Recently in jihad charities Category

Not wasting a second to claim victim status. "Somali reaction to al-Shabab sentences mixed," by Amy Forliti for the Associated Press, May 19 (thanks to all who sent this in):

MINNEAPOLIS - Wide-ranging sentences handed down in the yearslong federal investigation into recruiting and financing for the terrorist group al-Shabab have kindled a mix of outrage, confusion and relief among members of Minnesota's large Somali community.

Some say the 10- and 20-year prison sentences for two Minnesota women who sent money to the group were too harsh, especially since two men who traveled to Somalia and joined al-Shabab got three years. The attorney for one man sentenced to 20 years in prison has already filed a notice of appeal; more are expected.

But others say justice has been served, and authorities said the nine penalties doled out last week show that those who support terrorism will be held accountable....

Prosecutors have said the men and women were part of a "deadly pipeline," sending money and men to al-Shabab, which the U.S. government has designated a terrorist organization for its links to al-Qaida and its tactics that include suicide bombings and assassinations. At least 22 men left Minnesota for Somalia since 2007 in what has been called one of the largest efforts to recruit U.S. fighters for a foreign terrorist organization.

Authorities say the conspiracy began in 2007, when small groups of Somali men began holding secret meetings about returning to their homeland to wage jihad against Ethiopians. Ethiopian troops had been brought into Somalia a year earlier by its U.N.-backed government, but many Somalis viewed them as invaders.

That sentiment came up often during the hearings, as Chief U.S. District Judge Michael Davis gave each defendant unlimited time to say whatever he or she wanted. Davis also asked family and community members to speak, and asked defendants about their time in Somalia and refugee camps.

Hassan Mohamud, the imam at a St. Paul mosque, commended Davis for that approach.

But Mohamud was among several people outraged after two women — Amina Farah Ali and Hawo Mohamed Hassan — received sentences of 20 and 10 years. Ali and Hassan had gone door-to-door, saying they were raising money for charity; they were convicted of funneling funds to al-Shabab.

"They didn't go back home. They didn't kill anyone. They just helped with the poor people," said Abdiwali Warsame, a St. Paul Somali who was interviewed outside the courthouse. He called the women's sentences an "injustice."

They were funding jihad terror, but Warsame hopes you forget about that inconvenient fact.

Three men who traveled to Somalia and pleaded guilty to terror-related charges received lower sentences after cooperating with authorities. Two received three-year prison stints; a third who stayed and fought alongside al-Shabab then lied to the FBI got 10 years. One man who admitted helping recruits obtain plane tickets — but was later characterized as a leader in recruitment efforts — received 12 years.

Last week's sentences are in line with other al-Shabab-related cases. In New Jersey, two men arrested while trying to board flights to Somalia for a jihad were sentenced to 22 and 20 years in prison. A southern California woman received eight years for sending money to Minnesota men in Somalia, while a Missouri man received more than 11 years for funding al-Shabab....

Others raised concerns about potential bias after Davis questioned Ali and Hassan about whether they supported suicide bombings and Sharia law, and asked Hassan about her traditional dress. That led some Somalis to say Islam was under attack.

It also prompted the [Hamas-linked] Council on American-Islamic Relations to announce Friday that it will file a complaint against Davis, for allegedly linking mainstream Islamic principles with terrorism. Davis does not speak about court cases. His office referred The Associated Press to the court record....

Suburban man

He's just a "suburban man," says the Chicago Sun-Times, but in 2005, a Daily Southtown story said this:

Prosecutors told a federal appeals court Tuesday that Enaam Arnaout, the imprisoned leader of a now-defunct Palos Hills-based Muslim charity, should have been dealt with as a terrorist and sentenced to much more time behind bars.

Arnaout, 42, is serving an 11-year prison sentence for defrauding donors of Benevolence International Foundation. The Syrian-born Justice resident pleaded guilty two years ago to charges he used some charitable donations to help armed rebels in Bosnia and Chechnya....

But in their own appeal of the sentence, prosecutors claim the judge who handled the case should have ruled that Arnaout promoted terrorism — a finding that would have mandated he spend at least 20 years behind bars. During brief oral arguments before the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, Assistant U.S. Attorney John C. Kocoras said Arnaout's sentence was "unreasonably low."

The U.S. attorney's office has long insisted Arnaout was linked to al-Qaida and at one point was a close associate of Osama bin Laden. The legal case tying Arnaout to al-Qaida fizzled after a series of adverse court rulings, and a judge ultimately concluded the government had "failed to connect the dots" between Arnaout and terrorism.

And even though prosecutors eventually agreed to drop the terrorism charges against Arnaout in exchange for his guilty plea to fraud, they still maintain the case is much more serious than a simple money-swiping scheme....

But now he would have us believe that he is on the terrorist watch list by "mistake" -- it's odd that he hasn't yet played the "Islamophobia" card.

"Suburban man says he’s stuck in Egypt thanks to terrorist watch list mistake," by Frank Main in the Chicago Sun Times, October 8 (thanks to Kenneth):

A southwest suburban man — a convicted felon required to return to Chicago under the conditions of his federal probation — says he’s stranded in legal limbo outside the United States because he’s apparently on a U.S. terrorist watch list.

Enaam Arnaout pleaded guilty in 2003 to funneling money to Islamic fighters in Bosnia and Chechnya.

The former director of the Benevolence International Foundation in Palos Hills was sentenced to 10 years in prison for defrauding contributors to the charity.

He admitted he siphoned a portion of the charity’s $20 million in donations to buy equipment for soldiers, even though the money was intended for widows and orphans.

Arnaout, 50, a Bridgeview resident, denied he was ever associated with al-Qaida, and prosecutors dropped terrorism charges against him in exchange for his guilty plea.

Arnaout, who was placed on supervised release last year, received permission this summer from U.S. District Judge Suzanne Conlon to travel to Saudi Arabia and Jordan to visit family members. He was allowed to stay for 41 days before returning to the Chicago area.

In a letter to the judge, Arnaout’s brother in Saudi Arabia had begged for her to approve the trip so Arnaout could see his ailing mother.

In court papers filed Monday in Chicago, Arnaout said he’s been stuck in Egypt because he is apparently on a U.S. no-fly list maintained by the Terrorist Screening Center and administered by the FBI.

On July 23, he had traveled from O’Hare Airport to Saudi Arabia with a planned layover in Jordan.

But in Jordan, he was told he wasn’t welcome to enter that country and that he could only receive a transit visa allowing him to board a connecting flight to Saudi Arabia, Arnaout said.

In Saudi Arabia, he contacted his probation officer here, who said he could meet his family in Egypt rather than Jordan, according to court papers.

