This is a continution of a look at Imam Basyouny Nehela, the spiritual leader of the Islamic Society of Boston (ISB) (part 1 can be found here). Although the ISB itself has come under intense scrutiny, largely due to links to radical Islamists and funding from Saudi donors and banks, their imam has not been subject to review. In the first part, I focused on his general background and relationship to the Boston branch of the Muslim American Society (MAS). This part will look at Nehela and the ISB's relationship to the Islamic Center of New England (ICNE), one of the oldest Muslim communities in the United States.
As described at the ICNE website and the ICNE Founder's Trust website, the ICNE was incorporated in the 1960's. The founding families were Lebanese immigrants who arrived here in the early 1900's. The first trained imam at the ICNE was Imam Talal Eid, who was brought to the ICNE from Lebanon via the Muslim World League (New York branch).
(One scholar of Middle Eastern history refers to the Muslim World League as being "founded in Saudi Arabia ....for the purpose of exporting Wahhabi teachings throughout the world." It's seemingly impossible to avoid the Saudi funding and Wahabi ideology, isn't it?) While in Lebanon, Eid was criticized for being too "idealistic" because he spoke about peace and brotherhood, and he refused to speak about the "merits of jihad" during Lebanon's civil war in the 1970's.
From 1982 until 2005, Imam Talal Eid (a Sunni Muslim) was the Religious Director of the ICNE, both the Sharon and Quincy centers. By all accounts, Imam Eid was widely respected and he worked diligently to improve relations between Muslims and non-Muslims in the Boston area, and to bridge the cultural gaps between Muslims of different nationalities and sects at the ICNE. He was criticized by some within the ICNE for being too concerned with interfaith activities. All religious matters were under his supervision, including religious education.
The ICNE had its own school called the Islamic Academy of New England (under the tax I.D. of the Islamic Center of New England Inc.). In 1996, one of the teachers was Muhammad Masood, who is now embroiled in immigration fraud charges and facing deportation. Apparently the ISB didn't have its own childrens' religious education in the 1990's, as children from the ISB mosque in Cambridge were bussed to Sharon for their classes. Rather a long way to go, and isn't it odd that Basyouny didn't simply start his own classes in Cambridge? Basyouny was made the Director and teacher at the Sharon school, the Islamic Academy of New England. They reportedly formed a new corporation, Islamic Academy of New England Inc (IANE) ( I.D.#000672056), registered on 8/31/99). Both he and Masood are IANE Board members. (I have been unable to locate detailed resumes of either Nehela or Masood.) Soon thereafter, another school was opened in the Quincy ICNE building at 470 South Street (I.D.#000743165, registered on 2/23/2001), called Al-Noor Academy. Basyouny became the Religious Director there. Basyouny Nehela was also the original Religious Director of the Al-Noor Academy in Mansfield, MA, established in September 2000, and he is on their Board of Trustees.
Within five years, Imam Nehela of the ISB had a leadership role at three Islamic schools in the Boston-Rhode Island area. Are these schools independent educational institutions, or has the ISB co-opted them? Is the ISB "franchising" itself via the education of young children? Where is the money trail and which way does it flow? Do the concerns about the ideology of the ISB lead us to question what is being taught at these schools as well? Where do the Arabic language text books come from and what do they say?
There was dissent within the ICNE over replacing Imam Talal Eid as the Religous Director of the schools with Basyouny Nehela. Some ICNE members felt that bringing in Basyouny Nehela into Imam Talal Eid's congregation went against a recognized Islamic tradition of obtaining the original imam's permission first. Things further disintegrated for Imam Eid at the ICNE when he was essentially forced to resign in the early 2005. Two ICNE board members resigned over this. This break within the ICNE was covered in several articles in the Patriot Ledger (here and here). Muhammad Masood (a teacher at Basyouny Nehela's religious directorship schools) was installed as Imam at the Sharon Center of ICNE, replacing Imam Talal Eid, a trained Imam from Al Azhar University and with verified degrees of Master of Theology and Doctorate of Theology from our own Harvard Divinity School. Imam Eid has gone on and successfully established the Islamic Institute of Boston, and he has kept a substantial following. Masood was removed as ICNE imam several months ago, due to the immigration violation charges.
Some ICNE members believe that the ISB was complicit in the removal of Talal Eid from the ICNE. In addition to Basyouny Nehela's role, Ghazwan Ghazi, the vice president of the ISB, is also on the Board of Directors of the ICNE. The ISB and the Muslim American Society are very hard to tell apart, as I've discussed in Part 1, and Basyouny is on the MAS Board of Directors. The ISB and MAS have been heavily involved in lectures, training and find-raising at the ICNE, as well as the Islamic Society of Greater Lowell. It does appear to this outsider that the ISB has an undue amount of influence in what was formerly an independent, self-funded and self-sustaining Islamic community.
I'm still doing some research, and there is likely to be more segments to this series!
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