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Illinois: Circuit Judge candidate tied to groups with history of links to Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas

Mar 27, 2020 9:00 am By Hesham Shehab

On February 25, the Chicago Tribune endorsed the president of the Muslim Bar Association of Illinois, Dr. Azam Nizamuddin, the Democratic candidate for the position of Circuit Judge in Dupage County, Illinois.

As a lawyer with twenty years of experience, adjunct professor of theology, and interfaith activist, Nizamuddin may sound like the perfect candidate for the job, but his background also raises some concerns.

In 2015, Nizamuddin was appointed general counsel and deputy executive director of North American Islamic Trust, Inc. (NAIT). Nizamuddin also serves as Chief Compliance Officer for NAIT’s for-profit subsidiary, Allied Asset Advisors (AAA).

NAIT describes itself as “a waqf,” the historical Islamic equivalent of an American trust or endowment, serving Muslims in the United States and their institutions.

NAIT was established in 1973 in Indiana by the Muslim Students Association of U.S. and Canada (MSA). The Muslim Students Association was founded in 1963 by members of the Muslim Brotherhood, and Brotherhood members dominated its founding and leadership, according to former U.S. Muslim Brotherhood Executive Committee Masul (leader) Zeid Noman, in taped lecture acquired by the FBI.

In 2004, the Chicago Tribune reported on NAIT’s  role in an effort by Muslim Brotherhood members to successfully seize control of the once moderate Bridgeview Mosque, now known as the Mosque Foundation.

In 2007, the Justice Department designated NAIT as an unindicted co-conspirator in the largest terrorist financing case in America history, US v. Holy Land Foundation, which resulted in convictions and imprisonment of several US-based Hamas terrorist leaders.

Court records detailed how money flowed through NAIT financial accounts to Hamas. In the same exhibits from the trial, the Justice Department lists NAIT among “members of the US Muslim Brotherhood,” alongside NAIT’s parent organization; the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA).

Nizamuddin was also a sponsor of Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR)-Chicago’s 8th Annual Banquet.  CAIR is strongly connected to the Muslim Brotherhood according to federal prosecutors and was also listed among “unindicted co-conspirators and/or joint-venturers” in the Holy Land Foundation case along with NAIT.

In CAIR, ISNA and NAIT’s repeated appeals to the U.S. government to remove its name from the co-conspirators list a federal judge ruled the government had provided “ample evidence” at trial for tying CAIR, ISNA and NAIT to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood. CAIR has subsequently been blacklisted as a terrorist group by the United Arab Emirates.

Nizamuddin also served as the co-chair of the Interfaith committee of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago (CIOGC), which was co-founded by former NAIT Chairman and Muslim Brotherhood leader Bassem Osman. Osman remains the president and portfolio manager of AAA.

But Nizamuddin has connections to other Islamist-linked organizations outside of those historically affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood as well. Nizamuddin served on the board of directors and as general counsel for the Niagara Foundation, a charity associated with Turkish Islamist cleric Fetullah Gulen.

In a 2013 Facebook post, Nizamuddin described Gulen, living in exile in the U.S., as “the most important peace advocate and religious leader you have never heard of.” In 2014, Nizamuddin did a video praising the Gulenist movement. While Gulen poses as working for world peace and democracy, U.S. State Department cables, divulged by WikiLeaks, described the Turkish preacher as “a ‘radical Islamist’ whose moderate message cloaks a more sinister and radical agenda.”  In Turkey, Gulenists were known for their extended penetration of police and judiciary services, prior to a purge of the judiciary following the 2016 coup attempt.

Gulen’s U.S.-based charities, including the Niagara Foundation, have been accused of serving as fronts for a campaign of influence by offering all-expense paid trips for state and local lawmakers, and former Niagara Foundation Executive Director Kemal Oksuz was convicted for his role in a scheme to illegally fund a congressional trip to Azerbaijan, as part of an effort to influence lawmakers.

