The Council for American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is accusing former House Speaker Newt Gingrich—along with deceased al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden—of “pushing Islamaphobia” in the United States.
A new report—“Same Hate, New Target: Islamaphobia and Its Impact in the United States, January 2009-December 2010”—published by CAIR and the Center for Race and Gender at the University of California at Berkeley listed “individuals, institutions and groups” that CAIR argues were “at the center of pushing Islamophobia in America during the period covered” by the report. Among those listed were Newt Gingrich—and Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda.
The report also lists “individuals, institutions and groups” that CAIR says made “outstanding contributions to pushing back against Islamophobic trends during the period covered” by the report. Among those listed in this group were Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, and Keith Olbermann--whose “Countdown” program was formerly featured on MSNBC.
At a June 23 Washington, D.C. press conference discussing the report, CAIR National Legislative Director Corey Saylor said: “Finally, Newt Gingrich, as [CAIR National Executive Director] Nihad [Awad] mentioned, consistently comparing Muslims to Nazis--this is somebody who has the status of the former Speaker of the House. So, this is not a fringe individual. This is someone who has gravitas, shall we say, who’s pushing Islamophobia.”
