GOP objects to Muslim group forum

House Republicans said that Democrats should retract an invitation to let the nation’s largest Islamic civil liberties organization use a Capitol conference room for a seminar.

The House Republican Conference referred to the Council on American-Islamic Relations as “terrorist apologists” and called on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) to cancel the forum scheduled for today.

“It should be a concern to ordinary Republicans that the party is being viewed as a reservoir of anti-Muslim hate,” responded Ibrahim Hooper, the Muslim group’s national communications director .

The council has 32 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada and says its mission is “to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.”