Video: CAIR Responds to Donald Trump's Anti-Muslim Retweets

Donald Trump has retweeted Britain First deputy leader (image via The Independent)

Earlier today, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, responded to what it called President Trump's "incitement to violence against American Muslims" after he retweeted Islamophobic videos from Jayda Fransen, an anti-Muslim British political leader who has been charged in the United Kingdomwith "religious aggravated harassment."

SEE:
⏩ Trump Shares Inflammatory Anti-Muslim Videos
⏩ Trump Retweets Anti-Muslim Videos

Joining CAIR at the Capitol Hill news conference in Washington, D.C., were representatives of the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) and South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT).

SPEAKERS: (In Order of Appearance) CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad, MPAC Policy Fellow for Religious Freedom Ilhan Cagri, and SAALT Director of National Policy and Advocacy Lakshmi Sridaran.

Video: CAIR News Conference in Response to Donald Trump's Anti-Muslim Tweets
In a prepared statement, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said:

This morning, millions of Americans were shocked but not surprised to see President Trump re-tweet anti-Muslim videos.
One of the videos has already been de-bunked by Snopes. The other two videos are unverified.
The videos were from a hate group known as "Britain First," which calls for a comprehensive ban on Islam in the UK and to deport British Muslims, who've made the UK their home for generations.
President Trump's actions are putting the lives and safety of American Muslim children and families at risk.
Hate speech leads to hate crimes. When hate speech and conspiracy theories against American minorities go unchallenged, they foster an atmosphere that causes hate crimes.
Throughout this year, CAIR offices nationwide received, on average, at least 1-2 daily reports of hate crimes targeting American Muslims, Muslim houses of worship, or people perceived as Muslim.
As numerous Americans who are Muslim or 'looked Muslim' were shot or beaten severely, we did not hear a word from this President.
During most of these attacks, attackers uttered or expressed the same anti-Muslim slurs repeated daily in mainstream headlines and often by President Trump himself.
This is a continuation of President Trump's pattern of sexual, religious and racial harassment of many Americans. This includes Trump's attempts to turn Americans against each other… and his standing by Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore, who was credibly accused of inappropriate contact with children.
Trump has infected the Republican Party and I am asking my Republican friends who believe in the words of the Declaration of Independence, in Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, in the 14th Amendment, and in the Constitution's guarantees of equal justice under law, to not sit idly by while all this injustice continues.
This is not a conservative or liberal issue; it is an American one.
I am asking our nation's Republican leadership:
When will you draw a line in the sand against this bigotry and harassment?
What will it take for the Republican Party to say that these actions do not represent the Grand Old Party?
When will you put country over party?
When is the Republican Leadership, RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel, House Speaker Paul Ryan, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, going to stand up for all Americans? This cannot be the America you want your children to live in.

Millions of Americans worry about our safety and future.
We need Republican Party leadership to publicly affirm American values of religious freedom,
We need Republican Party leadership to join us in reminding our fellow Americans that while some may want to divide us, we are, and always will be, Americans, united as one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

CAIR has witnessed an unprecedented spike in hate incidents targeting American Muslims and members of other minority groups since the election of Donald Trump as president.

SEE:
⏩ CAIR Report Shows 2017 on Track to Becoming One of Worst Years Ever for Anti-Muslim Hate Crimes
⏩ CAIR Says New FBI Hate Crimes Report Shows Need to Stand Up to Increasing Bigotry

Earlier today, Awad also tweeted in response to Trump's hate posts:

"Have you no sense of decency, Sir? Do you know how many anti-Muslims incidents in the US we recorded at #CAIR this year alone? 3,296. And we haven't heard a peep from you. Some president."