Nizamuddin’s affiliations with both Brotherhood-linked groups like NAIT as well as Gulen-linked groups is interesting, since American Brotherhood groups have increasingly sided with Turkish authoritarian president and Islamist Recep Tayyip Erdogan during his campaign to suppress Gulen’s movement after the two, previously allies, had a falling out.

Nizamuddin’s associations with groups linked to terror finance and influence-peddling should raise genuine concerns for Dupage county voters. Voters have a right to ask to what extend Nizamuddin shares the Islamist views of the groups he is affiliated with, and whether these views will impact his position on the court, if successfully elected. This is especially true given his connection to a group with a documented history of political corruption. Will media outlets identify these connections for voters, and ask Nizamuddin how these affiliations will affect his role on the bench, if he should be elected?

Hesham Shehab is a Research Associate for the Middle East Forum

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Filed Under: CAIR, Muslim Brotherhood, Muslim Students Association, NAIT, Stealth Jihad Tagged With: Azam Nizamuddin, illinois


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Comments

  1. mortimer says

    Mar 27, 2020 at 9:19 am

    Either you believe that discriminatory Sharia law is of divine origin and supersedes manmade law or you don’t.

    Either you are a theocrat or you aren’t.

    Either you believe in the overthrow of human constitutions and their replacement with Sharia or you don’t.

    Quote: “[Islam] leaves no room for human legislation in an Islamic state, because herein all legislative functions vest in God and the only function left for Muslims lies in their observance of the God-made law.”

    – SOURCE: 1967 Islamic Law and Constitution, Mawdudi’s writings collected and translated into English by Khurshid Ahmad, p.77; quoted in: Charles J. Adam, “Mawdudi and the Islamic State,” in John L. Esposito, ed., Voices of Resurgent Islam, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1983) on page 125

    • James Lincoln says

      Mar 27, 2020 at 6:15 pm

      Very true, mortimer.

      It’s definitely an “either or” situation – on all counts…

    • gravenimage says

      Mar 27, 2020 at 6:46 pm

      +1

  2. mortimer says

    Mar 27, 2020 at 9:21 am

    Nizamuddin will conduct the ‘jihad of the pen’ (legal jihad) … namely, using the legal system’s loopholes to advance Islamic supremacism by stealth.

    • gravenimage says

      Mar 27, 2020 at 6:52 pm

      Yes–“Lawfare” is an important part of the “Jihad of the Pen”, along with written Da’wa.

      • Nora Armenti says

        Mar 28, 2020 at 12:28 am

        Let’s share with all patriots!

  3. Boromir's Horn says

    Mar 27, 2020 at 10:04 am

    The Chicago Tribune (I read and cringe daily) is complicit to every left leaning cause on the planet, they just don’t get quoted as much as the N.Y and L.A. Times

    • James Lincoln says

      Mar 27, 2020 at 6:20 pm

      Boromir’s Horn,

      You certainly right about the Chicago Tribune.

      I attend a major medical conference every year in Chicago and pick up a copy of the local newspaper. Hard to read…

      Chicago seems great if you stay on the “Magnificent Mile”, other areas go from bad to worse.

      Some areas are actually statistically more dangerous than some areas that I deployed to in the Middle East…

  4. mortimer says

    Mar 27, 2020 at 10:14 am

    Nizamuddin’s actual political philosophy is lost in bafflegab. How does he support Erdogan and Gulen at the same time, I wonder? How does he support the Muslim Brotherhood and secular democracy at the same time?

    Obviously, Nizamuddin is not transparent about his real opinions or his agenda. Nizamuddin’s dual-messaging is based on methods of Islamic deceptions called ‘kitman’ (deceit by omission) and ‘tawriyya’ (deceit by ambiguity).

    Nizamuddin’s lack of transparency to voters should alert them to the hidden agendas that Nizamuddin is not sharing with his intended American dupes.

