Showing posts with label ISNA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ISNA. Show all posts

Friday, September 5, 2008

Illegal electioneering by Obama campaign at ISNA convention?

UPDATE (9/5/08): Dave Gaubatz is reporting that ISNA made an illegal official endorsement of Barack Hussein Obama at last week's convention and has a video recording of such. We will link to it as soon as it is online. [HT: Northeast Intelligence Network]

The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) is a 501c3 tax exempt organization. As is true for any 501c3 entity, especially a religious organization, ISNA is prohibited from hosting or supporting any partisan political activity. And yet at their national convention here in Columbus last week, ISNA hosted an Obama campaign booth in their exhibitors’ area as this picture taken on Friday night shows:


[PS — Yes, you might think that is actually Barack Obama at the booth, but it is just a life-sized cardboard cutout. As thin and vapid as Obama’s policies and experience are, it is an easy mistake to make.]

You might recall that in January 2006, a local organization of liberal religious figures in Central Ohio demanded that the IRS investigate alleged political activity at two area churches — World Harvest Church in Columbus and Fairfield Christian Church in Lancaster.

A Columbus Dispatch article at the time, “Churches Could Face IRS Probe”, quoted one of these “pastors”:

“For me, it’s church and state, not church in state and I really feel there are some churches in central Ohio crossing that line,” said Eric Williams, senior pastor of the [North Congregational United Church of Christ]. “The law allows church involvement in issues. This goes beyond issue-involvement to partisan politics and we’re simply asking the IRS to uphold the law.”
Did ISNA and the Obama campaign violate tax and election laws in this instance? That is clearly an issue for the IRS and the FEC to decide. So based on their previous outrage at alleged partisan political activity by religious organizations, will Eric Williams and his friends now join Central Ohioans Against Terrorism in demanding that the IRS investigate whether the Islamic Society of North America violated their tax-exempt status by hosting the Obama campaign?

Not holding my breath.
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Monday, August 25, 2008

ISNA’s “soft jihadist”, Ingrid Mattson, on the record (4 days until ISNA convention in Columbus)


In preparation for ISNA president Ingrid Mattson’s appearance yesterday at the Democratic National Convention’s “interfaith prayer service”, the good folks at the Center for Security Policy prepared a short backgrounder on Mattson’s statements and positions, “Democrats’ Soft Jihadist”.

Since Mattson will be bringing her entire ISNA cultural terrorist crew to Central Ohio later this week for their 2008 annual convention, I thought it appropriate to republish the Center’s analysis here to get a taste of Mattson’s extremist views (Christians are anti-Semitic, Christians are a greater threat than Osama bin Laden, Wahhabism is just a reform movement, praise for jihadist authors, there are no terrorist cells in the US, etc):

  1. Mattson places loyalty to Islam before loyalty to the United States of America:

    If Muslim Americans are to participate in such a critique of American policy, however, they will only be effective if they do it, according to the Prophet’s words, in a “brotherly” fashion. This implies a high degree of loyalty and affection. This does not mean, however, that citizenship and religious community are identical commitments, nor that they demand the same kind of loyalty. People of faith have a certain kind of solidarity with others of their faith community that transcends the basic rights and duties of citizenship.
  2. Mattson on the possibility that Americans may “rise to the challenge of defining themselves as an ethical nation”:

    The first duty of Muslims in America, therefore, is to help shape American policies so they are in harmony with the essential values of this country. In the realm of foreign policy, this “idealistic” view has been out of fashion for some time. Indeed, the American Constitution, like foundational religious texts, can be read in many different ways. The true values of America are those which we decide to embrace as our own. There is no guarantee, therefore, that Americans will rise to the challenge of defining themselves as an ethical nation; nevertheless, given the success of domestic struggles for human dignity and rights in the twentieth century, we can be hopeful.
  3. Mattson denies the existence of terrorist cells in the United States:

    There’s a prejudgment, a collective judgment of Muslims, and a suspicion that well “you may appear nice, but we know there are sleeper cells of Americans,” which of course is not true. There aren’t any sleeper cells.
  4. Mattson defends Wahhabism:

    CHAT PARTICIPANT: What can you tell us about the Wahhabi sect of Islam? Is it true that this is an extremely right wing sect founded and funded by the Saudi royal family, and led by Osama bin Ladin? What is the purpose of the Wahhabi?

