Will Jimmy Carter Risk International Criticism When He Addresses A Muslim Convention?
Former United State President Jimmy Carter is scheduled to be the keynote speaker this weekend at the annual convention of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA).
Past speakers at ISNA annual conventions included such prominent non-Muslims as Bush administration diplomat Karen Hughes, evangelical Christian pastor Rick Warren, Jewish rabbis who emphasize interfaith understanding, and Valerie Jarrett, a top adviser to President Obama. Mr. Obama delivered a video message to last year’s ISNA convention.
However, Mr. Carter’s address will surely be watched with heightened caution owing to his views about the current terrorist activities in the Gaza strip, as well as Iraq. As reported by The Inquisitr, Jimmy Carter’s address appears to be focused on discussing his latest book, A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence, and Power, but conservationists are already warning that the event looks to be another example of the former president implicitly undercutting U.S. foreign policy – in this case, opposition to Islamic terrorism.
Jimmy Carter recently earned a strong reaction by calling Hamas a legitimate Palestinian political group that Israel and the United States should recognize. Hamas has been wreaking havoc in the Gaza strip and was responsible for the death and destruction of civilians. Their acts, such as the Terror Tunnels, the usage of innocent civilians as human shields, and bombing their own regions, are quite known.
Apparently, Mr. Carter wants America to dilute its stand on Hamas. Needless to say, Hamas is officially designated by the U.S. State Department as a terrorist organization. If that’s not all, the group’s founding charter actually calls for the destruction of Israel. What’s more, the group hates Jews and has decided to wipe them out with any means necessary.
It is vital to note that ISNA is not Hamas. It’s one of the most prominent umbrella groups representing American Muslims, the vast majority of whom are law-abiding citizens. ISNA and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton were each among the many groups and individuals participating in a 2011 U.S.-Islamic World Forum sponsored by the Brookings Institution in Washington, reported The Christian Science Monitor.
Jimmy Carter will clearly skirt trouble and criticism, when he takes to the podium, said Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz.
“Jimmy Carter has now become an all-out cheerleader for Hamas. It’s against the law in the United States, even if you’re a former president, it’s against the law to provide material support to a listed terrorist organization, and Jimmy Carter’s coming awfully close to that line.”
The global terrorism threat that the ISIS and Hamas pose is by no means justifiable. Then why is Jimmy Carter supporting the latter, when they both so wholeheartedly embrace barbaric practices?
[Image Credit | Political Ears, Jemal Countess/Getty Images North America]
