MUSLIMS THANK SEN. HAGEL FOR MIDEAST CEASE-FIRE DEMAND

CAIR: ‘It takes great moral courage for elected officials to ignore party politics’

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 8/1/06) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today called on American Muslims and other people of conscience to thank Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE), a key Republican in the Senate, for demanding an immediate cease-fire in the Middle East.

Sen. Hagel said Monday: “How do we realistically believe that a continuation of the systematic destruction of an American friend, the country and people of Lebanon, is going to enhance America’s image and give us the trust and credibility to lead a lasting and sustained peace effort in the Middle East? The sickening slaughter on both sides, Mr. President, must end, and it must end now. President Bush must call for an immediate cease-fire. This madness must stop.”

President Bush has repeatedly turned down domestic and international demands for an immediate cease-fire. Hagel called on the president to name “a statesman of global stature” as an envoy to the region. He also urged direct talks with Iran and Syria.

SEE: Key Republican Breaks with Bush on Mideast (CNN) http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/07/31/hagel.mideast/

“It takes great moral courage for elected officials to ignore party politics and the pressure of special interest groups to stand on principle in a time of crisis,” said CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad. “Senator Hagel deserves the thanks of all those who wish to see an immediate end to the current round of violence in the Middle East.”

He also encouraged American Muslims to help the victims of the humanitarian crisis caused by Israeli attacks, to rally in the nation’s capital on August 12, to write letters to the editor and call radio talk shows, and to contact their elected representatives to demand that the United States support calls for a cease-fire.

Awad noted that other members of Congress from both parties are also calling for an immediate cease-fire. In a letter to the president, Representatives David Price (D-NC), Lois Capps (D-CA), James Leach (R-IA), and Bob Filner (D-CA) wrote that a refusal to support an immediate cease-fire is “strategically naïve.”