The Council on American-Islamic Relations is up in arms over the imminent deportation of Sami Hamdi, a radical Islamic agitator from the United Kingdom who allegedly suggested the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks on Israel were worth celebrating.
Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, confirmed in a statement to Blaze News that as the result of work undertaken by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, “this individual’s visa was revoked and he is in ICE custody pending removal.”
As of Monday morning, the online Immigration and Customs Enforcement database does not presently have a Sami Hamdi from the U.K. listed as being in custody.
‘How many of you felt the euphoria, Allahu akbar?’
“Under President Trump, those who support terrorism and undermine American national security will not be allowed to work or visit this country,” continued McLaughlin. “It’s commonsense.”
The State Department said in a statement, “We’ve said it before, we’ll say it again: The United States has no obligation to host foreigners who support terrorism and actively undermine the safety of Americans.”
Hamdi’s detention came just days after the RAIR Foundation USA published a damning report concerning the British national’s history of radical remarks and associations, stating, “Every appearance Hamdi makes in America is not merely a speech — it operates effectively as a deployment node in an organized influence and mobilization program serving a foreign militant Islamic cause on U.S. soil. His talks are not educational but tactical.”
During an October 2023 panel discussion at a British mosque, Hamdi suggested that rather than pitying the Palestinians, Muslims should “celebrate the victory,” apparently referencing the Hamas terror attacks that claimed the lives of over 1,200 people in Israel including 46 Americans.
“Allah has shown the world that no normalization can erase the Palestinian cause,” said Hamdi. “When everybody thought it was finished, it’s roaring. How many of you feel it in your hearts when you got the news that it happened? How many of you felt the euphoria, Allahu akbar? How many of you felt it? Why did you feel it? Because the despair vanished.”
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Photo by Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Image
Hamdi also suggested that the reports of rapes by Hamas terrorists were lies.
Although Hamdi has suggested that his remarks were misrepresented and has denied that he celebrated the events of Oct. 7, he has since characterized the Hamas terror attacks as a “natural consequence of the oppression that was being put on the Palestinians.”
Blaze News has reached out to Hamdi for comment.
Hamdi, the managing director of a group that purportedly “advises on political environments across the globe,” spoke on Saturday at the Sacramento Valley chapter of CAIR’s annual banquet and was scheduled to speak to CAIR Florida on Sunday.
Federal immigration officials detained Hamdi Sunday morning at San Francisco International Airport, cutting short his speaking tour.
CAIR, whose co-founder said in a speech that the Hamas terror attacks on unarmed women and children made him “happy,” condemned Hamdi’s detention and called for his release.
The organization — which the Justice Department named as an unindicted co-conspirator in a terrorism financing case — stated that “abducting a prominent British Muslim journalist and political commentator on a speaking tour in the United States because he dared to criticize the Israeli government’s genocide is a blatant affront to free speech.”
“Our attorneys and partners are working to address this injustice. We call on ICE to immediately account for and release Mr. Hamdi, whose only ‘crime’ is criticizing a foreign government that committed genocide,” continued the Washington, D.C.-based group. “Our nation must stop abducting critics of the Israeli government at the behest of unhinged Israel First bigots. This is an Israel First policy, not an America First policy, and it must end.”
The Muslim Council of Britain has signaled common cause with CAIR and called for the U.K. government to “take urgent diplomatic action” to ensure “Hamdi’s rights are protected.”
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