeda, 714-776-1847 or 714-851-4851, E-Mail: info@losangeles.cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com; CAIR Communications Coordinator Amina Rubin, 202-488-8787, E-Mail: arubin@cair.com

SOURCE Council on American-Islamic Relations