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McCaul under fire for madrassa claim

by Jordan Fabian - 07/30/08 6:27 PM ET

Rep. Michael McCaul (R) is engaged in a tussle with his Democratic opponent over his role in the tale of two American students found at an allegedly radical Muslim madrassa overseas.

After viewing a documentary called “Karachi Kids” and taking a congressional trip to Pakistan over the Independence Day recess, McCaul called for the release of the two boys reportedly being held at the madrassa. McCaul appeared on news programs saying, “They’re clearly being held against their will.”

{mosads}McCaul called the school a “radical madrassa” and echoed a claim in the film that Osama bin Laden had visited it before Sept. 11, 2001.

But according to a CNN report that aired Sunday, the madrassa featured in the documentary is a moderate institution whose name is confused with a more radical Islamic academy.

CNN used State Department documents and a non-governmental organization’s report as the basis for its claim. The program showed Imran Raza, the film’s director, saying, “I have to take responsibility for the mistakes.”

But in an interview Wednesday, Raza said that the CNN report was a “great misconception.” He said that he has seen intelligence that “clearly shows that this madrassa is aligned with the Taliban and terrorist groups,” adding that the State Department report used by CNN was “outdated.”

The filmmaker said that his comment about the film’s “mistakes” only pertained to bin Laden’s visit to the school, which he confirmed was an error.

McCaul’s opponent, former “Texas Justice” host Larry Joe Doherty (D), seized upon the report, issuing a statement about McCaul’s “far-fetched political stunt that is beginning to backfire.”

Doherty spokesman Jon Niven said that McCaul “exploit[ed] two children who claim to have not been in danger, and then present[ed] himself with a trophy of being a champion of homeland security.”

Raza reiterated his support for McCaul, saying “it is a frustrating process, because the congressman is dealing with this story.”

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The CNN report broadcast a statement by McCaul in which he stood by his position that the Taliban did recruit at the madrassa.

“The congressman believes he was helpful in expediting the Khan brothers’ return home and was personally thanked by the boys’ father,” McCaul chief of staff Greg Hill said in an e-mail.

“The issue of American children … enrolled in madrassas in Pakistan with unfettered access to their home countries is a legitimate national security concern,” Hill said, citing a Pakistani law that forbids foreign students from enrolling in madrassas.

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