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STATEMENT BY CITIZENS FOR PEACE AND TOLERANCE ON THE ISB LAWSUIT
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May 30, 2007
The decision by the Islamic Society of Boston to drop its defamation suit against CPT, its founders, the David Project, and numerous other defendants is a victory for freedom of speech and freedom of the press. But it is only one battle in what will be a long campaign to expose Islamic militants posing as moderate Muslims.
The claims about the ISB that were first made by the Boston Herald and Fox TV were all backed by substantial evidence, and as the litigation proceeded, even more evidence emerged proving the connections of ISB leaders to militant Islam and to terrorist organizations such as Hamas. The willingness of the ISB to embrace the teachings of Yusuf al-Qaradawi – the spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood -- speaks volumes about its false posture as a force for moderation in the Muslim community. Its willingness to impose costly and time-consuming litigation on its critics – hundreds of thousands of dollars to date -- shows that its true agenda is not to build bridges, but to silence present and future critics by demonstrating that they risk financial ruin if they tell the truth about Islamic militants.
Even in defeat, the ISB continues to dissemble. Its spokesmen claim that their decision to drop the lawsuit is somehow a victory, and that the mosque project can now “go forward”. But CPT’s criticism has been consistently focused on the leaders of the ISB, and not on the mosque. We have always said that we have no objection to the construction of a mosque anywhere in Boston, but that we do object – and we will continue to object – to a partnership between the city and an organization that is flying under a false flag of moderation while promoting the teachings of radical Islam.
As luck would have it, the Pew Research Foundation has provided a timely reminder about why this matter is so important. Its survey of opinion in the American Muslim community turned up the startling information that nearly one-quarter of American Muslims under the age of 30 supports suicide bombing. If American Muslims are being tutored by people who admire Yusuf al-Qaradawi, can we be surprised at this result?
Citizens for Peace and Tolerance will continue to raise these questions wherever and whenever it seems appropriate to do so. We will not be silenced. |
STATEMENT OF CITIZENS FOR PEACE AND TOLERANCE
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The following is the statement of Citizens for Peace and Tolerance, a group of Christian, Jewish, and Muslim citizens formed last year to combat religious hatred and intolerance, in response to the lawsuit that has been initiated against it, two of its leaders, and other organizations and individuals, by the Islamic Society of Boston:
November 5, 2005
Considerable evidence exists in the public record to raise questions about the motives, background, and associations of the leaders of the Islamic Society of Boston (“ISB”), and about their claim to be proponents of a “moderate” Islam. Among its leaders are men who have defended and even praised terrorism, and who have spread anti-Semitic propaganda in the United States and the Middle East. It was our hope, when we first raised questions about the ISB, that some of its leaders would take these criticisms to heart and move to purge the organization of radical and extremist elements. Instead, the leaders of the ISB have pursued a strategy of denial and evasion. Now, they have chosen a strategy of intimidation by lawsuit.
The ISB’s lawsuit is directed at honest citizens who have raised legitimate questions about the people responsible for building the largest mosque and Islamic center in the Northeast, on land partially subsidized by the citizens of Boston. The lawsuit seeks to punish and intimidate those citizens – and by extension, to warn others, in Boston and elsewhere, not to raise questions about any Muslim organization, no matter how much evidence exists to justify those questions.
This is an obvious and ugly attempt at bullying American citizens into giving up their rights as citizens: the right to engage in free speech and inquiry, the right to question government policies, the right to engage in political activity with like-minded citizens. By forcing us to spend our money and time, the ISB hopes they will make us give up our quest for the truth.
This hope will be crushed.
We expect that the legal system of a free nation will deliver a just verdict by dismissing this suit as frivolous. In the meantime, we will not comment further on the lawsuit directly, and request that inquiries be directed to our counsel, Mr. Jeffrey Robbins, at Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo P.C., at 617-542-6000. |
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Citizens for Peace and Tolerance is a group of concerned citizens, academics, and community activists. Christians, Moslems, and Jews, we are united by the need to keep Boston Hate Free. We believe in the diversity of the Boston community and in the need to promote a climate of tolerance and civil society.
Boston has had a long tradition of welcoming diverse groups of immigrants and this decent impulse is very reflective of Mayor Menino approach to government for which we applaud him. [See Press Release | Follow-Up Press Release]
Professor Dennis Hale |
Dr. Ahmed Mansour |
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Our mission is to insure the continuance of Boston’s tolerant communal tradition by educating the community about events that may threaten it. Our immediate concern is the establishment of a potential radical Islamist center in Boston, which will promote religious hatred and intolerance against Christians, Jews, humanists and secularists. |
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Recent media reports have documented a troubling connection between the Islamic Society of Boston (ISB) founders and radical and terrorist organizations. Some of the founders of the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center have explicitly promoted hatred of Christians, Jews, and Americans. Some have been indicted for terrorist activities by the U.S government. We believe that the Islamic center is receiving substantial financial support from foreign donors in Saudi Arabia who are providing most of the $22 million dollars for the construction of the center; which apparently is also being subsidized by Boston taxpayers. [lawsuit]
We are concerned that the founders of the Islamic center in Boston may be part of a national and global effort by extremists to control mosques and radicalize their communities. [Muslim Brotherhood] .There are several documented reports around the country of mosque leaders with connections to terrorist organizations who have taken over moderate mosques. This is a disturbing development for moderate Muslims and for peaceful coexistence in our nation and communities. [complete statement] |
Who's behind the Boston Mosque?
