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UPI has reported on the response of Louay Safi, the Development Director for the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), to the revelation that he has been suspended as a lecturer for the U.S. military pending a criminal inquirty. According to the UPI report:
Safi said legal assaults on him and other Muslims, even as Washington sought their advice, showed the government’s divided approach to Islam. “There are those who are prejudiced and would like to deny Muslims their rightful place in this country,” Safi said, “and there are people who are more open-minded. It’s as simple as that.”
Dr. Safi has been perhaps the leading voice at ISNA in complaining that criticism of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood is a form of “Muslim bashing.”
A post from yesterday discussed the Dallas Morning News report that revealed the suspension. The report also revealed that ISNA has failed to make good on pledges of financial support for the families of the Ft. Hood shooting victims.
Three days after the Fort Hood massacre, Safi announced that ISNA was launching the Fort Hood Family Fund. “Mosques throughout the country are expected to join fellow Americans in contributing to help the families of the victims,” his news release said. A fund Web site said the initial goal was “to raise $100,000 for immediate relief,” with further amounts invested in a mutual fund. ISNA promised “to maintain full transparency to ensure that your donated dollar gets to its intended destination.” About $55,000 had been collected by early December, Safi told The News . When he went to Fort Hood at the beginning of that month to train officers, Safi took a $10,000 check to the Association of the U.S. Army. Ron Taylor, president of the military-support charity’s regional chapter, said he was grateful for the donation. Safi called him about a week later and promised $100,000 more after learning that The News was asking questions about the money, Taylor added. He said recently that the pledge had not materialized. Taylor admitted to wondering what was going on. And he recalled how Safi described Hasan to him – not as a religiously motivated extremist who planned to kill soldiers but as “someone who just lost it that particular day and did some bad things.”
In November and in connection with the Ft. Hood shooting, Dr,. Safi had complained of “double standards” saying:
As with Timothy McVeigh, the sniper, we focused on the person, not their religion. You wouldn’t take a Christian or a Jewish soldier who did something like this and look at other Christians and Jews and say, ‘Can we trust them?’ ” said Qaseem Uqdah, a former Marine and executive director of the American Muslims in Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs Council.
A report by the Hudson Institute has identified ISNA as a major part of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood. The organization has a long history of fundamentalism, anti-semitism, and support for terrorism and during the recent Holy Land Foundation terrorism financing trial, ISNA was named as an unindicted co-conspirator. Although recently ISNA has issued condemnations of terrorism which for the first time identify Hamas and Hezbollah by name, there is no indication that the organization has ever addressed or acknowledged its history.
GlobalMB @ February 8, 2010
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An Egyptian newspaper has reported that the Prime Minister of the Hamas government in Hamas pledged a Bay’ah (oath) to Muhammad Badie, the new leader of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. According to a translation of a report in Almasry Alyoum:
In a phone call yesterday, Ismail Haniyeh, the Prime Minister of the Hamas government in Gaza, gave the oath [bayah] to Muhammad Badi’, the new General Guide of the MB, about a week after accepting his role. In a communique issued yesterday, Haniyeh’s governement maintained that the PM “called upon Allah to give a hand of assistance, support and soundness to Badi’, so the MB’s course in helping the Palestinian national cause and the besieged Gaza continues”, expressing his hope that “the MB will play a role in keeping relations between the Palestinian and Egyptian peoples”. The government further pointed out that Haniyeh also called Mahdi Akef, the previous General Guide, and expressed his “deepest thanks for his steadfast stance assisting the Palestinian cause, and the standing up to the right of the inhabitants of the Besieged Gaza Strip”
Prior to this Almasry Alyoum report, it was known that Haniyeh had issued a statement of support for Mr. Badie. However, the theological importance of a Bay’ah is provided by one Islamic source:
The ‘Pledge of Allegiance’ (Bay’ah) allows Muslims to demonstrate their complete acceptance of the Divine appointment, and authority, of the Khalifah and so testifying that the Khalifah is the representative of God on earth. The word Bay’ah (بَي َع) literally means ‘to sell’ something and in this instance can be interpreted as one offering themselves to the will of the Khalifah in all that is good1. Perhaps the most famous example of the Bay’ah was Mohammad’s journey to Aqaba where 12 people from Yathrib pledged their allegiance to Islam in what is commonly known as the Pledge of Al-Aqaba.
The Hamas charter states that it is ” is one of the wings of the Muslim Brothers in Palestine” and an Israeli TV station has reported that in 2008, Muslim Brotherhood “representatives” traveled to Gaza from Egypt through the open border to meet with Hamas. An earlier media report indicated that shortly after Hamas took over the Gaza strip, Muslim Brotherhood representatives were present to review Hamas military formations. Last June, a Hamas journalist acknowledged the role that the “international Muslim Brotherhood” has played in providing funds for the purchase of weapons.
