Two Muslim Brotherhood organizations and powerhouse Islamic groups that seek to Islamize America are holding a conference that is expected to draw 9,500 Muslims to Chicago during the week of Christmas.  

The Muslim American Society (MAS) and the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) are planning their convention titled “Toward a Renaissance:  believe, act & engage” December 21-25, 2012 at the Sheraton Downtown Chicago.   “Renaissance” means Islamist dogma based upon the conference statement “The Arab Spring associated with the Islamic Awakening in many parts of the Muslim world.”

Rick Ueno, General Manager of the Sheraton Downtown Chicago responded to Florida Family Association's concerns regarding the convention on December 3, 2012. He wrote in part:  Please know that the Sheraton Chicago follows a non-discriminatory policy with regard to the booking of groups or events, and we intend to honor our commitment/contract for this event.  Mr. Ueno's full email is posted at the end of this email.

There is no “non-discrimination” law or corporate policy which protects the anti-social behavior advocated by these organizations.  These groups espouse strong racism and anti-Semitism.  They advocate and lobby for Sharia law in America which is antithetical to the rights afforded all Americans under the United States Constitution.  They are associated with the Muslim Brotherhood and the entire jihad that is behind that organization.

Sadly, it appears that America hoteliers are not willing to offend Islamists but have no problem cancelling traditional America values conferences.  The Amerimar Enterprise owned Hutton Hotel canceled a pro-American, pro-Family groups’ Preserving Freedom Conference scheduled for November 11, 2011 that was designed to combat Sharia.  The Hutton Hotel cancelled the conference after receiving complaints from Islamists.  Amerimar Enterprise sided with Islamic extremists.

The Sheraton Downtown Chicago is owned by The Tishman Hotel Corporation which is headed by Daniel R. Tishman. 

According to the Jewish Virtual Library “The Tishmans were prominent in Jewish philanthropies.   Among many campaigns, Alan Tishman was a vice president of UJA Federation of New York” and “Daniel was president of Israel Bonds' Greater New York appeal.”

Given the Tishman family’s devotion to Israel and Judaism it is difficult to understand why The Tishman Hotel Corporation would allow the anti-Semitic, Hamas-linked, Muslim Brotherhood groups to hold a convention in their hotel.

According to the Anti-Defamation League:

MAS is closely allied with the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), a Muslim community organization based in Jamaica, New York. While ICNA provides various educational programs and services to local Muslim communities, it has also promoted anti-Semitism and extremism.

MAS holds its annual conventions together with ICNA, drawing thousands of participants each year. These conventions have featured known anti-Semites and provided a platform for extremist rhetoric.

At their joint convention in Rosemont, Illinois, from December 23-27, 2010, several speakers made anti-Semitic and conspiratorial remarks, portraying Jews as a privileged group with undue power. During a panel about U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East sponsored by the anti-Israel group American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), Osama Abuirshaid, an AMP board member, said that the Jewish community is "revered in this country [the United States]" and spoke of "the Israel lobby" and its influence on the U.S. government. Abuirshaid asked, "How influential is this lobby in Washington?  This establishment is as committed to Israel as it is to America."

Othman Atta, a frequent speaker at AMP events, claimed "U.S. politicians don't have any concern for people in the Middle East, besides one group of people," referring to the Jews. Atta then went on to lambaste Judaism, saying, "Theft, detention, denial of rights…this is all done in the name of the Jewish religion." In front of an audience of hundreds, Atta delved into conspiracy theory, explaining that the perceived absence of WikiLeaks cables about Israel was a result of the documents being "censored by the media in the United States." Three members of the fringe movement Neturei Karta, who regularly appear at anti-Israel and anti-Semitic events, also attended the 2010 MAS-ICNA convention.

One year earlier, at the MAS-ICNA joint convention in December 2009, religious scholars and political activists railed against Jews from both a political and theological standpoint. Rafiq Jaber, former President of the Islamic Association of Palestine, a Hamas-affiliated anti-Semitic propaganda organization, described Jews to the audience as "the worst kind of people," who came to Jerusalem "with false pretenses."

