Militant Islam Monitor > Articles > New Islamic Center Complex planned in Sunrise FL linked to Al Qaeda/Hamas & operatives Padilla, Shukrijumah, & Hassoun
New Islamic Center Complex planned in Sunrise FL linked to Al Qaeda/Hamas & operatives Padilla, Shukrijumah, & Hassoun
Sheik who urged Muslims to "kill Jews and American worshippers of the cross" visited school with Saudi embassy official in'02
August 26, 2004
Jose Padilla- Adnan Shukrijumah -Adham Hassoun - South Florida as Al Qaeda hub ...
MIM: The individuals mentioned in the article below are associated with the School for Islamic Studies in Broward and some hold prominent positions in the Florida Muslim community. The SISB and it also known as the Islamic Foundation of South Florida . The SISB was founded by Mohammed Javed Qureshi, the man who hired Jose Padilla and his wife to work at his Taco Bell, and was instrumental in helping them convert to Islam. Adhan Hassoun, now in jail for his role in fundraising for the Al Qaeda 'charity' front Benevolence International Foundation, was said to have frequented the mosque at the SISB and to have befriended Padilla there . Hassoun is cited as the 'friend' who arranged with Padilla to go overseas where he studied bomb making in a terrorist training camp.
The co founder and ex principal of the school Zulfiqar Ali Shah,was the president of the Islamic Circle of North America and is presently the CEO of the Kissimee based Universal Heritage Foundation, which is backed by two militant Islamist organisations which promote the implementation of an Islamic state by Jihad . The Islamic Society of North America and the Muslim American Society two of the largest Islamist organistions in the United States .
Those associated with the project can also expect help from the Saudis . In 2002 the head cleric from Mecca, Sheik Abdur Rahman Al Sudais, was feted by the school and the South Florida Muslim community. An account of his visit can be seen below .
The Islamic School of Broward was also cited as a meeting place for Adham Hassoun and dirty bomber wanabee Jose Padilla . Hassoun is in jail of terrorism charges and started the Florida branch of the Benevolence International Foundation, an Al Qaeda 'charity' funding front which was located across the street from Qureshi's Taco Bell.
Besides hiring Padilla, the SISB cofounder Mohammed Javed Qureshi was also friends with the father of Imran Mandhai father whose son is in jail on charges of plotting together with Shuyeb Moessa Jokhan to blow up FPL power plants and Jewish businesses in Florida, Padilla, Mandhai and Jokhan have all been linked to Adhan Shukrijumah, who was dubbed 'Mohammed Atta's' sucessor by law enforcement who are launching a world wide manhunt to find him in the belief that he is planning a major terrorist strike against the United States.
Note that the Zahid Qureshi quoted in the article below is also mentioned in the article about Saudi cleric Al Sudais's visit to South Florida and Qureshi is named as being from the School of Islamic Studies in Broward.
For related articles see
"South Florida Trail of Terror"
"Maulana Shafayat Mohammed : President of Hollywood Interfaith Council embraces Bin Laden buddy"
"The Taco Bellnality of Evil - Mohammed Javed Qureshi and local Muslims lie about their roles in Padillas conversion
"Florida Islamic Conference Outed as Jihad- fest"
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SUNRISE OK'S HUGE ISLAMIC COMPLEX
Jennifer Rivera-Lyles, Miami Herald, 8/25/04
http://web.archive.org/web/20010809202659/http://web.archive.org/web/20010809202659/http://web.archive.org/web/20010809202659/http://web.archive.org/web/20010809202659/http://web.archive.org/web/20010809202659/http://65.54.168.250/cgi-bin/linkrd?_lang=EN&lah=0ef0439c351af26393f7ae1c898d5ba3&lat=1093524057&hm___action=http%3a%2f%2fwww%2emiami%2ecom%2fmld%2fmiamiherald%2fnews%2flocal%2fstates%2fflorida%2fcounties%2fbroward_county%2f9486646%2ehtm
A group of South Florida Muslims is planning to build a new Islamic center in western Sunrise, complete with a mosque, a day care, a K-12 school and a cafeteria.
Islamic leaders say the center will be the largest of its kind in South Florida, and that it is needed to serve a growing Muslim population here.
The center needed permission from the Sunrise City Commission to build on the southwest corner of Northwest 55th Street and 108th Avenue. That's because the site -- within the Sunrise Commerce Park -- is in an industrial district. The commission granted the exception Tuesday night without discussion.