    • Iambob says

      Mar 27, 2020 at 11:41 am

      This seditious and treasonous action from the same newspaper, in the same city and state that gave America the ‘gift’ of Barack Hussein Obama (aka Barry Soetero) who they knew little or nothing about-enabling him to hoodwink and bamboozle the American electorate into believing, falsely, that he was eligible to run for president of the United States.

      Journalism in America is dead.

      No one will dare vet this Muslim charlatan any more than they did Barry (whose radical origins, associations, affiliations and upbringing should have made him patently unfit to occupy any office in America).

      Sadly, the credible, scholarly research (contained within this expose) will be ignored and summarily dismissed-as were a legion of non-politically correct articles exposing Barry’s troubled past, radical, Islamic associations, Islamic beliefs and Marxist agenda.

      We owe this author (and Jihad Watch) still another deep debt of gratitude for issuing this urgent warning-revealing exposing still another attempt at ‘destroying Western civilization, sabotaging our miserable house from within, at our own hands.’ America’s blood will not be on their hands.

      American society has learned nothing since 9/11.

      So, this Muslim miscreant will do the bidding of the Muslim Brotherhood just as Barry did-and with his guidance and assistance-as an integral part of his ‘fundamental transformation of the United States of America.’

      • James Lincoln says

        Mar 27, 2020 at 6:22 pm

        Iambob says,

        “We owe this author (and Jihad Watch) still another deep debt of gratitude…”

        Yes indeed…

    • gravenimage says

      Mar 27, 2020 at 6:55 pm

      Erdogan and Gulen, while enemies, are both Islamists.

  5. rubiconcrest says

    Mar 27, 2020 at 10:18 am

    The man has virtually no online presence, photos of family members or writings but we can learn from one verifiable quote. It comes from the Des Plaines Daily Herald, 9,1,2010 in which Azam Nizamuddin, who was at the time co-chair of the interfaith committee of CAIR of Greater Chicago. Of course knowing what we know about CAIR that speaks volumes. He clearly supported the the Cordoba House or Park 51 Islamic center at ground zero, NY. In the usual Islamic Muslim Brotherhood tradition is vague to western ears in expressing his support. He is quoted as saying, “To me it shows a decrease of virtue and civility, what we call in Islam as a lack of adab. We are witnessing a steady decline of morality, virtue and neighborliness.” Adab is the key word here which I understand means straying from traditional Muslim virtues. We all know how Muslims treat those who stray from the traditional Islamic virtues. This man is wedded to Islamic principles and keeps his true feelings well hidden from western ears but when he uses the term ‘adab’ he is very clear to Muslims who are listening.

    • VRWC member77 says

      Mar 27, 2020 at 10:59 am

      Thank you for that information ( -Adab- definition).

    • gravenimage says

      Mar 27, 2020 at 6:57 pm

      Thank you for that information, rubiconcrest.

  6. rubiconcrest says

    Mar 27, 2020 at 10:38 am

    What is Adab? According to the Hadith or (sayings of Muhammad)

    ‘….. which action Allah loves best?
    ‘Prayer at its proper time.’ … and
    ‘.. kindness to parents.’ … and
    ‘.. jihad in the Way of Allah.'”

    Kitab Al Adab Al Mufrad p.29

    After prayer and kindness to parents … jihad. Sorry but this does not sound like a man qualified to sit on any bench in the USA. He knows exactly what the simple word ADAB means. Thanks to the internet so do we.

    • commonsense says

      Mar 27, 2020 at 12:49 pm

      Thanks for this important information.

    • gravenimage says

      Mar 27, 2020 at 7:00 pm

      Thanks again. Very disturbing.

  7. Shirley Ann says

    Mar 27, 2020 at 11:39 am

    See how Steadily the Incrementalism of Islam moves Forward. The Infiltration of Islam into Law Enforcement & the Judicial Branches, is Hanging, “HEAVY OVER OUR HEADS”. No need to Question the Rise of Islam in the FED GOV, Facilitated by the SOCIALIST/Democratic Party of America. Rules are Changed to accommodate ISLAM!

