U.S. Senate: Oppose and Block the Confirmation of Islamophobe Mike Pompeo to Secretary of State

U.S. Senate: Oppose and Block the Confirmation of Islamophobe Mike Pompeo to Secretary of State

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, is calling on all those who value the America’s traditions of religious inclusion and respect for diversity to urge the Senate to oppose the confirmation of Mike Pompeo to as secretary of state.

Act now, sign CAIR's click-and-send action alert address to the Senate and members of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations to oppose and block Pompeo’s confirmation.

In addition to the fact that Pompeo has openly promoted Islamophobic conspiracy theories and associated with anti-Muslim hate groups, he supports many dangerous and divisive policies that would impede his ability to successfully carry out the duties of secretary of state. During his nomination hearing, request that the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations question Pompeo about the following issues of concern:

Pompeo openly supports anti-Muslim hate groups: In 2016, then-congressman Mike Pompeo spoke at a “Legislative Briefing” for the notorious anti-Muslim hate group ACT for America. Described as the nation's largest anti-Muslim hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, Act for America’s founder has claimed that "a practicing Muslim, who believes in the teachings of the Koran, cannot be a loyal citizen to the United States of America." The hate group’s website noted that “the next CIA Director Rep. Mike Pompeo has been a steadfast ally of ours since the day he was elected to Congress.” Pompeo also received the ACT for America “National Security Eagle Award for 2016,” reserved a congressional auditorium for the hate group and previously addressed its 2013 and 2015 national conferences.

Pompeo has a toxic and antagonistic relationship with American Muslims: In 2013, following the Boston Marathon attacks, Pompeo falsely alleged that American Muslim leaders were “potentially complicit” in violent acts for failing to speak out, even though the American Muslim community and its leaders had already condemned that attack, and have regularly and consistently condemned other acts of violence.

Pompeo accused President Obama of an "affinity" for ISIS killing Christians: Pompeo addressed the anti-Muslim hate group Center for Security Policy’s 2015 “Defeat Jihad” summit, and was interviewed on the hate group’s leader Frank Gaffney’s online radio show more than 20 times. During a February 2015 interview with Gaffney, Pompeo was asked whether President Obama had “kind of an affinity for, if not the violent beheading and crucifixions and slaying of Christians and all that, but at least for the cause for which these guys are engaged in such activities.” Pompeo’s response: “Frank, every place you stare at the president’s policies and statements, you see what you just described.”

Pompeo has framed the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as religious wars: During remarks to a church group, then-Congressman Pompeo said, "I can tell you that this threat to America is from people who deeply believe that Islam is the way and the light and the only answer. So, as we think about what the U.S. policy needs to be, and how we will begin to combat this, we need to recognize that these folks believe that it is religiously driven for them to wipe Christians from the face of the Earth." Pompeo also said, "...they will continue to press against us until we make sure that we pray and stand and fight and make sure that we know that Jesus Christ as our savior is truly the only solution for our world."

Pompeo has attempted to turn an anti-Muslim conspiracy theory into government policy: As a congressman, Pompeo co-sponsored a bill to designate the Muslim Brotherhood a "Foreign Terrorist Organization" (FTO). Experts view that the measure is only supported by anti-Muslim conspiracy theorists and hate groups like Act for America and Center for Security Policy that hope to use such a designation to launch baseless investigations into American Muslim civil society organizations, leaders and activists. In November 2016, J.M. Berger, a counterterrorism analyst at George Washington University’s Program on Extremism offered this opinion to Buzzfeed about the true objective behind the moment supporting the bill: “Let me be extremely clear. This initiative is concerned with controlling American Muslims, not with any issue pertaining to the Muslim Brotherhood in any practical or realistic sense.”

Pompeo would move the United States closer to war with Iran: In November 2016 Pompeo tweeted: “I look forward to rolling back this disastrous deal with the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism.” As a congressman, Pompeo also said, "Congress must act to change Iranian behavior, and, ultimately, the Iranian regime.”

Pompeo defended the CIA’s notorious use of torture under the George W. Bush administration: As a congressman Pompeo stated, “the programs being used were within the law, within the Constitution,” and opposed the release of the 2014 Senate torture report calling its release a “liberal game being played by the ACLU and Senator Feinstein.”

Pompeo supports keeping the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay open: He has stated the prison is, “critical to national security,” and opposes prisoner transfers from Guantanamo with bizarre statements such as, “The detainees at GTMO are treated exceptionally well – so well that some have even declined to be resettled, instead choosing to stay at GTMO.” Acts of torture at Guantanamo have been well documented.

Pompeo supports reestablishing the National Security Agency’s unconstitutional domestic spying programs: In a 2016 Wall Street Journal op-ed, Pompeo wrote: “Congress should pass a law re-establishing collection of all metadata, and combine it with publicly available financial and lifestyle information into a comprehensive, searchable database.”