(Note: Translation provided by Muslim World News)
GlobalMB @ February 8, 2010
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The Dallas Morning News has reported on the suspension and criminal inquiry by the U.S. military into the activities and lectures of Louay Safi, the Development Director for the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA). According to the report:
After the worst military base massacre in U.S. history, officials acknowledged that they failed to “connect the dots” – the shooter had been corresponding with an imam tied to al-Qaeda and had condemned the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as a war against Islam. But Fort Hood gunman Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan wasn’t the only one working on a Texas Army base the day of the shooting who had links to radical Islamists. At Fort Bliss, an experienced military trainer was teaching soldiers about his Muslim faith. He, too, had denounced government counterterrorism efforts, and public records show he and some of his closest associates had ties to terrorism suspects. But when The Dallas Morning News first inquired about the instructor, Louay Safi, military officials praised him. Only later did they say that Safi had been suspended from working on military bases pending a continuing criminal inquiry….In January, military officials told the newspaper that Safi was under investigation and that his lectures had been suspended. The investigation, begun by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, was recently referred to the Army, said Ed Buice, an NCIS spokesman. He would not elaborate, but other military officials said the inquiry began after a Dec. 3 complaint about ISNA. The complaint came in as Safi concluded three days of lectures at Fort Hood, which is still traumatized by the Nov. 5 massacre.
The Dallas Morning News report also provides some background on Dr. Safi:
Safi is a senior official of the Islamic Society of North America, the country’s largest Muslim organization. ISNA has been consulted for years by Washington and is described as a partner in the fight against terrorism. In addition to serving as ISNA’s communications director, Safi runs its program certifying Muslim chaplains for work in the U.S. military and prison system. He publicly denounces terrorism and advocates peace. Safi was also named by government prosecutors as an unindicted co-conspirator in one terrorism case in 2005. His last two employers were implicated in other government terrorism investigations while he worked for them. He was never charged, nor included among the targets of those investigations. But Safi has called the widespread raids on Muslim organizations after 9/11 “a campaign against Islam” – a term that 9/11 Commission director Philip Zelikow says is part of “the jihadi narrative.” Safi has also complained that Muslims are treated differently from Christians and Jews when they do wrong. They are unfairly identified by and questioned about their religion, he says, treatment that can lead to isolation and aggression. “The extremist ideology responsible for violent outbursts is often rooted in the systematic demonization of marginalized groups,” Safi said in an Internet posting after the Fort Hood shooting.
A report by the Hudson Institute has identified ISNA as a major part of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood. The organization has a long history of fundamentalism, anti-semitism, and support for terrorism and during the recent Holy Land Foundation terrorism financing trial, ISNA was named as an unindicted co-conspirator. Although recently ISNA has issued condemnations of terrorism which for the first time identify Hamas and Hezbollah by name, there is no indication that the organization has ever addressed or acknowledged its history.
In addition to his current role at ISNA, Dr. Safi has also served as the Research Director for the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), a founding board member of the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy (CSID), and President of the Association of Muslim Social Scientists (AMSS), all important parts of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood. As discussed in a previous post, he was also part of the advisory board of a journal published by the United Association for Studies and Research (UASR), a part of the Palestine Committee of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood and founded by Hamas deputy political chief Mousa Abu Marzook. Dr.Safi has also been a faculty member and Dean/Deputy Dean at the International Islamic University Malaysia, closely associated with the global Muslim Brotherhood.
The report also notes that at least one other individual tied to the U.S. Brotherhood is serving as one of the military trainers:
Military officials would not identify the five other trainers. They said federal privacy law forbids naming the subcontractors without their consent, which they did not give. One trainer who has previously identified himself publicly is Yahya Hendi, a chaplain at the National Naval Medical Center near Washington. He serves with Safi on ISNA’s chaplaincy board and sits on the ISNA-affiliated Fiqh Council of North America, which issues Islamic legal decrees. He did not respond to repeated requests for an interview.
As discussed in an earlier post, Yahya Hendi has also served as community relations and development coordinator for the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), another U.S. Brotherhood group.