The project will include 70,000 square feet of buildings on 11 1/2 acres. Construction could begin early next year, said Dr. Zahid Qureshi, one of the center's founders.
The Islamic center has had a presence in Sunrise since 1991, Qureshi said, when it opened a school on Northwest 103rd Avenue.
Since then, the 150-student school has had to turn away many prospective students, because of a lack of space.
About 50,000 Muslims now live in South Florida, said Altaf Ali, a local representative of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a nonprofit group based in Washington, D.C.
The growing Islamic population is also the reason for a growing number of Islamic centers, Ali said.
"Ten years ago we only had two in the entire tri-county area," he said. "Today we have 11."
The Sunrise school would accommodate almost 500 children.
Islamic centers are places of worship. Some include schools, and some offer social services to the community. Qureshi stressed they are not madrassas, traditional religious schools.
"We teach the same subjects as any other school", he said. "In fact, we have Christian and Jewish teachers. The religious portion is only 30-45 minutes a day."
Qureshi conceded that raising funds has not been easy. He said the project is expected to cost $7 million to $8 million...
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Islamic School Mosque Gets Approval
August 25, 2004
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Plans for a mosque and Islamic private school in Sunrise that could teach up to 486 children and teens won unanimous approval from the Sunrise City Commission on Tuesday evening.
The proposed School of Islamic Studies will be in the city's industrial park.
Officials with the proposed school originally asked city officials for permission to go ahead with their plans in May 2000. However, their site plan expired, and they requested a renewal and an expansion to their existing plans this week.
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Warm Send off for Imam Ha'Kaba
Pictures of Islamic School school groundbreaking with Shah and Ikrima Sabri in 2002
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MIM: Note that Mohamamed Javed( Qureshi) who is quoted in the article below was Jose Padilla's employer at Taco Bell.He often uses only his first two names, Mohammed Javed and occassionally goes by the name Mohammed Qureshi.
Qureshi and his wife befriended the Padilla's and assisted their conversion to Islam. After Padilla's arrest for plotting to detonate a dirty bomb, Qureshi denied having helped Padilla's conversion. In 2004 he abruptly changed his story and said that Padilla and his wife Cherie Stultz, had been guests in their home. Three months ago law enforcement revealed that Padilla and Adnan Shukrijumah had met in Pakistan and were planning to come to the US to scout for targets for a terrorist attack together. According to US security officials both Padilla and Shukrijumah may have met in South Florida and were being instructed in the use of explosives at a Jihad camp in Pakistan. A personality clash between the two preempted their terrorist partnership.
New Mosque Faces Funding Hurtles
Writer Jeremy Milarsky
August 26, 2004
SUNRISE · The easy part ended this week, when city commissioners approved plans for a 53,000-square-foot Islamic school and mosque -- one of the largest in South Florida -- during a public meeting.
Now, the hard part comes: paying for it.
Dr. Zahid H. Qureshi of Coral Springs is leading a project to build a regional school and mosque on the southwest corner of Northwest 108th Avenue and 55th Street, in Sunrise's industrial park. The four-building complex would include a mosque, a day-care center, a full-time private school for all grade levels and a cafeteria.
At its peak capacity, the finished school would be able to serve 486 students.
There are about 11 major mosques in Broward, Palm Beach, and Miami-Dade counties, said Altaf Ali, executive director of the Florida chapter of the Council for American-Islamic Relations.
But so far, school officials don't have enough money to complete the first building, which will be about 12,000 square feet. They still need to raise about $1.2 million. The project's total cost will be more than $7 million.
It may not be easy to raise that much money. Since 9-11, Muslim community leaders have complained to politicians and the media about federal anti-terrorism investigations confounding their fund-raising efforts.
"I think it has become more challenging since [9-11], given the fact that how many Muslim organizations have been shut down," Ali said. "It has discouraged a lot of people from giving money to a [Muslim] charitable organization."
Qureshi is president of the School of Islamic Studies, which has a campus in Sunrise on Northwest 103rd Avenue. He recently purchased the 10-acre site on Northwest 108th Avenue for the school.
School officials successfully applied for a site plan for the school in May 2000. But the fund-raising effort fell short and approval for the site plan expired, according to city records.
With the Muslim population in South Florida growing -- an estimated 75,000 to 90,000 live in the region, according to religious leaders -- school officials hope to open the first building next year.
"People want to see something before they give more money," Qureshi said.