Pompeo opposed the Paris climate accord: He has called the Paris climate accord a “costly burden,” and during his nomination hearing as director of the CIA call considering climate change a national security threat, “ignorant, dangerous and absolutely unbelievable.”

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

La misión de CAIR es mejorar la comprensión del Islam, fomentar el diálogo, proteger las libertades civiles, capacitar a los musulmanes estadounidenses, y construir coaliciones que promuevan la justicia y la comprensión mutua.

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CONTACT: CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com

U.S. Senate: Oppose and Block the Confirmation of Islamophobe Mike Pompeo to Secretary of State

Act now, sign CAIR's click-and-send action alert address to the Senate and members of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations to oppose and block Pompeo’s confirmation.

Pompeo openly supports anti-Muslim hate groups: In 2016, then-congressman Mike Pompeo spoke at a “Legislative Briefing” for the notorious anti-Muslim hate group ACT for America. Described as the nation's largest anti-Muslim hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, Act for America’s founder has claimed that "a practicing Muslim, who believes in the teachings of the Koran, cannot be a loyal citizen to the United States of America." The hate group’s website noted that “the next CIA Director Rep. Mike Pompeo has been a steadfast ally of ours since the day he was elected to Congress.” Pompeo also received the ACT for America “National Security Eagle Award for 2016,” reserved a congressional auditorium for the hate group and previously addressed its 2013 and 2015 national conferences.

Pompeo has a toxic and antagonistic relationship with American Muslims: In 2013, following the Boston Marathon attacks, Pompeo falsely alleged that American Muslim leaders were “potentially complicit” in violent acts for failing to speak out, even though the American Muslim community and its leaders had already condemned that attack, and have regularly and consistently condemned other acts of violence.

Pompeo accused President Obama of an "affinity" for ISIS killing Christians: Pompeo addressed the anti-Muslim hate group Center for Security Policy’s 2015 “Defeat Jihad” summit, and was interviewed on the hate group’s leader Frank Gaffney’s online radio show more than 20 times. During a February 2015 interview with Gaffney, Pompeo was asked whether President Obama had “kind of an affinity for, if not the violent beheading and crucifixions and slaying of Christians and all that, but at least for the cause for which these guys are engaged in such activities.” Pompeo’s response: “Frank, every place you stare at the president’s policies and statements, you see what you just described.”

Pompeo has framed the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as religious wars: During remarks to a church group, then-Congressman Pompeo said, "I can tell you that this threat to America is from people who deeply believe that Islam is the way and the light and the only answer. So, as we think about what the U.S. policy needs to be, and how we will begin to combat this, we need to recognize that these folks believe that it is religiously driven for them to wipe Christians from the face of the Earth." Pompeo also said, "...they will continue to press against us until we make sure that we pray and stand and fight and make sure that we know that Jesus Christ as our savior is truly the only solution for our world."

Pompeo has attempted to turn an anti-Muslim conspiracy theory into government policy: As a congressman, Pompeo co-sponsored a bill to designate the Muslim Brotherhood a "Foreign Terrorist Organization" (FTO). Experts view that the measure is only supported by anti-Muslim conspiracy theorists and hate groups like Act for America and Center for Security Policy that hope to use such a designation to launch baseless investigations into American Muslim civil society organizations, leaders and activists. In November 2016, J.M. Berger, a counterterrorism analyst at George Washington University’s Program on Extremism offered this opinion to Buzzfeed about the true objective behind the moment supporting the bill: “Let me be extremely clear. This initiative is concerned with controlling American Muslims, not with any issue pertaining to the Muslim Brotherhood in any practical or realistic sense.”

Pompeo would move the United States closer to war with Iran: In November 2016 Pompeo tweeted: “I look forward to rolling back this disastrous deal with the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism.” As a congressman, Pompeo also said, "Congress must act to change Iranian behavior, and, ultimately, the Iranian regime.”

Pompeo defended the CIA’s notorious use of torture under the George W. Bush administration: As a congressman Pompeo stated, “the programs being used were within the law, within the Constitution,” and opposed the release of the 2014 Senate torture report calling its release a “liberal game being played by the ACLU and Senator Feinstein.”

Pompeo supports keeping the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay open: He has stated the prison is, “critical to national security,” and opposes prisoner transfers from Guantanamo with bizarre statements such as, “The detainees at GTMO are treated exceptionally well – so well that some have even declined to be resettled, instead choosing to stay at GTMO.” Acts of torture at Guantanamo have been well documented.

Pompeo supports reestablishing the National Security Agency’s unconstitutional domestic spying programs: In a 2016 Wall Street Journal op-ed, Pompeo wrote: “Congress should pass a law re-establishing collection of all metadata, and combine it with publicly available financial and lifestyle information into a comprehensive, searchable database.”

Pompeo opposed the Paris climate accord: He has called the Paris climate accord a “costly burden,” and during his nomination hearing as director of the CIA call considering climate change a national security threat, “ignorant, dangerous and absolutely unbelievable.”