Financing jihad: did he or didn’t he?

Letters to the Editor
WashingtonTimes.com | October 18, 2006

“Those who cannot remember the past,” as George Santayana taught us, “are condemned to repeat it.” Likewise, when governments seek to rewrite history, citizens and non-citizens alike are exposed to the dangers that accompany official revisionism. A recent opinion column in this newspaper demonstrates these lessons all too clearly. The United States Department of Justice has indicted a Boston businessman, Emadeddin Z. Muntasser, our client, for his involvement in the 1980s and early 90s in a Boston-based Muslim charity that, the indictment alleges, was involved in supporting Afghan mujahideen engaged in pursuing jihad. Rachel Ehrenfeld and Alyssa A. Lappen (“Jihadists and Jews,” Op-Ed, Monday) would have readers of this newspaper believe that in asking the federal court in Massachusetts to dismiss this indictment on constitutional grounds, we are seeking to establish that the First Amendment’s speech and religion protections apply to what the authors term “a now-defunct Boston-based al Qaeda front organization” that engages in support of a terrorist organization that advances “holy war against the United States.” Continue reading “Financing jihad: did he or didn’t he?” →

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Jihadists and Jews

By Rachel Ehrenfeld and Alyssa A. Lappen
Washington Times | October 16, 2006

Democratic strategist and former Michael Dukakis campaign manager Susan Estrich, and the former American Civil Liberties Union president in Massachusetts, Harvey Silvergate, recently joined the attorneys representing two alleged Boston al Qaeda funders.

Emadeddin Z. Muntasser and Muhammed Mubayyid face charges in U.S. District Court of Massachusetts for the soliciting and expenditure “of funds to support and promote the mujahideen and jihad, including the distribution of pro-jihad publications.” Their Care International “charity,” a now-defunct Boston-based al Qaeda front organization, published, among other things, the English version by al Qaeda co-founder Abdullah Azzam of “Join the Caravan,” which states: “[t]he obligation of Jihad today remains [individually required] until the last piece of land, which was in the hand of the Muslims, but has been occupied by disbelievers, is liberated.”

In their Oct. 5 request for a dismissal, the defendants effectively — and unwittingly — explain all the reasons why the federal government should outlaw Islamic charitable giving in the United States.

In their motion, attorneys Mrs. Estrich, Malick Ghachem, Norman Zalkind and Elizabeth Lunt, argue that the defendants merely exercised their religious freedom and obligation to give “zakat” (Islamic charity).

Their motion cites Chapter 9, verse 60 of the Koran, which describes “those entitled to receive zakat.” According to the definition of zakat in The Encyclopedia of Islam, “category 7” of eligible recipients are “volunteers engaged in jihad” for whom the zakat cover “living expenses and the expenses of their military service (animals, weapons).” Continue reading “Jihadists and Jews” →

Why Tariq Ramadan lost

By Rachel Ehrenfeld and Alyssa A. Lappen
Washington Times | Oct. 11, 2006

Tariq Ramadan’s latest attempt to legally obtain a visa to the United States was denied on Sept. 24. This was not the first time that Mr. Ramadan — an Egyptian-born, Swiss citizen and the grandson of Muslim Brotherhood founder Hasan al-Banna — was barred from the United States On July 28, 2004, the Department of Homeland Security revoked Mr. Ramadan’s visa under the Immigration and Nationality Act. In that instance, while no specifics were given, Mr. Ramadan’s activities — lectures and writings in support of the Islamist agenda — were presumed the obvious cause.

According to State Department spokeswoman Janelle Hironimus, Mr. Ramadan’s latest application for a visa was denied “based solely on his actions, which constituted providing material support to a terrorist organization.” However, Mr. Ramadan, an Oxford University fellow, claims that his contributions of $940 between 1998-2002 to the French-based Hamas front “Committee for Palestinian Charity and Aid” were legal, because the United States listed it as “Specially Designated Global Terrorists” only in 2003. Nevertheless, the Palestinian charity (and its 17 aliases) at the same Lille, Lyon and Paris addresses, had already been publicly identified and designated by Israel as a Hamas front organization in May 1997.

Indeed, Mr. Ramadan reiterated his commitment to Hamas saying: “If the price to pay for this commitment is to never to tread upon American soil, I am ready to pay that without the slightest hesitation.” Continue reading “Why Tariq Ramadan lost” →

The Eurabia Code, Part 2: A Planned Sell-Out by the EU

The Brussels Journal | From the desk of Fjordman | Thu, 2006-10-05 14:33

MEDEA (the European Institute for Research on Mediterranean and Euro-Arab Cooperation), supported by the European Commission, is one of the key components of the Euro-Arab dialogue. On its own webpage, it states that:
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“The Euro-Arab Dialogue as a forum shared by the European Community and the League of Arab States arose out of a French initiative and was launched at the European Council in Copenhagen in December 1973, shortly after the “October War” and the oil embargo. As the Europeans saw it, it was to be a forum to discuss economic affairs, whereas the Arab side saw it rather as one to discuss political affairs.

MEDEA Institute wishes to be a resource and a reference point for people wanting to engage in the Euro-Mediterranean dialogue. Via its meetings and talks the Institute seeks to create exchanges between political, economic, and diplomatic players, experts, journalists, academics and others.”

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As Bat Ye’or points out, while most of the workings of Eurabia are hidden from the public view, sometimes we can catch glimpses of it if we know what to look for. If you search the archives of the MEDEA website and other sources and read the documents carefully, the information is there. Even more material exists on paper, both in French and in English. I argue, as does Bat Ye’or, that there are sufficient amounts of information available to validate the thesis of Eurabia. Continue reading “The Eurabia Code, Part 2: A Planned Sell-Out by the EU” →

England’s chilling forecast: the case for granting declaratory relief to prevent English default actions from chilling American speech

By Raymond W. Beauchamp
Fordham Law Review | 2006 Vol. 74

Notes:
9: Alyssa A. Lappen, Libel Wars, FrontPagMag.com, July 18, 2005
29: Lappen supra note 9
37: see Lappen supra note 9

Iraq’s Role in Terrorism

By Alyssa A. Lappen
AmericanThinker.com | September 23, 2006

Even as the U.S. faces Iran, it’s too soon to abandon Iraq

Review of Death to America: The Unreported Battle of Iraq by Ryan Mauro, (PublishAmerica, Sept. 12, 2005), 313 pp., $24.95.

Just after the fifth anniversary of Sept. 11–and two months from a critical mid-term election–even President George W. Bush is trying to separate himself (and incumbent Republicans) from a key incentive for invading Iraq. In 2002 and 2003, ‘we thought [Saddam Hussein] had weapons of mass destruction,’ the President stated in an August 21 White House press conference.

‘It turns out he didn’t, but he had the capacity to make weapons of mass destruction.’

Asked what role Iraq played in the attack on America, while implying that it belonged to the global terror network, the President said, ‘Nothing.’ But in October 2002, strong evidence suggested such a link might exist.

According to Ryan Mauro’s fascinating book, Death to America, documents, testimony and site inspections have since uncovered ties between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda. The evidence confirms Iraq’s pre-war possession of weapons of mass destruction–and their components or building blocks. And recent evidence, Mauro writes, even suggests that Hussein may have helped to fund or plan the September 11 attacks after all. In any case, Hussein’s Iraq was certainly involved in previous attacks on the U.S., Mauro contends. Continue reading “Iraq’s Role in Terrorism” →