On Aug. 23, he left Saudi Arabia and arrived in Cairo. But when his trip was over, and he tried to leave for the United States on Sept. 2, he was told he couldn’t board the flight and was instructed to contact the U.S. embassy in Cairo, Arnaout said....

Arnaout is now asking the judge to grant his repatriation request or terminate his supervised release.

His preference is to return to the United States “where he is a citizen and now has his roots,” he said in his filing.

“However, due to the health problems he is experiencing in Egypt and his lack of any lawful ability to work in Egypt, he must be permitted some way to lawfully return to Saudi Arabia where his family remains if he is not to be permitted a return to the United States,” his filing said.

Send him to the Saudis!

Leftists never saw a jihadist they didn't like: "Suicide Bombers 'martyrs' according to UK taxpayer-supported charity," from the Jerusalem Post, September 24:

The Camden Abu Dis Friendship Association (CADFA) was founded in 2004. CADFA claims to “promote awareness about the human rights situation in Abu Dis” (a village in the West Bank) through “friendship links and twinning”. In reality, CADFA is a highly-politicised organisation that uses human rights as a facade to shield its apologism for terror and vicious anti-Israel sentiment.

For many years now, far-Left groups have adopted humanitarian fronts in order to legitimise their hard-line anti-Israel sentiment. Those who follow the machinations of the anti-Israel networks have watched as groups hijack interfaith dialogue, anti-war, anti-fascism, among others. The ‘twinning’ of education establishments is yet another victim of such exploitation – in particular, schools and universities.

In lobbying for twinning initiatives, anti-Israel groups claim an interest in the mutual exchange of ideas, and express solidarity with those trying to claim an education in areas of conflict. But twinning schools and universities with their counterparts in the Palestinian territories has allowed extremist groups to legitimise their anti-Israel rhetoric, and gives them the chance to indoctrinate the students of twinned establishments with visceral anti-Israel propaganda.

CADFA is a charity, and runs a number of exchange programmes between schools in London and Abu Dis. It also runs ‘urgent action’ campaigns, and releases regular ‘updates’ about the ‘human rights situation’ in Abu Dis.

In 2009, Jon Benjamin, Chief Executive of the Jewish Board of Deputies, wrote to Hampstead School to express his concern at a CADFA-organised event. One anti-Israel activist, brought over by CADFA, had repeatedly warned children of the “Jewish soldiers” who he claimed were persecuting him. Benjamin described CADFA’s activism as a “one-sided, partisan political campaign”.

London Mayor Boris Johnson also condemned the incident, noting: “I don't think it is right that London schoolchildren should face any kind of prejudice or any kind of upset in their life as a result of the attempt to import into London schools the politics and the political disputes of the Middle East.”

One of the primary purposes of zakat is to raise money for jihad. "Terror twins: Identical brothers who posed as charity collectors to raise funds for terrorism are jailed for three years each," by Chris Greenwood for the Daily Mail, August 1 (thanks to all who sent this in):

Identical twin brothers who posed as charity collectors to raise thousands of pounds for overseas Al-Qaeda fighters were jailed today.

Shabir and Shafiq Ali, 25, imitated legitimate fundraisers on street stalls collecting money for Palestinians and the world’s poor.

But the pair were in fact wiring money to their elder brother after he travelled to Somalia to join the bloody Islamic insurgency.

They were caught out after counter terrorism police raided their home and discovered a digital recording of a phone conversation with him.

The brothers had kept the encounter as a final memento as they expected he would soon be killed in the fierce fighting.

Sentencing them at the Old Bailey to three years in prison, Mr Justice Fulford said the men sent at least £3,000 to the Horn of Africa.

He said their brother was determined to sacrifice his life alongside others fighting to create an ‘Islamic Emirate of Somalia’

They were inspired by Al-Qaeda hate preacher Anwar Al-Awlaki, the mastermind behind a series of bomb attacks who was killed in a drone strike last year.

The judge added: ‘Both defendants worked to help somebody who was contributing to terrorist activities in a war-torn country in Africa.

‘The court must reflect the seriousness of offences of this kind in sentences given that they were intended to support terrorism.’

The Ali brothers, dressed in different coloured suits by prison staff so they could be identified, showed no emotion as they were jailed....

Why? What does he have to hide? "Eric Holder Ducks Congress’s Questions About Massive Terrorism Financing Trial," by Jason Howerton in The Blaze, June 7 (thanks to all who sent this in):

Members of the House Judiciary Committee on oversight on Thursday called on U.S. Attorney General to provide documents and evidence relating to the landmark Holy Land Foundation trial – the largest terrorism financing trial in U.S. history.

The committee made a nearly identical request more than a year ago, however, the documents were never made available by Holder or his department, lawmakers say.

Following court proceedings, the Holy Land Foundation was found guilty of providing millions of dollars in funding to Hamas and other Islamic terrorist organizations in 2008. Named as “unindicted co-conspirators” in the trial were the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA). Both have documented ties to the radical Muslim Brotherhood…which then have ties to the Obama administration, but I digress.

Lawmakers, like Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), are again asking to see the evidence presented in that trial, a request that Holder does not seem to be in a hurry to fulfill. In an impassioned speech, the congressman challenged Holder to uphold his oath to “justice.”

“When I hear an attorney general of the United States come before us and say, somewhat cavalierly, there is a political aspect to this office, it offends me beyond belief. Your job is justice, Mr. Attorney General, Gohmert told Holder.

He went on, “When we made a request a year ago – here – for the documents that your department has produced to people who were convicted of supporting terrorism. They are terrorists, and we wanted the documents you gave to the terrorists. We are a year later, and we still don’t have them.”

As he spoke, the cameras showed Holder looking away and down at a stack of papers, seemingly refusing to make eye contact with him.

Gohmert added that it made ‘no sense“ that the United States Attorney General would be more ”considerate” to supporters of terrorism than to members of Congress.

“I am asking for the documents your department produced to the terrorist supporters convicted in the Holy Land Foundation trial. Can we get those documents?” he asked.

“Well, certainly you can have access to those things that are on the public record and that were used in the trial. I was also a judge I sat in this Washington, D.C. …” Holder began.

“So, is that a yes or a no that we will get those documents?” Gohmert said, cutting him off.

Holder again ignored the question, and never got back around to providing a firm answer stating whether he would produce the requested documents....

No surprise, except to the incurably blinkered. "ICNA Relief Promotes Jihad Donations," from IPT News, May 2:

The charitable wing of a major American Muslim organization is promoting donations to extremist causes, undercutting a nationwide campaign to improve its image. The website link from the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) Relief division hints at deeper connections to extremism and terror, both by the charitable branch and by its parent organization.

