Did Hate Sheikh Khalid Yasin Defraud Ohio Muslims (and did ISGC officials looking the other way)?

In May I reported here that international hate sheikh Khalid Yasin was making an appearance in Dayton sponsored by Masjid At-Taqwa and a weeklong schedule of events in Islamic Society of Greater Columbus mosques, in addition to an event at Ohio State (flier for the OSU event below).

But as I write in FrontPage today, “Khalid Yasin: Hate Sheikh, Con Man?”, some Muslims are speaking out and expressing grave concerns about Yasin’s long history of fraudulent fundraising and the complicity of so-called Muslim “leaders” who look the other way at his fraud:

But the issue raising concerns amongst some Muslim leaders in the US is not just Yasin’s cross-country tours promoting his toxic blend of rancid theology and conspiracy-mongering, but also about his fraudulent fundraising and questionable business practices. These Muslim leaders are also concerned that some Islamic institutions have willing looked the other way and ignored these scams as long as Yasin continues to regularly rake in substantial sums on their behalf.

Others have also expressed outrage that while Yasin has taken home as much as a hundred thousands dollars in an evening, thanks to his usual 50/50 split of all funds raised at an event, his wife and child live on public welfare in their home in Sheffield, England.

One source speaking out about Khalid Yasin’s fraudulent fundraising is the Salafi Burnout blog, which has alleged that the hate sheikh is enriching himself in a series of scams preying on the American Muslim community:

Having been exposed as a fraud in Australia and the UK, Khalid Yasin is currently back in the United States still peddling his television scam and raising money and taking up to half the money as his personal cut. He has also raised money in Saudi Arabia and other Muslim countries for a supposed Qur’an Memorization School in Alabama that did not exist. Last report, he was taking this money and investing it in real estate in Long Island in his own name. Should Muslims continue to allow this individual to trade on his name and swindle his community out of hundreds of thousands of dollars?

These sentiments have been echoed by Abdur-Rahman Muhammad, who praised Salafi Burnout for publicly challenging Yasin and questioning how the American Muslim community has allowed a con man to operate so wantonly in their midst without the slightest criticism from Muslim leaders until now:

By now almost everyone is caught up in the buzz swirling around recent revelations of “Sheikh” Khalid Yasin’s long history of fraud and deceit. I applaud the courageous blog Salafi Burnout for attempting to protect the Muslims from what can only be described as a criminal enterprise, and to make us all aware of the tremendous damage it has caused to the community. As Yasin’s criminal house of cards appears to finally be falling, we are left with many unanswered questions as to why this kind of thing has been allowed to go on for so long.

Let there be no mistake, other shoes will drop, not only on Khalid Yasin but a whole host of other “du’ aat” and Imams who have with impunity betrayed the trust of the Muslims, and have left us wondering how individuals with such shady and dubious backgrounds were allowed to attain such stature, influence, and respectability in the first place. It is no exaggeration to say, as we shall soon learn, that our community is top heavy with these types of scoundrels, and yet the larger question remains; why did so many responsible and affluent Muslims fork over huge sums of money to a man who spouts the kind of absurd, preposterous, indeed psychotic things that he does?

As I reported previously, this is far from the first time that allegations of fraud and deception have dogged Khalid Yasin. When investigators for the Australian Sunday program looked into his academic background and his media company, the Islamic Broadcasting Corporation, back in 2005 they found a pattern of rampant fraud, deliberate misrepresentations, a mountain unpaid debts by Yasin, and unanswered questions about his phony academic credentials:

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Exit question: Were ISGC leaders (such as Mohammad Tarazi) aware of Khalid Yasin’s history of fraudulent fundraising before they invited him to into their mosques to prey on the Muslim community in Columbus?

Final comment: Bravo to those Muslims courageously speaking out against the corrupt leaders who tolerate lies and fraud, and who sell their congregations away to rancid preachers like Khalid Yasin for money.

Local Muslim leader defends convicted Columbus Al-Qaeda cell members

There are times when even our local jihadists shock and amaze me. This is one such occasion.

Later today, local Al-Qaeda terror cell member Christopher Paul will plead guilty in federal court to conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction against Americans. He faces life in prison, but it appears that he will receive a sentence of 20 years as part of his plea agreement. Much like his other co-conspirators, Iyman Faris and Nuradin Abdi, he is making this plea of his own free will.

So what is shocking is that one of the leaders of our local Al-Maghrib Institute chapter, Basil Mohamed Gohar, circulated an email earlier today defending these Al-Qaeda terrorist cell members; not only going so far as to protest their innocence in the face of their own guilty pleas, but to ask others to pray for their early release and for their elevation in Paradise!

