Miss Kelly

Petition to the ICNE Board Seeks Impeachment

Yowza, there's a petition circulating in the Islamic Center of New England community of Sharon and Quincy, Massachusetts, and it packs a punch. 

Clearly, some ICNE members are very angry about what their Board of Directors has done over the past few years on three issues: 1) forcing former Imam Talal Eid out, 2) installing Muhammed Masood as imam, and 3) the takeover of the ICNE school (Islamic Academy of New England, IANE) done indirectly by the Islamic Society of Boston.   (More on this later, the role of ISB's imam Basyouney Nehela at the IANE.) They believe that the actions of the Board have been illegal.  Here is the letter and petition sent to the ICNE Board of Directors.

* * * * * * *
Date: March 27, 2008.

To: All members of the Board of Directors
      Islamic Center of New England Inc.

Dear Board Members:
AOA
I am sending you the petition that was sent to you and on April 14, 2005. You never held a General Body meeting and never resolved the issues raised therein. See Exhibit 1.
I am also sending you the release by the US Attorney office that shows the criminal enterprise you were supporting.
From this release it appears that you were trying to support the visa application of an undocumented person (referring to Muhammed Masood- ed) at the loss of Religious Director of the community (referring to Talal Eid - ed). This is violation of many US Laws. See Exhibit 2.
You can resolve this matter amicably within the community or by further litigation. Let me know what is your choice.
Also you are in breach of fiduciary duty by keeping a house occupied by a non-employee (refers to Masood's family-ed) that was needed for use by the Ladies Auxiliary. This is violation of the tax exempt status and also you have never been authorized by the General Body to waste the resources of the ICNE Inc. You will be held liable for this waste.

Wassalam.
Br. Shahadat H. Sarwahrdy
Life member, ICNE Inc.

* * * * * * *

Exhibit 1

This petition was received by the Secretary on April 14, 2005.  

 

To: ICNE President and Board Of Directors

From: ICNE General Members

Re: Special General Body meeting to act on resolutions

We, the concerned community members urge an immediate action to this petition as ICNE bylaws mandate a general body meeting within a prescribed time after the petition is submitted ( Article V111, Section I,Clause 3 )

We appoint :
1. Br. Shahadat H. Sarwahrdy and
2. Br. Zahid Durrani,
as our spokesperson and request the ICNE BOD to hold an Emergency General Body meeting to act on the following resolutions:

 

A. It is resolved that the members of the BOD who precipitated the resignation of Imam Talal Eid, and those who accepted it without following the rules of business be impeached.

B. It is resolved that the members of the BOD or ex-officio members of the BOD who have misinformed the General Body about their degrees that they did not attain (Names to be filled in at the meeting), be impeached and referred to the authorities for prosecution.

C. It is resolved that in addition to the members of the BOD, the spokespersons for this petition (Br. Shahadat H. Sarwahrdy and Br Z.Durrani) be given access to the ICNE record to year 1992 to determine the persons involved in taking away the resources of the ICNE (particularly schools run at ICNE properties) and if deemed necessary refer them to the authorities for prosecution.
The signature of members is on file with the Spokespersons and also forwarding by registered mail to ICNE Secretary.

Best Regards,

Copy to : ICNE President & Secretary ( registered mail)

Copy to All Board members and General Members

(Exhibit 2 below)

Film on Roxbury Mosque by BC Student -April 10

Heads up, this film by a Boston College student looks interesting too:

What: In Good Faith, the Building of a Mosque and a Community, documentary by Matt Porter, '09.
When: April 10, 2008, from 8 PM to 10 PM,
Where: Boston College, Higgins building, Room 300

This is a premiere showing, with Q&A.
Matt Porter's other films listed here (with trailers).

Role of Interreligious Center for Public Life in ISB Lawsuit Withdrawal

For the record....

I attended a lecture earlier this month at Merrimack College. The speaker was Dr. David Gordis, president of Hebrew College, who spoke about "Jews, Christians and Muslims: Building Bridges."    

Dr. Gordis is also affiliated with the Interreligious Center for Public Life (ICPL).  In response to a question about the ICPL, Gordis discussed the Islamic society of Boston (ISB) lawsuit. He said that the "both sides had legitimate concerns,"  citing ISB's claim that they faced religious discrimination, and The David Project's (TDP) concern about radicalism in the ISB leadership.  Dr. Gordis stated that the ICPL was able to get "both sides of the ISB lawsuit to sit down and talk to each."  He noted that after the ICPL intervened, the lawsuits were dropped (in May 2007), inferring that this was a result of the ICPL's mediation.  As a close observer of the ISB lawsuit, this is poppycock.

1) There weren't two sides to this lawsuit, there were 18 sides: the ISB on one side, and the 17 people,organizations and media outlets that the ISB sued. This lawsuit was never just the ISB vs. TDP.   

2) The ISB withdrew its lawsuit because during the discovery process, lots of information was coming out that confirmed what the defendants had been questioning all along.  From Dennis Hale, one of the people sued by the ISB for defamation:

"In the months before the ISB decided to abandon its claims against us, the discovery process – often the worst part of a protracted civil litigation – was uncovering even more disturbing facts about the ISB than we had previously known: multiple out-of-state bank accounts; millions of dollars in subsidies from Saudi Arabia; a close connection to imprisoned terrorist Abdurhaman Alamoudi and Muslim Brotherhood “spiritual director” Yusef Quaradawi; donations to the Holy Land Foundation; and more. We had said that the ISB’s leaders were not the moderate Muslims they were pretending to be. The discovery process was proving that we were more right than we knew. "

The trustees of the ISB now are the more or less the same people as before, and they include Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi (still a proposed trustee, although banned from entering the U.S.) and Dr. Walid Fitaihi (whom even the Boston Globe thought should resign).  In addition, the latest trustee, Dr. Jamal Badawi, is an open supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood.  The day after the lawsuit was withdrawn by the ISB, the Muslim American Society (MAS) held a press conference, confirming that the MAS is running the show now.  The MAS is the American branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. 

The "legitimate concerns" about the ISB leadership haven't gone anywhere. 

The ICPL had nothing to do with the withdrawal of the "legal jihad" lawsuit by the ISB.   The ISB could see the information coming out was damaging and they weren't going to win. It can't be defamation if it's true.

Steve Emerson Caught Someone Telling Lies

A local character and blogger Joachim Martillo printed an article which claimed that the Israeli government was in cahoots with Steve Emerson and "Power Point" expert Robert Spencer, among others, to try and stop the construction of the Roxbury mosque.  As if.  From the Counterrorism Blog:

"An effort by radical Islamists to smear terrorism expert Steven Emerson backfired last week when the allegations proved to be fabricated. An article entitled, “Paul Kendall: Did an 'Expert' on Terrorism Conspire With a Foreign Government to Violate the Constitutional Rights of American Muslims?" was posted on PR Newswire on March 4. It was based on copies of emails the author claimed to have reviewed. 'These electronic communications prove that Steve Emerson, along with some anti-Muslim advocacy groups, worked directly with the public affairs office of the Israeli consulate in Boston to formulate the creation of a smear campaign intended to stop the construction of a new Islamic cultural center,' the article claimed.

"PR Newswire sought to corroborate the article’s claims. But the emails say no such thing - out of dozens posted with the article, Steve Emerson is referenced in only two. In neither case is he shown in any communication with the Israeli consulate, communication which simply did not happen. The author of the article apparently did not respond to requests from PR Newswire for corroboration."

