FBI Probes Death Threat to Muslim Activist

Washington, DC: A prominent national Islamic civil rights and advocacy group has claimed that the FBI is investigating a death threat against one of its chapter heads in California.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said the threat was contained in an e-mail message sent to Basim Elkarra, executive director of the Washington-based group's Sacramento Valley chapter.
That threat came a day after a media report indicating that Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) had rescinded an award given to Elkarra because she read attacks against CAIR on an anti-Muslim Internet hate site and after a pressure campaign by Joe Kaufman, an anti-Muslim extremist in Florida. SEE: Boxer Pulls Muslim Award (Sacramento Bee)
The web site Boxer consulted to form her opinions about CAIR, www.frontpagemag.com, regularly publishes Kaufman's writings and articles promoting conspiracy theories about Islam and Muslims in America.
An editor with the Sacramento Bee in California defended CAIR, while describing Kaufman as "a right- wing blogger." Ginger Rutland wrote: "For me, CAIR's efforts to reach out are reminiscent of the efforts of other Americans falsely accused of disloyalty: Japanese, German and Italian Americans during World War II, civil rights activists and Vietnam War opponents casually smeared as communists in the 1950s and '60s … she must understand what her casual withdrawal of a casually awarded tribute means to a Muslim American at this moment in American history …."
SEE: The CAIR Takeaway (Sacramento Bee)
CAIR Board Chairman Dr. Parvez Ahmed outlined CAIR's response to Boxer in a commentary published on his personal blog. In the commentary, Ahmed wrote: "By acting on smears, distortions and guilt by association, Sen. Boxer has failed her Muslim constituents and has betrayed the progressive values of her party and state."

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