Source: huffingtonpost.com

The United Arab Emirates designated two top U.S. Muslim organizations as terrorists groups on Saturday, drawing “shock” and confusion from representatives.

Ibrahim Hooper, left, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, speaks at a news conference regarding the arrest in Pakistan of five missing young men in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2009. Behind him are CAIR national executive director Nihad Awad, center, and and Imam Mahdi Bray, executive director of the Muslim American Society Freedom, right. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and Muslim American Society (MAS) were included in an approved list of designated terrorist organizations under an anti-terror law issued by President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Emirates News Agency reported.

“You see across the board groups reacting with shock,” CAIR spokesperson Corey Saylor told The Huffington Post by phone. “It’s truly bizarre.”

CAIR published a response on its website Sunday calling on the United Arab Emirates to reevaluate the list, which also names al Qaeda and the Islamic State, and remove organizations “that peacefully promote civil and democratic rights and that oppose terrorism whenever it occurs, wherever it occurs and whoever carries it out.”

Saylor said CAIR has not yet communicated with the UAE’s government but is seeking clarification on why these designations were approved.

“The message the UAE is sending is that people who engage in peaceful political activism will be designated as terrorists. I think thats a terrible message for the youth,” Saylor said. “You want young people to see [that] working within the system pays off.”

The Muslim American Society (MAS) said in a statement that it was “shocked” and “perplexed” by the … read more at huffingtonpost.com