EFL
Adurahman Alamoudi, the avowedly pro-Hamas, pro-Hezbollah Muslim activist, is back playing a formal role at the American Muslim Council, which had disavowed ties to its former executive director while its officials were off meeting with FBI Director Robert Mueller.
| Guess the meeting's over now, huh? |
At a rally in 2000, Mr. Alamoudi declared outside the White House, "We are all supporters of Hamas. Allahu Akhbar. I wish to add that I am also a supporter of Hezbollah," according to numerous broadcast and press accounts of the rally. Mr. Mueller spoke at the AMC’s annual conference last summer. At the time, the Washington Times reported that Mohammed Ali Khan, chairman of the council, said Mr. Alamoudi "is no longer part of the council and the only Hamas I know is a Middle Eastern restaurant."
| Ho ho! He's so witty. He also lies through his teeth... |
Jewish groups and terrorism experts said Mr. Alamoudi’s reemergence is a sign that the AMC has abandoned its former pretenses that it does not support terrorist groups. "I don’t think they have turned over a new leaf, if they have Alamoudi chairing their Imam Conference," the director of the American Jewish Committee’s Middle East and International terrorism division, Yehudit Barsky, said.
| Guess they just got tired of keeping up the pretense... |
"It’s mind-boggling, isn’t it?" asked the president of the Zionist Organization of America, Morton Klein. "It shows that the AMC is an organization that is unrepentant in its support of those who support terrorism."
| And this comes as a surprise? |
Mr. Alamoudi has been serving as president of the American Muslim Foundation, a group connected to the American Muslim Council. A membership application for the American Muslim Council instructs applicants to make any securities donations to the American Muslim Foundation. Asked why Mr. Alamoudi was serving as a conference chairman for the American Muslim Council, a spokesman for the council, Faiz Rehman, said, "He is?" He told a New York Sun reporter that he would return the Sun’s phone call in 15 minutes, then failed to do so. He did not answer subsequent calls, either at his cell phone number or at the council.
| I guess we can take that as a "yes." |
The 2000 comment wasn’t the only one by Mr. Alamoudi that raised objections. At a 1996 convention in Chicago, he said, "If we are outside this country, we can say, ‘Oh, Allah, destroy America,’" according to press accounts.
| You can say it inside the country, too. In 1996, people didn't take it seriously. This isn't 1996. |
A spokesman at the FBI, Bill Carter, would not say if the FBI would again meet with the AMC or if any future meetings were planned. "I am unaware of any change in our position," Mr. Carter said."The purpose of these meetings is to have an outreach into the Muslim community. We appeal to people to provide us with information about terrorist and criminal activity. The purpose is not to endorse anyone or say they are great people."
I'm hoping they are not as stupid at the FBI as they seem.
In February, the AMC put out a press release saying Mr. Mueller had invited the chairman of its board, Yahya Mossa Basha, to participate in a meeting of Muslim and Arab groups to discuss "the FBI response to terrorist threats and backlash hate crimes."
| Might as well go to the source, I guess... |
The AMC Web site features a letter attributed to Mr. Alamoudi and addressed to "Dear brother Imams and Religious Leaders." Originally, Mr. Alamoudi wrote, the Imam Conference was to be held bi-annually. But the "rapidly changing national scene, an anti-Muslim climate, war in Iraq and the overall conditions in the American Muslim community" necessitated a meeting this year as well, he wrote. "The tragedies of the 9-11 have changed America forever and also created a depressing environment for the Muslims to live and follow their day-today routine. There is a dramatic increase in the anti-Muslim bias not just in the media but also in smaller communities across the US. This bias and a gross misunderstanding of Islam and Muslims have given rise to more serious hate crimes against Muslims. This is the time to act and get organized."
Oh, but we do understand, Mr. Alamoudi, we do. |