"PR Newswire therefore issued a “Kill” order on the story at 12:33 p.m. on Friday, March 7, withdrawing the original press release. This was confirmed in an email and telephone call to Steve’s attorney Richard Horowitz. WordPress.com also removed a blog containing the same report: 'This blog has been archived or suspended for a violation of our Terms of Service.' ”

"Steve Emerson expresses gratitude for the way both entities handled the situation. 'I run an independent organization that takes no money from any government, or from anybody outside the United States,' he told me. 'This report was an attempt at a viral smear, using the Internet to spread lies about my work. I appreciate the responsible steps PR Newswire and WordPress took to ensure they were not used any further.' ”

Counterterrorism Blog uses this bogus attempted smear to remind its readers of the salient facts of the Islamic Society of Boston mosque, its trustees, and their funding sources.  Why doesn't the City just take it over, and transfer ownership and operation to another organization?  Transfer it to a Roxbury Islamic group or maybe some inter-religious group.  Anyways, a refresher on the  ISB mosque:

"Immigrant Muslim Syndicate (CAIR, MAS, etc.)"

Quite an interesting post at this blog, where the Muslim author criticizes the "immigrant Muslim syndicate that dominates Islamic organizations in this country, specifically referring to the Council of American Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Muslim AMerican Society (MAS).  By inference, this includes the Muslim Student Association (MSA) groups and the Islamic Society of Boston (ISB), itself ruled by by trustees from Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries and an imam from Egypt. 

One of my Muslim readers similarly refers to the controlling Islamic institutions around eastern Massachusetts as "the Muslim mafia."   Several Muslim college students have written to me unhappy with the ideological rigidity of the Muslim student groups at Wellesley, Harvard and MIT.  Another Muslim wrote to me last September: "MAS took over the ISB and MAS is also trying to take over all Muslim groups in Boston without doing any grassroots work on their own, just putting their brand on every thing."   Yet many Muslims are afraid, whether of violence or afraid of being shunned, and so they rarely speak out publicly. 

ISB Needs $2 Million to Finish Roxbury Mosque

The Islamic Society of Boston has sent out e-mails to area Muslim groups in an attempt to raise enough money to finish the Roxbury mosque.  They're short about $1.8 million to complete a $15.5 million dollar project (scaled back from a $22 million dollar project*).  From a recent e-mail:

"We’re in the final stretch now.  We urgently need $1.8 million to open the doors: the last fraction of capital costs to finish the inside of the building and to pay overdue bills to our contractor, Mujeeb Ahmed."

What? No more sugar daddies from KSA?  What happened to on-again/off-again trustee Dr. Walid Fitaihi's financial backers?      

Hmmm, I wonder how much the ISB spent on their lawsuit against Fox News, the Boston Herald, the Citizens for Peace and Tolerance, the David Project, a Muslim scholar and about a dozen other defendants.  I'm guessing the legal costs were at least $2 million.  Looks like they shot themselves in the foot by engaging in a legal jihad against our local media and citizens groups. 

* Tell me again why an organization that began a $22 million dollar project was given a City parcel for only a fraction of its assessed value?  We've never did get a good answer on that one.   Is BRA director  (and ISB member)  Muhammed Ali-Salaam still involved with the Roxbury mosque project?   Did Ali-Salaam's stepfather ever convert to Islam?  Enquiring minds want to know.  What of those fantastic "benefits" to Boston, the lecture series and the Islamic library?   

Why has everything gotten so very quiet the past few months?   

Muhammad Ali-Salaam Given Award by the FBI?!

Surely you jest:

"The Muslim American Society of Boston (MAS Boston) and the Islamic Council of New England congratulate Mr. Muhammad Ali-Salaam for receiving the Director's Community Leadership Award from the FBI Boston office."

I guess black really is white and day really is night today.   From whence this notion of giving a leadership award to someone who should have been investigated - if not prosecuted - for a flagrant conflict of interest on the Boston mosque project?  What is the FBI thinking?  This looks like yet another example of federal agencies conveying legitimacy to the very Muslim leaders who should be marginalized.  What's going on here? 

Muhammad Ali-Salaam is an Assistant Director of the Boston Redevelopment Agency (BRA), which transferred a city-owned parcel in Roxbury valued at $2 million to the Islamic Society of Boston (ISB) for $175,000.  Ali-Salaam has been involved with the mosque project since 1992, back when the Muslim Council of Boston first broached the idea, before the ISB even existed.  Although Ali-Salaam works for the BRA, you'd probably think he worked for the ISB if you read the memos and e-mails he wrote to various ISB trustees over the years.  These documents became public during the discovery process of the ISB lawsuit.  No wonder they withdrew the lawsuit earlier this year.  BRA Assistant Director Muhamamd Ali-Salaam did the following:

• Drafted memos to the BRA on ISB letterhead,
• Wrote letters for the ISB trustees to submit to the BRA on the project,
• Advised the ISB trustees to offer a low-ball figure for the BRA parcel in Roxbury in negotiations with the City, noting in a memo that while the US Postal Service recently paid $16/sf for nearby property, the ISB should only offer $10/sf (this for a construction project intially estimated at $22 million dollars, as if the ISB needed a gift from MA taxpayers),
• Signed a letter on BRA letterhead giving $10,000 to former Roxbury Community College president Grace Brown, co-signed by an ISB chairman and trustee (the letter asked that the donation be kept confidential...why?),
• Solicited Muslim contractors to work on the mosque project (no church-state separation issues here?),
• Wrote updates to the ISB trustees talking about "our architects," "our Islamic library- which will be invaluable for dawah," and "creating opportunities for the Ummah,"
• Traveled to the United Arab Emirates to raise funds for the mosque project.  The ISB paid for the airfare ($1,035.42), but it is onkown at this point who paid for everything else (hotel, meals, taxis, etc.). 

The conflicts of interest here couldn't be more obvious.  The complete crossing of any lines separating church and state couldn't be more obvious.  James Policastro absolutely had a valid point here. 

City Councilor Jerry McDermott tried repeatedly over several years to hold hearings on the BRA (and Ali-Salaam's) involvement with the Roxbury mosque project.  The BRA repeatedly stonewalled, failing to show up for City council hearings, and saying that they could not say anything due to the ISB litigation.  The BRA was sued by The David Project to get them to disclose the details of Ali-Salaam's fund-raising trip to the Middle East.  The BRA has repeatedly refused to provide documents eve though ordered by the Court to do so.  What is the BRA hiding? As Solomonia points out about the BRA:

"No group has done more to more to hide its role, refuse to answer questions and come forward with documents in the mosque deal than Muhammad Ali-Salaam's BRA."

What are the feds doing here?

Channel 5 Chronicle Show on Islamic Society of Boston

Last night's Chronicle Show on Boston's ABC TV featured a lengthy segment on the Islamic Society of Boston*.  From the Chronicle website:

"June 9, 2007 -- a day of triumph for Islam in Boston. More than 2,000 Muslims traveled to the city that day to witness the capping of the minaret at the new Islamic Center of Boston.  It was a joyous day that followed 20 years of struggle, and 2 years of bitter conflict that exposed religious tensions and post 9-11 fears. Tonight, Mary Richardson reports on the making of a mosque, and what it says about the state of Islam in 21st century America."