Qureshi, his wife, Samini, and Mohammad Javed co-founded the school in 1989, after a group of fellow Muslims met in the Qureshis' home and donated $5,000 for a weekend Muslim school.
Students attended classes in various public schools and other rented spaces for two years until the group was able to move into the building on Northwest 103rd Avenue.
"People thought, maybe we should have our own school, like everyone else," Javed said.
Although the school features religious education, most of the classes are secular, Javed said. Teachers are Muslim, Christian and Jewish.
Jeremy Milarsky can be reached at [email protected] or by calling 954-572-2020.
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Warm Send off for Imam Ha Ka'ba
Tasneem Khan
The visiting Imam Ka'aba, Sheikh Abdur Rehman As-Sudais was accorded a warm send off at the Miami International Airport by a group of local Muslim leaders at the conclusion of his five day visit to South Florida.
Among those present at the MIA to see off the honorable guest, included ICNA Amir Dr Zulfiqar Shah, Engineer Tasnimuddin of Islamic School of Miami, Dr Zahid Qureshi of School of Islamic Studies at Broward and Engineer Mohammad Irshad.
The Imam, accompanied by an official of the Royal Saudi Embassy in Washignton DC, had come to Miami last Sunday at the invitation of the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) after attending its annual Convention in Ohio, besides leading Isha'a prayers at the Masjid Miami Gardens Drive and at the Broward Islamic School in Fort Lauderdale, had also addressed a large gathering of Muslims at the Hotel Inter Continental in Miami.
During his speech, the Imam called upon the Muslims to learn Arabic since it was the language of The Holy Quran and elaborated that one could only fully understand and act accordingly if aware of the language.
Before the two thousand plus Muslim gathering of its kind in South Florida, Sheikh Abdur Rehman As-Sudais, who also had led the Maghrib and Isha'a prayers at the Grand Ball Room of the down town hotel, called upon the Muslims to get united and keep their Islamic identity above everything. He said we should be proud of being a Muslim and such let the world know that we were the followers of the greatest religion. He said its about time we leave
our pity differences behind and work collectively for the greater cause of one Muslim Ummah.
Imam Ka'aba said he was very much impressed to learn the great work various organizations and individuals were doing in propagation of Islam in this part of the world and called upon the Muslims to lend their fullest support in this noble cause.
He said the Muslims today had lost their pride due to the fact that they were not following the teachings of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and were more involved in the wordly affairs and selfishness. He said the Ummah had plenty of resources but could not avail them due to various divisions within their ranks and files. Imam Ka'aba was of the view that if we practiced Islam as per teachings of the Prophet Mohammad, we would once again become world leaders. He said he had brought the message of love, happiness and brotherhood from the people of Mecca. Sheikh Sudais speech in Arabic was translated by Dr Zulfiqar Ali Shah, Amir of ICNA , who also gave a brief introduction of his organization
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MIM: Al Sudais is technically a Saudi government employee, which explains why he appeared with an official of the Saudi Embassy when he visited the School for Islamic Studies in Broward.Obviously the Saudis have a vested interest in financing Islamic projects to aid in propagating Islam which enable the Muslim community to gain greater footholds in the US. According to Kenneth Timmerman, author of the book "Preachers of Hate ":
"It is not well-known in the West that these clerics are, in fact, employees of the state. No one can ascend the minaret of the Great Mosque in Mecca, as Sheikh Abdelaziz al-Sudais does regularly, without the sanction of the king. After the latest terror attack in Saudi Arabia, al-Sudais was widely quoted for having declared that the perpetrators were "un-Islamic" because their victims included Arabs and Muslims. Just one year earlier, however, he was on Saudi state television, where he called on the faithful to murder Jews and American "worshippers of the Cross."
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Ground Breaking Of Islamic Foundation Building
Tasneem Khan
Apr 30 (PNS) - The ground breaking ceremony of the Islamic Foundation of South Florida (IFSF), formerly the School of Islamic Studies at Broward (SISB), would be held on Sunday, May 11 at the City of Sunrise in Broward County.
According to the program, a family picnic from 12 noon has also been arranged at the permanent site of the Foundation located at 5457 Northwest 108th Avenue in the city of Sunrise, followed by the series of lectures by prominent Muslim community notables with the ground breaking taking place at 4 PM.
Among the prominent speakers to address the gathering were Shaikh Hasan Sabri, Shaikh Ibrahim Dermeli, Shaikh Rafiq Mahdi and Hafiz Tasnimuddin. Besides local area Muslim leaders would also address.