ICNA's self-proclaimed goal is "to communicate the message of Islam to the society at large" and "also to initiate change in the social and political spheres [of American society] in light of the principles of the noble Qur'an," according to the group's 2020 Vision program.

"The future of Dawah [proselytizing] in this society is directly linked with the ability of ICNA's membership to communicate the message of Islam to the society at large," it explains. Over time, the group encourages "moving to the next level of Dawah, aimed towards the movers and shakers of the society."

As that program outlines, that goal means more engagement with non-Muslims to promote Islam. ICNA is in the midst of a pro-Sharia campaign, which explains that Islamic law isn't something threatening to American society or order.

A long history of extremism stands in the way. ICNA's magazine, conferences, and ideology have promoted violent jihad and supremacy rhetoric for decades, and continue to emphasize Islam as a civilization alternative to secular society.

The group's 2010 Member's Hand Book illustrated how further acceptance of Islam would lead to an Islamic state in America and then to a global Caliphate. "With this work of propagation of Islam, social reform, and the truth is introduced to a large part of the society. A good part of the society's thinking individuals join the movement. Then it may move to establish an Islamic society, obedient to Allah's commands," the hand book states.

To change beliefs about Islam and to further ICNA's role in promoting it, the 2020 plan emphasizes social justice and charity issues. But the discovery of more extremist content on ICNA Relief's website shows that although the group has initiated a new public image, an ideology of extremism prevails just under the surface.

The charity website links to a chapter about the giving of zakat, obligatory tithing, from Let Us Be Muslim, a text by Islamist preacher Abu Ala Maududi. He was the founder of Jamaat-e-Islami, a South Asian extremist organization that advocates the overthrow of secular governments and their replacement with a worldwide Islamic state.

The section from Let Us Be Muslim, a fundamental text used in many of ICNA's education curricula teaching extremism, promotes giving "Fi-Sabili'llah: in the way of Allah." Maududi defines this in the chapter as "giving help to a struggle for making Islam supreme on earth."

In addition, the terminology of "making Islam supreme" is a constant theme throughout ICNA's indoctrination programs. A 2008 presentation on the ICNA Southern California website explains the "goal of the Islamic Call" as the "extermination of pre-Islamic traditions or Jahaliya [ignorant ways of life]" and "mak[ing] Islam the predominant way of life" on earth.

The link on ICNA Relief's page promotes these sentiments even further, explaining that charity should be spent to further violent causes.

"Thus, we are told, there are two ways we can lead our lives. One is the way of God… To walk on this path, you must generously help your brothers and support Jihad out of whatever resources God in His bounty and wisdom has given you," Maududi wrote in the section ICNA Relief links readers. "The other is the Satanic way: apparently full of benefits, but in reality it leads to ruin. The hallmark of this way of life is worshipping money and amassing wealth at the expense of all other considerations."...

Read it all.

In Islam, zakat -- the alms required of every Muslim -- can and should be given to further the jihad. So it shouldn't surprise anyone that there are so many jihad charities.

"Canadian Muslim youth organization loses charitable status," by Sarah Boesveld in the National Post, March 6 (thanks to Martin):

A Canadian Muslim youth organization has been stripped of its charitable status after a Canada Revenue Agency investigation linked it to a Saudi-based group that allegedly financed Islamist terror campaigns.

An audit of the World Assembly of Muslim Youth revealed the charity had developed ties to a number of organizations that allegedly helped fund al-Qaeda operations around the world and failed to comply with a number of standards required for charities to maintain their status.

In a warning letter to the Toronto-area organization last summer, CRA director-general Cathy Hawara said “our analysis of the Organization’s operations has led the CRA to believe…[it] was established to support the goals and operations of its parent organization, located in Saudi Arabia, which has been alleged to support terrorism.”

WAMY, known in Canada for running Islamic camps and pilgrimages for youth, was stripped of its status on Feb. 11. It failed to keep proper books and records, maintain a specific charitable purpose and distinguish itself from parent organization WAMY (Saudi Arabia), which had been alleged to support terrorist activity, the CRA audit said.

“The audit findings did not reveal any apparent separation between the activities of WAMY (Saudi Arabia) and WAMY, with all related financial and operating positions being made by WAMY (Saudi Arabia),” it reads. “This leads to a reasonable inference that WAMY has little or no independent function; therefore it cannot be concluded that it is carrying out its own charitable activities for which it is registered.”...

In 2003, counter-terrorism officials in the U.S. said the WAMY organization there had been founded by bin Laden’s nephew Abdullah. Canada’s branch, which had an office in Mississauga, Ont., was operating under the supervision of the U.S. wing, according to the group’s own literature.

Toronto charity lawyer Mark Blumberg applauded the CRA for its thoroughness when it comes to auditing charities and revoking their status, if need be, but he says more can be done to prevent mismanagement of charities with respect to terrorism ties or money laundering....

Ain't that the truth.

This report also details the ongoing use of so-called "charities" to fund jihad. "Extremist preachers now radicalising young Muslims in private homes, says senior Government security adviser," by Christopher Hope for the Telegraph, February 9:

Third world charities set up to raise money to help people in Pakistan and Bangladesh are also being used as front organisations to fund terrorism, according to the Home Office’s top anti-terrorism adviser.

Charles Farr, the Director General of the Office for Security and Counter Terrorism, also said that Al-Qaeda was now at “its weakest state” since the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Mr Farr, who was once tipped as a future head of MI6, added that it was “possible to talk of the demise of parts of Al Qaeda” because the revolutions in the Middle East had weakened support for them.

The news came amid the continuing row over the European Court of Human Rights' refusal to allow Britain to extradite Abu Qatada - once described as “Osama bin Laden’s right-hand man in Europe” - to Jordan to face terror charges.

Mr Farr said extremist Muslim preachers could no longer radicalise young people at mosques and universities because of the increasingly effective activities of the Security Services on mainland Britain.

He said that increasingly "it takes place in private premises, simply because the people who are doing the radicalising are now much more aware of the activities that we are conducting.

“There has been a trend towards much greater use of private venues, simply because for obvious reasons they feel that they are much more secure.”

He said that radicalisation often “rapidly migrates into a private house where people are brought together, usually under the excuse of there being a faith-based meeting, and the discussion rapidly develops into something much more about terrorism and the legitimacy of violence.”

There was some radicalisation going on in Britain, but in “no more than one or two per cent” of the mosques in the UK, he said. Charities were also being used as fronts to raise money to fund terrorism.

Mr Farr said: “We can see some activity going on in charitable organisations, often with the pretext of raising funds to be sent overseas for good works, for example to Pakistan or indeed Bangladesh.”...

