Mahdi Bray
Encyclopedia
Wright Mahdi Bray a Black American convert to Islam
, is a civil
and human rights
activist who serves as Executive Director of the Muslim American Society
's Freedom Foundation (MAS Freedom) based in Washington, DC. The foundation supports Muslim activists and religious leaders who have been arrested.
(MPAC).
Bray has expressed support for Hamas
and Hezbollah on a number of occasions. A video of a rally in 2000 shows Bray pumping his fist in the air in support of the groups Hamas
and Hezbollah. He asserts, however, that he is not a supporter of Hamas.
In 2001 Bray served as a liaison with United States President George W. Bush
's White House Faith-Based Initiative Program, which he later opposed. After the September 11 attacks, he and other Muslim leaders met with then-U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft
. He also served as a congressional affairs representative on behalf of the Muslim community.
In September 2003 he referred to the arrest of Abdul Rahman al-Amoudi
, the founder of the American Muslim Council
, as a "witch hunt", and said:
In October 2003 in testimony before the US Senate Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security
, Dr. J. Michael Walker, Annenberg Professor of International Communication at the Institute of World Politics, indicated that Bray was the contact for the National Islamic Prison Foundation, which was "specifically organized to convert inmates to Wahhabism
".
In December 2004, Bray said that Sami Amin Al-Arian, a former professor of computer engineering at the University of South Florida
, was innocent of the charges against him, and “Indeed, proving Dr. Al-Arian’s innocence will be a victory for the entire community." In 2006 Al-Arian made a plea agreement
, pleading guilty to conspiracy to help a "specially designated terrorist
" organization, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and was sentenced to 57 months in prison.
When Ali al-Timimi was found guilty in April 2005 in U.S. District Court on charges that he incited terrorism in connection with the Virginia Jihad Network
by encouraging followers to join the Taliban and fight U.S. troops, Bray said the conviction "bodes ill" for the First Amendment
. "What he said was perhaps repugnant and inflammatory, but was it really his intent to have people go and take his words and translate that into going and killing other human beings, specifically Americans?" Bray asked. Al-Timimi was sentenced to life imprisonment.
In a May 2005 column in the Weekly Standard, Daveed Gartenstein-Ross
wrote about his May 14, 2005, debate with Bray on PAX-TV's Faith Under Fire
program. He noted that a Chicago Tribune
article had detailed how the fundamentalist Islamist Muslim Brotherhood
operates in the US through MAS, and that MAS wants to see the US governed by sharia
law. He noted that MAS, "except in its most public of statements", was open about its agenda. He argued that while Bray "tries to portray MAS as an organization that embraces these shared [liberal democratic] values, the group simultaneously teaches its members that all government should become Islamic and that non-Islamic judicial systems should be boycotted."
In July 2005, after the London bombings
that killed 52 people, Bray said: "Let me say to the terrorists very clearly, that you will have no comfort in our community. Our community offers you no harbor. Our message is clear, you do no service to Islam, you do a great disservice to Islam and for the love of God, stop this madness."
When the Philadelphia Inquirer published some of the cartoons of Mohammed in the 2005 Mohammed cartoons controversy, Bray said: "This has nothing to do with free speech; its pure sensationalism that reeks of religious disrespect. What the Philadelphia Inquirer has done is irresponsible, provocative, and reckless."
When in November 2006, two imam
s from Boston-area mosque
s were arrested and charged with being involved in a scheme that secured religious worker visa
s for immigrants who instead got secular jobs, Bray said: "If this was [sic] clerics who were anything other than Muslims, would they have had to face this?"
After the September 2007 resignation of Dr. Esam Omeish
from a Virginia Commission on Immigration, after it was revealed that he had publicly endorsed "the jihad
way" in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Bray said "What's the big news? Everybody knows Muslims feel passionately about the Palestinian issue. What in the world is wrong about talking about the invasion of Lebanon or the plight of the Palestinian people?"
Bray served on the Board of Directors of the Interfaith Alliance and the National Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice
, and is a National Co-convener of Religions for Peace
-USA. He is a Washington, DC, television and radio talk show
host, and has appeared on CBS News, Fox, MSNBC, CNN, C-SPAN, Aljazeera, and many TV and radio talk shows. Bray also organized protests against the U.S. war in Afghanistan
, the Iraq war, and the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza
.
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, is a civil
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
and human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
activist who serves as Executive Director of the Muslim American Society
Muslim American Society
The Muslim American Society is a nonprofit organization founded in 1993 that describes itself as an Islamic revival and reform movement....
's Freedom Foundation (MAS Freedom) based in Washington, DC. The foundation supports Muslim activists and religious leaders who have been arrested.
