Wednesday, April 25, 2007
One thing about lawsuit discovery -- it works both ways. The Islamic Society of Boston has been busy subpoenaing its critics -- from individuals to major media outlets -- but in return, they've been able to look at the ISB's documents. Most recently that's led to the exposure of the fact that, contrary to the ISB's claims that the criticisms they were facing had caused them financial hardship, their fundraising was "robust" just months before filing suit.
Now it emerges that, contrary to the ISB's repeated claims that they have had no contact for decades with their jailed terrorist-supporting founder, Abdurahman Alamoudi, there is a canceled check for a speaking engagement on the part of Alamoudi on behalf of the Islamic Society of Boston from the year 2000, the same year Alamoudi was telling a Washington, D.C. audience:
Jeff Jacoby has the scoop on this latest revelation that ISB spokesperson Jessica Masse is refusing to address: New questions for the ISB. Here's the operative snip, but read the whole thing.
Another ISB attorney, Howard Cooper, told The Boston Globe in December 2005 that it was outrageous to link Alamoudi with his client. "This man has had absolutely no connection with the Islamic Society for 15 or 20 years, yet they try to tie the two together," he said. Cooper also says that only people with "an intolerant attitude toward Muslims" would be asking questions about Alamoudi's ties to the ISB.
Now comes apparent evidence of a November 2000 payment from the Islamic Society of Boston for a speaking engagement by Alamoudi. The cancelled check, made payable to Light Star Travel and signed by former ISB trustee Walid Fitaihi, includes a memo line reading "Travel for speaker Abdurahman Alamoudi -- 11/10/00 - 11/12/00." Light Star Travel is located in Falls Church, Va., where Alamoudi was a resident before going to prison. It is part of the "Safa Group" of Virginia-based businesses that federal agents suspect are involved in "providing material support to terrorists, money laundering, and tax evasion," according to an affidavit by Special Agent David Kane of the Homeland Security Department.
There may, of course, be an innocuous explanation for this payment. Or the Islamic Society of Boston may no longer stand by its claim to have had "absolutely no connection" with Alamoudi for many years. But when I asked ISB spokeswoman Jessica Masse about this and other questions that have surfaced in recent weeks, she replied to my surprise that such questions "do not reflect a position of unbiased fact finding," and would be answered only "by our lawyers in court."...
Update: It's not just the check that ties the ISB to Alamoudi more recently than twenty years ago. As recently as '03/'04, ISB Trustee Osama Kandil signed the "Free Abdurahman Alamoudi" petition, a petition that calls the terror-supporting Alamoudi, "our community leader." Which community? It sounds to me like reasonable questions about ties to extremists are being criminalized by the ISB's lawsuit. I've actually heard that they're now considering amending the suit to remove this part that they've been caught out on yet again. As the lawsuit unravels and backfires, who's paying for the ISB's false accusations of false accusations?