    MATTSON: No it’s not true to characterize ‘Wahhabism’ that way. This is not a sect. It is the name of a reform movement that began 200 years ago to rid Islamic societies of cultural practices and rigid interpretation that had acquired over the centuries. It really was analogous to the European protestant reformation. Because the Wahhabi scholars became integrated into the Saudi state, there has been some difficulty keeping that particular interpretation of religion from being enforced too broadly on the population as a whole. However, the Saudi scholars who are Wahhabi have denounced terrorism and denounced in particular the acts of September 11. Those statements are available publicly.

    This question has arisen because last week there were a number of newspaper reports that were dealing with this. They raised the issue of the role of Saudi Arabia and the ideology there. Frankly, I think in a way it was a reaction to the attempts of many people to look for the roots of terrorism in misguided foreign policy. It’s not helpful, I believe, to create another broad category that that becomes the scapegoat for terrorism.
  5. Mattson on the negative effects of the end of the Islamic Caliphate:

    CHAT PARTICIPANT: Osama bin Laden made a reference that Muslims have been living in humiliation for 80 years. Did he refer to the Treaty of Sevres in 1920 that dismantled caliphates and sultanates?

    MATTSON: Yes, he is referring to that, to the overthrowing of the caliphate, which was a plan of European powers for many years. This deprived the Muslim world of a stable and centralized authority, and much of the chaos that we’re living in today is the result of that.
  6. Mattson teaches the jihadists Sayyid Qutb and Syed Abu’l-`Ala Mawdudi in her course at Hartford Seminary — see the syllabus here.


  7. Mattson praises the jihadist Mawdudi (aka Maududi):

    In response to another question, “Please suggest any comprehensive work of Tafseer (Qur’anic commentary) for us Muslim youth,” she said, “There are different kinds of Tafseers. For e.g. there are ones that contain detailed interpretations of grammatical aspects of Qur’anic language. And there are others that serve to explain the general message of Qur’an, coupled with the experiences and insights of the author of the Tafseer. However, there aren’t really any Tafseers that combine the both aspects. So far, probably the best work of Tafseer in English is by Maulana Abul A’la Maududi.’”
    Maududi on jihad (Jihad in Islam, page 9):

    “Islam wishes to destroy all States and Governments anywhere on the face of the earth which are opposed to the ideology and programme of Islam regardless of the country or the Nation which rules it. The purpose of Islam is to set up a State on the basis of its own ideology and programme, regardless of which Nation assumes the role of the standard bearer of Islam or the rule of which nation is undermined in the process of the establishment of an ideological Islamic State. It must be evident to you from this discussion that the objective of Islamic ‘Jihad’ is to eliminate the rule of an un-Islamic system and establish in its stead an Islamic system of State rule. Islam does not intend to confine this revolution to a single State or a few countries; the aim of Islam is to bring about a universal revolution.”
    Maududi on denial of rights to non-Muslims (Jihad in Islam, page 28):

    “Islamic ‘Jihad’ does not recognize their right to administer State affairs according to a system which, in the view of Islam, is evil. Furthermore, Islamic ‘Jihad’ also refuses to admit their right to continue with such practices under an Islamic government which fatally affect the public interest from the viewpoint of Islam.”
    Maududi on Shariah Law’s precedence over any other legal system (Islamic Law and Its Introduction, p. 13):

    “That if an Islamic society consciously resolves not to accept the Sharia, and decides to enact its own constitution and laws or borrow them from any other source in disregard of the Sharia, such a society breaks its contract with God and forfeits its right to be called ‘Islamic.’”
  8. Although she recommends and teaches Abdul ala Maududi, who advocates violent jihad against non-Muslims (see above), Mattson is highly critical of Christians who make the factual statement that texts by Muslims support violent jihad against non-Muslims — and she equates Christian critics of violent jihad with Osama bin Laden, who wages violent jihad. Mattson on critical statements by Christians about Muslims:

    “These kinds of statements are really irresponsible, because they can lead to violence against ordinary people. . . . I don’t see any difference between that and al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden [using] Islamic theology to justify violence against Americans. What’s interesting is if you compare [their] statements about what Islam is and what Muslims believe, you’ll find they are almost identical, and I reject both interpretations — both the non-Muslims who are saying that Islam justifies violence against Christians and Jews, and the Muslims who are saying it. Certainly these statements have a very unnerving effect, especially when they continue, when more than one person says it.”
  9. Mattson is a traditionalist on Shariah law and the legitimacy of Shariah authorities:

