Former Va. appointee says 'jihad' comment misinterpreted

Esam Omeish

By MATTHEW BARAKAT
Associated Press

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The president of a controversial Muslim advocacy group who resigned from the Virginia Commission on Immigration amid questions about past anti-Israel rhetoric said Friday his ouster is the result of right-wing efforts to smear Muslims.

Dr. Esam Omeish, a northern Virginia surgeon and president of the Muslim American Society, resigned Thursday from the commission after Gov. Timothy M. Kaine expressed concern about excerpts of Omeish's speeches that had been posted on various Web sites.

Omeish denounced the "Israeli war machine" and that country's invasion of southern Lebanon during a 2006 rally in Washington. And in 2000, he endorsed "the jihad way" in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

At a press conference Friday, Omeish acknowledged that some of his rhetoric could be misinterpreted but said his views should not have been a surprise, given the Muslim American Society's support of the Palestinian people.

"It is not a call for violence. We never condone terrorists," Omeish said of his speeches on behalf of the Palestinians. "We have been very clear from the beginning. It is the same every time we speak. It's consistent based on our beliefs."

He said the reference to "jihad" came in a speech before Sept. 11, 2001, and referred to the Islamic concept of struggle rather than holy war. But he admitted that the word can be misunderstood in a post-Sept. 11 environment.

Mahdi Bray, executive director of the Muslim American Society's Freedom Foundation, defended Omeish's speeches.

"What's the big news? Everybody knows Muslims feel passionately about the Palestinian issue," Bray said. "What in the world is wrong about talking about the invasion of Lebanon or the plight of the Palestinian people?"

Some anti-terror groups have for years been critical of the Muslim American Society, alleging that it is essentially a front group for Islamic radicals and citing links to the Muslim Brotherhood, a popular movement in the Muslim world that advocates the formation of Islamic governments in the Middle East.

Omeish said the Muslim American Society was formed as an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood but now is completely separate. He praised the Brotherhood for taking what he said has been a more moderate outlook in recent years.

Asked if the society agrees with the U.S. government's designation of Hamas and Hezbollah as terrorist groups, Omeish said, "We are Americans. We stand by the position of our government." He added that "the Palestinian cause is a just cause."

Since 2003, the society has been active in the anti-war movement, playing a prominent role in numerous protests and marches in Washington.

During the press conference, Omeish praised "the wise leadership of Gov. Kaine" and said he volunteered to resign so he would not be a distraction to the newly formed immigration commission.

Omeish, 39, a Fairfax County resident who immigrated to America as a young boy from Libya, said Kaine was reacting to "speech excerpts taken out of context by proponents of a relentless campaign of ... Islamophobia."

Kaine said in a press release Thursday that "Dr. Omeish is a respected physician and community leader, yet I have been made aware of certain statements he has made which concern me."

On Friday, Republican delegates questioned the Kaine administration's vetting process in nominating Omeish to the commission.

"I don't know how a problem of this magnitude could have slipped through the Governor's screening process," Del. C. Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah, said in a statement. Gilbert had written a letter to Kaine on Wednesday questioning Omeish's appointment.

Secretary of the Commonwealth Katherine K. Hanley, who vets the recommendations for appointments to boards and commissions for Kaine, said she was unaware of the "body of video" that surfaced Thursday.

"If I had been, that certainly would have been part of the process," she said.

Because of the Omeish incident, searching YouTube for video of applicants will now be part of the background inquiry process for future potential appointees. The administration also is giving Hanley's office broader use of Lexis-Nexis, a premium subscription online research service. The number of users in her office is being increased from one to four at a cost of about $100 monthly per additional user.

Kaine spokesman Kevin Hall said that while the administration had not been aware of the videos, it was generally aware of the controversy surrounding the Muslim American Society.

Associated Press writer Bob Lewis contributed to this report from Richmond.