Solomonia Archive: A lawsuit without merit

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Jeff Jacoby writes about the now-defunct Islamic Society of Boston lawsuit in his column today: A lawsuit without merit:

ON MAY 29, the Islamic Society of Boston folded its cards. It abandoned the sweeping defamation lawsuit it had filed in 2005 against 17 defendants -- journalists, scholars, activist groups, and others who had expressed concerns about the Islamic Society's leaders, some of whom had ties to jihadist extremism, and about the land the city of Boston sold it at a cut-rate price in order to build a mosque.

The complaint had accused the defendants of despicable behavior -- lying about the Islamic Society, vilifying innocent people, conspiring to deprive Boston-area Muslims of their civil rights. If even some of the charges were true, the defendants deserved to face harsh legal penalties and be shunned by the entire community. Instead, the Islamic Society dropped its suit without collecting a penny. Why?

Because the charges were false, that's why. And pretrial discovery -- the evidence being gathered through subpoenas and depositions -- was proving it...

Indeed, as those who read either my original piece The Silencing, or my more recent interview with lead attorney Jeff Robbins will be well aware of.

Last Wednesday evening, The David Project had a public event, their first since the conclusion of the suit, at which TDP head Charles Jacobs, Attorney Jeff Robbins, and Citizens for Peace and Tolerance board member Sheik Ahmed Mansour gave presentations. The Forward was there, and has what starts as a somewhat aggravating piece that sounds as though it was written by someone not completely sure of the facts -- too many uses of words like "alleged" and "accused" when referring to facts well-established, such as the massive funding the new Boston Mosque has received from Saudi Arabia. It recovers somewhat by correctly noting what has been established, such as:

...The lawsuit did not turn out well for the mosque. In the process of discovery, documents were released that suggested at least $7.2 million was wired to the society from Middle Eastern sources, mostly in Saudi Arabia.

It also came out that a society leader, Abdurahman Alamoudi, pled guilty to a 2003 indictment for his role in a terrorism financing scheme and is serving a 23-year prison term...

Well, that didn't exactly come out as a result of the suit, but it sure got some extra publicity. The article also portrays the opposition as coming from "pro-Israel" groups, while Citizens for Peace and Tolerance is headed by a Jew, an Episcopalian and a Muslim. The article:

Despite the millions that have been spent on legal bills, the Islamic Society has managed to finish the mosque and is holding an opening ceremony June 29. In an effort toward reconciliation, 10 Boston rabbis planned to attend the ceremony, where a tree of peace was to be planted.

We will be interested in the list of Rabbis who attend the opening of this Wahhabi mosque.

Miss Kelly was at the event and has a report here (awfully interesting comment "thread" there, btw). And new blog on the scene, Boston's Patriots was there, and has their report here. As always, the blogs make the best reading.

Posted by Solomon at 6:46 PM on Wednesday, Jun 27, 2007 | Comments (3)
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3 Comments

#1 Flipside | June 27, 2007 7:50 PM

Since you are interested coverage of the event by all who attended, here is my own.

http://www.contextflexed.com/storydavidproject.html

#2 Solomon | June 27, 2007 8:38 PM

Unique perspective!

#3 Joachim Martillo | June 29, 2007 2:49 AM

http://eaazi.blogspot.com/2007/06/open-letter-to-boston-globe-lawsuit.html

Open letter to the Boston Globe: A Lawsuit without Merit

Once Again Jeff Jacoby Regurgitates David Project Talking Points

Dear Editor,

If the complaint of the Islamic Society of Boston (ISB) against Fox, the Boston Herald, the David Project and other defendants really had no merit as Jacoby asserts in "A Lawsuit without Merit" (The Boston Globe, June 27, 2007, http://tinyurl.com/33wogs), Justice Janet L. Sanders would not have ruled on September 25, 2006 that the ISB could continue its suit despite the defendants' motion for dismissal under the Massachusetts anti-SLAPP statute.

If the defendants, who were extremely well-funded and who had a much more expensive legal team than the ISB, were really so confident of victory and of their righteousness, David Project supporters could have paid for Policastro to appeal the dismissal of his lawsuit against the Boston Redevelopment Authority, and the ISB would not have withdrawn its complaint.

If Jacoby's analysis is credible, the defendants would have won, claimed all costs, broken the ISB, and stopped the construction of the Roxbury Mosque forever. The David Project and its allies would have achieved their goal as explicitly described in the discovery materials that were turned over to the ISB,

By Jacoby's logic, did the defendants not have an ethical obligation to follow such a strategy to prevent alleged "radical extremist Islam" from establishing a major foothold in Boston?

The mosque is on target for completion by Ramadan, which starts in September, and a large part of the Jewish community supports the ISB. Whatever senseless noise the Islamophobes continue to make, they lost while the ISB and the greater Boston community won.

Sincerely yours,

Joachim Martillo