WASHINGTON, Dec. 31 /PRNewswire/-- The Council on American-Islamic Relations(CAIR), a Washington-based Islamic advocacy group, is calling on Rep. Jim Saxton (R-NJ) to retract a published statement claiming the Prophet Muhammad upheld terms of a treaty only when it was politically expedient to do so.

In an essay titled "My Almost-Trip to Israel," published on an Internet Web site of the organization "Gamla Shall Not Fall Again" (http://www.gamla.org.il/english/article/1998/dec/saxton.htm), Saxton commented negatively on what he termed the Middle East "peace process." Saxton wrote: "...how can anyone trust an agreement compared to the Treaty of Hudaibiya enacted by the Prophet Muhammad, in which a treaty lasts as long as political expediency dictates..."

After receiving complaints about the remarks from concerned Muslims, CAIR sent a letter to Rep. Saxton asking that he retract the defamatory statement and apologize to the American Muslim community. CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad wrote: "It is disturbing that you, in your capacity as a United States Congressman, would make such a deeply offensive and demonstrably false statement regarding the Prophet of Islam, the religion of six million Americans and more than one billion people worldwide. The Prophet Muhammad never broke any treaty."

Awad's letter included an outline of historical events relating to the Treaty of Hudaibya, showing that it was not the Prophet Muhammad who broke the treaty. In fact, U.S. News & World Report had to retract a similar accusation of deceit on the part of the Prophet. In 1996, the magazine's editors wrote, "...We deeply regret any ambiguity in the language...it was the Meccans, not the prophet Muhammad, who broke the peace of Hudaybiah of 628." (June 24, 1996)

CAIR's letter also questioned the context in which Saxton's remarks appeared, and asked him to clarify whether he endorsed other defamatory remarks on the "Gamla" Web site. Articles featured on the site included statements such as: "One understands the Arabs, driven by racistic (sic) Islamic ideology, want the Jews driven from every part of the land," and, "Remember, for Arabs and Muslims, words of agreement are not binding..." and, "If you are a Muslim and defender of the faith, breaking commitments for the sake of Allah is an act of absolute faith."

"One has to wonder where Representative Saxton obtained the inaccurate and offensive information he used to defame the Prophet Muhammad," said CAIR Board Chairman Omar Ahmad. "If this smear was supplied by foreign sources, Mr. Saxton had a duty to check the facts before causing offense to millions of Muslims in this country and worldwide," said Ahmad.