    “As a practicing Muslim, I believe that there is a core of fundamental beliefs and practices that distinguish authentic Islam from deviations. I also believe that apart from this essential core, the task of interpreting the application of Islamic norms to human society is an enormously complicated task, which inevitably leads to a broad range of opinion and practice. I agree with “Sunni” Muslims, the majority of the Muslim community worldwide, that after the death of the Prophet Muhammad, no one has the right to claim infallibility in the interpretation of sacred law. At the same time, this does not mean that all opinions are equal, nor that everyone has the ability to interpret law. Without the intense study of Islamic texts and traditions under qualified scholars and without the presence of a stable Muslim community through which one can witness the wisdom of the living tradition, the chances of an ordinary believer arriving at a correct judgment about most legal issues are slim.”
  10. Mattson is a leader in Muslim efforts to censor the right to free speech in America and especially in the United States government:

    Ingrid Mattson, the first woman president of the Islamic Society of North America, said Friday at the opening of the group’s 43rd annual convention that labeling terrorism as “Islamic” was not helpful to people of her faith.

    “I’m convinced that it is not only inaccurate, but unhelpful. If our major concern is security, security of this country, this is a term that has very bad resonance in the Muslim majority world and makes us feel uncomfortable here,” Mattson said.

    Bush and other Republicans have been using the term “Islamic fascism” in recent speeches. White House aides and outside Republican strategists have said the term is an attempt to more clearly identify the ideology that motivates many organized terrorist groups.

    Mattson said her group would argue for a change in rhetoric away from “Islamic fascism.” U.S. officials are attending the meeting here, including Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England. . . . As an alternative to “Islamic fascism,” Mattson suggested the words “terrorism, crime, violence,” adding that she and other Muslims don’t understand why the label “Islamic” is included when Bush and other leaders talk about terrorism.

    “The products that are coming from the Muslim world are not being called ‘Islamic products’ or ‘Islamic oil,’” she said.
  11. Mattson denies the actual state of women’s rights under Shariah law:
    1. http://www.videosift.com/video/Ingrid-Mattson-on-Community-in-Islam [Transcribed: quote is in last few minutes]

      “I believe that many Americans believe that Muslim women don’t have any rights in Islam. Perhaps they see images of Muslim women being oppressed in different parts of the Muslim world and believe that that is because of their religion. But in fact we know that Muslim women have the same rights as Muslim men and virtually all the same duties and obligations.”
    2. http://www.beliefnet.com/story/198/story_19898_1.html

      “One of the popular misconceptions about Islam is that women are seen as lesser figures, that they don’t have rights.

      “This perception that women in Islam are oppressed is based both on misinformation as well as am amplification of certain unfortunate tendencies in some parts of the Muslim world. It’s true that people have seen some Muslim authorities using Islam as a justification for the oppression or suppression of women. That’s a reality, we can’t deny it. But we have to balance those incidents with what’s going on in the rest of the Muslim world, in which most women are participating in their societies. We’ve seen that within recent times four Muslim-majority nations have had female heads of state. In most countries that I’ve traveled to, Muslim women are involved in all aspects of society.”
    3. http://archives.cnn.com/2001/COMMUNITY/10/18/mattson.cnna/

      “MATTSON: Muslim women have the same legal rights as Muslim men. The Prophet Mohammed’s wife was a businesswoman. In fact, he met her working for her as her agent. The legal rights of women were enshrined in Islamic law. However, cultural practices in many societies have prevented those rights from being enforced.”
  12. Mattson rationalizes the actions of the Taliban against women:

    CHAT PARTICIPANT: Does the Taliban place blame upon women for the weakness of men in their society? Is that why they place such restriction upon them?

