Three lawsuits have been dropped, but local media still seems reluctant to tackle the Islamic Society of Boston

Dr. Walid Fitaihi’s departure from and return to the Islamic Society of Boston (ISB) were stories worth reporting. After all, the possibly polemical physician’s writings helped ignite the controversy that dogged the ISB from the autumn of 2003 until June 2007, when the opening of the ISB’s new mosque in Roxbury seemed to bring the matter to a close. So why didn’t the Boston press pay attention when Fitaihi quietly left the ISB’s board of trustees earlier this year — or when he returned just four months later, after dueling lawsuits involving the ISB were dropped?

First, a quick refresher. Back in October 2003, as part of a series that explored alleged ISB connections with Islamic extremism, the Boston Herald reported on an article that Fitaihi had written for the London-based Arabic-language daily al-Hayat shortly after 9/11. According to a translation from the pro-Israel Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), Fitaihi’s item contained an abundance of incendiary material. In the words of then–Herald reporter Jonathan Wells, Fitaihi “attacked the ‘Zionist lobby’ in America, claiming it has ‘incurred Allah’s wrath’ and would eventually lose the support of the American people.”...

...The ISB dropped its expanded lawsuit in May of this year, two months after Fitaihi left the board of trustees. At the same time, James C. Policastro — a Boston resident who had brought his own lawsuit against the city of Boston, arguing that its low-cost sale of land to the ISB violated the separation of church and state, and who, according to the ISB, was actually acting as a surrogate for the David Project — agreed to drop his suit, as well. Jeffrey Robbins, an attorney for the David Project, called the outcome “a rebuff of those who thought they could intimidate the media and . . . citizens into staying silent.”

No-news days

But was it? Again, consider the fact that no major Boston media outlet took note of Fitaihi’s departure and return earlier this year. (Only two local conservative blogs, Solomonia and Miss Kelly — solomonia.com and misskelly.typepad.com, respectively — seemed to notice.) What’s more, a conciliatory meeting Fitaihi had with a group of Jewish leaders in April was covered only by the Jewish Advocate...

...But what of Fitaihi? This past week, ISB spokesman Bilal Kaleem told the Phoenix that Fitaihi’s reinstatement was a matter of timing: “He resigned in the thick of the ISB’s legal difficulties; being abroad, far away, he wasn’t the right person to help us through that. . . . Now the ISB is in a different phase.”

Later, as the interview wrapped up, Kaleem asked about the gist of this story. I explained that I wanted to report on Fitaihi’s reinstatement, but also to ask a question: had the threat of litigation changed the way the Boston media covered the ISB?

“I hope so,” he said.