DETROIT — On Saturday, the United Arab Emirates designated the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Muslim American Society (MAS)— two U.S.-based Islamic groups — as terrorist organizations.

CAIR, MAS and a host of European Muslim organizations were included alongside violent extremist groups such al-Qaeda and the “Islamic State” on the list of terrorist organizations in the UAE, which was approved by the cabinet and announced in state media. 

A MAS representative said the group was “shocked” and “perplexed” by the UAE’s decision.

Dawud Walid, the executive director of CAIR-Michigan, denounced the designation and described it as “bizarre.”

“This decision has left much of the community stunned,” he said. “I have received calls locally, as well as around the country, saying that it doesn’t make any sense. I heard different people give their own explanation and conspiracy theories as to why a country halfway across the world would designee us as a terrorist organization, but the reality is that nobody knows.”

Locally, CAIR has been prominent in speaking out against religious and racial discrimination. The organization recently filed a lawsuit challenging placing Muslims on the No-Fly and Terrorist Watch lists without stated reasons.

The UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain have cracked down on the Muslim Brotherhood as a part of a regional standoff between the three Gulf monarchies and Qatar and Turkey, which both support the Brotherhood. 

The animosity between the Brotherhood and most Gulf states grew after the Saudi-backed Egyptian army overthrew Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in June of 2013, a year after he was democratically elected. 

Although the UAE does not specify why Western Muslim organizations were included on the list, many media reports speculated that the overstretched terrorism list is a part of the conflict with the Brotherhood.

The UAE Muslim Brotherhood tops the list of 82 organizations that were designated as terrorist groups by the Emarati cabinet. 

However, Walid denied any connection between CAIR and the Brotherhood.

“CAIR is an American-based organization that was founded to address the civil rights needs of American Muslims,” he said. “We have no ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. We are diverse organization of people who are Arab and non-Arab, Sunni and Shi’a. The Muslim Brotherhood is an organization that exists in the Arab World and is Sunni and was founded based on a particular historical context. That’s not us.”

Right wing bloggers used the news about CAIR and MAS as an opportunity to attack both organizations.

“CAIR is not, strictly speaking, a terrorist organization: it doesn’t blow things up or exhort others to do so,” wrote anti-Muslim blogger Robert Spencer. “It is, however, an Islamic supremacist organization with the same goals as those of al-Qaeda and the Islamic State: the imposition of Islamic law wherever and whenever possible.”

But Walid said the Emarati designation of CAIR will not provide anti-Muslim propagandists with much ammo because of its source.

“The problem with the Islamophobes’ advancing the issue so far is that the UAE itself has been accused of supporting extremists and has one of the worst human rights records on earth,” Walid said. “The UAE is not a beacon of democracy, nor does it have its hands clean to be used as a reference to label people as terrorists.”

Walid said the Gulf nations’ policies are self-serving.

“Those regimes’ number one priority is to sustain themselves,” he said. “Their number one concern is not the Arab world or the Muslims. It is to stay in power. It is easy to deflect their own internal issues on external threats, or even sometimes teaching ideology that gives birth or perpetuates extremists.”

Walid added that while CAIR officials have spoken at conventions overseas, they have never addressed the domestic issues of Gulf countries. Instead, they’ve focused on discussing Islamophobia in the United States.

“We don’t go to the Muslim world speaking against those regimes,” he said. 

Walid said CAIR’s work nationally and locally will not be impacted by the UAE’s decision.

“Our base has rallied around us,” he said. “I don’t think we’re going to lose any support from the American Muslim community. At CAIR-MI, we are funded 100 percent by our donors in the state and we have long ties with other organizations outside of the Muslim community. I don’t see this affecting our day-to-day job at CAIR.”

He added that CAIR-MI will continue to focus on civil rights advocacy, including ongoing cases of supporting the constructions of Islamic centers against zoning boards’ restrictions across Metro Detroit.

“We’re not going to be distracted by what some prince is saying in Abu Dhabi, Bahrain or anywhere else in the world. We have a job to do here,” he said.

According to Walid, the fact that CAIR is still operating amid federal scrutiny is proof that it does not have any links to terror.

“There’s never been anyone working in CAIR who has been convicted of terrorism,” he said. “CAIR is a licensed organization. So many Islamic charities and groups have been raided and shut down since 9/11. That CAIR has still been able to operate and never been indicted is proof that we have a clean bill of health.”

Dawud added that leaks published by journalist Glenn Greenwald revealed that CAIR national director Nihad Awad has been surveyed by the NSA for years, but the federal government could not find anything on him.

“If they had found one thing wrong on CAIR, we would have been closed down a long times ago.”

The Arab American Political Action Committee (AAPAC), which honored Walid at its annual dinner in November described the UAE’s decision as “puzzling”, highlighting the importance of CAIR’s advocacy.

“CAIR is well known as the largest Muslim Civil Rights organization and advocacy group in the United States,” said AAPAC president Ali Hammoud. “Here in Michigan, CAIR and its executive director, Dawud Walid, have been committed to the Muslim community and its interactions with the U.S. government and its treatment of Muslims. CAIR speaks on behalf of many U.S. citizens who are mistreated or discriminated against in some form because of their religious background.”

Hammoud demanded the UAE to remove American Muslim organizations from its list of terrorist groups “and publish the criteria it uses to make such determination.”  

“The designation is an insult to those who work very hard to combat islamophobia and civil rights violations in this country,” he told The Arab American News via email. 

The Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) said it was “extremely concerned” at the UAE’s decision to designate CAIR and MAS as terrorist organizations.

“The list compares the two institutions to terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda, ISIS and Boko Haram,” read a statement by MPAC. “These American Muslim institutions work on various advocacy, civil rights, education and community empowerment programs and are supported by various American Muslim communities.”

The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) also came to CAIR and MAS’s defense, calling on the affluent Gulf nation to remove them from the list.

“These mainstream American Muslim organizations are U.S.-based, with a rich legacy of service and dedication to protecting, promoting, supporting Muslim communities and defending the civil rights of Muslims in North America. They are being inaccurately labeled and associated with terrorist groups,” ISNA said in a statement. 

The United States objected to the designation of the U.S.- based organizations as terrorist and said it was seeking clarifications from the UAE on the matter. 

“The United States does not consider these organizations to be terrorist,” said State Department spokesperson Jeff Rathke on Monday. “We are seeking more information from the UAE about why that designation was made by them.”