The Chronicle episode was reasonably balanced and didn't shy away from raising controversial issues (ISB lawsuits, Saudi funding, ties to terrorists).  Kudos to Channel 5, no other TV station has covered the Islamic Society of Boston and the Roxbury mosque as fully as Chronicle has. It wasn't a fluff piece like Emily Rooney's fawning show about the mosque on WGBH in June 2005, where she giggled along with ISB chairman Youseff Abou-Allaban about how lucky the women were to have such a great view from the second floor above the men.  Tee-hee.  Chronicle's Mary Richardson interviewed the usual people: ISB's Abou-Allaban, Bilal Kaleem of the Muslim American Society, Charles Jacobs of The David Project, and Jeff Robbins (attorney for TDP), and one not-so-usual person, Lorenzo Vidinho of Tufts University, Fletcher School.  There are links for these people and orgs at the Chronicle website. The show presented a number of issues and viewpoints, but it was rather short on details, and Richardson accepted what ISB spokesman said at face value.  A few cases in point:

• Richardson mentioned some of the ties reported in Boston newspapers between the ISB and terrorists or terrorist supporters, including ISB founder Abdurahman Alamoudi.  She accepts Abou-Allaban's smiling claim that the ISB has had nothing to do with Alamoudi for over 20 years, when this is flatly untrue, as was demonstrated in documents that became public during the lawsuit discovery process. 
• The issue of the BRA real estate deal came up, but Richardson incorrectly stated that the BRA transferred the property for half of its market value.  It was transferred for less than a tenth of the fair market value, $175K instead of $2 million. And no mention of the role of Mohammad Ali-Salaam, a BRA deputy director who was simultaneously a member of the ISB working on this project. Bit of a conflict of interest here.   
• Richardson also mentioned the controversy with Saudi doctor Walid Fitaihi (reportedly the son of one of the ISB's biggest funders), the former ISB treasurer.  Fitahi is infamous for his virulently anti-Semitic writings, which were made at the same time as he was participating in interfaith dialog in Boston.  She reports that Fitaihi apologized for his writings in April this year.  But she neglects to menton Fitaihi's other claims, that 9/11 has turned out to be a wonderful opportunity for Islam to spread in America (said a mere two weeks after 9/11), and that Boston is ripe for converting Christians to Islam.  (Hence the mega-mosque.) She neglects to mention that Walid Fitaihi resigned as an ISB trustee in March 2007 but was reappointed as a trustee in July 2007, not long after the ISB withdrew its lawsuit.  Funny timing, funny goings-on.
• Richardson doesn't mention the other folk that the ISB has ties to who are Islamists, members of the Muslim Brotherhood and proponents of suicide bombing, including Yusuf Al-Qaradawi (proposed ISB trustee) and Salah Soltan.
• Not a peep about Jamal Badawi, the latest ISB trustee and a founder of several Muslim Brotherhood organizations in the United States, including the Muslim American Society and the Muslim Student Association.  Brother Badawi is specifically mentioned in the Muslim Brotherhood's guidance document for expansion in the U.S. as being a key person in "providing the seed of the comprehensive dawa organization."  The Muslim Brotherhood blueprint calls for the establishment of interconnected Islamic organizations and institutions in order to unify all Muslims, "present Islam as a civilizational alternative", and to "support the global Islamic state" wherever Muslims are.  Not to mention conducting a "grand Jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western Civilization from within."  I don't make this stuff up, I just report it.  Anway, the Muslim Brotherhood's work is well underway.   
• No mention on Chronicle that the ISB is run by the Muslim American Society, a transition in leadership which officially took place days after the lawsuit was withdrawn, but which was in the works for several months before that.  
• Richardson discussed the differences between the situation of Muslims in Europe and in the U.S., noting that Muslim immigrants to the U.S. are more educated and affluent than European immigrants, so we don't have the troubles that England, France, Holland, Spain, Sweden and other countries have (train and subway bombings, riots, calls for beheading non-Muslims, rise in crime).  This is true, and it's also true that the U.S. has a long history of assimilating people from many different nations, which Europe does not.  We also lack the generous welfare benefits that Europe has, so people that come here have to work.  In Europe, there are thousands of angry, resentful young males collecting checks and living in subsidized housing.  Not so here. However, the U.S. has a far smaller Muslim population (roughly 1.5%) than European countries do (4% - 8%).  Given the disruptions to our society by a small number of radical Islamists with an agenda - the flying imams, CAIR and ISB lawsuits, Muslim cashiers refusing to scan bacon, Muslim cab drivers refusing to take people with dogs, demands for Islamic wash basins in airports and public schools -  I'm guessing things would be more problematic here as well if the Muslim population were higher. Which is, by the way, a clear goal of the Islamists.  I've seen the population goal stated as 25 million Muslims in America at a local Islamic website.  This website noted that immigration might be closed to Muslims in the future (what do they know that we don't?!), and so Muslims are pressured to marry young and have big families to reach that goal.   
• Chronicle also went to an Islamic School in Mansfield, MA, the Al-Noor Academy High School.  The young women were covered more fully than women in Iran are and the male teachers sported beards the length of one's fist (just like the prophet Muhammad), pretty good indicators of a conservative Islamic ideology.  The male students were shown bobbing their heads as they memorized the Koran, a scene that would be common in Pakistan or Saudi Arabia, but one that ought to raise eyebrows here.  How much school time is spent on the Koran and how much on other subjects?
• Mary Richardons made no mention that numerous trustees and teachers of the Al-Noor Academy are also director and trustees of the ISB and the MAS.  As I said above, the Muslim Brotherhood is indeed busy establishing interconnected Islamic institutions. Islamists can create their own closed world here in our midst, and need not assimilate into the wider pluralistic, multi-religious society as equals to everybody else.
• The final visual image on the show was of a young family with two little children, pushing a stroller.  The father was dressed in casual Western clothes, the mother was dressed in a full-length abaya and niqab, her face completely covered except for a slit for her eyes.  Chronicle apparently doesn't see anything wrong about this image, it's exotic and multicultural and hence desirable to some.  But I see a problem here: sequestered women, unable to leave the house without their husband's permission, having to hide their faces.   This is so contrary to our egalitarian values of individualism and free thinking, one might say it's anti-American. If you hide your face, that's a clear statement of the intent NOT to integrate into our wider society.  Chronicle's portrayal of Muslims in Massachusetts was largely sympathetic.  But it's telling and problematic that this was the final image on the program.

*Curiously enough, Maggie Harper of the Chronicle show left me a message on the blog in June 2007, saying that Chronicle was doing a show on the new mosque, I represented a different perspective and would I be willing to speak with her?  I responded affirmatively to her on June 11 via e-mail, the same day that Congregation Kehillath Israel was hosting a forum on the ISB lawsuit (which was withdrawn by the ISB about a week or so before). I recommended that Ms. Harper attend the forum, where Ahmed Mansour, Charles Jacobs and Jeff Robbins were speaking.  She never did respond to either my e-mail or my follow-up phone call. Oh well! 

Polygamy in Sharon, MA!

Put down your cup of coffee for this one or you'll spew it all over the place. 

Miss Kelly was forwarded this letter, which was sent to the Islamic Center of New England (ICNE) Board of Directors last week.  I have of course removed all the names to protect peoples' privacy:   

Assallamu Alaykum Wa Rahmato Allahi Wa Barakatoh;

"My name is (Jane Doe).  I am a Muslim American Arab member of the community of New England, and I have contributed to the community in my ways in Sharon as well as  R.I."

"I believe its the duty of the Islamic center to watch out for their
community members and correct any misconduct  by the best available methods provided by the Imam of that center,I also strongly believe that as a Islamic Legitamate organization we as muslims have to bind by the rules and regulations of  the states of america."

"With that said I, (Jane Doe), report my complaint of the misconduct not only by my husband (John Doe) but also by Brother (Abdul Doe) reprensentative of Islamic center of Sharon,where through the authority given to brother (Abdul Doe) by the center of Sharon ,my husband (John Doe) was able to marry illegally and secretly and without my knowledge three american muslim women, and because of that my self and my children have suffered and still suffering tremendously,and because of the failure of the Islamic center as well the Imams to prevent such misconduct, I had no choice but to file for divorce, and demand through the court for my rights as well as my childrens,and for me to insure that, I will expose this misconduct to the court and media if I have to, I also hope through this letter that you will make sure that this victimizations doesn't happen to any other sisters."

"Thank you."

Salah Soltan, Jamal Badawi and Yusuf Qaradawi - Trifecta?

I spy with my little eye - Salah Soltan was denied US citizenship and has moved to Bahrain! Bravo!

I also spy with my little eye - a Salah Soltan/Jamal Badawi/Yusuf Qaradawi gathering in 2001, supporting Qaradawi's fatwa prohibiting American Muslim soldiers from fighting in Afghanistan.

