You may recall hearing about Mohamed Shorbagi in the news a few days ago. Shorbagi was the imam in Georgia convicted of providing material support to a terrorist organization:
"The leader of a small mosque in Rome, Ga., has been sentenced to more than seven years in prison after confessing to aiding the Islamic militant group Hamas. Palestinian native, Mohamed Shorbagi, 42, could have been sentenced to up to 15 years but received a lighter sentence because he helped federal authorities in another prosecution, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported."
"Court documents filed Monday said the imam had made donations to the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development between 1997 and 2001, knowing the money would go to Hamas. Hamas has been designated by the United States as a terrorist organization."
The Holy Land Foundation is one of several organizations deemed by the U.S. government to be financiers of terrorism, a front group for Hamas. The Benevolence International Foundation is another. In September 2004, a federal grand jury on Miami indicted two men on terrorism charges related to providing material support to terrorist organizations, in this case, the Holy Land Foundation. The 9/11 Commission Report (p. 58, also here) noted that the Benevolence International Foundation office in Sarajevo was part of Osama Bin Laden's array of offices providing financial support for terrorist activities around the world.
What does this have to do with us, you ask? Many fascinating tidbits have become public as a result of the Islamic Society of Boston (ISB) lawsuits against Fox News, Boston Herald, Ahmed Mansour, Steve Emerson, etc., etc., etc. alleging defamation. Two are those tidbits are that:
- The ISB donated almost $15,000 to the Benevolence International Foundation in 1996 (IRS form 990, found here, part of Dr. Ahmed Mansour's documents filed with the court), and
- Dr. Yousef Abou-Allaban, the Chairman of the Board of the ISB donated money to the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (contained in Dr. Abou-Allaban's sworn response to interrogatories, dated September 23, 2005, Suffolk Superior Court, Civil Action No. 05-0701-E).
Dr. Abou-Allaban stated in his response that his contributions to the Holy Land Foundation were "sponsoring an orphan child through this entity and donated money to him through this organization." Perhaps Dr. Abou-Allaban only unwittingly sent money to a terrorist front group. It is not known how much money was donated by the ISB and its chairman of the board to these designated terrorist-supporting organizations, or when contributions were made. Apparently, neither the ISB nor Dr. Abou-Allaban have provided additional information, despite this values statement at ISB website:
"Co-operation with Regulators and Authorities"
"We support regulators and authorities in their efforts to promote the public good. We are an open and transparent organization."
We should know how much money the ISB has contributed to the Holy Land Foundation and Benevolence International, even if the money was given in complete ignorance of ties to Hamas or Al Qaeda, with the best of intentions, and was done prior to their identification as terrorist front groups by the U.S. government. In the interests of transparency, Dr. Abou-Allaban could provide this information, perhaps even this weekend, while he is in town.
What distinguishes the contributions made by the ISB and Dr. Abou-Allaban from contributions that have resulted in indictments and convictions for others?
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