    MATTSON: The Taliban place restrictions on everyone in their society, men and women. They’ve extended their authority over individuals far beyond traditional government in Afghanistan. In their minds, they are protecting women from other men by placing these restrictions on them.
  13. Like the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), Mattson condemns terrorism in general but avoids criticizing Hamas or Hizballah:

    “That can be frustrating. I want to also make sure people understand that although American Muslims do have a responsibility to clarify their views on terrorism and violence done in the name of Islam, we don’t have control over these situations. We don’t have some sort of magic power over all Muslims in the world.”
  14. Mattson apparently thinks that Evangelical Christians are more of a threat to Jews than Islamic jihadists:

    “‘Right-wing Christians are very risky allies for American Jews,’ Mattson said, ‘because they [the Christians] are really anti-Semitic. They do not like Jews’ and enter into the alliance on the basis of fundamentalist beliefs that it would be desirable for all Jews to return to Israel. She suggested that fundamentalist Christians might turn against Jews or that there could be backlash from ordinary Americans against Jewish and fundamentalist Christian supporters of Israel.”
  15. Mattson is highly critical of Israel:

    “The American government has not criticized sufficiently the brutality of the Israeli government, believing that it needs to be “supportive” of the Jewish state. The result is that oppression, left unchecked, can increase to immense proportions, until the oppressed are smothered with hopelessness and rage.”
  16. Mattson limits dialogue:

    “Thus, it is not permitted for a Muslim to maintain a close friendship with a highly intelligent person who engages him or her in stimulating conversation, if that person continuously derides the sacred (Qur’an 5:57–58). Indeed, since preserving faith is the highest priority, it is important that Muslims avoid demoralizing dependence on other faith communities for their protection and material needs. . . . Clearly there are groups among American Christians and Jews who are so hostile to Muslims that we should not join with them even in shared concerns, lest we lend any credibility to their organizations. There are many other groups within those communities, however, who are eager to work respectfully with Muslims to further just causes.”
  17. Mattson and ISNA have been criticized by those who identify themselves as American Muslim reformers and moderates:

    ISNA, which URJ has accepted, apparently uncritically, as a “partner,” has a long history of association with extremist trends in Islam. ISNA has served as a front group for Wahhabism, the official sect in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia; the jihadist ideologies originating in Pakistan with the writings of a certain Mawdudi and the Deoband schools in that country — the latter of which produced the Afghan Taliban, and the Ikhwan al-Muslimun, or Muslim Brotherhood.

    Ingrid Mattson, president of ISNA, revealed the style of radical rhetoric with which the organization is saturated when, in addressing the URJ’s recent convention, she declared that in the current U.S. presidential primaries, “we see candidates being asked to prove that they comply with an ever narrower definition of what it means to be a Christian — forget about being a Muslim or a Jew.”

    This is an inexcusably irresponsible, inflammatory charge. Although Christian affiliations have been a topic among some presidential candidates, none has been compelled to “comply” with a Christian religious test and no such criterion is reasonably possible in the American electoral process.

    Many Islamic mosque congregations, Sufi orders, and Muslim personalities have called for intelligent and sincere discussion with Jewish individuals and groups, to further interfaith civility and cooperation. This noble goal, to which we as Muslims are called by our revelation and our traditions, cannot be served by flattery toward groups like ISNA, in which radicals are camouflaged as moderates.

    We therefore appeal to Rabbi Yoffie and other Jewish leaders to conduct a serious and thorough survey of the situation in Western Islam, identifying authentic moderates, and enabling them as interlocutors with Jews and other non-Muslims. We do not believe that ISNA qualifies for such a role. We fear that heedless acceptance of ISNA as an ally of URJ does harm to both our communities, by legitimizing a radicalism that, regardless of ISNA’s rhetorical claims, is fundamentally hostile to Jews and suppresses the intellectual and social development of Muslims.

    Nawab Agha, president, American Muslim Congress
    Omran Salman, director, Aafaq Foundation
    Kemal Silay, president, Center for Islamic Pluralism
    Stephen Suleyman Schwartz, executive director, Center for Islamic Pluralism
    Salim Mansur, Canadian director, Center for Islamic Pluralism
    Jalal Zuberi, Southern U.S. director, Center for Islamic Pluralism
    Imaad Malik, fellow, Center for Islamic Pluralism
    M. Zuhdi Jasser, president, American Islamic Forum for Democracy
    Sheikh Ahmed Subhy Mansour, president, International Quranic Center
More moderate “interfaith” Islam from ISNA!

Be sure to check out some of our other recent ISNA-related posts:
The countdown until ISNA occupation continues . . .

