A member of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Advisory Council is under fire for tweeting on Thursday that America is “an Islamic country with an Islamically compliant constitution.”
Mohamed Elibiary, a member of DHS’s Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC), made the controversial claim on Thursday while arguing on Twitter.
A Twitter user who identified himself as Tim Lee asked Elibiary to “show me just ONE example of an Islamic country where non Muslims are treated with equality.”
Elibiary responded: “America and yes I do consider the United States of America an Islamic country with an Islamically compliant constitution. Move On!”
The online argument began after Elibiary accused America’s “right wing” of having an issue with Muslims and advised conservatives to “evolve.”
Elibiary went on to say that “sociologically speaking” the Christian right is “similar” to the Muslim Brotherhood.
This is not the first time that his tweets, which he says are his personal opinions, have become the subject of controversy.
Elibiary argued earlier this month that the Muslim Brotherhood is not a threat to the United States, according to the nonprofit Clarion Project, which has tracked and documented Elibiary’s online activity.
He also has called former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi “Egypt’s Mandela,” a reference to South Africa’s Nelson Mandela.
Elibiary has expressed great support for the Muslim Brotherhood, claiming in a recent interview with Clarion that the organization is “pragmatic” and “non-violent.”
Supporters of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood have been cited for a range of violent crimes before and after the fall of Morsi, including the desecration of churches and other abuses.
“I believe that MB and its political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party, has by and large acted responsibly, if not always effectively, during the democratic transition period that Egypt is in the very early stages of,” Elbiary told Clarion.
Elibiary has served on the DHS’ “Countering Violent Extremist Working Group,” as well as its “Faith-based Security and Communications Advisory Committee.”
Elibiary’s critics say that someone with his views should not be advising DHS, the country’s chiefcounter-terror agency responsible for advising local governments across the country.
“This isn’t just a foreign policy issue,” said Ryan Mauro, a national security analyst for the Clarion Project. “Elibiary’s beliefs are reflected in DHS training guidelines that leave counter-terrorism personnel unaware that the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood even exists.”
Neither Elibiary nor a DHS spokesperson responded to a Washington Free Beaconrequest for comment.
DHS was engulfed in controversy earlier this year when an employee was put on administrative leave for operating a website promoting race wars.
Media reports showed that Ayo Kimathi, formerly an acquisitions officer at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, was the proprietor of “War on the Horizon,” a website that trafficked conspiracy theories and criticized the mixing of races.
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