Meanwhile, Waseem Quadri, PE, himself a known community activist and Chairman of the Construction Committee told me that the Foundation, sometimes back had purchased an 11.2 Acres piece of land near the Sawgrass Expressway in Broward County and the first phase of the construction would start immediately after the ground breaking. He said the first phase alone would cost nearly 1.9 million dollars and if everything progressed according to the schedule, it would be completed within eleven months.
He said, according to the plan, the first phase would include a multipurpose building with nearly 12750 square footage of space for 14 class rooms, a large prayer hall, ample parking facilities and a playing field for the school.
Wasim Quadri, who was also the Senior Vice President of the All State Engineering and Testing Consultants (ASETC), said it was a huge undertaking by the Foundation and could not be completed without the support of the community. He appealed to all Muslims to get involved since according to him, the construction of a permanent building was the need of the hour and it would serve the entire community.
The Physicians couple of Zahid and Samina Qureshi were the driving force behind the Foundation along with dozens of other enthusiastic volunteers from different countries.
A fund raising dinner has also been planned for the following week on Saturday, May 17 at the Signature Grand Hotel at 6 PM with prominent scholars Dr Jamal Badawi and Imam Zaid Shakir being the guest speakers. They would discuss the issue of "Muslims at the Crossroad."
The End.
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ICBR Imam Ibrahim Dremali in his role as geologist and sedimentologist at Coastal Planning Inc. http://web.archive.org/web/20010809202659/http://web.archive.org/web/20010809202659/http://web.archive.org/web/20010809202659/http://web.archive.org/web/20010809202659/http://web.archive.org/web/20010809202659/http://www.coastalplanning.net/Geotech/Team/Ibrahim.html
MIM:Note that the Sala Tawfik School will be merging with the Garden of the Sahaba School of the Islamic Center of Boca Raton . The Imam of the Islamic Center of Boca Raton, Ibrahim Dremali, was present at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Sala Tawfik School. (His name is mispelled in the article above as 'Dermeli'
The Imam of Al Aqsa is also known as Ekrima (Ikrima) Sabri who has the position of the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem'.
Ekrima Sabri, (pictured below ) was personally appointed by Arafat to his position as Grand Mufti of Jerusalem . For more on Sabri, Arafat, and the previous Grand Mufti's ties to Hitler in WWII
"Arafat's Willing Executioners- The Islamo facists behind the Endlosungfada"
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School Announcement:
Dear parents, Students and Islamic Community at large, Assalaamualaikum.
It is with overwhleming gratitude to Allahg (SWT) that we inform you of the blessed merger between Garden of the Sahaba Academy (GSA) and Salah Tawfiq Elemntary-Middle School (STEMS). INshallah, both campuses will commence August 16th, 2004. Both campuses will operate at their present location. There will be transportation available to both campuses based on registartion numbers.
Survey Form:
http://web.archive.org/web/20010809202659/http://web.archive.org/web/20010809202659/http://web.archive.org/web/20010809202659/http://web.archive.org/web/20010809202659/http://web.archive.org/web/20010809202659/http://www.icbr.org/school.htm
Click here for the latest information on the school merger between STEMS and GSA.
GSA & STEMS Open House:
Inshallah their will be an open house on August 13, 2004 from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM at both school campuses in Boca Raton and in Broward:
Garden of the Sahaba Academy
3100 NW 5th Avenue
Boca Raton, FL 33431
(tel) 561-395-3011
(fax) 561-395-3029
Salah Tawfik Elementary-Middle School
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Imam Masjid Al Aqsa Visits SISB
Endorses his support to the Project
Sunrise, FLorida -- Respectable Imam of Masjid Al Aqsa visited South Florida and during his visit he endorsed his support to the underway project of building Sala Tawfik Elementary School. The respectable Imam delivered jumma Qutba at Signature Grand Hotel in Davie, FL. The Imam then visited the under-construction site of Sala Tawfik School.
The School will provide the local community to educate their children according to Quran and Sunnah.
Zulfiqar Ali Shah and " Grand Mufti of Al Aqsa " Ekrima Sabri at groundbreaking for the new School for Islamic Studies in Broward 2003
Islamic Foundation of South Florida
4050 NW 103rd Avenue, Sunrise, FL 33351
Tel: 954-741-8130
FAX: 954-741-8130
Internet: [email protected]
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Ekrima Sabri's views on Jihad , child suicide bombers and interfaith relations:
http://web.archive.org/web/20010809202659/http://web.archive.org/web/20010809202659/http://web.archive.org/web/20010809202659/http://web.archive.org/web/20010809202659/http://web.archive.org/web/20010809202659/http://home.swipnet.se/tidens-tecken/isrsabri.htm
Question: "What do you feel when you pray [for the souls of the martyrs?"