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Monday, August 18, 2008

2006 ISNA Convention: wife-beating breakout session (11 days until ISNA convention in Columbus)

Saudi women’s activist Rania Al-Baz received a first-hand lesson in Verse 4:34

With less than two weeks before the Islamic Society of North America lands in Central Ohio for their 2008 national convention, we continue our look at past ISNA conventions to see what brand of Islam they will be bringing to our city.

At their 2006 convention, ISNA hosted a curious breakout session: “And Beat them Lightly. . .” An Analysis and In-Depth Discussion of Verse 4:34.

For the uninitiated, here’s verse 4:34 in the Quran:

Men have authority over women because God has made the one superior to the other, and because they spend their wealth to maintain them. Good women are obedient. They guard their unseen parts because God has guarded them. As for those from whom you fear disobedience, admonish them and send them to beds apart and beat them. Then if they obey you, take no further action against them. Surely God is high, supreme.
You’ll notice immediately that there’s nothing here about beating women “lightly”. One of the speakers in this ISNA breakout session was none other than Muzzamil Siddiqui, former president of ISNA and current ISNA Board of Directors member. Here is the session description taken directly from the ISNA official program (click to enlarge):


Sunday, 11:00–12:30 pm
Room 22
Session 9G: “. . . And Beat them Lightly”: An Analysis and In-Depth Discussion of Verse 4:34

This session will discuss the following: understanding the context of revelation (asbaab al nuzuul) for this verse. Emphasis will be focused on understanding the correct meaning of the verse, with specific attention given to the words qiwamah, nushuz, and daraba as well as to understand how this verse is to be applied as a protection for women, not as an abuse.

Speakers: Muzzamil Siddiqi, Rabia Karim Khan
Moderators: Mohamed Magid Ali
Got that? This verse actually protects women! One of Siddiqui’s partners in explaining how to properly beat your wife according to the Quran is Jamal Badawi, a fellow ISNA Board of Directors member, who has published a book on proper wife beating (see our previous post about Badawi’s last appearance in our area). Siddiqui and Badawi cleared up the matter in a fatwa for Islamonline:

This verse neither permits violence nor condones it. It guides us to ways to handle delicate family situation with care and wisdom. The word “beating” is used in the verse, but it does not mean “physical abuse”. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) explained it “dharban ghayra mubarrih” which means “a light tap that leaves no mark”. He further said that face must be avoided. Some other scholars are of the view that it is no more than a light touch by siwak, or toothbrush.
Ah, so I see now. If you beat your wife anywhere except her face, and the stick you beat her with is small enough that it doesn’t leave a mark, it really isn’t violence. So glad they cleared that up for us! Both Muzzamil Siddiqui and Jamal Badawi will be speaking again this year at the upcoming ISNA convention in downtown Columbus.

More moderate Islam from ISNA!

Be sure to check out some of our other recent ISNA-related posts:
The countdown until ISNA occupation continues . . .

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Friday, August 1, 2008

2008 ISNA speaker Siraj Wahhaj calls for Islamic caliphate in America (4 weeks until ISNA convention in Columbus)


Siraj Wahhaj is a regular visitor to the Central Ohio area, but his next appearance in Columbus will be as a featured speaker at the 2008 Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) convention held here later this month. One of the unindicted co-conspirators in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, Wahhaj has been in the news recently for being featured in NY subway ads that have proved controversial in light of his known terrorist ties.

Paul Barrett, an editor for Business Week and author of the recent book, American Islam: Struggle for the Soul of Religion, has spent considerable time with Wahhaj and made him one of the primary subjects in his book (read the introduction to Barrett’s book at the Washington Post). Barrett has previously described the transformation of America into an Islamic state that Wahhaj would like to see:

He has told his followers that a society governed by strict Islamic law, in which adulterers would be stoned to death and thieves would have their hands cut off, would be superior to American democracy. Speaking of unnamed forces in the government and media, he has preached, “These people want the destruction of Islam.” (“One Imam Traces the Path of Islam in Black America”, Wall Street Journal [October 24, 2003])
Barrett also describes how Wahhaj brushes off evidence of Osama bin Laden’s involvement in 9/11, including dismissing bin Laden’s own video pronouncements claiming responsibility for the terror attacks, preferring to remain “neutral” on the subject:

