Good News about CAIR

By Fred Thompson
(yes, THE Fred Thompson)

I've talked before about the Council on American-Islamic
Relations -- most recently because it filed that lawsuit
against Americans who reported suspicious behavior by
Muslims on a U.S. Airways flight. Better known just as
CAIR, the lobbying group has come under a lot of scrutiny
lately for its connections to terror-supporting groups.
This time, though, The Washington Times has uncovered some
very good news about the group.

For years, CAIR has claimed to represent millions of
American Muslims. In fact, they claim to represent more
Muslim in American than... there are in America. This has
alarmed Americans in general as the group often seems to
be more aligned with our enemies than us -- which isn't
surprising as it spun off from a group funded by Hamas.
As you know, Hamas has been waging a terrorist war against
Israel and calls for its total destruction. It also
promises to see America destroyed. Nowadays, Hamas is busy
murdering its Palestinian political rivals.

Even with this history, and CAIR's conspicuous failure to
condemn Hamas by name, it has been treated as if represents
Muslim Americans by our own government. The good news is
that the financial support CAIR claims to have among
American Muslims is a myth. We know this because The
Washington Times got hold of the group's IRS tax records.

CAIR's dues-paying membership has shrunk 90 percent since
9/11 -- from 29,000 in 2000 to only 1,700 last year. CAIR's
annual income from dues plunged from $733,000 to $59,000.
Clearly, America's Muslims are not supporting this group --
and I'm happy to hear about it.

Of course, every silver lining seems to have a cloud;
and this cloud is that CAIR's spending is running about
$3 million a year. They've opened 25 new chapters in major
cities across the country even as their dues shrank to a
pittance. The question is; who's funding CAIR?

CAIR's not saying. The New York Times earlier this year
reported that the backing is from "wealthy Persian Gulf
governments" including the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Obviously,
we have a bigger problem here than the one with CAIR.

The Lone Patriot does not necessarily endorse Fred Thompson for President