As reported in CBNnews earlier this week in an article about radical Islamists in Columbus, Ohio, Salah Soltan's application for US citizenship was denied and he now resides in Bahrain.  Salah Soltan has portrayed himself as a moderate, attended interfaith events in Ohio, and was widely lauded as a moderate.  He set up shop in Columbus and started a number of Islamic organizations, including the Islamic Association University (recently opened a Boston branch), Sunrise Academy (K-8 Islamic school) and the American Center for Islamic Research.  But there's that problematic side to Soltan too, because he's the same man who:

• Claims that the 9/11 attacks were planned by the US government,
• Supports and promotes suicide bombings, Hamas, Hezbollah, and violent Islamic Jihad,
• Counsels Muslim women (even Americans) to accept that their husbands have taken second wives,
• Counsels Muslim women that they can't leave the house without their husband's permission,
• Reportedly claimed that Israeli soldiers made ash trays out of Palestinian fetus skulls, and
• Supports the violent destruction of Israel and the deportation of Jews from there.

Not so moderate, eh?  Soltan, BTW, has some local connections, as he was the featured speaker at an Al-Huda (of Revere, MA) fundraiser in October 2005 in Medford, and he spoke at the Islamic Society of Boston (ISB) in 2004.  Lately, Soltan has been busy with the Muslim Brotherhood and HAMAS, as diligently reported by Patrick Poole of Central Ohioans Against Terrorism. Here's what CBNnews reports on Soltan and his association with Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi:

"Poole said, 'I discovered that Dr. Salah Sultan (3rd from right in photo) --a very prominent international cleric who's closely associated with Yusuf Qaradawi (in red and white hat in photo)-- was living right around the corner from my own home.'  Sultan's relationship with Qaradawi is the first thing that caught Poole's attention. Qaradawi is listed by the U.S. as a specially designated global terrorist. He's openly advocated suicide bombings against Israeli civilians. He's also called on Muslims to fight U.S. troops in Iraq."

"Terrorism expert Steven Emerson has followed Sultan and Qaradawi's activities closely. 'Sultan is an acolyte of Qaradawi,' said Steven Emerson, of the Investigative Project on Terrorism. 'And Qaradawi is a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood who has called for killing Americans and killing Jews.'  Their relationship is so close that Sultan joined in honoring Qaradawi at a reception this summer. Emerson said, 'The fact that Sultan is hanging out with these men indicates exactly where he stands.' "

As our readers know very well, Yusuf Qaradawi is a proposed trustee of the Islamic Society of Boston (ISB), meaning that he can become a trustee at any time.  The ISB has tried to distance itself from Qaradawi, claiming in 2004 that the ISB has no "significant or long-standing relationship" with Qaradawi and that "any administrative or official connection to either individul that was in existence more than a decade ago has since been dissolved, long before either individual was identified as controversial or as an alleged participant in illegal activities."  I think not.  If anything, a new association has emerged between the latest ISB trustee Dr. Jamal Badawi and Yusuf Qaradawi.   

Nonie Darwish Gets the "Mean Girl" Treatment at Wellesley

Nonie Darwish spoke at Wellesley College last week.  I'm sorry I missed it, but Phyllis Chesler wrote about it here.  Seems that the Muslimah were out in force, interrupting Dariwsh's lecture in a passive/aggressive manner:

“ 'The radical Muslims on American campuses are getting more belligerent, far more militant,' author and lecturer Nonie Darwish tells me. 'They have perfected their intimidation and disruption techniques.' "

"Darwish is a beautiful and passionate speaker. She is an expressive, emotional orator, dramatically thrilling (as so many Arabs can be), but Darwish is also soft, almost maternal when she speaks. She is also very clear, very firm, and totally uncompromising. She grew up in Cairo and in Gaza and now lives in America. She has founded Arabs for Israel. She is pro-American and also concerned with women’s rights. Her first book, Now They Call Me Infidel: Why I Renounced Jihad for America, Israel, and the War on Terror, is clear-sighted, well-written, and extremely brave."

"Darwish is the daughter of a high-ranking Egyptian military officer who died in battle against the Israelis and who is considered a “shahid,” or martyr. While she continues to love her father, she has “shaken off,” renounced, the hate propaganda with which she was raised."

"Last week, on October 18, 2007, our hero Darwish spoke at the all-female Wellesley College as the guest of Hillel on campus. She was not treated as a hero; then again, maybe she was, maybe her treatment is precisely how heroes are greeted on American campuses today."

ISB's Walid Fitaihi Writes About Boston Mosque in Saudi Paper

Sol came across an article recently written by Walid Fitaihi, the on-again/off-again/on-again trustee of the Islamic Society of Boston, this from Okaz Today (translated from Arabic).  Fitaihi writes of his contributions to the building of a mosque in Boston, and how much the "Muslim colony" had to overcome.  He declared that now the true essence of that "divine faith" will be revealed to everyone in Boston, Muslims and non-Muslims alike. I noticed a few disconnects between what Fitaihi did with what he said here:

• Fitaihi: "I have also spoken at local and international news outlets about the benefits of this project and the possibility of it becoming a unique model for emulation; a one of a kind prototype in America."  Fitaihi made a number of controversial, inflammatory statements in an Egyptian newspaper several years ago.  These anti-Semitic statements were written at the same time as Fitaihi was engaged in interfaith dialogue in the Boston area with Jewish organizations.  Not something to emulate.
• "In fact, the project had earned the support of Mayor Menino and that of many prominent city officials in Boston; city official who are well acquainted with the Boston Muslim colony’s desire to foster contacts and bonds with their brothers and sisters in the city; city officials who are well aware of the Boston Muslim colony’s eagerness to build bridges of amity so as to fulfill the heavenly prescription of the Almighty to 'get to know one another'."   Yeeks, that's laying it on pretty thick.  Mayor Menino cares about getting votes from Muslim constituents.  He seems not interested in giving the mosque project and the ISB leadership the scrutiny they so richly deserve.  By Fitaihi's own words, "Boston has recently become a center of Islamic proselytizing aimed at Christians."  Fitaihi is more interested in converting Bostonians than he is in "getting to know" us.  Hence the location of the mosque in the heart of the Black community of Roxbury, when the original Muslim community was from Cambridge. 
• "...the mandate of the Cultural Center will have been intended to be that of an ecumenical mosque, a ministry, a library, a school [the Arabic madrassa ], multi-purpose auditoriums and venues for various colloquia, seminars, and lectures benefiting Muslims and non-Muslims alike...."  Excuse me, what's an "ecumenical" mosque?   It's a mosque, it's for Muslims.  Regarding the benefits to non-Muslims, in Fitaihi's eyes, the primary benefit to non-Muslims is that they will be aggressively proselytized to embrace Islam, at every opportunity, every press conference, every interfaith gathering.  Confidential documents between BRA director Muhamamd Ali-Salaam and the ISB Board of Directors (made public during the lawsuit discovery process) explicitly state that the Board was opposed to offering any school scholarships to non-Muslims.  The BRA was prepared to offer more land near the mosque which could be used to provide housing and jobs for "the ummah" (Muslims).  Trustee Kandil said "We should be innovative enough to include services that will benefit our community."  Fitaihi and the other ISB trustees were and are interested in benefits for Muslims, despite the kumbaya happy-talk. 
• "...the [Boston] Muslim colony and its trustees have been facing one challenge after the next; challenges that ran the gamut from things material and legal, to brazen disruptions, distortions, and similar steady attempts at scuttling the project—by those who do not wish for Humanity to find Peace through the building of bridges of knowledge and understanding and learning about the other..."   When you read enough of this stuff, it dawns on you that "wishing for Humanity to find Peace" really means wishing for non-Muslims to convert to Islam. 
• "After more than a decade of time and of successful fundraising—and donations exceeding 12 million dollars...."  Funny, the basis of the ISB lawsuit against seventeen defendants included the claim that the defendants interfered with the ISB's ability to raise funds, that fund-raising had "dried up."  Not so, apparently, not so at all. The basis of the lawsuit was a sham.  Shocker, eh?
• "....the doors of this Cultural Center—for Muslims and non-Muslims alike—have been flung open so that all can hear the word of Allah..."  More evidence of the intent to proselytize to non-Muslims.  How long before the adhnan is heard five times a day in Roxbury? 

