Muslims Don't CAIR Like They Used To

Whenever some sort of deviant behavior draws the attention of law enforcement, you can count on the ACLU to jump up and defend it. The Muslims have their own version of the ACLU, called CAIR (Council on American Islamic Relations). CAIR spokesmen can be found whenever any Muslim anywhere is accused of just about anything, but this defense of the sometimes undefensible has cost CAIR most of its membership:

Membership in the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has declined more than 90 percent since the 2001 terrorist attacks, Audrey Hudson will report in Tuesday's editions of The Washington Times.

According to tax documents obtained by The Times, the number of reported members spiraled down from more than 29,000 in 2000 to less than 1,700 in 2006, a loss of membership that caused the Muslim rights group's annual income from dues to drop from $732,765 in 2000, when yearly dues cost $25, to $58,750 last year, when the group charged $35.

The organization instead is relying on about two dozen individual donors a year to contribute the majority of the money for CAIR's budget, which reached nearly $3 million last year. ...

The self-described civil liberties organization for Muslims seeks to portray "a positive image of Islam" through public relations and the media, but has instead alienated some by defending questionable accusations of discrimination.

Critics of the organization say they are not surprised membership is sagging, and that a recent decision by the Justice Department to name CAIR as "unindicted co-conspirators" in a federal case against another foundation charged with providing funds to a terrorist group could discourage new members.

It looks like CAIR has gone the way of Air America, another failing organization that was kept alive by a handful of wealthy donors.