How is it that Shekau studied Islam at the feet of Islamic clerics and yet did not emerge with the idea that it was a beautiful Religion of Peace? Why is this exact same misunderstanding of Islam so prevalent among Muslims, including clerics, worldwide? Why does no one in the mainstream media ever care to ask such questions of Muslim spokesmen in the U.S.?

"Shekau leading Boko Haram from the shadows," from AFP, January 28 (thanks to Clark):

KANO (AFP) – Abubakar Muhammad Shekau was once thought to have been killed, but has re-emerged to lead Islamist group Boko Haram from the shadows as it carries out a bloody onslaught in northern Nigeria.

Very little is known about Shekau, but this week he appeared on YouTube, threatening more attacks and saying Boko Haram was responsible for the January 20 violence which killed 185 people in Kano in reprisal for the arrest and torture of its members.

Aged 43, he was born in a farming village also called Shekau in northeastern Yobe state.

He moved to the nearby city of Maiduguri, Boko Haram’s base, about a decade ago, according to sources familiar with the group.

Shekau studied theology under local clerics in the Mafoni area of Maiduguri and enrolled in a government-run school for Islamic studies.

He is often shown in photos wearing a keffiyeh and seated next to an AK-47, his face intense....

The voice said to be Shekau in the message posted on YouTube on Thursday said “we attacked the security formations because our members were arrested and tortured. Our women and children have also been arrested.

“They should know that they also have wives and children,” he said. “We can also abduct them. It is not beyond our powers.”

In another part of the message, he says, “I enjoy killing anyone that God commands me to kill the way I enjoy killing chickens and rams.”

John F. Wood, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, said of the Islamic American Relief Agency: “An organization right here in the American heartland allegedly sent funds to Pakistan for the benefit of a specially designated global terrorist with ties to al-Qaeda and the Taliban…. The indictment also alleges that a former congressman engaged in money laundering and obstruction of a federal investigation in an effort to disguise IARA’s misuse of taxpayer money that the government had provided for humanitarian purposes.”

Siljander was a naive Useful Idiot who started out wanting to build bridges, and ended up being a tool for jihadists. Many people, including some notable Leftist journalists, are in the same position today. But note that Siljander was a Republican: useful idiocy is bipartisan. More background in my January 2008 article, "A Congressman for Jihad." "Ex-congressman sentenced in terror funding case," by Bill Draper for the Associated Press, January 11 (thanks to David):

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A former Michigan congressman and U.S. delegate to the United Nations has been sentenced to a year and one day in prison for lobbying for a Missouri-based Islamic charity that had been identified as a global terrorist organization.

Mark Deli Siljander, 60, a Republican who served in Congress from 1981-1987, pleaded guilty in July 2010 to obstructing justice and acting as an unregistered foreign agent in connection with his work for the Islamic American Relief Agency, based in Columbia, Mo.

In his plea agreement, Siljander acknowledged that he lobbied between March and May 2004 on behalf of the IARA for the organization to be removed from a U.S. Senate Finance Committee list of charities suspected of funding international terrorism. The charity closed in October 2004 after being designated a global terrorist organization by the U.S. government.

IARA had lost its status as an approved government contractor in 1999, when the U.S. Agency for International Development terminated grants for two relief efforts in Mali, Africa. Prosecutors said $50,000 of the $75,000 Siljander received from the charity came from unused grant money that was supposed to have been returned to USAID after it terminated the Mali grants.

Siljander also acknowledged that he failed to register as an agent of a foreign entity and had lied to FBI agents and prosecutors acting on behalf of a federal grand jury....

Four co-defendants also were sentenced Wednesday. Among them were former IARA executive director Mubarak Hamed, who sent more than $1 million to Iraq through the charity in violation of U.S. sanctions. He pleaded guilty in June 2010 to illegally transferring the money and obstructing the administration of laws governing tax-exempt charities.

Hamed, whose attorney characterized him as a loving family man who devoted his life to charitable causes around the world, was sentenced to 58 months, or nearly five years, in prison.

"You painted yourself as a man devoted to charity," Laughrey said. "I find that not to be credible. When confronted by the government, you lied. You continued to do what was in your best interest, in the best interest of your organization."

The original indictment alleged the charity sent about $130,000 to help Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, whom the United States has designated as a global terrorist. The money, sent to bank accounts in Peshawar, Pakistan, in 2003 and 2004, was masked as donations to an orphanage located in buildings that Hekmatyar owned.

Authorities described Hekmatyar as an Afghan mujahedeen leader who has participated in and supported terrorist acts by al-Qaida and the Taliban.

Prosecutors said Siljander, who now lives in Great Falls, Va., lied to the FBI about being hired to lobby for the charity. He told investigators that the money he received was a donation to help him write a book about Islam and Christianity.

Three others involved in the charity were sentenced Wednesday to probation.

Abdel Azim El-Siddig, of Chicago, Ill., a former fundraiser for the charity, was sentenced to two years of probation for conspiring to hire Siljander to lobby for the charity's removal from the list of those suspected of having terrorist ties, while concealing this advocacy and not registering with the proper authorities.

Ali Mohamed Bagegni, a native of Libya who is a naturalized U.S. citizen and former resident of Columbia, was sentenced to six months of probation for his role in the conspiracy. Bagegni was a member of the board of directors of IARA.

Ahmad Mustafa of Columbia, a citizen of Iraq and a lawful permanent resident alien of the United States, also was sentenced to six months of probation for illegally transferring funds in violation of federal sanctions.

This is the trial in which the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), the smoothly deceptive Islamic apologist Jamal Badawi and so many other Muslim groups and individuals were named unindicted co-conspirators.

"Fifth Circuit: Holy Land Foundation convictions upheld on appeal," by Jason Trahan for the Dallas Morning News, December 7 (thanks to all who sent this in):

Today a Fifth Circuit judicial panel released a highly anticipated opinion affirming the convictions against the five organizers of the former Richardson-based Holy Land Foundation on charges that they conspired to funnel money to the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.

The first trial in 2007 ended in a hung jury, but the retrial the next year resulted in across-the-board convictions on charges of material support of terrorism.

Ghassan Elashi, of Richardson, a Holy Land Foundation founder, received 65 years for support of Hamas, money laundering and tax fraud. Shukri Abu Baker, of Garland, who was Holy Land's CEO, received 65 years for support of Hamas, money laundering and tax fraud. Mufid Abdulqader, of Richardson, was a top volunteer fundraiser and sang about Hamas in a Palestinian band that played at fundraising rallies, received 20 years for conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization; conspiracy to provide funds, goods and services to a specially designated terrorist; and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Abdulrahman Odeh, who started Holy Land's office in New Jersey, received 15 years in prison for conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization; conspiracy to provide funds, goods and services to a specially designated terrorist; and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Mohammad El-Mezain, an imam who ran Holy Land's office in California, received 15 years in prison for providing support to Hamas.