GlobalMB @ February 7, 2010
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Irish media is reporting on statements by Irish Muslim Brotherhood leaders saying that a ban on face veils violates personal freedoms. According to a report in the Irish Times:
THE IRISH Council of Imams, a group which represents Muslims living in Ireland, has spoken out against attempts to ban the niqab elsewhere in Europe and called on members of the religion to contribute positively to the societies in which they are living. The council said that a ban on the niqab – a veil worn by Muslim women that covers everything except the eyes – violates personal freedoms guaranteed by democratic systems. It added that such bans also constitute an obstacle to multiculturalism, integration and human rights. Its comments come following moves by governments in several countries to restrict the wearing of niqabs. The council’s secretary general Ali Selim told The Irish Times the decision to issue a statement on the wearing of the niqab followed on from widespread media attention on the issue. “While there is no problem with the niqab in Ireland, it is something which is being debated in many places right now,” said Mr Selim. The Irish Council of Imams, which represents 14 imams and includes those from Sunni and Shia traditions, also called on Muslims living in Europe, and in particular in Ireland, to contribute to the societies where they live and seek to integrate in a way that enables them to preserve their identity.
The Times report also cites statements by Mr. Selim urging the adoption of Sharia-compliant financial services for Irish Muslims.
The Irish Council of Imams (ICI) is strongly associated with the Islamic Cultural Center of Ireland (ICCI) and is registered at the same address. The ICCI, in turn, is an important part of the European Muslim Brotherhood serving as host for the European Council for Fatwa and Research (ECFR), the theological body headed by global Muslim Brotherhood leader Youssef Qaradawi. The ICCI is also the registered headquarters for Qaradawi’s International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS). Noah Al-Kaddo, the ICCI Executive Director, is also an officer of the Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe (FIOE), the European umbrella organization for the Muslim Brotherhood and the parent organization of the ECFR.
Ali Selim, the ICI leader, is the private secretary to ICCI Imam Hussein Halawa and is described as a “resident theologian.” Mr. Selim attracted a great deal of local media attention in September 2006 when he told a newspaper interviewer that, ideally, he would like to see Shariah law adopted in Ireland in the “event of a Muslim majority.” Along the same lines, Mr. Selim said in 2006 that religious law should be imposed over secular law if that was wished by the majority. Other controversial statements by Mr. Selim include:
- Suggesting that there were conspiratorial forces behind the 911 attacks saying “history, definitely, will prove to us that those people were not the only ones involved in 9/11. That, in actual fact, there’s a wider circle that’s under the shade so we can’t see it at the moment. “
- Saying he had seen no proof that Muslims carried out the July 2006 London bombings, suggesting that videotapes of the bombers might have been faked and that he was not aware that they were identified by their own families.
- Claiming he was unaware of any Muslims calling for Jihad against the West
- Saying that he had “no opinion” about Osama Bin Laden
GlobalMB @ February 7, 2010
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The Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center (ITIC) has published a profile of Hamas activist and U.K. Muslim Brotherhood leader Muhammad Kazem Sawalha, describing him as follows:
Muhammad Kazem Sawalha is a senior Hamas activist who publicly supports jihad and was formerly involved in both political and operational Hamas activities in Judea and Samaria, including running the terrorist operative infrastructure. He was wanted by the Israeli security services but in October 1990 used forced documents to escape to Jordan, and from there went to Britain. In Britain he has been involved in intensive anti-Israeli activities within the Islamic community, with the Muslim Brotherhood and with British organizations providing support for the de facto Hamas administration in the Gaza Strip.
The ITIC profiles also details Sawalha’s ties to the U.K. Muslim Brotherhood:
In recent years his status as a senior Hamas activist has diminished, although he has continued his intensive pro-Hamas anti-Israeli activities. He has arranged rallies and demonstrations, sermons in mosques, Muslim Brotherhood activities (Hamas is a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood), and sent aid to the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and to the de facto Hamas administration. Gaza Strip residents demonstrate in Rafah (Palestine-info, December 22) Muhammad Sawalha at a British Muslim Initiative demonstration. He carries a sign reading “Freedom for Palestine.” To his left is a demonstrator holding a sign reading “Stop the holocaust in Gaza” (The picture was apparently taken during Operation Cast Lead.)2 7. Some examples of his activities in recent years are the following: A. On March 19, 2004, the Muslim Brotherhood website referred to him as “UK official [mas’ul] of the Political Committee of the International Muslim Brotherhood Organisation in the UK.”3 B. He was one of the founders of the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB), an organization affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, and headed it from 1999 to 2007. He later became chairman of the British Muslim Initiative.4 C. On July 21, 2007, he appeared on Hamas’ Palestine-info website as head of an organization called the International Committee to Lift the Siege on the Gaza Strip.5 D. In July 2009 he was reported appointed as deputy chairman of the Popular Committee in Support of the Palestinian People, which describes itself as coordinating between organizations and institutions all over the globe to promote a “Palestinian victory” and “lift the [so-called] siege of the Gaza Strip.” (The organization’s website gave broad coverage to the Viva Palestina humanitarian assistance convoy which reached the Gaza Strip at the beginning of January 2010.6)
GlobalMB @ February 6, 2010