He says the al-Qaeda leader’s videotaped boasting about the attacks may have been a media ruse: “I’m just not so sure I want to be one of the ones who say, ‘Yeah, he did it. He’s a horrible man.’” (Ibid.)
Elsewhere Wahhaj has offered a grotesque convergence of bin Laden’s calls for the revival of the Islamic caliphate with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s, “I Have a Dream” speech, envisioning an Islamic supremacist society:

I have a vision in America, Muslims owning property all over, Muslim businesses, factories, halal meat, supermarkets, all these buildings owned by Muslims. Can you see the vision, can you see the Newark International Airport and a John Kennedy Airport and La Guardia having Muslim fleets of planes, Muslim pilots. Can you see our trucks rolling down the highways, Muslim names. Can you imagine walking down the streets of Teaneck, [New Jersey]: three Muslim high schools, five Muslim junior-high schools, fifteen public schools. Can you see the vision, can you see young women walking down the street of Newark, New Jersey, with long flowing hijab and long dresses. Can you see the vision of an area . . . controlled by the Muslims?” (quoted in Daniel Pipes, “The Danger Within: Militant Islam in America”, Commentary [Nov. 2001])
How is this Islamic supremacist society governed by an Islamic caliph supposed to come about? Wahhaj is not shy about laying out his plan for violent revolutionary action by Muslims:

If only Muslims were clever politically, they could take over the United States and replace its constitutional government with a caliphate. If we were united and strong, we would elect our own emir and give allegiance to him. Take my word if eight million Muslims unite in America, the country will come to us. (quoted in Robert Spencer, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam [and the Crusades], p. 45)
And in an audiotape message Wahhaj speaks of his love for the kuffar (infidel):

. . . And he [Allah] declared ‘Whoever is at war with my friends, I declare war on them.’ Who is a friend of Allah? [He chants a passage in Arabic] Allah. Your true friend is Allah, the messenger, and those who believe. Americans and Canadians. Hear it well. Hear what I’m telling you well. The Americans are not your friends, hear what I’m telling you, hear it well. The Canadians are not your friends, hear what I’m telling you, hear it well. The Europeans are not your friends. Your friend is Allah, the Messenger and those who believe. These people will never be satisfied with you until you follow their religion. They will never be satisfied with you. . . (audiotape, “The Afghanistan Jihad” [September 28, 1991]; quoted in “UCLA Sponsors of Terrorism”, FrontPage Magazine [April 4, 2003])
More ISNA interfaith moderates!

Be sure to check out some of our other recent ISNA-related posts:
The countdown until ISNA occupation continues . . .

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Monday, July 28, 2008

1995 ISNA Convention: Judaism “a most racist religion” (32 days until 2008 ISNA convention in Columbus)


Continuing our look at the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) in preparation for their annual national convention to be held next month in Columbus, we examine today an address delivered by Hamza Yusuf Hanson at the 1995 ISNA convention. In Hanson’s speech, he identified Judaism as “a most racist religion”:

The Jews would have us believe that God has this bias to this little small tribe in the Middle of the Sinai desert and all the rest of humanity is just rubbish. I mean that this is the basic doctrine of the Jewish religion and that’s why it is a most racist religion.
Ah, yes, those ISNA conferences draw such interfaith moderates! Wonder how the folks at the Columbus Jewish Federation will feel about that one?

Exposing Hamza Yusuf Hanson’s racist diatribes is essential as he will be a featured main session speaker again this year at the 2008 ISNA convention. But don’t worry folks! He says that he has “grown out of” his hatred for Judaism.

For some more of Hamza Yusuf’s greatest hits, including his recent extremist statements, check out the article at the Center for Islamic Pluralism, “The ‘Sufi’ Master of Deceit: Hamza Yusuf Hanson”. Stephen Schwartz says of our upcoming Central Ohio visitor:

Even in his alleged Sufi incarnation, Hamza Yusuf Hanson propagandizes for the Islamization of America. . . . It is Hamza Yusuf Hanson who is dishonest, when he calls himself, ridiculously, “the mufti of California,” and when he claims to be a Muslim moderate. He is neither. . .
Be sure to check out some of our other recent ISNA-related posts:
The countdown until ISNA occupation continues . . .

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Thursday, July 24, 2008

DOJ: Facts tie ISNA to HAMAS (36 days until ISNA convention in Columbus!)