  8. Wellington says

    Mar 27, 2020 at 6:11 pm

    I trust no Muslim because, as I have written before, a Muslim either knows what their religion says and intends or they don’t know what their religion says and intends. Whichever, it’s a negative for free societies (what’s left of them thanks to the dual enemies of liberty in our era—Islam and Western Leftism).

    No exceptions. None. Not one damn one.

    • James Lincoln says

      Mar 27, 2020 at 6:34 pm

      Wellington says,

      “I trust no Muslim because, as I have written before, a Muslim either knows what their religion says and intends or they don’t know what their religion says and intends.”

      I agree, never trust a muslim. I was told this by a US Naval Aviator who flew A-6 Intruders. This was years ago before I more fully understood islam. I politely thanked him for the advice, not knowing how accurate and important his perception was. He was correct, and it helped to keep me out of trouble.

      Regarding your quote, there is a very slight chance that muslims who “don’t know what their religion says or intends” can be educated and rehabilitated with the truth.

      But a VERY slight chance…

  9. James Lincoln says

    Mar 27, 2020 at 6:38 pm

    Here’s a link to the Muslim Bar Association:

    https://www.muslimbar.org/muslimlawyers/

    I didn’t know that this organization actually existed.

    After perusing the website, I can see why it exists:

    LAWFARE Jihad…

  10. gravenimage says

    Mar 27, 2020 at 6:45 pm

    Illinois: Circuit Judge candidate tied to groups with history of links to Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas
    ………………….

    This is utterly appalling. I hope this expose puts him out of the running. In a sane world, it would get him disbarred.

    And welcome to Hesham Shehab–I believe the two stories we have seen from him here today is his first work for Jihad Watch.

    He is an ex-Muslim Christian who does important Anti-Jihad work, especially in the Chicago area.

  11. UNCLE VLADDI says

    Mar 28, 2020 at 4:00 am

    PFFFT! THAT’S NOTHING!

    Every since I first noticed it, back in 2013, it seems that, in Ontario, Canada’s largest province, before they got appointed to the bench, ALL judges had to be first vetted and approved by a hardcore muslim jihadi!

    Now, it seems that, at some point, he’s been replaced as chairman by … another hardcore muslim!

    Yes, even under ‘Conservative’ Doug Ford’s leadership, NOBODY GETS TO BE A JUDGE WHO ISN’T SHARIA COMPLIANT AND PROPERLY SUBMISSIVE TO ISLAM AND THE CONCERNS OF MUSLIMS!

    http://unclevladdi.wordpress.com/2013/04/05/moslem-criminal-appoints-ontarios-judges/

  12. Mark Berlinger says

    Mar 28, 2020 at 9:48 am

    The Grand Jihad collaboration of the American Left and supremacist Islam in America continues unabated. The Continuous Exposure is our defence.

  13. Timothy says

    Mar 28, 2020 at 8:50 pm

    Gulenists operated the prison ministry near where I lived. I expect this is not the only case.

  14. OLD GUY says

    Mar 28, 2020 at 9:55 pm

    You can’t trust this guy based on his islamic “religion” which teaches to deceive, cheat and lie on behalf of islam. If he is linked to the Muslim Brotherhood that say’s it all, he’s not here to make America anything but another islamic country. Vote NO.

  15. Lynnette Gaye Chase says

    Mar 28, 2020 at 10:42 pm

    This is how Islam takes you over, little by little, like a mouse eating a corn cob! When he has eaten to the very core he cannot go back and eat it again! Why the western governments trust muslims or islam beggars belief! Our lives should be first not the money or oil. You should be BANNING ALL MUSLIMS FROM ENTERING OUR COUNTRIES BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE! Which comes closer every day. You cannot trust a muslim as their belief in a mad mans’ rantings etc is sick, and when the push comes to a shove they will be lining up to kill you as the koran instructs a muslim to do by allah’s order.

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