The HLF, once the largest Muslim charity in the United States, had been under investigation for years before it was shut down by the Bush administration months after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

In their appeals, defense attorneys argued that the government's use of anonymous Israeli witnesses and other issues resulted in an unfair outcome for their clients, two of whom are serving 65-year sentences....

Blaming the Jews. What a novel strategy for Islamic supremacists!

The FBI came under fire again Wednesday from hard-Left journalist Spencer Ackerman in Wired, who has been conducting a campaign for some time to get the bureau to purge its terrorism training seminars of any hint of the truth about the global jihad and Islamic supremacism.

Ackerman reported with breathless self-righteous indignation that “the FBI is teaching its counterterrorism agents that ‘main stream’ [sic] American Muslims are likely to be terrorist sympathizers; that the Prophet Mohammed was a ‘cult leader’; and that the Islamic practice of giving charity is no more than a ‘funding mechanism for combat.’ At the Bureau’s training ground in Quantico, Virginia, agents are shown a chart contending that the more ‘devout’ a Muslim, the more likely he is to be ‘violent.’ Those destructive tendencies cannot be reversed, an FBI instructional presentation adds: ‘Any war against non-believers is justified’ under Muslim law; a ‘moderating process cannot happen if the Koran continues to be regarded as the unalterable word of Allah.’”

Like virtually all Leftist and Islamic supremacist critiques of anti-jihad and anti-terror material, Ackerman’s piece takes for granted that such assertions are false, without bothering to explain how or why. Apparently Ackerman believes that their falsity is so self-evident as to require no demonstration; unfortunately for him, however, no one else has provided any proof of this, either. And there is considerable evidence that what this FBI training material asserts is true.

Are mainstream American Muslims “likely to be terrorist sympathizers”? Certainly all the mainstream Muslim organizations condemn al-Qaeda and 9/11; however, some of the foremost of those organizations, such as the Islamic Society of North America, the Muslim American Society, the Islamic Circle of North America, the Muslim Students Association, and the Council of American-Islamic Relations, and others, have links of various kinds to the jihad terrorist group Hamas and its parent organization, the Muslim Brotherhood, which is dedicated to imposing Islamic law around the world. A mainstream Muslim spokesman in the U.S., the Ground Zero Mosque Imam Faisal Abdul Rauf, refused to condemn Hamas until it became too politically damaging for him not to do so; another, CAIR’s Nihad Awad, openly declared his support for Hamas in 1994. Another mainstream Muslim spokesman in this country, Reza Aslan, has praised another jihad terrorist group, Hizballah, and called on the U.S. to negotiate with Hamas. Other mainstream Muslim spokesmen in the U.S. such as Obama’s ambassador to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Rashad Hussain, and media gadfly Hussein Ibish, have praised and defended the confessed leader of another jihad terror group, Palestinian Islamic Jihad: Sami al-Arian.

Do these men and organizations represent a tiny minority of extremists that actually does not express the opinions of the broad mainstream of Muslims in this country? Maybe, but if so, they simply do not have any counterparts of comparable size or influence who have not expressed sympathy for some form of Islamic terror.

Was Muhammad a “cult leader”? Certainly one definition of a cult is that members are not free to opt out if they choose to do so – and it was Muhammad who enunciated Islam’s notorious death penalty for apostasy by saying, ““Whoever changes his Islamic religion, then kill him.” (Bukhari 9.84.57). Also, there are several celebrated incidents in which Muhammad lashed out violently against his opponents, ordering the murder of several people for the crime of making fun of him -- including the poet Abu ‘Afak, who was over one hundred years old, and the poetess ‘Asma bint Marwan. Abu ‘Afak was killed in his sleep, in response to Muhammad’s question, “Who will avenge me on this scoundrel?” Similarly, Muhammad on another occasion cried out, “Will no one rid me of this daughter of Marwan?” One of his followers, ‘Umayr ibn ‘Adi, went to her house that night, where he found her sleeping next to her children. The youngest, a nursing babe, was in her arms. But that didn’t stop ‘Umayr from murdering her and the baby as well. Muhammad commended him: “You have done a great service to Allah and His Messenger, ‘Umayr!” (Ibn Ishaq, 674-676).

Is the “Islamic practice of giving charity” no more than a “‘funding mechanism for combat’”? If not, one wonders why so many Islamic charities in the United States and around the world have been shut down for funding terrorism, including what was once the largest Islamic charity in the United States, the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF), as well as the Global Relief Foundation (GRF), the Benevolence International Foundation (BIF), and many others.

Is it true that “the more ‘devout’ a Muslim, the more likely he is to be ‘violent,’” and is it also true that “moderating process cannot happen if the Koran continues to be regarded as the unalterable word of Allah”? While certainly not all devout Muslims are terrorists, virtually all Islamic terrorists are devout Muslims. In recent years, not only Osama bin Laden but also devout Muslims such as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, would-be Times Square bomber Feisal Shahzad, Arkansas jihad murderer Abdulhakim Muhammad, and other jihad terror plotters such as Khalid Aldawsari, Baitullah Mehsud, and Roshonara Choudhry, among many others, reference Islamic teachings to justify violence against unbelievers. Just this week, Detroit underwear bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab declared in court that Muslims should only be judged by the Qur’an.

Can “any war against non-believers” really be “‘justified’ under Muslim law”? Majid Khadduri, an Iraqi scholar of Islamic law of international renown. In his book War and Peace in the Law of Islam, which was published in 1955 and remains one of the most lucid and illuminating works on the subject, Khadduri says this about jihad:

The state which is regarded as the instrument for universalizing a certain religion must perforce be an ever expanding state. The Islamic state, whose principal function was to put God’s law into practice, sought to establish Islam as the dominant reigning ideology over the entire world....The jihad was therefore employed as an instrument for both the universalization of religion and the establishment of an imperial world state. (P. 51)

Imran Ahsan Khan Nyazee, Assistant Professor on the Faculty of Shari’ah and Law of the International Islamic University in Islamabad. In his 1994 book The Methodology of Ijtihad, he quotes the twelfth century Maliki jurist Ibn Rushd: “Muslim jurists agreed that the purpose of fighting with the People of the Book...is one of two things: it is either their conversion to Islam or the payment of jizyah.” Nyazee concludes: “This leaves no doubt that the primary goal of the Muslim community, in the eyes of its jurists, is to spread the word of Allah through jihad, and the option of poll-tax [jizya] is to be exercised only after subjugation” of non-Muslims.

