Fed filing raises more doubts on TX Imam : Lone Star Times

Fed filing raises more doubts on TX Imam

by David Benzion · 06/05/2007 12:18 am

Court documents recently filed by federal prosecutors and reviewed by LoneStarTimes.com reveal a series of new and disturbing connections between a Dallas-area Imam invited to lead the Texas State Senate in prayer last April, and organizations and individuals the government believes are agents of radical Islamist terrorist groups.

As first highlighted yesterday by Josh Gerstein of the New York Sun [emphasis in bold added by LST]…

Federal prosecutors have named three prominent Islamic organizations in America as participants in an alleged criminal conspiracy to support a Palestinian Arab terrorist group, Hamas.

Prosecutors applied the label of “unindicted co-conspirator” to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the Islamic Society of North America, and the North American Islamic Trust in connection with a trial planned in Texas next month for five officials of a defunct charity, the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development.

… A court filing by the government last week listed the three prominent groups among about 300 individuals or entities named as co-conspirators. The document gave scant details, but prosecutors described CAIR as a present or past member of “the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood’s Palestine Committee and/or its organizations.” The government listed the Islamic Society of North America and the North American Islamic Trust as “entities who are and/or were members of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood.”

LoneStartimes.com has been able to establish that…

The Dallas-area Imam who led the Texas State Senate prayer–Yusuf Kavakci–sits on the board of directors of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA);
Kavakci is a confirmed principal speaker at a June 30th, 2007 conference in Dallas hosted by the ISNA;
Kavakci will prominently share the stage with a Jamal Badawi–a man identified in these same federal filings as an individual “who participated in fund-raising activities on behalf of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development” (the Hamas front-group whose members are set to soon go on trial);
In 2002 the Imam’s daughter, Merve Kavakci, spoke alongside and in praise (page 3 of pdf) of Palestinian Islamic Jihad agent Sami Al-Arian , who she asserted was then being “persecuted” by the US government.

Iman Kavakci previously made headlines in April 2007 when he led the Texas State Senate in its first Muslim prayer, despite concerns about his earlier…

Appearance at a conference in praise of Iranian Revolutionary cleric Ayatollah Khomeini;
Praise for an Islamist scholar who has advocated suicide bombing in Israel and exhorted followers to wage jihad against Jews;
Praise for an Islamist scholar who once provided sanctuary in Sudan for Osama bin Laden and instigated jihad against Sudanese Christians and animists;
Refusal to provide clear-cut answer in response to inquiries by reporters from the Dallas Morning News about these matters.

Questions that remain at the time of this article’s publication:

Does Imam Kavakci categorically deny being a member of the Muslim Brotherhood?
Will Imam Kavakci disassociate himself and his mosque from the ISNA?
Will Imam Kavakci refuse to participate in the conference set to take place later this month so long as Jamal Bawadi is a scheduled speaker?
Does Imam Kavakci share his daughter’s opinion that Palestinian Islamic Jihad agent Sami Al-Arian has been “persecuted” by the US government?
Will any mainstream media outlet insist that Imam Kavakci answer these questions (or any of the inquiries previously posed by the Dallas Morning News)?

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Comments

13 Responses to “Fed filing raises more doubts on TX Imam”

raiderdav on June 5th, 2007 at 12:44 am

Good post David - hopefully this topic will start to get some support from the main stream media around the state (but I’m not holding my breath).
David Benzion on June 5th, 2007 at 6:19 am

Thanks raiderdav; we shouldn’t hold our breath, but by the same token we shouldn’t just assume the MSM won’t. That would be letting them off the hook.

Everyone, let’s try to keep comments on this thread on-point, thoughtful, and non-inflammatory. These are serious issues that deserve sober consideration.

Thanks
duhmoose on June 5th, 2007 at 7:18 am

This is a hard topic to cover for the mainstream media. Reporting on this in a way that would raise awareness without inciting animosity against Muslims in general would be difficult. If the Senate decided it needed to have an Iman come and pray over the Senate, they should have vetted him better. It would have been nice for them to find a truly moderate Iman that could have brought some unity rather than division.
David Benzion on June 5th, 2007 at 8:23 am

#3 Duhmoose– Bingo. Moderate, mainstream Muslims are ill served by this sort of thing as well.

And they DO exist, btw… I know them personally.
Fasternu 426 on June 5th, 2007 at 8:27 am

If the MSM (moron saturated media) does anything at all, it will probably show that an islamophobic “witch hunt” is being carried out against the poor beleagured imam. The ones that invited him to speak should be called on the carpet! They’ll probably blame Dan Patrick.

Reverse the roles: If a white supremacist “preacher” were given the honor to lead the Senate in prayer, it would have been the most horrible thing that ever happened (as it should be!). However, only certain types of intolerance are tolerated.
Dov on June 5th, 2007 at 10:23 am

At least when he led the prayers he was surrounded by the Texas State Senate. As the Imam tries to pick us apart the Senate holds him in great esteem.

We need more Dan Patricks and less of the “politically correct” crowd.

Would the Imam be offended if we allowed a Rabbi to say the opening prayers ?
duhmoose on June 5th, 2007 at 10:27 am

If an Iman wants to prove to me that he is moderate, I would like him to invite a Rabbi to his mosque to hold a prayer service for peace in the Middle East. Personally, I think that would go a long way towards defusing some of the anti-Muslim feelings.
Shannon on June 5th, 2007 at 11:12 am

Questions that remain at the time of this article’s publication:

6. Who’s the Politically Correct moron (Dewhurst??) that suggested this guy should participate?
texpat on June 5th, 2007 at 12:14 pm

#7 Shannon

It was the Shapiro woman, a senator from Dallas, who nominated him for the job. She is an embarassment.
texpat on June 5th, 2007 at 12:18 pm

Great post, David. I would ask you and Matt to use some of your vast influence at the Chronicle to get a story published there about this subject, but the problem is they can’t be shamed into it because they have none.
texpat on June 5th, 2007 at 12:20 pm

Also, Josh Gerstein does a fabulous job at The New York Sun.
trl3 on June 5th, 2007 at 6:30 pm

Only a racist would question the credentials of a card carrying supporter of terrorism like this imam.
Wino on June 5th, 2007 at 11:49 pm

I wonder if the Austin Chronicle will apologize for their article denigrating Dan, now?

I’m not holding my breath.