If Dr. Fitaihi really wanted to encourage learning and understanding between the different religions, he would next embark upon building a gorgeous $20 million dollar "ecumenical cathedral" in Saudi Arabia.  That would do so much to "fulfill the heavenly prescription of the Almighty to get to know one another”. That would "build bridges" to the Christian minority in KSA that has to hold religious services in secrecy, or face being arrested, imprisoned and kicked out of the country,  Christians cannot even bring a Bible or a cross into the country.  I don't believe that Jews are even allowed into Saudi Arabia, except under exceptional circumstances.  Israelis are prohibited from entering the country. 

Dr. Fitaihi, here's your chance to propagate the "true spirit of forgiveness, love, and goodness" in Saudi Arabia too!  How about it, sir?  Do you have it in you for another grand construction project?  Why not put your money where your mouth is in your own country?

Until we can build churches and temples in Saudi Arabia, there should be no Saudi-funded mosques built here in America.  What hypocrisy on Fitaihi's part.  What dangerous blindness on Menino's part.

"It's a Good Thing Those Heathens Died"

The Boston Globe Magazine today featured the creator of The 99, a comic book series popular in the Middle East.  Kuwaiti-native Naif Al-Mutawa had an interesting upbringing, including going to a predominantly Jewish summer camp in New Hampshire for ten years, and going back to Kuwait for school.  He attended Tufts University, and he became involved with the Islamic Society there:

"Perhaps the defining moment of his college career occurred at a friend's apartment, when al-Mutawa overheard a fellow Muslim student talking about people who had died in flooding along the Mississippi River. "This guy was saying things like 'It's a good thing those heathens died,' " recalls al-Mutawa. The real shocker was the discovery that this same person was an officer in the Tufts Islamic Society. "So at the end of the night, I walk up to this guy and say, 'You have convinced me to join the Islamic Society.' The guy replied, `Welcome. Thank you. I knew it . . .' But I said, `Let me finish my sentence. I am joining with the sole intention that you are taken out of your position.' " And this is exactly what al-Mutawa did."

Good on him.  But bad on Tufts Islamic Society members for electing that student in the first place.  An officer of a Tufts University student organization thinks that it was a good thing that heathens (would infidels be a better word?) were killed in the Mississipi flood of 1993.  Who were the officers of the Tufts Islamic Society in 1993?  Enquiring minds want to know.  And where are these people now? 

Naif laments that moderate Muslims rarely show up in the media:

" 'I'd prefer you talk to me about how I feel about Islam, rather than the people who keep showing up in the media cross-eyed and angry,' says al-Mutawa. 'But if you are a moderate, you are not much of a story to the media, and this is part of the problem.' "

Yes, it is a part of the problem.  Others like Mona Eltahaway have noted that the media likes to cover "angry bearded Muslims." Or angry hijabbed Muslims.  And the media still likes to interview CAIR officials to get the Muslim viewpoint, even though CAIR has been quite discredited.  Locally, the Boston media and interfaith groups still go to the Islamic Society of Boston and Muslim American Society for the same, despite the fundamentalist ideology of those groups and their demonstrated ties to radical Islamists. 

You can criticize the media, but who else do reporters have to talk to?  Where can interfaith groups find an alternative to Mr. Red Hat?  Where are the organizations and leaders of these supposedly numerous but invisible "moderate Muslims"?   The only way moderate Muslims can compete against the well-funded, media-savvy Islamists is to create their own organizations.  Stop worrying about creating fitnah for the ummah, and start talking loudly about who you are, what you believe, and who does and who does not speak for you.  Give the reporters, politicians, local officials and talk show hosts other Muslims to talk to besides the fundamentalists. 

"Suhaib is Coming!" Does MIT Know MAS is Coming to Campus?

UPDATE BELOW

The e-mails are flying: "Suhaib is coming! Suhaib is coming!"  Suhaib Webb, that is.

Rather reminds one of "The British are coming! The British are coming!"  Allow me to be the modern-day  Paul Revere for a moment.  One if by land, two if by sea!  Three if by MAS dawah?   How did the MAS (founded by the Muslim Brotherhood) come to be the predominant, public face for area Muslims?  Do our prestigious local colleges (Harvard, MIT, Simmons, Wellesley, Northeastern, Tufts) even know who's coming on to their campuses to shape the minds of their students?  Do the parents know how their children are being pressured at these colleges?

There's been a flurry of e-mails going out to all the area Islamic organizations - especially college student groups - promoting a series of lectures this weekend by Suhaib Webb.  This weekend marks the end of Ramadan, and is a time of celebration, prayer, family gatherings and feasting for Muslims.  Mr. Webb is a convert to Islam, originally from Oklahoma.  You can read more about him here.  According to Wiki:

"In 2004, he moved with his wife and children to Cairo, where he studied at the prestigious Al-Azhar Islamic University. Besides studying, he often gives lectures in the USA and elsewhere, and records commercial Islamic lecture series, such as on the Wives of the Prophet Muhammad. During his time off he stays in the Silicon Valley and is employed by Muslim American Society."

Wiki goes on to say, "It is no exaggeration to say that he would be the next Siraj Wahhaj or Hamza Yusuf."  Yippee. Wiki further tells us that the MAS originally paid for Webb to study in Egypt, in this cryptically-worded sentence:

"It is through the Muslim American Societies scholarship program that he was sent to Egypt to study and increase efforts to create a much needed climate based on local religious scholarship."

Much needed climate??  Wiki notes that Webb is a frequent contributor to The Translators, which is aimed at Western Muslims, and provides translations of Islamic writings.  It's part of the so-called Islamic revival going on, bringing Muslims back to their roots.  One of the first things I come across there is the statement " ...the work towards the establishment of an Islamic state is the central issue for the Muslims."  They're talking about this country, mind you. There's an admonition for young people in the West to "leave off unproductive and divisive discussions of involved theological issues that are the proper domain of trained specialists."  Don't ask questions, just do as we say!   Hmmm, I don't think that's gonna fly in the West, we train our students to question authority!

Back to Webb's local appearance.  He's got a packed schedule.  According to the ISB/MAS e-mails, on Friday evening, Webb is speaking at Harvard Musala (Lowell lecture hall).  He's giving the Eid Khutbah lecture at the Islamic Society of Boston's new mosque in Roxbury on Saturday morning.  At 5 PM on Saturday, he's speaking at an Eid celebration for MIT students. 

Here's what I observe, and some questions about Suhaib Webb coming to Boston:

1.  The MAS is bringing him to the ISB and to two local colleges, Harvard and MIT.  E-mails about his appearances were sent to selected students at Harvard, Wellesley, Northeastern, Simmons, MIT and Tufts.  Nancy Khalil, employed by Harvard and a Muslim Student advisor at Wellesley and BC, sent the e-mails to selected students at the colleges. 

2. While this event is being held at MIT, there is no notice of the event at the two notice boards allotted by MIT.  Oddly enough, there's not even a notice of this event at MIT mentioned at the MIT Muslim Student Association website or their calendar.  Flying under the radar?

3. The Muslim Student Association of MIT would be the one holding the Eid Party under normal circumstances. My understanding is that the MIT MSA did not vote on this event or give notice about it. Can the MAS just go into any college they want and bring in their speakers? 

