The new chief of staff for the National Security Council is facing criticism from several civil rights groups and metro Detroit leaders for making what they say are negative remarks against Muslim-Americans, including those who live in Michigan.
The National Security Council announced last week that Fred Fleitz, a former CIA analyst and a senior vice president at the Center for Security Policy, is the Council's new Chief of Staff and Executive Secretary and also Deputy Assistant to President Donald Trump. A spokesman for the Council confirmed to the Free Press on Friday Fleitz's appointment.
Chaired by the President, the National Security Council is part of the White House and is the President's main forum for advising him on foreign affairs and security issues.
Fleitz said in an interview last year with Breitbart News that "there are some communities in the United States that have not assimilated. I’m not concerned about Amish or Jewish communities, but I will tell you that there are enclaves of Muslim communities in Michigan and Minnesota that concern me."
Fleitz added: "The problem with these Muslim communities is that it is making them susceptible to this radical worldview that wants to destroy modern society, create a global caliphate, and impose sharia law on everyone on Earth."
Fleitz also attacked what he said were “communities where British Muslims are deliberately not assimilating, are being taught to hate British society, and this is incubating radicalism. There’s actually a parallel system of sharia law courts in the U.K. that operate."
His remarks have drawn concern now that he is in a powerful position in the U.S. government.
A range of groups, such as the Arab American Institute, Council on American-Islamic Relations, Southern Poverty Law Center, Muslim Advocates, and the Jewish civil rights group Anti-Defamation League released statements last week slamming his appointment, saying it's part of a pattern of officials with bigoted views being appointed in the Trump administration.
"This move is destructive," Rula Aoun, executive director of the Arab American Civil Rights League, in Dearborn, told the Free Press. "To have someone whose knowledge is grounded in nothing but conspiracy theories is detrimental to our foreign and domestic policies. It’s scary to know that this individual is" a close adviser to the president.
Fleitz was appointed by National Security Advisor John Bolton, whom Fleitz has worked for before as Bolton's chief of staff in the State Dept. under President George W. Bush. Bolton and State Department Secretary Mike Pompeo have also drawn criticism for their views on Muslims.
Maya Berry, executive director of the Arab American Institute (Photo: Maya Berry)
Maya Berry, a native of Dearborn who is executive director of the Arab American Institute in Washington D.C., said she is "tremendously concerned" about Fleitz being in an influential position.
"It's hate and it's bigotry and it has real consequences," Berry said. "These are people who are going to make decisions. ... We pay their salaries" as taxpayers.
She said Fleitz is ignorant of how Muslims and Arab-Americans have contributed to Michigan.
Michigan has the highest concentration of residents of Middle Eastern descent, according to the U.S. Census. Many of them are Muslim and have been in the state for several generations. Cities like Dearborn and Hamtramck have sizable Muslim populations, who have increasingly become targets of some rightwing commentators.
People like Fleitz used to be on the fringes, but are now in power, Berry said.
A spokesman for Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, Ari Adler, said in response to Fleitz's remarks on Muslims in Michigan:
"We have a rich, multicultural fabric in Michigan, including a large population of Muslims. People from all religious and ethnic backgrounds provide a special diversity that is part of Michigan’s heritage and our future. Gov. Snyder has worked consistently and successfully with Michigan’s Arab American and Chaldean populations for many years now. He remains committed to working with community partners to continue his efforts to make Michigan a welcome place for new American residents."
On his website, Fleitz said he "is not doing media interviews at this time."
Contacted by the Free Press, a spokesman for the National Security Council said: "The attacks on Fred Fleitz as an Islamophobe are another attempt by some to paint the Trump Administration with a broad anti-Muslim brush."
The spokesman said "Fleitz supports the President’s national security and foreign policies. He supervises a transparent, interagency process to present information and coordinate the presentation of policy options for the President and his National Security Council.
The implication that he is in a position to promote a personal agenda is uninformed and scurrilous. The suggestion that Ambassador Bolton is convening an anti-Muslim cabal is untrue and despicable."
Scott Simpson, public advocacy director at Muslim Advocates, said: "The appointment of Fred Fleitz – a leader of the anti-Muslim and conspiracy-obsessed hate group Center for Security Policy – speaks volumes about the administration’s prioritization of fear-mongering and racism over actual national security issues."
The Center for Security Policy is a conservative think-tank that has been criticized for promoting hate against Muslims, a claim the group has denied.
The Anti-Defamation League's CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement that “Fleitz’s senior leadership role with the Center for Security Policy, an Islamophobic, conspiracy-promoting organization, should automatically disqualify him from a position that deals with America’s most essential foreign policy and national security interests.”
Imam Mohammad Elahi, religious leader of the Islamic House of Wisdom in Dearborn Heights, echoed the concerns, saying it "looks like we still have a long way before we overcome the illness and ignorance related to Islamophobia."
The spokesman for the National Security Council said: "Fleitz does not believe Muslims are trying to take over the US or infiltrate the US government. He views prejudice and discrimination against any religion as deeply offensive."
At the same time, "Fleitz stands by his criticism of radical Islam as a global movement at war with modern society," said the spokesman for the National Security Council. "He notes that radical Islam is a greater threat to the vast majority of the world’s Muslims who are peaceful."
The spokesman also said that Fleitz condemned the "Draw Mohammed" cartoon contest in 2015 in Texas that insulted Islam's prophet "because he does not support activities intended to insult members of a particular religion – Muslim or Christian."
He added that Fleitz "is a strong supporter" of Muslim-American leader Dr. Zuhdi Jasser of Arizona, who is the president of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy and co-founder of the Muslim Reform Movement.
Dr. Jasser has defended Fleitz, saying the groups are unfairly attacking him.
"These groups are conflating somebody who is anti-Islamist with ... being anti-Islam or bigoted against Muslims," Jasser told the Free Press. "I've known Fred for years. I've never gotten a sense from him" that he's prejudiced against Muslims.
"He makes a distinction between those who believe in Islamism, and those who believe in American constitutional law."
Jasser said the groups attacking Fleitz have "grievance narratives that dominate their platforms and avoid the necessary reforms we need to have."
Contact Niraj Warikoo: nwarikoo@freepress.com or 313-223-4792. Follow him on Twitter @nwarikoo