The New York Sun reported earlier this month that federal prosecutors have responded to a filing by the Islamic Society of North American (ISNA) to have itself delisted as an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation terrorism finance trial.

In their reply brief, the Department of Justice not only defended their designation of ISNA as unindicted co-conspirator, but cited more than two dozen government exhibits connecting ISNA and its financial arm, the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT), to the HLF criminal conspiracy to raise money for the HAMAS terrorist organization. The NY Sun quotes the trial brief:

“During last year’s trial, numerous exhibits were entered into evidence establishing both ISNA’s and NAIT’s intimate relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood, the Palestine Committee, and the defendants in this case,” the prosecutors wrote. “They were intimately connected with the HLF and its assigned task of providing financial support to HAMAS. . . . That ISNA and NAIT appeared in these documents and share a common history with these defendants is a reflection of the evidence, not any attempt to ‘disparage’ or ‘vilify.’
But that’s not all. More from the trial brief:

ISNA checks deposited into the ISNA/NAIT account for the HLF were often made payable to “the Palestinian Mujahadeen,” the original name for the HAMAS military wing. Govt. Exh. 1–174. From that ISNA/NAIT account, the HLF sent hundreds of thousands of dollars to HAMAS leader Mousa Abu Marzook, Nadia Elashi (defendant Ghassan Elashi’s cousin and Marzook’s wife), Sheikh Ahmed Yassin’s Islamic Center of Gaza, the Islamic University, and a number of other individuals associated with HAMAS. Govt. Exh. 20–55, 20–56.

ISNA was also discussed during the 1993 Philadelphia conference, a meeting of the Palestine Committee convened to discuss the impact of the Oslo Accords. Govt. Exh. 16–47. During the conference, Palestine Committee members discussed using ISNA as official cover for their activities. Govt. Exh. 16–0059 at 10–11; 16–60. In short, evidence introduced during the course of a public trial demonstrates that ISNA and NAIT are indeed co-conspirators/joint venturers, and no relief that the Court can grant would alter the state of the record in that regard. (p. 14)
For more on the DOJ brief, see the related report by the Investigative Project on Terrorism. And here are some of our recent ISNA-related posts:
And for those unclear on what we’re saying:

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Wednesday, July 23, 2008

FBI Declassified Memo: ISNA conferences “provided opportunities for the extreme fundamentalist Muslims to meet with their supporters”


A newly declassified FBI memo, released yesterday by the Investigative Project on Terrorism, discusses examining the extremist ties of the North American Islamic Trust, the financial arm of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), concludes:

. . . ISNA conferences provided opportunities for the extreme fundamentalist Muslims to meet with their supporters.
Where is the next ISNA conference to be held? Oh, that’s right! Columbus! Next month!

37 days and counting . . .
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Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Members of Congress ask DOJ to withdraw from 2007 ISNA convention (45 days until 2008 ISNA convention in Columbus)


In preparation for next month’s 2008 ISNA national convention, we are looking at some of the organization’s highlights.

Today we remember the efforts by Rep. Pete Hoekstra and Rep. Sue Myrick asking the Department of Justice to reconsider the decision to have a recruiting booth at the 2007 ISNA convention. These efforts followed the revelation by the Washington Times that DOJ would participate in the event, even though DOJ prosecutors had just named ISNA an unindicted co-conspirator in a terrorism finance trial. Tomorrow we will reveal what happened when DOJ went ahead with their plans to appear at the ISNA event

An image of the Hoekstra/Myrick congressional letter [pdf] is immediately below:

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Monday, July 14, 2008

HAMAS terrorist leader thanks ISNA (46 days until ISNA national convention occupies Columbus)


The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) is coming to Columbus for its annual convention at the end of August (46 days and counting!), and I thought it appropriate to remind our readers exactly who and what ISNA really is.

For instance, in 1997 after he was deported to Jordan (two years after he was designated a terrorist by the US government) HAMAS terrorist leader Mousa Abu Marzook published an open letter in the Washington Report of Middle East Affairs in thanks of the support by American Islamic organizations that had aided him and contributed money to his defense fund in the two years he was incarcerated while the US government was trying to deport him (Jordan would also deport Marzook and the rest of the HAMAS leadership).