A Shafi’i manual of Islamic law endorsed by the most prestigious institution in Sunni Islam, Al-Azhar University in Cairo, says that the leader of the Muslims “makes war upon Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians...until they become Muslim or else pay the non-Muslim poll tax,” and cites Qur’an 9:29 in support of this idea: “Fight those who do not believe in Allah and the Last Day and who forbid not what Allah and His messenger have forbidden-who do not practice the religion of truth, being of those who have been given the Book-until they pay the poll tax out of hand and are humbled.” (‘Umdat al-Salik o9.8)

Are there wars against unbelievers that cannot be justified by Islamic law? Certainly. But there is also a broad mandate for such wars – broad enough to have served as a justification for wars between Muslims and non-Muslims throughout history. During World War I, the crumbling Ottoman Empire even tried to shore up support for its war against the Allies by declaring it a jihad.

In the face of Ackerman’s reports, the FBI is in full retreat. It announced after an earlier report that it had banned use of my book The Truth About Muhammad, which is simply a biography of Muhammad based on the earliest Muslim sources. And this latest report quickly drove the bureau further into Lysenkoism; it quickly announced late Thursday that it was dropping the latest program that Ackerman had zeroed in on as well.

Lysenkoism was ideologically biased junk science regarding biology and agriculture that was adopted as official policy by the Soviet Union under Stalin. The real scientists who told the truth were sent to the gulag.

It is no surprise that in an official environment that refuses to speak about “Islam” and “terrorism” in the same sentence -- a policy which must involve quite a lot of mental and verbal gymnastics when jihad terrorists start quoting Qur’an and other Islamic sources -- that the truth about Islam would come under fire whenever it appears as part of counterterrorism studies. It is no surprise that in an official environment that thinks that the Muslim Brotherhood is “largely secular” and that jihad is a wholly positive interior spiritual struggle would get nervous at revelations that somewhere the truth about Islam and jihad was getting through.

As Lysenkoism grows more entrenched and the FBI’s heads planted more firmly in the sand, Spencer Ackerman’s responsibility for the next jihad attack in the U.S. grows apace.

"Behind the smokescreen of the construction of a mosque and aid for orphans she was able to raise 650 thousand U.S. dollars for terrorists."

"War is deceit," Muhammad said. "'Lady Al Qaeda' on trial in Jeddah," from Asia News, August 2:

Riyadh (AsiaNews) – The closed door trial of Haila al-Qusayyer, nicknamed "Lady Al Qaeda" for her role in the organization, has started in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The woman, 47, is accused of recruiting people, having procured funding, transported weapons and explosives, provided false documents, illegal emigration and helped evasion.

Al-Qusayyer’s affiliation to the terrorist organization, as claimed by the Saudi security, began on her marriage with Abdul Rahman Al-Ghamdi, who was killed in 2004 in a clash with police in Taif. She later married Saeed al-Shehri, a former prisoner at Guantanamo.

The most important task of the terrorist was to raise money: Saudi sources say that behind the smokescreen of the construction of a mosque and aid for orphans she was able to raise 650 thousand U.S. dollars for terrorists. Among other allegations, she is charged with having procured shelter to more than 60 persons accused of terrorism and of having played an important role in the escape of another terrorist, Wafa Al-Shehrim, to Yemen.

The capture of Al-Qusayyer by Saudis security forces provoked a series of attacks and kidnappings by the number two of al-Qaeda in Yemen, who has called for her release.

Al-Qusayyer is not the only Saudi woman accused of terrorism, but the first one to have played a leading role within the organization. So far, in fact, it was wives who accompanied their husbands, at most providing logistical support. The first was the wife of the head of al-Qaeda in Saudi Arabia, Saleh al-Oufi, who was killed in 2005.

War is deceit, Muhammad said. But the Canada Revenue Agency caught up with this shell game. "Former charity funded terror group: federal audit," by Chloé Fedio for The Star, April 15 (thanks to RV):

Nearly $15 million of Canadian charitable donations were sent overseas to groups the taxman has labelled terrorist organizations, according to a federal audit obtained by the Toronto Star.

The audit states that International Relief Fund for the Afflicted and Needy Canada (IRFAN-Canada) used "deceptive fundraising" to support Hamas.

The Canada Revenue Agency announced its decision to revoke the status of the Mississauga-based charity last week. A lawyer for IRFAN-Canada said the charity has appealed the decision.

"Canada Revenue Agency's position is really built on a pillar of sand," said Naseer Syed.

However, a CRA report states that "IRFAN-Canada is an integral part of an international fundraising effort to support Hamas." Hamas is considered a terrorist organization by Canada, the U.S., the European Union and Israel.

Jihadists Without Borders:

IRFAN-Canada created promotional videos that the CRA said "demonize Israel, characterize the Arab-Israeli conflict as a religious war, appeal for all Arab and Muslim nations to join in the struggle against Israel and glorify martyrdom."

But Syed said the CRA overstated the political content.

"As the promotional videos feature the potential recipients of humanitarian aid - the needy families affected by poverty, disease and war - discussing the poverty in Gaza in the immediate postwar period, it is difficult to imagine that the videos would not contain some political content."

The decision to revoke the group's status comes after years of tax audits and litigation over its alleged ties to Hamas. An audit of the charity's 2002 fiscal year found that IRFAN-Canada "maintained partnerships" with organizations that have direct ties to Hamas.

The most recent audit, from Jan. 1, 2005 until Dec. 31, 2009, reveals that IRFAN-Canada gave $14.6 million to 15 organizations that have ties to Hamas.

They include the Gaza Ministry of Health, which the CRA said has been under Hamas control and direction since March 2006. Though Hamas does deliver social and humanitarian services, the CRA said those actions cannot be distinguished from the group's terrorist activities.

It is refreshing to see a Western entity not trying to project an imaginary compartmentalization of operations on a jihad terrorist outfit where there is none. Qur'an 9:60 details the acceptable uses of zakat, or charity, and contrary to Western expectations that charitable groups like the Red Cross are strictly non-combatant, zakat is also earmarked for those "fighting in the cause of Allah."

Syed said the charity helps people in need through local organizations and never knowingly dealt with Hamas.

Wink.

"The charity was trying to send a dialysis machine to Gaza," Syed said. "The issue is, how to you get aid to Palestinians, especially in Gaza? All the parties that we're dealing with are legal in their jurisdictions."

No kidding: Hamas is legal in Gaza.

A United Nations agency credited the charity for donating US$1.2 million for the construction of a new girls' school in the West Bank in 2009.

