Largest mosque in the US raises concerns about radical Islam

Boston, Mass., Nov 23, 2004 / 22:00 pm

An already underway $22 million project in Boston to build what will be the largest mosque in the US is under fire. The Islamic Society of Boston, who have commissioned the project, have been linked with ties to Islamic radicalism, though it insists that it does not tolerate muslim extremism, reports CBN News.

CBN News report that the “connections go right to the foundation of this mosque and the Islamic Society of Boston (ISB).”

They point out that the founder of the ISB, Abdurahman Alamoudi, is in federal prison after pleading guilty to involvement in an assassination plot on the Saudi crown prince that was planned by Libyan leader Moammar Ghadafi. The ISB, however, notes that it hasn’t had any relationship with Alamoudi for several years.

Dr. Yusef al-Qaradawi has also been listed as one of the ISB’s directors in the past, and ISB claims he is a respected Muslim scholar. This claim, however, flies in the face of evidence that he has praised Palestinian suicide bombers and urged Iraqi Muslims to kill American soldiers.

Qaradawi, who in 1995 told his followers, "We will conquer Europe, we will conquer America!" was almost barred from entering the UK. British Prime Minister Tony Blair, referring to him in July this year said that “we want nothing to do with people who support suicide bombers in Palestine or elsewhere, or support terrorism.”

Boston College professor Dennis Hale, who heads Citizens for Peace and Tolerance, a group that wants the Islamic Society of Boston to come clean about its ties to radical Islam, calls the ISB “a smokescreen.”

"This is a mosque that combines Wahabbi theology, Muslim Brotherhood politics and lots of money, and that's a very dangerous combination. Everywhere in the world where that's been found, bad things happened," said Hale.

Osama Kandil, a trustee of the society, has been linked by the government to two charitable groups, Taibah International Aid Association and SAFA, which act as fronts to raise money for terrorist activity

Terrorism expert Stephen Scwartz points out that Taibah had been shut down by the Bosnian government after 9/11 because of it’s terrorist activity. “The SAFA group,” he said, “is a group that operates in the United States… and is essentially a financial conspiracy to support extremist activity all over the world.”

An affidavit unsealed in federal court in Virginia last year said financial activity by the Safa Group "evidences a conspiracy. . .to route money through hidden paths to terrorists and to defraud the United States," he said.

The bulk of the money for the new mosque, reports CBN News,  has come from private individuals in Saudi Arabia, a cause for serious concern according to most international terrorism experts.

The mayor’s office and The Boston Globe newspaper, says CBN, have ignored any concern about the mosque, who bought the plot of land from the City of Boston for only a quarter of its actual value.

Real estate developer Steve Cohen, a member of Peace and Tolerance said of the sale that “so many citizens are asking the question, why does this mosque, which is preaching such abhorrent views, and has access to millions of dollars raised in Saudi Arabia, why is this mosque being subsidized by the city of Boston?”