And as is seen in this graphic taken from his open letter, ISNA is right in the middle of the organizations that this HAMAS terrorist thanks:


For more detail on ISNA’s legacy of terror and extremism, see the extensive report prepared by the International Assessment and Strategy Center, “Extremism and ISNA”.

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Saturday, June 21, 2008

Islamic group coming to Columbus in August scheduled Pakistani terror leader as speaker


UPDATE #1: Naresh Raghubeer of the Canadian Coalition for Democracies, the organization that opposed Qazi Hussein Ahmad’s entry into Canada for the ISNA conference last month, reports that Qazi was eventually denied a visa by the Canadian government as a result of the public outcry and political pressure, preventing him from speaking at the ISNA conference.

Original post: On August 29th, the Islamic Society of North American (ISNA) will be having their 45th annual US convention at the Columbus Convention Center. The ISNA convention’s host is the Islamic Society of Greater Columbus (ISGC).

As I report today at PJM, “North American Islamic Group Hosts Pakistani Terror Leader”, ISNA invited Qazi Hussain Ahmad, the head of the Jamaat-e-Islami terrorist organization to speak at their conference in Toronto, Canada just last month. Qazi has been banned by more than two dozen countries in Europe and the Middle East.

Does this portend the kind of extremism that will be brought into our own community in just two months time?

Here’s the opening of the article:

Qazi Hussein Ahmad has been banned from more than 25 countries across Europe and the Middle East for the activities of the Pakistani Jamaat-e-Islami (JEI) organization that he heads. Terrorism analysts around the world have noted JEI’s close ties to al-Qaeda, and Qazi has publicly defended Osama bin Laden, admitting to meeting with him on several occasions and claiming that no definitive proof exists of bin Laden’s involvement in the 9/11 attacks. In an October 2002 interview with Der Speigel Qazi went so far as to deny al-Qaeda’s existence altogether and defended his group’s support of the Taliban, saying that “they were just and honorable men, who brought peace to Afghanistan.”

With that kind of extremist rhetoric and close associations with known terrorist organizations currently at war with the United States, it is troubling that the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) had Qazi Hussein Ahmad as one of its featured speakers at its annual Canadian conference last month. The ISNA-Canada conference was run jointly with the Muslim Students Association and Muslim Youth of North America, and endorsed by the Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations, the Islamic Circle of North America, and the Muslim Association of Canada.

The program for the ISNA conference lists Qazi Hussein Ahmad speaking at their seventh session on Saturday, May 24, on the topic of “Religious Extremism: Fact or Fiction.” This was not his first time at an ISNA conference, however, as he was featured at the group’s 1998 35th annual convention held in St. Louis, where Qazi was one of two speakers on the topic of “Human Dignity in the Muslim World: The Case of Pakistan and Algeria.”

Qazi’s appearance at the ISNA-Canada conference was denounced by the Canadian Coalition for Democracies, which demanded that the government immediately review and reconsider his visa application, especially since Jamaat-e-Islami has been designated a terrorist organization by the Canadian government. ISNA’s decision to include the JEI leader in their event was strongly criticized by Calgary Herald columnist Rob Breakenridge, who used the occasion to question Canadians’ paradoxical “tolerant society.”

[article continued]
To verify Qazi Hussain Ahmad’s scheduled appearance at the ISNA conference, here’s the conference flier with him listed prominently as one of their speakers (original here):

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Friday, July 6, 2007

Jihad Summer Camp in Clinton, OH


FrontPage reports today of a jihad summer camp, “ISNA’s Jihad Summer Camp”, currently underway at the YMCA-Akron CampY-Noah in Clinton, OH. The camp is sponored by the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), one of the organizations recently listed as unindicted co-conspirator by federal prosecutors in the HAMAS terrorist financing trail underway in Texas. Those same prosecutors also identify ISNA as an active Muslim Brotherhood front, and its associations with the Saudi Wahhabi lobby have been well documented elsewhere.

As the article notes, the 2007 ISNA summer camp features a number of extremist speakers, including Jamal Badawi, one of ISNA’s top officials. Badawi may be speaking on a number of his favorite topics:Another speaker is Siraj Wahhaj, one of Central Ohio Muslim community’s favorite extremists, who was named as unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Wahhaj was the subject of a recent post here, “Sunrise Academy’s Fundraising Friends”.

Be sure to read the whole article.
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