The CRA said IRFAN-Canada has damaged the integrity of the Canadian charity system. [...]

The audit also found that the charity failed to maintain proper records. The records the charity did provide for the audit period were often an "after-the-fact paper exercise" that showed it distributed $19 million in Canadian funds and $17 million in gifts-in-kind for projects outside Canada during that period.

The audit established that $13 million of the gifts-in-kind were transferred to organization with ties to Hamas.

Stockwell Day raised the charity's alleged link to Hamas in Parliament when he was an opposition MP in 2004. He asked the Liberal government to investigate.

Day referenced a Privy Council report sent to Prime Minister Jean Chretien in 2000 that listed Povrel Jerusalem Fund for Human Services (JFHS) as a Canadian group with links to terrorist organizations.

The audit suggests that JFHS and IRFAN-Canada were consolidated in 2001. under the leadership of Rasem Abdel-Majid. The report states the consolidation was concealed, "leading us to consider the strong possibility that this exercise was intended to circumvent the CRA's refusal to grant JFHS registration as a charity."

Syed said IRFAN-Canada was formed independently and later acquired some assets from JFHS.

Though the IRFAN-Canada is no longer a charity, it still operates as a not-for profit organization.

Yet another unsavory use for Islamic charities. "Albanians deposited Serb organ profits in Islamic charities, prosecutor," from Serbianna, December 17 (thanks to Julia Gorin, who has a great deal more information and background about the entire Kosovo organ trafficking story here):

Serbian war crimes prosecutor says that the Kosovo Albanian criminal boss, Hashim Thaci, used bank accounts designated as Islamic charity to deposit profits he earned by selling organs he extracted from captured Serbs....

Names of some of those accounts are Help For Kosovo, Medicare, Caravan, Al- Haramajin, Taibah International. etc.

Serbian prosecution says that the FBI has also uncovered these accounts after the 9/11 attacks but it is not specified why the FBI withheld the information about Thaci....

Um, maybe because the FBI was on his side -- since, after all, the U.S. has been on the side of the Balkan jihadists since the 1990s?

Well, they got Capone on tax evasion. "Arlington imam, wife accused of marriage fraud," by Jason Trahan for The Dallas Morning News, October 19 (thanks to all who sent this in):

A prominent Islamic scholar who has battled accusations of extremist beliefs has been arrested along with his wife on federal charges that they married other people to get U.S. citizenship.

Ibrahim Abdelrahman Dremali and Safaa Rashad Eissa were arrested by immigration agents, Arlington police and the FBI on Oct. 6 on a warrant out of Des Moines, Iowa. They were released on their own recognizance after appearing before a federal judge in Fort Worth the same day.

They are scheduled to enter pleas Nov. 12 in Iowa on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States, which can carry a five-year sentence, and procurement of citizenship or naturalization unlawfully, which can result in 10 to 25 years in prison.

Dremali, who earned degrees in geology and Islamic law in Cairo, immigrated to the U.S. in 1989 and has served as an imam, or Muslim spiritual leader, in south Florida, Iowa and Austin and worked at Islamic schools.

This summer, he and his wife moved to a house on Virginia Lane near the Islamic Society of Arlington, where he helped lead a local Islamic school....

Reached by phone this past week in Arlington, Dremali said he was too sick to talk. He was originally supposed to report to court Wednesday in Des Moines. His attorney, Alfredo Parrish, sought a delay because doctors treating Dremali, who has hepatitis C and is awaiting a liver transplant at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, said he cannot travel....

After Dremali emigrated to the U.S., he co-founded the Islamic Center of Boca Raton in 1998. In 2000, the Gaza native, participated in a pro-Palestinian rally in Miami that featured the burning of Israeli flags and a mock funeral for Palestinians killed in the Israeli conflict. According to a published report, Dremali told the crowd "not to be sad for those who were martyred, and to not be afraid to die for what they believe in."

After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Dremali denied making the statement amid criticism from conservative bloggers about his role in the rally and other associations.

In 2002, Adham Hassoun, a Palestinian activist and computer programmer in Florida, was detained on immigration charges. Dremali was one of four people called to speak about Hassoun's "peaceful and generous character" at a hearing, a court record shows.

Hassoun attended the same Fort Lauderdale mosque as Jose Padilla and was thought to have helped convert him to Islam. Padilla was later accused of planning a dirty bomb attack in the U.S., but authorities ultimately convicted him, and Hassoun, of coordinating aid to al-Qaeda.

Ties to terrorists?

Dremali later said he barely knew Hassoun.

"You can judge a person by the company they keep," wrote Joe Kaufman, a conservative activist in southern Florida, in one of several blog posts accusing Dremali of being a radical Islamist. "Will our government sit back and let things happen, or will it begin to take action, so that the next 9/11 never becomes reality?"

Last week, Kaufman said in an interview with The Dallas Morning News that he is not surprised to hear of Dremali's arrest. "Regardless if they prosecute him on terrorism or immigration, I think it's a good thing to take him off the streets," he said.

Kaufman has also highlighted a more than $16,000 donation by Dremali's Islamic Center of Boca Raton to the Global Relief Foundation, one of several Muslim charities shut down by the Bush administration for funding international terrorism.

Dremali has said that he did not know Global Relief had terrorist ties when the donation was made....

Whose bidding is Cuomo doing? "Cuomo To Not Investigate Funds For Islamic Cultural Center," from NY1 News, September 2 (thanks to Pamela Geller, who has a series of links to mosque leaders' questionable activities and ties here):

State Attorney General and gubernatorial hopeful Andrew Cuomo said Thursday he has no plans to investigate the Islamic community center and mosque.

According to a recent poll, seven out of 10 New York State voters say they want him to look into the project's financing.

Cuomo said he could not investigate the fundraising for the project because so little money has been raised so far.

He said his office would also need cause to probe the group.

"I hope nobody is suggesting this is a religion that some people don't like and therefore we should start a government investigation. That would be a terrible and dangerous precedent," said the Democratic candidate.

Cuomo did note that if anyone has evidence that the project has terrorist ties, that might be cause for an investigation....

OK, Cuomo, how's this?

"Report: Ground Zero Mosque Investor Contributed to Designated Terror Group," from FoxNews.com, September 3 (thanks to all who sent this in):

A key financial backer of the proposed Islamic center near Ground Zero once contributed to a U.S.-designated terror group, MyFox New York reports.

Egyptian-born businessman Hisham Elzanaty, who made what is described as a "significant investment" in the Ground Zero mosque project,contributed more than $6,000 in 1999 to the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, also known as HLF, tax records show.

