Brief recap of local media coverage of the two Boston imams who were arrested last week, Muhammed Masood and Hafiz Abdul Hannan. The two men were arrested on charges of religious visa fraud and are out on bail. I wrote about the case - and the involvement of the Boston branch of the Muslim American Society (MAS) - here, here and here. The local coverage was not exactly insightful.
- New England Cable Network (NECN) (scroll down for video) reports that the "their (the imams) supporters rallied in Boston today accusing the government of arresting the men simply because they're Muslims." Does the reporter think that the Federal Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency is really doing that? How about questioning this?
- On the NECN video, Jerry Friedman, attorney for Hannan says in the video: "I don't see them arresting clerics from other religions ." Really? Then you're not looking, Mr. Friedman. Read the ICE press release from November 1, 2006 about the Christian South Korean pastor in Tacoma Washington charged with visa fraud and witness tampering. "Park was found guilty by a judge in June of filing fraudulent visa applications for foreign nationals he claimed were coming to the United States to serve as religious workers at the Hope Korean Church where he served as pastor." Friedman and the MAS can make baseless accusations about only Muslims being targeted, and no reporter questions that nonsense.
- The Boston Globe article today underplays the extent of the Muhammed Khalil fraud case, which is critical to this case. There are connections between the two Boston imams and Muhammed Khlalil of Brooklyn, who's doing time right now. The Globe reports simply that Khalil was "convicted in 2004 of conspiracy and visa fraud for collecting cash payments of $6,000 in return for falsely stating that immigrants were religious leaders who would work for his mosque." Well, there's quite a bit more to it than that. Khalil actually netted over $600,000 running his personal religious immigration scheme and he brought in some 200 people, who then brought in their family members. This was a massive visa fraud scheme. According to the ICE, "Khalil issued bogus paychecks to the applicants and required them to return the money to him in cash. He then filed tax returns for the mosque and required the applicants to file personal tax returns stating that they were employed as religious workers at the mosque. This allowed him to portray the mosque as a large-scale entity with a growing congregation. He was also convicted of making false statements to ICE agents investigating the matter and conspiring to obtain false Social Security cards." This is not a "minor technicality."
- More from the Globe article: Hassan's lawyer Friedman "said in court and in a later interview that Hassan did get assistance from Khalil. But he also said Hassan complied with federal law and worked as a religious leader at Khalil's Brooklyn mosque for three years." Oh, well, then everything is just fine! Excuse me, I don't get all warm and fuzzy about Mr. Hassan working for Muhammed Khalil for three years. Khlalil was running his massive visa fraud at the time.
- The Boston Herald article incorrectly states that "100 Muslim, Christian and Jewish leaders rallied outside a federal courthouse to support the clerics." Only a few were religious leaders, most people were regular folks, including quite a number of young people. In a rather grandiose statement, Imam Abdullah T. Faaruq of the Mosque for Praising of Allah in Roxbury claimed "Our nation is being judged by this one case...These men will be vindicated if this country is what it says. And they will not be vindicated if this country is unjust."
If I can find information refuting the claims by MAS and the lawyers in a short time of searching the internet, why can't the Globe, Herald and NECN reporters? Stay tuned, this case will continue and (I imagine) go to trial.
Thank you, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, for your continuing work protect our nation's borders and security. Thank you, Paula Grenier and Richard D. Neville. I'm glad you guys are on the job.
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