CAIR: Prager Asked to 'Do the Right Thing and Resign'

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CAIR: Prager Asked to 'Do the Right Thing and Resign'
    Holocaust Memorial: Dennis Prager's views 'antithetical' to mission

    WASHINGTON, Dec. 21 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A prominent national
Islamic civil rights and advocacy group today called on Dennis Prager to
resign from the United States Holocaust Memorial Council after the
executive committee of that taxpayer-funded board issued a statement saying
the radio talk show host's views are "antithetical" to its mission.
    SEE: Holocaust Board Chides Radio Host Member (AP)
http://www.newsnet5.com/politics/10583419/detail.html
    SEE ALSO: U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council to Prager: Your Words Were
Intolerant, But You Get To Stay (Forward)
http://www.forward.com/blogs/campaign-confidential/us-holocaust-memorial-
council-does-damage-control/
    "Now that the Holocaust Memorial Council has stated that Mr. Prager's
views are in direct opposition to the mission of that institution, we call
on him to do the right thing and resign," said Ibrahim Hooper,
communications director for the Washington-based Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). "Mr. Prager's resignation would serve to
mitigate the damage his divisive rhetoric has had on interfaith relations."
    Prager has written that Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to
Congress, should be prevented from taking his oath of office using the
Quran, Islam's revealed text. He also wrote that swearing an oath on the
Quran "undermines American civilization."
    Two members of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, Rep. Henry
Waxman and former New York Mayor Ed Koch, have already spoken out against
Prager's intolerant remarks. Koch called Prager a "bigot."
    Groups such as the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the American Jewish
Committee have also condemned Prager's remarks.
    CAIR had previously called on the Holocaust Memorial's governing board
and President Bush to remove Prager from his post. Since coming out against
Prager's appointment to the council, CAIR has received hundreds of
hate-filled e-mails from Prager's supporters.
    In Virginia, a Republican congressman took up Prager's call to keep
Ellison from using the Quran in his ceremonial oath. Rep. Virgil Goode also
decried the growth of the American Muslim community and expressed concern
that "many more Muslims" may be elected to public office. A number of
Democratic leaders have repudiated Goode's remarks.
    SEE: Va. Lawmaker's Remarks on Muslims Criticized (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/20/AR2006122001318.ht
ml
    SEE: Congressman Criticizes Election of Muslim (New York Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/21/us/21koran.html
    SEE: Rep Goode's Letter to Constituents
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/docs/goode-letter/
    CAIR, America's largest Islamic civil liberties group, has 32 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 National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper,
              202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com
SOURCE Council on American-Islamic Relations
http://www.cair-net.org/
CONTACT:
CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim
Hooper, +1-202-488-8787 or +1-202-744-7726, or ihooper@cair.com