 |
|
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon With its colorful cache of purples and oranges and reds, COLLARD GREEN SLAW is a marvelous mood booster --- not to mention just downright delish
April 18, 2014
Rabbi Yonason Goldson: Clarifying one of the greatest philosophical conundrums in theology
John Ericson: Trying hard to be 'positive' but never succeeding? Blame Your Brain
The Kosher Gourmet by Julie Rothman Almondy, flourless torta del re (Italian king's cake), has royal roots, is simple to make, . . . but devour it because it's simply delicious
April 14, 2014
Rabbi Dr Naftali Brawer: Passover frees us from the tyranny of time
Eric Schulzke: First degree: How America really recovered from a murder epidemic
Georgia Lee: When love is not enough: Teaching your kids about the realities of adult relationships
Gordon Pape: How you can tell if your financial adviser is setting you up for potential ruin
Dana Dovey: Up to 500,000 people die each year from hepatitis C-related liver disease. New Treatment Has Over 90% Success Rate
Justin Caba: Eating Watermelon Can Help Control High Blood Pressure
April 11, 2014
Rabbi Hillel Goldberg: Silence is much more than golden
Susan Swann: How to value a child for who he is, not just what he does
Susan Scutti: A Simple Blood Test Might Soon Diagnose Cancer
Chris Weller: Have A Slow Metabolism? Let Science Speed It Up For You
April 9, 2014
Jonathan Tobin: Why Did Kerry Lie About Israeli Blame?
Samuel G. Freedman: A resolution 70 years later for a father's unsettling legacy of ashes from Dachau
Jessica Ivins: A resolution 70 years later for a father's unsettling legacy of ashes from Dachau
Matthew Mientka: How Beans, Peas, And Chickpeas Cleanse Bad Cholesterol and Lowers Risk of Heart Disease
April 8, 2014
Dana Dovey: Coffee Drinkers Rejoice! Your Cup Of Joe Can Prevent Death From Liver Disease
Chris Weller: Electric 'Thinking Cap' Puts Your Brain Power Into High Gear
April 4, 2014
Amy Peterson: A life of love: How to build lasting relationships with your children
John Ericson: Older Women: Save Your Heart, Prevent Stroke Don't Drink Diet
John Ericson: Why 50 million Americans will still have spring allergies after taking meds
Sarah Boesveld: Teacher keeps promise to mail thousands of former students letters written by their past selves
April 2, 2014
Dan Barry: Should South Carolina Jews be forced to maintain this chimney built by Germans serving the Nazis?
Frank Clayton: Get happy: 20 scientifically proven happiness activities
Susan Scutti: It's Genetic! Obesity and the 'Carb Breakdown' Gene
|
| |
Jewish World Review
April 26, 2007
/ 8 Iyar 5767
New questions for the Islamic Society
By
Jeff Jacoby
| 
|
|
|
|
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
THE DATE was Oct. 28, 2000. The place: Lafayette Park in Washington, D.C. At a demonstration against US policy in the Middle East, Abdurahman Alamoudi took the microphone.
"Anybody supports Hamas here?" he yelled to the cheering crowd. "Hear that, Bill Clinton? We are all supporters of Hamas. Allahu Akbar! . . . I am also a supporter of Hezbollah!"
At the time, Alamoudi was a Washington fixture . He had attended White House meetings with Bill and Hillary Clinton, organized the first congressional end-of-Ramadan dinner, and lectured abroad for the State Department. He had founded the Islamic Society of Boston in 1982, and in 1990 helped launch the American Muslim Council and became its chief fundraiser. Three days after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, he would join George W. Bush at a prayer service dedicated to the victims.
But as his open declaration of support for terrorist organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah suggested, Alamoudi was not exactly a poster child for tolerant civic-mindedness. In 1996, he told a Muslim convention in Chicago, "I think if we are outside this country, we can say, 'O, Allah, destroy America,"' and three months after his Lafayette Park appearance, he was in Beirut for a terrorist summit with representatives of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, and Al Qaeda. In 2004, Alamoudi pleaded guilty to terrorism-related crimes, and admitted plotting with Libyan dictator Moammar Khadafy to assassinate the crown prince of Saudi Arabia. According to the US Treasury Department, "Alamoudi had a close relationship with Al Qaeda," and raised $ 1 million for it in 2003. He is currently serving a 23-year sentence in federal prison.
So when the Boston Herald reported in October 2003 that the Islamic Society of Boston had "long-standing ties" to Alamoudi, the ISB understandably wanted to distance itself from him. The society's lawyer, Albert Farrah, acknowledged that Alamoudi had been a founder of the ISB, but insisted that "he has had no role in, or affiliation with, the ISB for approximately 20 years." A statement posted on the ISB website maintains that "Alamoudi left Boston in 1984 and has had no contact with the Islamic Society of Boston since that time."
The ISB has since launched a defamation lawsuit against the Herald and a dozen organizations and individuals that have expressed concerns about the its possible connections to Islamist radicals. In the course of litigation, it has continued to insist that it has seen neither hide nor hair of Alamoudi. Yousef Abou-Allaban, head of the ISB board of directors, declared in an affidavit that "since at least 1992, the date I first became involved with the ISB, Mr. Alamoudi has had no role or relationship with the ISB."
Another ISB attorney, Howard Cooper, told The Boston Globe in December 2005 that it was outrageous to link Alamoudi with his client. "This man has had absolutely no connection with the Islamic Society for 15 or 20 years, yet they try to tie the two together," he said. Cooper also says that only people with "an intolerant attitude toward Muslims" would be asking questions about Alamoudi's ties to the ISB.
Now comes apparent evidence of a November 2000 payment from the Islamic Society of Boston for a speaking engagement by Alamoudi. The cancelled check, made payable to Light Star Travel and signed by former ISB trustee Walid Fitaihi, includes a memo line reading "Travel for speaker Abdurahman Alamoudi -- 11/10/00 - 11/12/00." Light Star Travel is located in Falls Church, Va., where Alamoudi was a resident before going to prison. It is part of the "Safa Group" of Virginia-based businesses that federal agents suspect are involved in "providing material support to terrorists, money laundering, and tax evasion," according to an affidavit by Special Agent David Kane of the Homeland Security Department.
There may, of course, be an innocuous explanation for this payment. Or the Islamic Society of Boston may no longer stand by its claim to have had "absolutely no connection" with Alamoudi for many years. But when I asked ISB spokeswoman Jessica Masse about this and other questions that have surfaced in recent weeks, she replied to my surprise that such questions "do not reflect a position of unbiased fact finding," and would be answered only "by our lawyers in court."
As the ISB lawsuit against those who had the temerity to criticize or question it proceeds, the list of questions keeps growing. At a time when radical Islamists worldwide are calling for anti-American jihad, it is easy to understand why such questions are being asked. Far more troubling is why they aren't being answered.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Jeff Jacoby is a Boston Globe columnist. Comment by clicking here.
Jeff Jacoby Archives
© 2006, Boston Globe
|
|
Columnists
Toons
Lifestyles
|