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ISLAMIC SOCIETY OF BOSTON (ISB)
CONNECTIONS TO TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS
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- Founded the ISB in 1982 and served as their first president. Pled guilty in federal court to illegal financial transactions with Libyan dictator Muammar al-Qaddafi. Faces up to 23 years in prison when he is sentence October 15. Federal court documents further allege that Alamoudi has provided major financial support to both Hamas and Al-Qaeda through the SAFA Group, a complicated array of charities and businesses allegedly involved in financing terror. Alamoudi was also an investor in BMI, which received millions from top Muslim Brotherhood leaders. The FBI claims that BMI channeled money to Hamas and Al-Qaeda.Alamoudi: The operations chief in the U.S. - OCT/14/2003
- [more, more, more, more]
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- An alleged terrorism financier described as a senior member of the Muslim Brotherhood and deemed him “virulently anti-American.” as noted in court affidavit by David Kane of the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Large shareholder and member of the Shariah (Islamic Law) Board of Bank al-Taqua, which the US Treasury Department says has financed terrorist groups including Al-Qaeda. Banned from Egypt in 1962 and barred from entering the US in 1999 for his alleged ties to Hamas.
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Walid Fitaihi |
- ISB Chairman of the Board of Trustees Listed as director of another SAFA group entity, Taibeh International, which is listed by the US Treasury as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist.” In 1985 donated $25,000 to BMI, in 1985, which received millions from top Muslim Brotherhood leaders. The FBI claims that BMI channeled money to Hamas and Al-Qaeda.
- Founding directors of the Muslim Arab Youth Association (MAYA), an organization known for its anti-Western teachings and for providing platforms for Islamic extremists.
Dr.Mustafa Abu Sway
- Former ISB Director Board member and fundraiser for two Jerusalem-based Hamas-related organizations, the Heritage Committee and the Foundation for the Development of Society.
- Worked with the Palestinian “Charity Coalition,” which includes two organizations whose assets have been frozen by the US for Hamas fundraising.
Hassam el-Gabr
- Member of the ISB Steering Committee Has established links to the Muslim Brotherhood through the Muslim American Society ( MAS ), which has been cited by mosque officials and Muslim Brotherhood leaders as a representative of the Muslim Brotherhood in the US .
- Gave $5,150 to the Global Relief Foundation (GRF), a Bridgeview, IL charity that funneled money to terrorism and was closed down by the US in December 2001 and named a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” in October 2002.
Basyonny M. Nehela
- Imam for the ISB
- Urged Muslims to support the Quincy company Ptech when they were raided by federal agents for suspected ties to terrorist financing, calling the investigation “oppression.” Ptech is still under investigation by an antiterrorism task force for its connection to Saudi businessman Yasmin al-Qad, who the US Treasury Department has identified as a financier of Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda network and other terrorist groups.
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- Director of the ISB; Address listed on ISB forms: Jeddah, Saudi
Arabia (Form 990 for years 1998,1999,2000) Present at groundbreaking of Cultural Center/Mosque ISB Board of Trustees :Treaurer (8/2000) (ISB document to BRA) In an article published by the London daily Al-Hayat, Fitaihi
demonstrates the type of global proselytizing which is typical in Muslim
Brotherhood ideology and makes various incendiary remarks about
Zionists. "Proselytizing in the name of Allah has not been undermined, and
has not been set back 50 years, as we thought in the first days after
September 11. On the contrary, the 11 days that have passed are like 11
years in the history of proselytizing in the name of Allah. I write to
you today with the absolute confidence that over the next few years,
Islam will spread in America and in the entire world, Allah willing,
much more quickly than it has spread in the past, because the entire
world is asking, 'What is Islam!'""Thus, the Muslim community in the U.S. in general, and in
Boston in particular, has begun to trouble the Zionist lobby. The words
of the Quran [3:113] on this matter are true: 'They will be humiliated
wherever they are found, unless they are protected under a covenant with
Allah, or a covenant with another people. They have incurred Allah's
wrath and they have been afflicted with misery. That is because they
continuously rejected the Signs of Allah and were after slaying the
Prophets without just cause, and this resulted from their disobedience
and their habit of transgression.'"
- [more]
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1 Malcom X Bld - Roxbury, MA 