Sabri: "I feel the martyr is lucky because the angels usher him to his wedding in heaven. I feel the earth moves under the occupiers' feet."
Question: "Is it different when the martyr is a child?"
Sabri: "Yes, it is. It's hard to express it in words. There is no doubt that a child [martyr] suggests that the new generation will carry on the mission with determination. The younger the martyr - the greater and the more I respect him. One wrote his name on a note before he died. He wrote: 'the martyr so and so.' In every martyr's pocket we find a note with his name on it. He sentences himself to martyrdom even before he becomes a martyr."
Question: "How do you feel about the Jews?"
Sabri: "I enter the mosque of Al-Aqsa with my head up and at the same time I am filled with rage toward the Jews. I have never greeted a Jew when I came near one. I never will.
For more on Imam Ekrima Sabri pictured above click on:
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MIM: The Assalem Center in Boca Raton also broke new ground this year.
The head of the Assalem Center is FAU professor Imad Maghoub .
In The Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Preparing our Muslim Children and Youth to become Model Citizens
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
We are very happy to inform you that by the grace of Allah, Assalam Center has obtained the building permit from the city of Boca Raton, and have started the work on the land. All of this would not have been possible without the blessings and help of Allah and your continuous support. We all lived this beautiful dream for several years and it is time that we all work sincerely together as hard as we can to make it a reality. Our muslim children always deserve the best.
Click on the picture below to see it full scale.
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You can also go to Assalam Center Project Milestones, for a more details chronological listing.
Please send your generous contributions to support this noble cause. May Allah reward you all and protect your families.
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| Mosques on the move |
| Islamic Center relocates to temporary site; Assalam breaks ground for new facility http://web.archive.org/web/20010809202659/http://web.archive.org/web/20010809202659/http://web.archive.org/web/20010809202659/http://web.archive.org/web/20010809202659/http://web.archive.org/web/20010809202659/http://www.bocaratonnews.com/index.php?src=news&prid=8660&category=LOCAL%20NEWS |
| Published Wednesday, June 16, 2004 |
| Dale M. King/Staff Photo Innovative Group, a Broward County design firm, is working on both mosque projects in Boca Raton. This photo shows the property at 1499 NW Fourth Ave. where the Assalam Center plans to construct a 10,199-square-foot build |
Activity has been pretty constant in and around the former Clerisy Academy building on NW Fifth Avenue in Boca Raton.
That's a little unusual, since the place went bankrupt more than a year ago.
The one-time school for the gifted is now the site of the Islamic Center of Boca Raton, which purchased the building and moved its mosque from a barely visible storefront in a shopping plaza on NW 20th Street to the newer building.
The school is still considered a temporary site for the ICBR as it continues its quest to construct a 24,685-square-foot domed facility that will be the mosque's new permanent home.
The Islamic Center had already owned the 3.3-acre lot at the corner of NW Fifth Avenue and NW 35th Street when the school folded, said ICBR spokesman Dr. Dan McBride.
"We got a call from another school that wanted to buy Clerisy and our land as well," he said. "We didn't want to sell, so they pulled out."
In turn, the ICBR bought the former school site – which "essentially doubles the property we are on," McBride said.
The name of the school has been changed to the Garden of the Sahaba Academy, a non-profit organization that is part of the Islamic Center of Boca Raton. The academy, he said, provides an Islamic environment for children's religious and academic growth.
It has recently been certified for pre-K students – and the building can hold up to 150 kids, he said.
School availability
Finding and purchasing the school was something of an unexpected stroke of luck, said McBride. In April 2003, the ICBR asked the city for a permit to erect a 3,370-square-foot, pre-fabricated building on the site. The plan was to move the mosque from the shopping plaza into the pre-fab building until the mosque was finished.
But the issue became moot when the ICBR bought the school.
That purchase, McBride said, could have an impact on the entire project. Plans approved by the city say the new mosque building will house a 2,730-square-foot day care center and a Sunday school.
But now that the ICBR has acquired the former Clerisy Academy, there may be no need for a school in the mosque building, said McBride.
"We will have to evaluate what we'll do."