Another speaker, Hamed Ghazali, Chairman of the MAS Council of Islamic Schools and professor at the Islamic American University in Michigan, told convention participants in Arabic that "Allah gave us the Jews" as the primary historical and religious example of those who "take the wrong path."

Sheikh Raghib Al Serjani, an author and physician from Egypt, declared in Arabic, "It is the duty for all Muslims to liberate all of Palestine from the North to the South, from Al Quds to the sea, it's a duty for all Muslims to liberate one complete full land of Palestine… It's not just about liberating Al Quds. It's all occupied!"

MAS and ICNA sought to draw participants to the December 2009 convention by advertising two known anti-Semitic extremists from abroad as keynote speakers: Zaghloul Al Najjar, an Egyptian cleric who has described Jews as "devils in human form," and Ra'ed Salah, leader of the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel, who served jail time for financing Hamas.

Although neither of the advertised speakers attended the convention, Salah was clearly praised by several individuals who did speak at the event. Omar Abu Irshaid, editor of Al Meezan online publication, and former editor of the anti-Semitic publication linked to the Islamic Association of Palestine (IAP), referred to Salah as "our great Muslim sheikh" and said, "Sheikh Raed is far more knowledgeable and far more experienced. I wish he was here to speak instead of me."

Anti-Semitic messages are not new to these organizations. At an MAS-ICNA strategy meeting in Chicago in June 2001, Zulfiqar Ali Shah, ICNA's president at the time, stated: "If we are unable to stop the Jews now, their next stop is Yathrib [Saudi Arabia], where the Jews used to live until their expulsion by Prophet Muhammad.  That's the pinnacle of their motives," according to Islam Online, a Web-based publication connected to Sheik Yusuf Qaradawi.

MAS and ICNA have also worked with the North American branch of a radical anti-Semitic and anti-American Pakistani organization, Tanzeem-e-Islami, which operates in the U.S. under the name Islamic Organization of North America (IONA). MAS and ICNA leaders have attended IONA events. At IONA's official launching event in June 2004, Dr. Souheil Ghannouchi, MAS executive director and former president, said "I don't think there is any difference" between IONA and MAS ideology.

IONA has also distributed anti-Semitic literature, including a book that blames the Jews for spreading usury in order to advance various conspiracies against humanity.  The book, The Prohibition of Riba, reads: "Shylock, and the world of Shylocks, in real life today, are in control of the world economy and are constantly carving out their pound of flesh from the dying carcass of gentile humanity. The supreme Shylocks of today are the bankers, of whom Jewish bankers take pride of place, the International Monetary Fund and the world Bank, in which Jewish influence is significant, and the governments of the western world which today control the global economy, and in which Jews wield significant influence."

Click here to read more at ADL.org  

According to Front Page Magazine

One major speaker is Tariq Ramadan, who was banned from entering the U.S. in 2004 because of a donation he made to a Hamas front. The ban was lifted in 2010 on orders from Secretary of State Clinton. He is the grandson of Hassan al-Banna, the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood and the son of Said Ramadan, who was a major Brotherhood leader in Europe.

Nihad Awad is the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), an unindicted co-conspirator in the largest terrorism financing trial in U.S. history. The federal government says CAIR is a creation of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood’s Palestine Committee. Awad publicly supported Hamas as far back as 1994 and referred to the terrorist group and Hezbollah as “liberation movements” in an Arabic interview with Al-Jazeera in 2004.

Siraj Wahhaj is a favorite of the various Brotherhood affiliates and was listed as an “unindicted person who may be alleged as co-conspirators” in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. He preaches that the U.S. should become an Islamic State.

“If only Muslims were clever politically, they could take over the United States and replace its constitutional government with a caliphate. If we were united and strong, we’d elect our own emir and give allegiance to him. Take my word, if eight million Muslims unite in America, the country will come to us,” he said.

