Part 2 of WND’s important investigation into the recent Islamic conference in Florida has been published. Some highlights:
“. . . the Islamic Society of North America has hosted other radical speakers and terror promoters, including Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, a well-known ideologue of the Muslim Brotherhood movement, which spawned Islamic Jihad, Hamas, al-Qaida and other terrorist groups.
“Al-Qaradawi is well known for legitimizing suicide bombings via his own radical interpretation of Islamic theology. His fatwa on suicide bombings entitled ‘Hamas Operations Are Jihad and Those Who [Carry it Out and] Are Killed are Considered Martyrs’ is posted on the Hamas website.
“Al-Qaradawi’s CDs were on sale to conference-goers in Orlando, including titles on ‘Islamic Jurisprudence’ and ‘Ethics and Purification.’ In total, 32 of the leader’s books on CD were hawked at the site of the event, Silver Spurs Arena. . . .
“Another prominent feature of the media-dubbed “mainstream, moderate” Islamic groups represented at the Orlando conference is consistent support for suspected, indicted and convicted terrorists, often as a “civil rights” issue.
“In 1995, ISNA defended the Hamas terror organization by establishing a legal defense fund on behalf of Hamas leader Musa Abu Marzuq. Abu Marzuq was arrested at Kennedy Airport in July of 1995 and held in New York’s Metropolitan Correctional Center until 1997, when he was deported to Jordan.
“Following the arrest of Sheikh Ahmad Yassin in 1989, Abu Marzuq took over the leadership of the movement. From 1989 until 1992, he appointed leadership and sent directives to the West Bank and Gaza from his home in Falls Church, Va.
“During that time Abu Marzuq appointed Muhammad Salah of Bridgeview, Ill., to be in charge of Hamas’ ‘military affairs,’ which made him responsible for appointing commanders of the Iz Al-Din Al-Qassam Battalions – the wing of the movement responsible for terror attacks – in the West Bank and Gaza. He also disbursed funds and directed their distribution for the terror activities of Hamas by using his own bank accounts. From 1990 to 1994, six Hamas attacks were carried out with funds provided by Abu Marzuq. The terrorists who carried out the attacks were recruited by members of the Al-Qassam Battalions who were appointed by Abu Marzuq from the United States.
“At its annual convention in September 1998, ISNA announced the establishment of a legal defense fund for Salah as well.
“In January 1993, Salah was arrested in Israel for attempting to distribute funds totaling $370,000 to the Iz Al-Din Al-Qassam Battalions of Hamas. He was sentenced to five years in prison and was released in November 1997. Subsequent to his arrest in Israel, Salah was officially labeled a ‘Specially Designated Terrorist’ for ‘facilitation of terrorist activities in the Middle East’ during the early 1990s.
“Seven months after he was released from prison in Israel, the FBI arrested Salah at his home in Chicago in June 1998 and seized $1.4 million in assets belonging to him, his wife Azita, and a nonprofit organization named the Quranic Literacy Institute located in Oak Lawn, Ill. Included in the seizure was $130,000 from two bank accounts owned by Salah. According to press reports, Salah was alleged to be involved in a money laundering operation to fund Hamas terror activities in Israel.”