Political activism
Bray formerly was political director of the Muslim Public Affairs CouncilMuslim Public Affairs Council
The Muslim Public Affairs Council is a national American Muslim advocacy and public policy organization headquartered in Los Angeles and with offices in Washington D.C...
(MPAC).
Bray has expressed support for Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
and Hezbollah on a number of occasions. A video of a rally in 2000 shows Bray pumping his fist in the air in support of the groups Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
and Hezbollah. He asserts, however, that he is not a supporter of Hamas.
In 2001 Bray served as a liaison with United States President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
's White House Faith-Based Initiative Program, which he later opposed. After the September 11 attacks, he and other Muslim leaders met with then-U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft
John Ashcroft
John David Ashcroft is a United States politician who served as the 79th United States Attorney General, from 2001 until 2005, appointed by President George W. Bush. Ashcroft previously served as the 50th Governor of Missouri and a U.S...
. He also served as a congressional affairs representative on behalf of the Muslim community.
In September 2003 he referred to the arrest of Abdul Rahman al-Amoudi
Abdul Rahman al-Amoudi
Abdul Rahman Al-Amoudi, also known as Abdurahman Alamoudi, the founder of the American Muslim Council, pled guilty to financial and conspiracy charges in 2004, which resulted in a 23-year prison sentence.-Biography:...
, the founder of the American Muslim Council
American Muslim Council
The American Muslim Council is an Islamic organization and registered charity in the United States. Its headquarters is located in Chicago, Illinois....
, as a "witch hunt", and said:
"This administration's war on terrorism is actually a war on the Muslim community and the civil liberties of all Americans. Our leadership, organizations, charities, and places of worship are being targeted by the Department of JusticeAl-Amoudi pled guilty to financial and conspiracy charges in 2004, which resulted in a 23-year prison sentence.United States Department of JusticeThe United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
, who scapegoat Muslims by exploiting their political vulnerability. This is political opportunism at its worst, and the Muslim community is paying a horrific price."
In October 2003 in testimony before the US Senate Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security
United States Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security
The United States Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security is one of seven subcommittees within the Senate Judiciary Committee.-Jurisdiction:...
, Dr. J. Michael Walker, Annenberg Professor of International Communication at the Institute of World Politics, indicated that Bray was the contact for the National Islamic Prison Foundation, which was "specifically organized to convert inmates to Wahhabism
Wahhabism
Wahhabism is a religious movement or a branch of Islam. It was developed by an 18th century Muslim theologian from Najd, Saudi Arabia. Ibn Abdul Al-Wahhab advocated purging Islam of what he considered to be impurities and innovations...
".
In December 2004, Bray said that Sami Amin Al-Arian, a former professor of computer engineering at the University of South Florida
University of South Florida
The University of South Florida, also known as USF, is a member institution of the State University System of Florida, one of the state's three flagship universities for public research, and is located in Tampa, Florida, USA...
, was innocent of the charges against him, and “Indeed, proving Dr. Al-Arian’s innocence will be a victory for the entire community." In 2006 Al-Arian made a plea agreement
Plea bargain
A plea bargain is an agreement in a criminal case whereby the prosecutor offers the defendant the opportunity to plead guilty, usually to a lesser charge or to the original criminal charge with a recommendation of a lighter than the maximum sentence.A plea bargain allows criminal defendants to...
, pleading guilty to conspiracy to help a "specially designated terrorist
Specially Designated Terrorist
A Specially Designated Terrorist is any person who is determined by the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury to be a specially designated terrorist under notices or regulations issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control ....
" organization, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and was sentenced to 57 months in prison.
When Ali al-Timimi was found guilty in April 2005 in U.S. District Court on charges that he incited terrorism in connection with the Virginia Jihad Network
Virginia Jihad Network
The Virginia jihad network was a network of jihadists centered in Northern Virginia.Ali al-Timimi was convicted in 2005 of exhorting his followers to join the Taliban and fight US troops. The young men played paintball in 2000 and 2001 as a means of training for holy war around the globe...
by encouraging followers to join the Taliban and fight U.S. troops, Bray said the conviction "bodes ill" for the First Amendment
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...
. "What he said was perhaps repugnant and inflammatory, but was it really his intent to have people go and take his words and translate that into going and killing other human beings, specifically Americans?" Bray asked. Al-Timimi was sentenced to life imprisonment.
