Excerpt from Committee to Stop FBI Repression Press Conference

40 Centre St., Federal Court Steps, New York, NY

11:00 a.m., Dec. 15, 2011

IPT :
"Excuse me. Could I ask Mr. Ramadan a question?"

Dr. Shaik M. Ubaid:
"Yeah. Zead."

Zead Ramadan, President, Council of American-Islamic Relations, NY:
"Yes?"

IPT:
"Sir, do you consider Hamas a terrorist organization?"

Zead Ramadan:
"Oh, so you're with Pamela Geller's group Stop the Islamization of America?"

[IPT shakes head no.]

Zead Ramadan:
"Listen –"

Imam Talib Abdur Rashid, President, Islamic Leadership Council of Metropolitan New York:
"Do you consider Stop Islamization of America a hate group?"

Zead Ramadan:

"A hate group –"

IPT:
"No, I asked the question first."

Zead Ramadan:

"I'll tell you the answer. Islam, myself, and I think all people of conscience, are opposed to all terrorism in all of its forms against all the people of the world. Anyone who is innocent that is killed it's not the way of the Islamic people or people of conscience or people who stand for liberty and justice. Thank you very much."

IPT:

"No, specifically Hamas."

Zead Ramadan:

"I know what you're doing."

IPT:

"Specifically Hamas?"

Zead Ramadan:

"Not specifically Hamas. I'm concerned about the American –"

IPT:

"You will not condemn Hamas right now?"

Zead Ramadan:

"– the American Bill of Rights situation that we have here."

IPT:

"OK."

Zead Ramadan:

"You want to take our foreign policy issue and make it the number one issue in the world. No. The issue we have right here is the problem we have in America, and we're eroding."

Unknown Male:
"Hamas isn't here."

Unknown Male:
"Join Special Operations Command."

Unknown Male:

"Shut up."

Zead Ramadan:
"Hillary Clinton goes to Myanmar, China and starts telling them about their human rights and their erosion thereof. Well back here it seems to me that she's learning on how to get that done, because they're bringing that back here –"

IPT:

"I understand, but you won't answer my question then. Thank you."

Zead Ramadan:

"– and showing people how to erode our civil rights here."

Imam Talib Abdur Rashid:

"He already answered. You just didn't get the answer you wanted."