4. My understanding is that on Eid, the only contact for Muslims is at the Eid prayer, which is conducted in the morning with an Eid sermon. The rest of the day or weekend is spent in celebration with friends and relatives.  At MIT, there was a system where students from out of state or other countries were invited by local Muslim families to celebrate Eid with them. This arrangement has been systematically undone.

5. There are vulnerable students, lonely on Eid day, away from their families, perhaps this is their first Eid away from home.  And the MAS brings them to this event.  Some students are reportedly secretly given money as stipends by the MAS, and they are more or less required to attend this event.  Are students supposed to reveal to their colleges any financial aid they are receiving from the MAS? 

6. The event at MIT is very benign on the surface, it's just a Eid celebration. Who can object?  But it is likely being used to "fish" for students who are impressionable and prone to Islamic fundamentalism.  More students for MAS to send to Al-Azhar.

7. The MIT event is being held in MIT Room 6-120. Who reserved the room, and for what purpose?  Did the student body sanction this event?  Did MAS get the room at MIT for free?  MAS is an overly political organization.  Is it acceptable for outside political organizations to use a room at MIT for free?

8. Is this event being video-taped and broadcast?  If so, it is probably going to end up being webcast with an announcement that it's from MIT, with the appearance of being sanctioned by MIT.  This has been done in the past for MAS events held at Harvard that had nothing to do with Harvard, where only space was rented, but the event was later publicized with a Harvard logo. 

9. The event starts at 5:00 P.M. but no end time is given. From MIT, the students will be no doubt be taken to the ISB center at Prospect Street,Camvridge or to MAS Boston at Garfield Street, Somerville.  And this event will continue till late in the night, and then the students will be asked to stay overnight, for lectures that last all night.  These are the ISB/MAS "Tarbiya" sessions. 

10.  I'd really like to know the denomination of Suhaib Webb, of the ISB and MAS Boston.  Sunni, Hanafi, Shia, Whahabi, Salafi, Akhwan, Ahmadiya, Deobandi, Ismaili?  Why don't they reveal their affiliation?

There are many learned people in Boston in positions of authority who think that ISB/MAS Boston are connected to Harvard and MIT, and are therefore wonderful representatives of the Muslim community.  They think that interaction of students with the ISB and MAS is of great value.  Unfortunately, they are not seeing the threads of Islamic fundamentalism running through ISB/MAS events.  But I hear about it from Muslims on a regular basis, Muslims who object to the rigid ideology of the ISB/MAS, and their takeover of area organizations.  A local college student recently wrote to me: "I am a MAS member and was starting to be active through the MSA but it a long story, and if you do not act exactly like they want (a robot) you are pushed to the side....They are trying to take over all Muslim groups in Boston without doing any grassroots work on their own, just putting their brand on every thing." 

Yup, that MAS logo is showing up everywhere, and only their imams and speakers are showing up at local colleges. 

Who brought Suhaib Webb here for Eid?

UPDATE (10-17-07) - I really touched a nerve here for Reader and Mr. Green (in the Conservatory?).   Reader gave a link to Web's lecture at the ISBCC last Friday, where Web states:

"And we want everyone to know that:

1. We are not here to establish a theocracy in our homeland. But we are here, and more than happy to live according to the law of the land.
2. We denounce all forms of violence and intimidation carried out against the innocent anywhere on the globe and reject terrorism as a valid means of expressing dissent or frustration."

Nice try.  MAS always mixes up appearances and reality.  In October 2001, MAS founder Jamal Badawi (latest ISB trustee) encouraged Sheik Qaradawi to forbid American Muslims to fight for their country in Afghanistan.  The MAS is simply not to be trusted, their leadership is frankly treasonous.  

Does Webb denounce murdering Iraqui civilians who work for the U.S. troops?  The Boston MAS distributed an e-mail with a fatwa supporting that about three years ago.  Does Webb condemn Hamas and Lashkar-e-Toiba for indoctrinating children to strap bombs on their little bodies and blow themselves up?  Maybe he does, but I rather doubt it. 

How Curious! How Bizarre! And What a Coincidence! Part II

Another curious and bizarre coincidence!

As I noted a few days ago, Dr. Esam Omeish was recently invited as a guest lecturer at the Islamic Society of Boston's Grand Ramadan fundraiser. This event was held at the Cambridge Marriott Hotel in Kendall Square on September 15th, 2007.  Pricey tickets, $100 a pop.  The other guest lecturer at the fundraiser was Imam Johari Abdul Malik, director of community outreach for the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church, Virginia. 

In doing my research on Omeish, I find that Omeish is on the board of directors of the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center, nick-named the "9/11 Mosque" by investigator Paul Sperry.  Some info on Dar Al-Hijrah, from the Washinton Post:

• "The FBI and the federal 9/11 commission concluded that two of the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers briefly worshiped at the mosque after one of them befriended its imam in San Diego." (Omeish hired that imam, btw, Anwar al-Aulaqi)
• "It is closely affiliated with the Muslim American Society, a 12-year-old organization committed to promoting Islam in the United States. Several of the group's founders had been active in the Muslim Brotherhood..."
• "...many younger Muslims have shied away from active involvement in the mosque's affairs, viewing its aging leadership as secretive and cliquish and objecting to its strict segregation of men and women."

Just as the ISB has been overtaken and is now directed by the Muslim American Society (Nehela, Al-Jabri, abou-Samra, et al), the MAS runs the Dar Al-Hijrah:

"The society is well-represented in Dar's leadership. Three mosque board members -- Ghannouchi, Omeish and Amin Ezziddine -- are active in the society, as is the mosque's administrative director, Samir Abo Issa. And the society's general secretary, Shaker El Sayed, is on the executive committee that runs the mosque's daily affairs."

"....But the prominent role of the society in Dar's internal affairs is controversial among Dar members..... This unelected board often meets behind closed doors, and it is unclear how many board members representing outside organizations actually attend."

Doesn't that ring a bell?  That seems to be how the MAS likes to run things. If you thought the ISB wasn't exactly transparent before, wait 'til you see the MAS-run ISB.

Paul Sperry has more allegations about the Dar al-Hijrah mosque:

"Dar al-Hijrah is a turnstile for terrorists and terror suspects. A prayer leader, Sheikh Mohammed al-Hanooti, was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the first World Trade Center bombing. Other dubious mosque members have included: Alamoudi (ISB's founder), Abdullah bin Laden, Osama's nephew; Hamas leader and fugitive Mousa Abu Marzook and his partners Ismail Elbarasse and Abdelhaleem Ashqar, who was convicted of obstruction of justice in February; convicted Virginia Jihad Network leader Randall 'Ismail' Royer, a former CAIR official; and Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, an al-Qaida operative recently convicted of plotting to assassinate President Bush."

"...What's more, the phone number to the mosque was found in the German apartment of Ramzi bin al-Shibh, roommate of 9/11 ringleader Mohamed Atta. Atta's deputy "emir" in the "raid" on America, Nawaf al-Hazmi, worshipped at Dar al-Hijrah, along with the pilot who crashed the plane into the Pentagon."

Why would the ISB want to bring people from this particular Islamic Center to Boston? 

I'm beginning to think that Mitt Romney was right, and I hope the feds are paying attention.  They'll need a translator, though, the ISB apparently has brought over several imams from Egypt, a Sheik Mustafa Talaat (from Al Azhar University) and a Sheik Esam.  They must be doing a Ramadan tour, as they are speaking at ISB, ICNE Sharon and Quincy both, Al-Huda and other mosques.  Talaat only speaks in Arabic.  What is he really saying, one wonders.  What sort of visas so they have?  What do we know about their ideology and background?  Does anybody check that before letting them into the U.S.? How long will they be here?  Enquiring minds want to know! 

Note to critics: Don't blame me if you don't like the associations.  I just find this stuff, I'm not the one that keeps inviting radical Islamists here.    

