Well, no, the Council for American-Islamic Relations is an Islamic supremacist group spawned by the Muslim Brotherhood, and the mission of the Brotherhood is to implement sharia. Hence its motto for the last 90 years or so: “Allah is our objective. The Prophet is our leader. The Koran is our law. Jihad is our way. Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope. Allahu Akbar!“
Don’t take my word for it. Meet Bassem Khafagi. As I recounted in The Grand Jihad, Khafagi was CAIR’s “community affairs director” — sorta like an Islamist community organizer. He was also a founder of the Islamic Assembly of North America, a Michigan-based organization notorious for endorsing al Qaeda figures, promoting sharia, and defending female genital mutilation. Khafagi’s career as an Islamist activist in America was, alas, cut short when what surely must have been a misunderstanding led him to plead guilty in Detroit federal court to bank fraud and visa fraud charges. But there’s always a silver lining, insha Allah. In 2003, Khafagi was deported to Egypt where, thanks to the magic that is the Arab Spring, he is now … running for president!
The candidate’s platform? He is pushing for “the complete implementation of Islamic law in Egypt.” As Khafagi helpfully explains, “part of” sharia has long been part of Egypt’s legal code. “What the Egyptian people want,” he says (quite correctly, if the recent parliamentary elections are any indication), “is to complete this implementation. As president, I will personally assist in the completion of the correct implementation of the sharia, by consulting experts.” Fabulous. Robert Spencer provides details at Jihad Watch, including video courtesy of MEMRI-TV.
I guess it all depends on what your definition of “civil rights” is …