The donations came two years before the federal government shut down HLF and designated it a terror group. Elzanaty's attorney told MyFox New York that his client believed at the time that he was donating to an orphanage. Elzanaty did not respond to questions.

Federal investigators say the group was set up as a Texas-based charity, but in fact supported Hamas....

Still looking to chip away territory wherever the opportunity seems to present itself. And why not? It's worked this far. "Montenegro: Radical Muslims placed under surveillance," from AdnKronos International, August 19:

Podgorica and Beograd, 19 August (AKI) - Montenegro's security agency is stepping up surveillance of radical Muslims suspected of links with fundamentalist Wahabi movement in the region. Police have been authorised to tap the phones of alleged members of a group based in several towns in Montenegro, reports said.

There some 100 to 120 Wahabis in the tiny Balkan country, according to the national security agency.

The move came after a local politician Dzemail Suljevic from the Serbian part of Muslim-majority Sandzak - which has districts in Serbia and Montenegro - last week urged Muslims from the region to form an autonomous province.

Sandzak stretches from the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina to Kosovo over an area of 8,403 square kilometres. Six of its municipalities of are in Serbia and five in neighbouring Montenegro.

The towns in Montenegro that secret police from Podgorica have placed under surveillance are ones that Suljevic said should be "added" to Sandzak. They include Plav, Gusinje, Rozaje and Bijelo Polje.

The country's Wahabis are believed to be financed by various Islamic charities, Montenegrin news agency MINA cited the national security agency as saying.

The idea of autonomy for Sandzak, which has sparked opposition from both Serbia and Montenegro, reportedly comes from radical imam Muamer Zukorlic. He is known for his hostility to the state-endorsed official Serbian Islamic Community (IZS) and his spiritual allegiance to Bosnia.

Meanwhile, in Sadzak's town of Novi Pazar, the Serbian flag was brought down from local elementary school and burned, while the Bosnian flag was left intact.

Police said late on Wednesday they had arrested three young men in connection with the incident.

More members of the Tiny Minority of Extremists in moderate, tolerant, pro-American Kosovo?

Of course, their presence in the Balkans is commonly written off as the product of Wahhabi influence. And while Saudi money has been instrumental in exporting jihad ideology and funding the activity that results, this explanation is all too often also used to avoid acknowledging anything inherent in Islamic texts and traditions outside of Wahhabism that could motivate jihadist terrorism.

As for the use of charities, they are often a handy subterfuge for Western consumption due to the fact that in the Western tradition, charities are, by nature, non-combatant. This is not the case in the Islamic tradition; the lack of a distinction stems from Qur'an 9:60, which includes provisions for those who are "in the cause of Allah" (fi sabil Allah).

And it's not just cheeky infidels pulling that connection out of a hat. It can be seen worldwide in the frequent convergence of jihadist activity and "social services" by groups including Hamas, Hizballah, Jamaat ud-Dawa, and now this group, as well.

"Kosovo: Police arrest five radical Islamists," from AdnKronos International, May 22:

Pristina, 22 May (AKI) - Kosovo police have arrested five members of the fundamentalist Wahabi Islamic movement who are suspected of "criminal activities, "police spokesman Hazir Berisa said on Saturday. He did not specify if those arrested were suspected of recruiting terrorists or plotting attacks.

Berisa said the five suspects were associated with a humanitarian organisation called Iskrenost (Sincerity).

Nice.

The arrests took place late on Friday in the southwest city of Prizren in an operation in which 120 police officers were deployed. Berisa said police confiscated a large quantity of weapons during the operation, including automatic rifles, pistols, ammunition and uniforms.

The Wahabi movement originated in Saudi Arabia in the 17th century. Wahabi ideology preaches a 'pure' form of Islam. It was brought to the Balkans by Arab 'mujahadeen' fighters who fought on the side of local Muslims during Bosnia's 1992-1995 war.

Many former 'mujahadeen' remained in the region after the war indoctrinating local youths and even operating terrorist training camps, according to foreign intelligence sources.

Tensions between Wahabis and mainstream Muslims have been simmering in the Balkans for some years as the Wahabi ideology preaches religious intolerance towards other religious groups, including moderate Muslims.

Wahabis have sought to gain influence in Bosnia-Heregovina and also in Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo.

Since the Bosnian war, radical Islamists have often operated under the guise of humanitarian organisations from Islamic countries and several such charities have been banned in Bosnia.

Somehow he totally Misunderstood the Religion of Peace™, even while insisting on correct obedience to the Book of Peace. How odd! Maybe Honest Ibe Hooper will clear it all up for us before we get too many more Misunderstanders of Islam like this one.

Or -- instead of waiting for more steaming piles of explanations from Honest Ibe about how Islam is Peace -- we could take sensible steps to defend Constitutionalism and genuine pluralism...Naaah! That would be "Islamophobic"!

"E-mails paint Times Square suspect as frustrated Muslim," by Susan Candiotti for CNN, May 17 (thanks to all who sent this in):

New York (CNN) -- Faisal Shahzad, the suspect in the failed car bombing in New York's Times Square, was frustrated with the state of the Muslim world and sought a way to "fight back."

Two e-mails obtained by CNN help piece together a portrait of the Pakistani-born naturalized U.S. citizen. They also may shed some light on what propelled his failed terror plot.

"Everyone knows the current situation of Muslim World," he wrote in an e-mail he sent to a large group of recipients in February 2006.

At the time, he had been in the United States for about six years, had earned his MBA and was working as a financial analyst in Connecticut.

"Everyone knows how the Muslim country bows down to pressure from the west. Everyone knows the kind of humiliation we are faced with around the globe."

The e-mail continues: "It is with no doubt that we today Muslim, followers of Islam are attacked and occupied by foreign infidel forces. The crusade has already started against Islam and Muslims with cartoons of our beloved Prophet PBUH (peace be upon him) as War drums."

Shahzad was referring to the 2005 controversy in which a Danish newspaper published satirical cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed that many Muslims found offensive.

"Can you tell me a way to save the oppressed," Shahzad asked. "And a way to fight back when rockets are fired at us and Muslim blood flows? In Palestine, Afghan, Iraq, Chechnya and elsewhere."

The second e-mail was sent in April 2009 to a smaller group of recipients. By then, Shahzad was an American citizen. In that e-mail, Shahzad ridicules an article written by a Muslim who took a more moderate view than him.

"If you don't have the right teacher, then Satan should become your sheikh," according to a translated portion of the e-mail.

"I bet when it comes to defending the lands, his opinion would be we should do dialogue, etc., which is not the proven way from history and has not worked in current time and will not work in the future because it simply wasn't the way of the Quran," he added....