Mahdi Bray Responds

In Tim Craig's Washington Post article on October 21, 2007 (Two2 GOP Lawmakers Allege Democrats Have Ties to Terrorism), he mentions my appearance in a video clip from eight years ago provided by the Investigative Project. The clip comes from the video of a rally in Lafayette Park protesting the death of Palestinian civilians by the Israeli Defense Forces.

This short video clip of me is now being widely disseminated as evidence of my support of terrorism and terrorist organizations. In actuality, what is being depicted was a spoof response to the speech given by Mr. Abdur-Rahman Alamoudi.

At the time of this rally, Mr. Alamoudi was a leading American Muslim leader with strong ties to the U.S. government. Those ties extended into the early months of the George W. Bush Administration. Mr. Alamoudi angrily showed up at the rally after having been rebuffed by Hillary Clinton in her initial bid for the U.S. Senate. Ms. Clinton had returned campaign funds raised for her by Mr. Alamoudi.

Although not scheduled to speak at the rally, Mr. Alamoudi was invited to speak, and began to thumb his nose at the Clinton Administration, saying, satirically, that he and the entire crowd were terrorists and supporters of Hamas and Hezbollah. Of course, no one on stage or in the audience took Mr. Alamoudi seriously. A closer examination of the video clip actually shows me pumping my fists and laughing Mr. Alamoudi's over- the- top- antics.

But what a difference September 11th, 2001 has made. Alamoudi, a former Goodwill Ambassador for the State Department, is now incarcerated on the charge of supporting an assassination plot by Libya's leader Muammar Khadafy to assassinate a Saudi Prince. Hamas won elections in Palestine. Khadafy is now a friend of America. Hillary Clinton is running for president of the United States. And a grainy, out-of-focus video clip, provided by a group that has turned Muslim-bashing into a cottage industry has now transformed me into a supporter of terrorism.

For the record, nothing in my writings or speeches has ever given support to terrorism. I have spent my life as a practicing Muslim activist denouncing religious extremism, racism and bigotry while working tirelessly to support interfaith dialogue, diversity, pluralism, and alternatives to violence as a means to resolve conflicts.

A 30 second, surreptitiously recorded video clip cannot erase my 30 years of dedicated struggle for social justice and human rights for all individuals.

Imam Mahdi Bray
Washington, DC