In a May 2005 column in the Weekly Standard, Daveed Gartenstein-Ross
Daveed Gartenstein-Ross
Daveed Gartenstein-Ross is an American counter-terrorism expert and attorney living in Washington D.C. He is the Director of the Center for the Study of Terrorist Radicalization at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington-based think tank. He frequently consults on counter-terrorism...
wrote about his May 14, 2005, debate with Bray on PAX-TV's Faith Under Fire
Faith Under Fire
Faith Under Fire is a television series that aired every Saturday at 10pm EST on PAX TV and was hosted by Lee Strobel. In the main segments, two guests would discuss current issues related to Christianity. In segments following commercial breaks, people on the street were interviewed on the same...
program. He noted that a Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
article had detailed how the fundamentalist Islamist Muslim Brotherhood
Muslim Brotherhood
The Society of the Muslim Brothers is the world's oldest and one of the largest Islamist parties, and is the largest political opposition organization in many Arab states. It was founded in 1928 in Egypt by the Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna and by the late 1940s had an...
operates in the US through MAS, and that MAS wants to see the US governed by sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
law. He noted that MAS, "except in its most public of statements", was open about its agenda. He argued that while Bray "tries to portray MAS as an organization that embraces these shared [liberal democratic] values, the group simultaneously teaches its members that all government should become Islamic and that non-Islamic judicial systems should be boycotted."
In July 2005, after the London bombings
7 July 2005 London bombings
The 7 July 2005 London bombings were a series of co-ordinated suicide attacks in the United Kingdom, targeting civilians using London's public transport system during the morning rush hour....
that killed 52 people, Bray said: "Let me say to the terrorists very clearly, that you will have no comfort in our community. Our community offers you no harbor. Our message is clear, you do no service to Islam, you do a great disservice to Islam and for the love of God, stop this madness."
When the Philadelphia Inquirer published some of the cartoons of Mohammed in the 2005 Mohammed cartoons controversy, Bray said: "This has nothing to do with free speech; its pure sensationalism that reeks of religious disrespect. What the Philadelphia Inquirer has done is irresponsible, provocative, and reckless."
Imam
An imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question...
s from Boston-area mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
s were arrested and charged with being involved in a scheme that secured religious worker visa
Visa (document)
A visa is a document showing that a person is authorized to enter the territory for which it was issued, subject to permission of an immigration official at the time of actual entry. The authorization may be a document, but more commonly it is a stamp endorsed in the applicant's passport...
s for immigrants who instead got secular jobs, Bray said: "If this was [sic] clerics who were anything other than Muslims, would they have had to face this?"
After the September 2007 resignation of Dr. Esam Omeish
Esam Omeish
Esam S. Omeish is a Libyan-born American physician and chief of the Division of General Surgery at Inova Alexandria Hospital since 2006...
from a Virginia Commission on Immigration, after it was revealed that he had publicly endorsed "the jihad
Jihad
Jihad , an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihād translates as a noun meaning "struggle". Jihad appears 41 times in the Quran and frequently in the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God ". A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid; the plural is...
way" in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Bray said "What's the big news? Everybody knows Muslims feel passionately about the Palestinian issue. What in the world is wrong about talking about the invasion of Lebanon or the plight of the Palestinian people?"
Bray served on the Board of Directors of the Interfaith Alliance and the National Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice
Interfaith Worker Justice
Interfaith Worker Justice is a nonprofit, nonpartisan religious organization that educates and mobilizes the religious people of all faiths in the United States on issues important to working people....
, and is a National Co-convener of Religions for Peace
Religions for Peace
Religions for Peace, full name World Conference of Religions for Peace is a large international coalition of representatives from the world’s religions dedicated to promoting peace founded in 1970....
-USA. He is a Washington, DC, television and radio talk show
Talk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
host, and has appeared on CBS News, Fox, MSNBC, CNN, C-SPAN, Aljazeera, and many TV and radio talk shows. Bray also organized protests against the U.S. war in Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
, the Iraq war, and the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza
Israeli-occupied territories
The Israeli-occupied territories are the territories which have been designated as occupied territory by the United Nations and other international organizations, governments and others to refer to the territory seized by Israel during the Six-Day War of 1967 from Egypt, Jordan, and Syria...
.
External links
- Mahdi Bray's personal website
- Mahdi Bray speech at August 2006 rally in Washington DC
- Mahdi Bray speech at January 2009 rally in Washington DC
- Shadow World: Resurgent Russia, the Global New Left, and Radical Islam, Muslim Public Affairs Council, pp. 499–500, Robert Chandler, Regnery PublishingRegnery PublishingRegnery Publishing in Washington, D.C., is a publisher which specializes in conservative books characterized on their website as "contrary to those of 'mainstream' publishers in New York." Since 1993, Regnery Publishing has been a division of Eagle Publishing, which also owns the weekly magazine...
, 2008, ISBN 1596985615