The neighborhood easily accommodates the facility. "We are near a residential area, near a university and near a quiet religious community."
City Planner Daryl Johnson, who handled the ICBR's plans during the permitting process, said the center has constructed a parking lot for the new worship center, but no construction has started.
Johnson said the ICBR did not have to file an amended plan when it purchased the school property.
Right now, the ICBR is conducting a summer camp for children age 4 to 14 through July 30. The Boca Raton News, which visited Tuesday, was not allowed to speak with anyone attending the camp. A reporter was told to refer all questions to McBride.
Second mosque
The site of the other mosque for the Assalam Center, at 1499 NW Fourth St., is still a wide-open field with several piles of dirt at the edge.
The 10,199-square-foot building will be located just north of two other houses of worship, First Assembly of God Church and Beth Ami Congregation synagogue.
The building is to be constructed on 2.28 acres of land and will include a prayer hall, conference room, multi-purpose area, six classrooms, nurse's room and kitchen. The landscaped grounds will offer 85 parking spaces.
The Assalam Center project has been on the drawing board since July 2000 when the City Council approved the zoning. The center acquired a small parcel of adjacent land from the city for $40,000.
The center received a building permit last June and held groundbreaking ceremonies in September.
The Assalam Center grew from a weekend school established in 1994 to teach Islamic studies and the Arabic language to Muslim children.
Classes were initially held in the homes of the participating families. But as the number of students grew, they moved to the campus of Florida Atlantic University.
In 1996, the Assalam Center was officially registered with the state of Florida as a non-profit organization.
Currently, the school has more than 80 students between the age of 5 to 19, and has overgrown the temporary facility at FAU.
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MIM :Dr. Daniel Pipes comments on Boca Raton's building plans.
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Boca Raton's "Incredible Shrinking Masjid." The Islamic Center of Boca Raton has ambitious plans for a 3.3-acre Islamic Center complex, replete with a minaret, two domes, a 9,000-square-foot mosque, a 6,000-square-foot multipurpose hall, and a structure vaguely reminiscent of the Prophet's Mosque in Medina.
Instead, it has had to settle for a far more modest building.
What one local observer has dubbed the "Incredible Shrinking Masjid" appears to have resulted from a media scrutiny that focused on the virulently Islamist content of ICBR's website. For example, that website linked to:
- The Florida-based Health Resource Center for Palestine, closed down in April 2002 by law enforcement on account of its ties to Hamas.
- The Islam Q&A site run by Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid, a Saudi linked to Hamas.
After a critical article in the Boca News in April 2003, the ICBR website vanished nearly overnight. Two leading members of the ICBR staff soon disappeared: Co-founder Khalid Hamza and Spokesman Hassan Shareef. A third, Co-founder Bassem Alhalabi, ran afoul of the law for illegal exporting to Syria. These travails presumably hampered fundraising for ICBR's once-imagined "history making community project."
The moral of this story? In the post-9/11 environment, anyone planning to build a resplendent Islamic center would do well to avoid extremism. (October 26, 2003)
June 16, 2004 update: For an update on the ICBR's extant but confusing building plans, see the report in today's Boca Raton News.
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http://web.archive.org/web/20010809202659/http://web.archive.org/web/20010809202659/http://web.archive.org/web/20010809202659/http://web.archive.org/web/20010809202659/http://web.archive.org/web/20010809202659/http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=7982
In October of 2000, Dremali spoke at a rally where Israeli flags were burned and slogans, such as "With jihad we'll claim our land, Zionist blood will wet the sand," were shouted. Dremali told the crowd "not to be sad for those who were martyred and to not be afraid to die for what they believe in"… obvious allusions to suicide bombers. Dremali now claims that he did not make the statement, and the 50 word paragraph that contains this information (and the picture accompanying the paragraph) has now mysteriously disappeared from the article on the website that it was written for (http://web.archive.org/web/20010809202659/http://web.archive.org/web/20010809202659/http://web.archive.org/web/20010809202659/http://web.archive.org/web/20010809202659/http://web.archive.org/web/20010809202659/http://www.islam-online.net/), though it can still be accessed via archives. The author of the article is "Um Ahmad."
Lamyaa Hashim, or Um Ahmad as she often goes by, is a well known Islamic poet. Her poetry, including one poem which seems to be about a suicide bomber (‘My Beloved Left for Palestine'), can be seen on such radical sights as palestine4ever.net. The site belongs to the medical director for the Palestine Children's Welfare Fund, Rosemary Davis (Shadya Hantouli), and features a picture gallery of past suicide bombers. Hashim gave permission to put her poetry on the site.