How Curious! How Bizarre! And What a Coincidence!

Dr. Esam Omeish reportedly used to have an office next-door to Abdurahman Alamoudi's former office in Alexandria, VA. 

How curious! How bizarre, and what a coincidence!

Abdurahman Alamoudi, the same guy who founded the Islamic Society of Boston? The same guy who's serving a 23-year sentence in federal prison after having pleaded guilty in 2004 to participating in a Libyan plot to assassinate Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah? 

Cue Disney music: "It's a small world, after all, it's a small world, after all!"

Boston Phoenix Asks if Boston Newspapers Are "Scared Silent"

Kudos to Adam Reilly of the Boston Phoenix for writing Scared Silent, about the reluctance of Boston media to cover the Islamic Society of Boston:

"Dr. Walid Fitaihi’s departure from and return to the Islamic Society of Boston (ISB) were stories worth reporting. After all, the possibly polemical physician’s writings helped ignite the controversy that dogged the ISB from the autumn of 2003 until June 2007, when the opening of the ISB’s new mosque in Roxbury seemed to bring the matter to a close. So why didn’t the Boston press pay attention when Fitaihi quietly left the ISB’s board of trustees earlier this year — or when he returned just four months later, after dueling lawsuits involving the ISB were dropped?"

Most excellent question, glad that someone in Boston's media is paying attention.  Miss Kelly and Solomonia are mentioned too:

".....no major Boston media outlet took note of Fitaihi’s departure and return earlier this year. (Only two local conservative blogs, Solomonia and Miss Kelly .... seemed to notice.) What’s more, a conciliatory meeting Fitaihi had with a group of Jewish leaders in April was covered only by the Jewish Advocate."

"....reporting on anything that involves Fitaihi would require explaining why, exactly, he’s a significant figure. And this, in turn, would have meant delving into some of the same details that helped put the Herald and WFXT on the receiving end of a lawsuit. Which brings us to the heart of the matter: has the Boston press decided that aggressively covering the ISB is too risky?

Another excellent question! 

Reilly asks editors from the Herald and the Globe why they aren't covering any ISB developments.  Herald editor Kevin Convey says:

“I don’t think anybody in the business would deny that major lawsuits . . . can have a chilling effect — not only on us, but on other people, as well.”

That's the intent of these lawsuits.  They're effective, even when the plaintiff is forced to completely withdraw its lawsuit, as the ISB did in this case. 

Boston Globe Metro editor Brian McGrory seems to think that "there haven’t been any major news developments."  Mr. McGrory, let me pitch a few story ideas:

• The latest ISB trustee Dr. Jamal Badawi is named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the U.S. government's case against the Holy Land Foundation.  There's a story there!
• There isn't much left of the ISB, it's been reorganized and subsumed by the Muslim American Society.  Take a look at the latest MAS glossy annual report, which was handed out at the New Bostonians Community Day at City Hall earlier this week. (In 2001, Dr. Fitaihi identified Boston as a "center of Islamic proselytizing aimed at Christians").  MAS is controlling the ISB now.  Yes, the same MAS that was founded by the Muslim Brotherhood.
• So who's funding the MAS?  Who directs it?  Are they a religious organization or a political organization?  Considering how much lobbying and fund-raising they do on political issues, why are they tax-exempt? 
• How many ISB/MAS leaders are on the board of directors of Al Huda in Revere, the ICNE in Sharon, the Islamic Society of Greater Lowell, the Islamic Society of Worcester, the American Islamic Institute, the Al-Hamra Academy of Shrewsbury, the Islamic Academy of New England in Mansfield, to name a few?  Get a copy of Analyst's Notebook link analysis software, and have at it.

You can review my earlier postings on the ISB here and on the MAS here.   Lest you think I am an anti-Muslim person, much of the information about the ISB and MAS that I blog about is sent to me by disaffected Muslims who are apalled by the ISB/MAS "leadership" in the Boston area.  They can't believe that these Islamic fundamentalists are considered to be the voice of Massachusetts Muslims.  

Solomonia's write-up is here. "Crickets. Running scared."

Translation, Please: "Allah huma dammer al yehud wal nasara....."

UPDATE BELOW

Well, this is a doozy of a comment, and I welcome some corroboration of the translation and that this "prayer" was recited at the Islamic Society of Boston mosque (which is located on Prospect Street, Cambridge):

"In the first week of October 2001 there was a prayer chanted by a preacher from a podium on Prospect Street in the Friday sermon. And this prayer (typed below) continued off and on till October 2005 in Friday sermons. It was in Arabic...... What ideology allows this kind of prayer? And at Friday noon prayer there are women and young children present also. What shade of Islam allows this?"

"Allah huma dammer al yehud wal nasara.
Allah huma almaqtal rejalihim
Wa yatimun atfalihim. Ameen. Sum ameen."

According to the commenter, this translates as:

"Oh Allah, destroy the jews and the christians.
Oh Allah, the killing should include their men and their women,
and make orphan their offsprings. Amen."

That's a special sort of prayer, isn't it?  It's probably not one used at any interfaith gatherings. 

If any Arabic speakers out there want to comment on this translation, be my guest.  If anyone else can confirm that this prayer was recited there, please send me an e-mail ([email protected]).  The commenter wrote further:

"(I) Did not see this in the Holy Quran. Where did this preacher beam down from?
As a Muslim I am deeply offended and ashamed. Why bring it up? Just to tell this preacher that he should think for a moment what effect this would have had on young minds (if he has any human conscience). I can only pray that God guide this preacher to the path of human decency.....the path of Islam! "

Yikes stripes. If the preacher is/was really leading this despicable call for the destruction of Jews and Christians, then I can only conclude that this preacher is completely aware of its effect on young minds, and that's exactly what he was trying to do!  If this allegation is true, then Sheikh Ahmed Mansour was right on target, wasn't he?

UPDATE: The translation was confirmed by a native Arabic speaker who is also an authority on Islamic religious practice in the Middle East.  One slight difference is that the line "Allah huma almaqtal rejalihim" was translated as "Oh Please God: kill their men."   

ISB's Dr. Walid Fitaihi on September 11th, 2001

A little late here, but I wanted to get this in....

As we reflected on September 11th last week, let's not forget what Walid Fitaihi, Islamic Society of Boston on-again/off-again trustee wrote on September 22, 2001, in a letter he sent to the Egyptian weekly Al-Ahram Al-Arabi.  Here's one choice quotation:

"Proselytizing in the name of Allah has not been undermined, and has not been set back 50 years, as we thought in the first days after September 11. On the contrary, the 11 days that have passed are like 11 years in the history of proselytizing in the name of Allah. I write to you today with the absolute confidence that over the next few years, Islam will spread in America and in the entire world...."

Wow, the compassion overwhelms me. Fitaihi was crowing about spreading Islam only eleven days after 3,000 people were murdered by Islamist jihadis. I repeat, Dr. Walid Fitaihi is one of four trustees of the Islamic Society of Boston. 

In its entirety from MEMRI, Middle East Media Research Institute, the rest of Fitaihi's letter:

More 9/11 Readings - MB/MAS/ISB - Aafia Siddiqui

UPDATE BELOW (Pointed questions!)

I'm still in a September 11th frame of mind.  I'm struck that our country still can't clearly, unequivocably name or identify its enemy, six years later.  Some people can, here's what they say:

First, from the esteemed Dr. Zhudi Jasser, founder and Chairman of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy based in Phoenix, Arizona, and former U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander, at Family Security Matters:

"On this sixth anniversary of the horrific attacks of 9/11 against our homeland, Americans have yet to focus our crosshairs against what is turning out to be only the beginning of a 'Long War.' ”

"The past six years and the continued viral spread of transnational global Jihad have proven that we are fighting neither a tactic nor a single organization or network. Our enemies metastasize every day because we have yet to mount an offense against the primary cancer cells – the ideology of political Islam and its goals of the theocratic Islamic state."

