The Anthony Weiner Muslim Conspiracy Theory Just Got Nuttier: Huma Abedin And The Muslim Brotherhood
THE Anthony Weiner is a Muslim conspiracy theory gets even more nutty. Richard Bartholomew takes up the story:
Following widespread ridicule of the suggestion that Anthony Weiner may have secretly converted to Islam as part of a socialist plot to orchestrate a Muslim takeover of the USA, the conspiracy-mongerers are now settling on the idea that Weiner’s wife Huma Abedin – who works as an aide to Hilary Clinton – may be a spy for the Muslim Brotherhood. The inspiration for this has come from Walid Shoebat (whose views I overviewed here) and Ben Barrack; as they explain:
Al-Liwa Al-Arabi (translated here) claims to have leaked an extensive list, which was partially published by Al-Jazeera and several other major Arab newspapers. The detailed list included Huma’s mother, Saleha Abedin, as belonging to the Brotherhood’s secret women’s division known as the Muslim Sisterhood or what is known as the International Women’s Organization (IWO). Egyptian Al-Dostor revealed that the Sisternood included 63 International members that span 16 different countries; it’s also confirmed by the Arab Centre for Studies, headed by researcher Abdul Rahim Ali. Neither Huma nor any major western media outlet even mention what is common knowledge in the Arab world. Yet, confirmed by Arab sources – is that Huma Abedin has a brother named Hassan Abedin who works at Oxford University.
The theory is that because these relatives haven’t condemned Huma’s marriage to a non-Muslim, this may be a sign that they’re in on the conspiracy. Given this, we apparently do not need to dwell on the fact that there is no evidence that Huma has ever abused either her own or her husband’s professional position in any way.
But what what of Shoebat’s touted “SECRET Muslim Brotherhood Connections” among Huma’s relatives? Shoebat doesn’t give us much to go on: the link given for Al-Liwa Al-Arabi leads to an obscure and short-lived blog from January 2010, while the al-Jazeera piece is largely derivative of Egyptian newspapers (so far as I can tell from Google translate). The aforementioned Abdul Rahim Ali appears to be the actual source, but where he got his information from remains unclear.
Saleha Abedin appears to be a respectable academic and a moderate: she’s a co-chair of the Global Peace Initiative of Women, and, according to her profile there:
Dr. Abedin is a member of several inter-faith organizations committed to promoting peace and dialogue including the Millennium World Peace Summit, the Vienna Round Table for Christian Muslim Dialogue, the Peace Council, the Parliament of World Religions, and the World Council of Muslims for Interfaith Relations. She is also committed to promoting the advancement of women and has been part of a founding group for a pioneering women’s college. Dr. Saleha Abedin serves as the Director of the Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs.
But even if Shoebat’s claim turns out to be correct, it’s a rather big jump from identifying a “member” of the Muslim Brotherhood to showing that that this person’s daughter is therefore a spy working against the USA.
The “SECRET Connection” regarding Huma’s brother is even more tenuous: the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, where he’s based, has some troubling names on its board, but the notion that this is somehow the key to understanding the OCIS as an Islamist conspiracy is excessive.
There is no evidence that Huma Abedin has been involved in any wrongdoing. The abuse now being heaped on her by conservative websites in no more than a witch-hunt against a successful young woman, at a time when she is doubtless suffering great personal distress and humiliation over her husband’s sexual failings. It’s distasteful to witness.
Posted: 17th, June 2011 | In: Key Posts, Politicians Comments (3) | TrackBack | Permalink
