Pipes’ nomination for USIP board provoked outcry among American Muslims

By Tarik Hamdi, IOL Washington Correspondent

WASHINGTON, April 9 (IslamOline.net) – U.S. President George Bush’s nomination of Daniel Pipes, an outspoken critic of Islam, for a seat on the board of directors of the United Stated Institute of Peace (USIP) has provoked an outcry among American Muslims.

The USIP, a nonpartisan, federal think tank, was established by Congress to promote "the prevention, management and resolution of international conflicts."

In a faxed letter to USIP President Richard Solomon on Tuesday, April 7, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Executive Director Nihad Awad warned that "no credible Muslim leader in the United States or around the world could cooperate with an organization in which Pipes has a decision-making role."

He stressed "it would be extremely difficult for Muslim representatives to take part in USIP's Special Initiative on the Muslim World if Pipes joined the board.

"Instead of 'increasing the prospects for long-term understanding between the Western and Islamic worlds,' Pipes' bigoted views have been instrumental in widening the divide  between faiths and cultures," charged Awad.

He noted that since USIP board already has a representative from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), there is no need for another member with "extremist pro-Israel views."

CAIR, a Washington, D.C.-based civil rights group, urged the White House to rescind the nomination and asked the Senate to reject it.

Scores of Muslim Americans are contacting the White House and their representatives to voice their disapproval over Pipes’ nomination.

The protest is unusual for the USIP, which has generally kept a low profile and strives to develop a reputation as an institution that is solid and middle-of-the-road.

CAIR, other Muslim groups, and objective observers call him a bigot; a charge that he denies and contends that he only considers ‘militant Islam’ the problem, and not ‘moderate Islam’.

He has been quoted as saying that "Palestinians are a miserable people...and they deserve to be." His personal website was built and is maintained by an Israeli settler.

Pipes, a commentator on the Middle East, runs a Philadelphia think tank called the Middle East Forum, writes columns for the Right-wing New York Post and the Jerusalem Post, appears frequently on television talk shows and has written 11 books, including four on Islam.

He says Muslim American government employees in law enforcement, the military and the diplomatic corps "need to be watched for connections to terrorism."

Pipes also claims that "mosques require a scrutiny beyond that applied to churches and temples."

Last year, Pipes launched a scheme for ousting objective professors from American campuses.

His Campus Watch web site included "dossiers" on professors and academic institutions he thought to be too critical of Israel or too sympathetic with Islam and Muslims.

One such intended target was Dr. John Esposito, director of the Center for Muslim-Christian Studies at Georgetown University.

To ensure USIP independence, Congress stipulated at its inception in 1984 that its 15-member board can never have more than eight voting members of the same political party.

Board members meet six times a year and are paid $400 a day when working on institute business.