Wahhaj has said that “America is the most wicked government on the face of the planet Earth” and that the U.S. is a “garbage can” that he prays “crumbles.” The book Muslim Mafia quotes Wahhaj preaching violence. “We don’t need to arm the people with 9mms and Uzis. You need to arm them with righteousness first. And once you arm them with righteousness first, then you can arm them,” he said, as well as “I will never tell people, ‘Don’t be violent.’ That’s not the Islamic way.”

Imam Zaid Shakir told the New York Times in 2006 that he hopes to see the U.S. nonviolently become an Islamic State one day. He approves of attacks on U.S. soldiers in America and says that Hezbollah’s bombing of the Marine barracks in Lebanon was not an act of terrorism. In April, he wrote a poem that put the U.S. and its military in a disgustingly negative light. He believes in 9/11 conspiracy theories and blasts the U.S. for “demonizing” Osama Bin Laden and the Taliban, while characterizing Al-Qaeda, Hamas and other Islamist terrorists as flawed freedom fighters.

Click here to read more at Frontpagemag.com.

Islamic Circle of North America is (ICNA) is a leading defender of Sharia law in America.  ICNA’s web site Defendingreligiousfreedom.com wages battle on efforts to prevent Sharia law from encroaching in American courts.

The Islamic Circle of North America waged a billboard campaign in Kansas aimed at opposing legislation that would prohibit Kansas courts from considering Sharia law. Thankfully the Kansas Legislature approved the bill which was signed into law by Governor Sam Brownback. The Islamic Circle of North America web site has not updated their map below to report that Kansas passed the legislation.

The Islamic Circle of North America reports legislation to prohibit state courts from considering foreign laws including Islamic Sharia: • Failed in 14 states: Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, Texas, South Carolina, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming. • Passed in 4 states: Arizona, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Tennessee. • Stalled in 5 states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, New Hampshire, New Jersey.

Americans who are concerned about the activities and dogma of MSA and ICNA have the First Amendment Right to ask Tishman Hotels to avoid conventions involving anti-Semitic, Hamas-linked, Muslim Brotherhood groups.

Florida Family Association has prepared an email for you to send to Tishman Hotel Corporation officials and hotel manager. 

The email for this article was deactivated.

Tishman owns the following hotels:  Westin New York at Times Square, E Walk Retail on 42^nd Street, Intercontinental New York Times Square, Walt Disney World Dolphin, Walt Disney World Swann, Sheraton Downtown Chicago, Renaissance Chicago, O’Hare Suites Hotel, Sheraton Old San Juan Hotel, Warner Center Marriott, Rio Mar Beach Resort & Spa A Wyndham Grand Resort and 165 Halsey Street.

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Contact Information:

Tishman Hotel Corporation
666 5th Ave., 36th Fl.
New York, NY 10103
Phone: 212-399-3600
Fax:        212-739-7065

Daniel R. Tishman, Vice Chairman
Tishman@tishman.com

John A. Vickers, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
Vickers@tishman.com

David A. Bagwell, Chief Operating & Marketing Officer Tishman Hotel Corporation
Bagwell@tishman.com

Charles C. Cocotas, Executive Vice President, Tishman Hotel Corporation
Cocotas@tishman.com

Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers
301 E. North Water Street
Chicago, IL 60611
Phone 312.329.7051  
Fax 312.329.7056

Rick.Ueno@Sheraton.com
Rick Y. Ueno, General Manager

Email Response from Sheraton Chicago Downtown:

From: "Rick Ueno (Chicago)"
To: "david caton"
Sent: Monday, December 3, 2012 2:10:10 PM
Subject: Follow-up

Dear Mr. Caton,

Thank you for contacting us. 

Please know that the Sheraton Chicago follows a non-discriminatory policy with regard to the booking of groups or events, and we intend to honor our commitment/contract for this event. 

We do not have an affiliation with this group, nor hundreds of other organizations and businesses whose events we host yearly, other than contracting to provide facilities for these gatherings.

Sincerely,

RICK Y UENO
General Manager, Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers
t — 312.329.7051  f — 312.329.7056

SHERATON CHICAGO HOTEL & TOWERS
301 E. North Water Street, Chicago, IL 60611

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