MIM: Another reason for a new Islamic school could be for students such as Abdel Rahman Dremali, the son of the ICBR Imam. In 2003 he plead guilty to stabbing a fellow Boca Middle School Student, and was sent to an Islamic school which could better accomodate him. At the time Ibrahim Dremali told the media that " we have no place else to go we are Americans". Three months previously, Dremali was quoted in a Sun Sentinel article by Tim Collie, entitled "Building a Dream Home in Gaza City" describing the 5 story house he was building in the fancy Al Sabra neighborhood in Gaza together with his brother Ishaq, replete with karate school where Dremali was to be the instructor. Dremali explained he was sending all his money to Gaza ,"which is why I don't live so well here ".
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Student pleads guilty in stabbing
By Susan Spencer-Wendel,
Middle School honor student involved in a scissors stabbing at
the school pleaded guilty Wednesday to aggravated battery and
a weapon charge related to the incident.
But an attorney for Abdelrahman Dremali says while he agreed to the plea,
the teenage boy was really a victim of a hate crime. Dremali, son of a
prominent Muslim leader, was targeted by classmates who made fun of his
religion and ethnicity, said attorney James Eisenberg.
Dremali is the eldest child of Ibrahim Dremali, spiritual leader of a mosque
at the Islamic Center of Boca Raton, who has reported violence against
himself because he is Muslim.
In November, police were called to a school locker room after a teacher
broke up a fight between Dremali and student Joshua Reynoso. Reynoso told
police that Dremali spit on him and, after the two briefly argued, Dremali
stabbed him in the back, neck and arm with scissors, leaving puncture
wounds, according to a police report.
Dremali told police that several boys had jumped him and beat on him. He
said scissors spilled out of his book bag and while swinging them in
self-defense, Reynoso "walked into the scissors." Dremali had bruises on his
left side and left neck, according to the report.
Eisenberg did not agree to the facts of the crime, as read in court
Wednesday, saying rather that Dremali was a victim of racial hatred.
Dremali pleaded guilty in his best interest -- a legally distinct plea which
is not automatically regarded as an admission of guilt.
Yet the terms of the plea -- 50 hours of community service, a withhold of
the felony from his record and a psychological evaluation -- were good
enough for Dremali to accept, Eisenberg said. Dremali must also pay the
Reynoso family $1,500.
Ibrahim Dremali, 41, of
felt persecuted since 9/11. His son now attends an Islamic school in Broward
County.
Raised in both
States 16 years ago and started his family.
"People say 'Go back to where you came from,' " he said. "But we have no
place to go back to. We are Americans."
599e2e551224a0079.html
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In 1996 Abdelrahman's father ICBR Imam Ibrahim Dremali was interrogated in Gaza by
and told he could never leave Gaza. Two days later Lamyaa Hashim, rumoured
to be Dremali wife no.1, and an American citizen, posted two messages about Dremali's detention.
Hashim found a way to get Dremali out of Gaza via Egyptand presented the situation
as a health issue. Dremali has more then 1,200 clan members in Gaza and
the city is a known Hamas stronghold. Counter terrorism expert Steven Emerson labelled
Dremali an Islamic extremist. In interviews Dremali claims to have fled Egypt for 'religous freedom in the US'.
In reality, his association with Muslim Brotherhood,an extremist organisation outlawed in Egypt. http://web.archive.org/web/20010809202659/http://web.archive.org/web/20010809202659/http://web.archive.org/web/20010809202659/http://web.archive.org/web/20010809202659/http://web.archive.org/web/20010809202659/http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/241
which attempted to overthrow the Egyptian govenment and was said to be behind the assassination of Egyptian president Anwar Sadat. Dremali's militancy while a student at the fundamentalist Al Azhar university in Egypt,is said to have necessitated his fleeing to the US where he has continued his militant Islamic activities via the Islamic Center of Boca Raton.
In 2003 a charity started by Lamyaa Hashim in Deerfield Beach, Health Resource Center Palestine was shut down because of ties to Hamas and the Islamic Association of Palestine.
Dremali's brother Ishaq, had been the Gaza coordinator,
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MIM: For more on HRCP see articles by Dr. Daniel Pipes.
