A pro-Muslim Brotherhood group is holding a fundraiser on March 22 for Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA). The congressmen’s Islamist donors prompted one expert, Paul Sperry, to dub him “the Saudis’ new man in Congress” in the past.
Rep. Connolly has won the support of the leadership of Egyptian Americans for Democracy and Human Rights (EADHR) with his opposition to the overthrow of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. Its website shows its sole purpose is to advocate for the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood.
EADHR co-founder, Akram Elzend, is leading the fundraiser. Each attendee is expected to give between $150 and $400 to his campaign. Elzend is an official of the Washington D.C. branch of the Muslim American Society. Federal prosecutors said in 2008 that it was “founded as the overt arm of the Muslim Brotherhood in America.”
Another EADHR leader and fundraiser host is Sameh Elhennawy, who was identified by an Egyptian newspaper as a member of the Brotherhood lobby in America.
The president of the group, Hany Saqr, is listed in a 1992 U.S. Muslim Brotherhood phonebook as a member of its Executive Office. The aforementioned Egyptian report also outed him as a member of the Brotherhood lobby in America.
EADHR co-founder Shaker El-Sayed is the imam of Dar al-Hijrah Islamic Center, a radical mosque with ties to the Brotherhood and Hamas. Last year, El-Sayed was recorded preaching in favor of violent jihad at a high school.
Another co-founder is Khaled Lamada, who was also listed as a Brotherhood member in the Egyptian press. He endorsed President Morsi’s presidential campaign and is the Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors for Islamic Relief USA and was co-chairman of an annual conference of the Muslim American society and Islamic Circle of North America.
The organization even has direct ties to the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. A Brotherhood official spoke at an EADHR rally in August and the Brotherhood’s political party posted his address on its YouTube channel. A receptionist for the event admitted, “This is a Muslim Brotherhood meeting.”
The outlet that broke the story, the Washington Free Beacon, reached out to Rep. Connolly’s staff for a response and was not answered.
This is part of a pattern. In 2008, author Paul Sperry wrote that he is “the Saudis’ new man in Congress.” This was before Saudi Arabia cracked down on the Brotherhood.
He found that Rep. Connolly received a $1,000 donation from Yaquib Mirza linked to Yasin al-Qadi, an associate of Al-Qaeda. Most importantly, al-Qadi is close with Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan and Rep. Connolly is co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on U.S.-Turkey Relations.
Rep. Connolly also got $500 from Nihad Awad, the executive-director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. The Justice Department branded CAIR as an unindicted co-conspirator in the trial of the Holy Land Foundation and designated it as a U.S. Muslim Brotherhood entity.
Another $1,000 came from Hisham al-Talib, co-founder of yet another U.S. Muslim Brotherhood entity named the International Institute of Islamic Thought. Omar Ashraf donated $500. His house was raided by the authorities during a terrorism-financing investigation into the ADAMS Center.
This earlier support may be the result of Rep. Connolly’s favorable position towards the Islamic Saudi Academy, an extension of the Saudi Embassy. He supported it as evidence of its extremism mounted.
The congressman’s biography says he is a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa. He is also on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
The American Islamists’ financial support for Rep. Connolly’s campaigns isn’t about bribery. A campaign is not won or lost on a few thousand dollars. It’s about access. It’s about becoming a trusted source of guidance for him and his staff.
The Washington Free Beacon quotes him as criticizing President Obama, a member of his own party, for not being supportive enough of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.
“In my view, it is not okay for the United States of America to say it’s okay to overthrow a democratically-elected government…And it’s a sad day for me to sit here and see my government make such statements,” Rep. Connolly said.
Rep. Connolly is just another example of the Brotherhood lobby’s success.