"Until we, as a nation, collectively engage in this ideological struggle for liberty against the Islamists, our security agencies and our troops will continue to chase their tails. The Islamist terror cells will continue to regenerate. When it comes to Islamism, did we forget that the cornerstone of our nation is political and ideological debate? Our Public Diplomacy program and our domestic engagement of Muslims should be a clinic in the ideological counters to every nation’s Muslim manifestations of political Islam – including our own."

"We cannot allow a political ideology to avoid effective deconstruction simply because it masks itself behind a spiritual path. Ultimately, anti-Islamist Muslims who advocate liberty for all and advocate the separation of the practice of their faith from the administration and laws of government will be the only effective weapon against our enemies."

And from "crunchy con" Rod Dreher, in his column What the Muslim Brotherhood Means for the U.S.:

"....The president apparently missed the smoking-gun 1991 document his own Justice Department introduced into evidence at the Holy Land Foundation trial in Dallas. The FBI captured it in a raid on a Muslim suspect's home in Virginia.  This 'explanatory memorandum,' as it's titled, outlines the 'strategic goal' for the North American operation of the extremist Muslim Brotherhood (Ikhwan). Here's the key paragraph:'

"The process of settlement [of Islam in the United States] is a "Civilization-Jihadist" process with all the word means. The Ikhwan must understand that all their work in America is a kind of grand Jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and "sabotaging" their miserable house by their hands and the hands of the believers so that it is eliminated and God's religion is made victorious over all religions. Without this level of understanding, we are not up to this challenge and have not prepared ourselves for Jihad yet. It is a Muslim's destiny to perform Jihad and work wherever he is and wherever he lands until the final hour comes, and there is no escape from that destiny except for those who choose to slack."

No joke, you can read it for yourself here (page 21).  (I blogged about the MB's "mission statement" earlier here.) Dreher discusses how the MB is going about its long-term goal to "destroy Western civilization" (Wait a minute! That's us!!) from within:

"The entire 18-page platform outlines a plan for the long haul. It prescribes the Muslim Brotherhood's comprehensive plan to set down roots in civil society. It begins by both founding and taking control of American Muslim organizations, for the sake of unifying and educating the U.S. Muslim community – this to prepare it for the establishment of a global Islamic state governed by sharia."

"....The HLF trial is exposing for the first time how the international Muslim Brotherhood – whose Palestinian division is Hamas – operates as a self-conscious revolutionary vanguard in the United States. The court documents indicate that many leading Muslim-American organizations – including the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and the Muslim American Society – are an integral part of the Brotherhood's efforts to wage jihad against America by nonviolent means."

"The Muslim Brotherhood is an affiliation of at least 70 Islamist organizations around the world, all tracing their heritage to the original cell, founded in Egypt in 1928. Its credo: "Allah is our objective. The Prophet is our leader. Quran is our law. Jihad is our way. Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope." Sayyid Qutb, hanged by the Egyptian government in 1966 as a revolutionary, remains its ideological godfather. His best-known work, Milestones, calls for Muslims to wage violent holy war until Islamic law governs the entire world."

And the MB's expanding control of Muslim organizations goes on under our noses.  Just this week, this flyer (click to enlarge) was circulated on the Boston Muslim American Society (MAS) e-mailing list, publicizing a fund-raiser for the Islamic Society of Boston (ISB) and MAS.  The ISB calls itself a religious organization, but in actuality, the ISB leadership is joined at the hip to the MAS, an overtly political organization.  Anti-US government, anti-Israel, pro-Sami Al-Arian, pro-Hamas, pro-Salah Soltan, pro-Yusuf Qaradawi, a Salafi/Wahabi outlook through-and-through.  Solomonia has done a great job of tracking MAS's politics in his feature, MAS Watch.  And yet here they are, running the show at the Islamic Society of Boston. Why does this small, select group  of people claim speak for "the Muslim community" in Massachusetts?  Who elected them?  Who put them in charge?  Who do they answer to?  Why aren't they scrutinized like other political organizations are? 

Go re-read the MB's mission statement, and ponder what their daughter organization, the MAS, means by "Conveying Islam - Improving Society."   It reminds me of a Twilight Zone episode, To Serve Man......

Am I being over-the-top here?  I think not. And I think Dreher would agree with me:

".... high-profile organizations with roots explicitly in the Muslim Brotherhood have successfully established themselves in a paramount position to define Islam in America according to a radical politicized model. And they've done so without the American public having the slightest idea about their real agenda. Indeed, the Bush administration is unwittingly helping the Islamist cause by including their leaders in public events, thus conferring them legitimacy."  (The "unwitting" help in Boston comes from Mayor Menino, the Boston Redevelopment Authority, the Boston Globe, and liberal rabbis, priests and ministers - ed.)

"...As long as they commit no crimes, CAIR, ISNA and the other Brotherhood-related groups have the right to advocate for their beliefs. But they don't have the right to escape critical scrutiny, and they deserve informed opposition. Courageous Muslims like Dr. Zuhdi Jasser of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy are sounding the alarm about radical Islam's stealth takeover of U.S. Muslim institutions. Why are the news media ignoring this? Fear of being called Islamophobic?"

The ISB and Boston MAS leadership need to be called out.  Some questions:

• Are you for a separation of church and state? 
• Do you reject political Islam?
• Do you reject the implementation of sharia law? 
• Do you believe in the equality of all peoples? 
• Do you want to live in a multi-religious, pluralistic society, or do you want Islam to dominate? 
• Do you support freedom of conscience and freedom of religion, including the freedom to leave Islam or to be non-religious? 
• Do men and women have equal rights?   
• Do you support polygamy? 
• How many paying members do you have? 
• Where does your funding come from? 
• What is the background, training and former positions of your directors and trustees?

Feel free to add your own questions to the list. 

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UPDATE! - A commenter left a slew of questions, which I'm moving up here:

"The leader of the Boston Muslims is projected to be Imam Shiekh Alhaj Basyouny Nehela. (The man in the red cap.....your earlier blog). The questions to him are:"

"1. Did you participate heavily in the elections (for years) of Islamic Center of New England by taking bus and van loads from Cambridge? (People have pictures and movies of it).
2.When was the last time you held elections in your own Mosque?
3. What was your relation to the Saudis(now gone) who were at Cove apartments in Quincy and for whose children the school was started at the Islamic Center of New England and what financial relationship you had with them? (Their money did not pass thru the accounts of ICNE).
4.What was your relationship with Imam Khalid Nasr before he came to Quincy?
5.Why you do not release your complete biography?
6.What was the Mosque you worked at(at least that is what you tell people) from 1987 to 1997? What were your political affiliations during this period?
7.Do you have a degree, certificate,testimonial to have been trained as an Imam? (R-1 visa stipulates equivalency to a four year US Bachelor's degree. High sounding names of Masters and Ph.D. are fine but the essential degree to enter US....where is it?)
8. Is Sister Sophia your wife? Is she the person who holds Halaqa at the ICNE Sharon for Arab only ladies on Monday mornings (has done so for years.... even when Aafia Siddiqui used to come to the Halaqas and at times address them)?
Is there any paper, any board decision that such activity takes place at the ICNE Sharon? Why is it not advertised on the ICNE web site?"

* * * * *

Pointed questions!  My favorite kind.

Aafia Siddiqui, that name rings a bell......

Oh yes, this former Boston area scientist (she attended Brandeis and MIT) and mother of three, is on the FBI "Seeking Information" list (she was on their Most Wanted List for some time). Vogue Magazine (of all publications!) wrote about this possible "top Al-Quaeda terrorist" in their March 2005 issue (copy posted here).  According to the author, Siddiqui was "drawn into the world of terrorism...through the contacts and friendships she made in the early 1990's working for MIT's Muslims Student Association."