Al-Maghrib is a traveling Wahhabist roadshow that preaches an extremist and exclusivist version of Islam. The organization’s rabid anti-Semitism, Holocaust denials, and militaristic preaching of jihad even have other Muslims expressing concern about the radicalizing effect of Al-Maghrib’s preaching and programs. Gohar is the former “ameer” of the Columbus chapter, Qabeelat Hayl, and another one of Qabeelat Hayl’s founding fathers was none other than Nuradin Abdi, Christopher Paul’s convicted Al-Qaeda cell co-conspirator. Thus, Al-Maghrib has rightly earned the moniker, “Jihad U”. (See our previous posts on Al-Maghrib’s activity and events in Central Ohio.)

Gohar also heads up a local outfit, “Building Muslim Leaders”. This group just recently held a workshop in Columbus on “The Pursuit of Excellence”, which featured both Gohar as one of the featured speakers.

So it is especially disconcerting that an individual who is devoting so much time and energy into training local Muslim leaders is not only quick to defend our three local Al-Qaeda convicts, who as I already noted have all pled guilty of their own accord. Gohar’s email message is reproduced in its entirety below (thanks to the member of the Muslim community who forwarded it to me, but remains anonymous for fear of retaliation by these extremists).

To: [removed]
From: “Basil Mohamed Gohar”
Subject: Brother expected to plead guilty
Date: Mon, 02 Jun 2008 14:51:06 -0400

Bismillaahir Rahmaanir Raheem

Assalaamu ʿalaykum wa Rahmatullaahi wa Barakaatuh

In shaaʾ Allaah this e-mail finds you all in the very best of health & ever-increasing imaan!!!

I was checking the weather today, and my heart sank when I read the following news on the front page:

http://10tv.com/live/content/local/stories/2008/06/02/paul_plea.html?sid=102

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A Worthington man accused of plotting to help al-Qaida agreed Monday to plead guilty to working with terrorists.

Christopher Paul will plead guilty to a charge of conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction, 10TV News reported.

He is expected to make the plea in court on Tuesday.

According to prosecutors, Paul, 44, worked with Iyman Faris and Nuradin Abdi, who plotted to help raise money and provide equipment for al-Qaida.

Both Abdi and Faris pleaded guilty to the charges and are serving time in a federal prison.

Paul, born Paul Kenyatta Laws, changed his name to Abdulmalek Kenyatta in 1989 and to Christopher Paul in 1994. He is said to have obtained passports in several names.

Stay with 10TV News and 10TV.com for continuing coverage.

Just as the case with both Iyman & Nuradin, the idea that they are guilty of any wrongdoing, whether it be by US law or otherwise, is ridiculous, as anyone that knows them and knows even a little of their cases can attest to. Sadly, these brothers will stand a chance of being released much earlier if they plead guilty than if they fight through the courts and try to “prove” their innocence. The way these cases have been prosecuted has been a travesty and has been devoid of any kind of justice or due process, with the verdicts, as is common in most “terrorism”-related cases, having been decided long before these brothers were ever apprehended.

I ask Allaah to make the brothers and their families patient through these trying times and to expedite their release for captivity and to let this be a means of elevating their status in the aakhirah.

Wassalaamu ʿalaykum

If anything has been a travesty with respect to the legal process against Gohar’s associates, it has been the willingness of the self-proclaimed Muslim leaders to openly defend these terrorists at every turn! Let’s not forget that according to court documents filed in Iyman Faris’ case, after the FBI turned him, they watched as Faris communicated directly with Al-Qaeda operations chief Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in real time. And Christopher Paul trained in Al-Qaeda camps in Pakistan and Afghanistan — training he intended to use to kill Americans. These facts are not in dispute.

These individuals, such as Basil Mohamed Gohar, Ahmad Al-Akhras and Asma Mobin-Uddin, and the groups and organizations they represent, including CAIR-Ohio and Al-Maghrib Institute, sully the reputation of the entire Muslim community when they falsely claim to speak in its name and declare the innocence of these convicted and self-confessed terrorists. But as I have stated repeatedly, these individuals have NEVER been elected by people they claim to represent, and one only need look at their most recent published IRS tax filings to discover that officially CAIR-Ohio has no membership! Zero. Zilch. Nada.

The only way to combat Islamic radicalization and to defeat jihadist recruitment in our area is for local Muslims to begin to speak out against such outrages and to publicly oppose those terror apologists who claim to speak in the Muslim community’s name. Christopher Paul’s guilty plea should be a clear indicator that it must take place sooner rather than later.