DNC Boss Wasserman Schultz to Keynote Muslim Group's Fundraiser

Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz will be the keynote speaker at the annual fundraising banquet of a Muslim group with some controversial connections.

EMERGE USA -- which is aligned with the Florida-based Center for Voter Advocacy -- is headed by Khurrum Wahid, a South Florida attorney. According to the Florida Bar, Wahid has defended individuals charged with allegedly committing or conspiring to commit acts of terrorism.

According to the organizations mission statement, EMERGE [Empowering Motivating Educating Resourceful Grassroots Entities] aims to politically empower and train its constituents to be effective community organizers and work in coalitions to advance beneficial policies and legislation that help protect and enforce the rights afforded by the United States Constitution.

Critics of EMERGE say a Wahid-led banquet is an odd venue for Wasserman Schultz, a Jewish congresswoman from Fort Lauderdale, to be breaking Halal bread with on April 21.

Among other connections, Wahid has spoken at an event sponsored by the American arm of the South Asian Muslim Brotherhood (Jamaat-e-Islami) and the Islamic Circle of North America, an organization that has been connected to the financing of both al-Qaida and Hamas.

"Wasserman Schultz likes to flaunt her Jewish identity and false pro-Israel persona, but how can she begin to do so when the organization she will be addressing maintains staff who display animosity toward the Jewish state?" asks Joe Kaufman, a Republican candidate seeking to unseat the Democrat in the 23rd Congressional District.