US-Islamic Relations Group Welcomes Report on Right-Wing Extremism

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the largest Muslim civil rights group in the United States, welcomed the forthcoming report by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on the threat assessment of domestic right-wing extremist groups, CAIR said in a press release on Friday.

"We welcome this new intelligence assessment on the threat posed by domestic right-wing violent extremists,” CAIR said. “It is the government's responsibility to address all forms of violent extremism — regardless of ideology — and in proportion to the criminal threat posed by those groups.”

Without having an understanding of the threat posed by all forms of violent extremism, US national security remains at risk, CAIR explained in the statement.

CAIR also called on DHS and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation to conduct and an analysis of the uptick in hate crimes against “Muslim, Arab, Middle Eastern, Sikh, Hindu, and South Asian communities throughout the United States.”

The DHS report comes on the heels of a three-day Countering Violent Extremism summit hosted by the White House that ended on Thursday.

On February 12, CAIR said in a press release that the US approach to countering extremism disproportionately targets and stigmatizes American Muslims and Islam.

CAIR was established in 1994 and is headquartered in Washington, DC. The organization’s mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue and protect the civil liberties of American Muslims, according to the CAIR’s mission statement.