----------------------------------------------------
Date: 1996/07/01
On Monday, July 1st, 1996, Ibrahim Dremali, an American Citizen visiting relatives in Gaza, was summoned from his family's home in Gaza to The Erez Security by the Israeli Army. He was told that he could never leave Gaza. The US Embassy is refusing to get involved, saying there is nothing they can do. Ibrahim has a serious kidney condition needing treatment - he h been urinating black blood during his forced stay in Gaza - where h cannot be treated. He has 2 young sons 8 and 2 years old in the US, dependant on his support. Yet this American has been left out in the cold by the American Government. Except for Native Americans, everyone in America is from another country or decendant of one or another. Yet if your background is Palestinian, the melting pot spits you out and th Statue of Liberty kicks you in the behind. Following is the background of his story - if anyone reading this can help - even if just by publicising this, please do - Americans, please contact your Representativ In mid June, Ibrahim had a 10 day vacation, which he used to spend tim with relatives in Egypt, leaving him 3 days which he planned to spend in Gaza, since it was just accross the Rafah border, where his wife w already visiting relatives. Yet, when he and his wife left for th airport from Gaza, they were not permitted to go further than the Erez checkpoint by the Israeli's. They were told that a permit is needed and that a US Passport means absolutely nothing if your background i Palestinian. This required a flight change of course. 3 days later, there was one empty seat flying out of Tel Aviv. Ibrahim insisted hi wife take it. She was interrogated for hours and hours at the airport, security even attempted to search her bags without her presence, to which she demanded to call the US Ambassador. She did however get on the plan and back to the US. However, Ibrahim was told that he would get a permit (TasreeH) once he could provide a copy of a new flight reservation. Ther are no international calls allowed from Gaza, and no Alitali representatives there. So, it had to be faxed from Jerusalem. The fax arrived late, so they denied permission again. He obtained a new reservation, and had the copy of it, ready to leave on July 4th. He went to the Administration to get the permit and suddenly they announce that h is forbidden from travel. Then, today's events occurred: He was summoned to Erez for lengthy interrogation. He was told that he was never allowed to leave Gaza. The US Embassy says that there is nothing that they can do. Please help - his health is at stake.LM Hashim
----------------------
Date: 1996/07/05
This is a follow-up on the story I posted earlier on the US Citizen banned from exiting Gaza by the Israeli's last month.Assalamu alaikum At 10pm, July 5th 1996, Ibrahim Dremali set out from his family home in Gaza to the Rafah border once again, in order to attempt passage into Egypt. Thanks to Allah, your prayers, calls, letters, and support, he i now on his way to Egypt and should be arriving in Cairo 2 hours from th time of this posting. From there we hope he should not have any problem returning to the United States from a diplomatic standpoint. However, I would like to ask one more favor. Al-Italia Airlines has been less than understanding of Ibrahim's plight and has been refusing to transfer hi ticket return to the US from Tel Aviv to Egypt without buying a new ticket - even to change the date for Tel Aviv they were asking severe penalties. In view of the situation, there is obviously no money for either one. Please call Al-Italia and ask him to transfer his ticket without penalty so that he may leave from Cairo, Egypt to Miami or Ft. Lauderdale ,Florid as a gesture of good will. He already has a paid ticket from Tel Aviv. The number for Al-Italia is 1-800-223-5730. His name on the Ticket i Ibrahim Dremali (maybe an initial "A"). Once again, thank you and Jazakum Allahu khairan.W'salam,your sister in Islam LM Ha
More on Lamyaa Hashim,and the Health Resource Center Palestine from Dr.Daniel Pipes.
http://web.archive.org/web/20010809202659/http://web.archive.org/web/20010809202659/http://web.archive.org/web/20010809202659/http://web.archive.org/web/20010809202659/http://web.archive.org/web/20010809202659/http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/187
Lamyaa Hashim, Supporting Burqas and Suicide Bombers. A cartoon about by syndicated artist Sandy Huffaker offers a tongue-in-cheek "suggestion for Britney Spears" - namely that she convert to Islam. The cartoon's left panel, before her conversion, shows a woman in a bikini, legs and arms and hair flying as she sings. The right panel, after her conversion to Islam, shows an inert burqa-clad black lump.
It's perhaps not the most hilarious or subtle cartoon you've encountered, but it does make a point. Well, one reader, a certain Lamyaa Hashim, had an original response to the cartoon, one which she addressed directly to its author:
Hello Sandy,
While you may or may not have meant your Britney Spears cartoon (before and after conversion to Islam cartoon) to be an insult to Islam or maybe to Britney - I, as a Muslima who observes Islamic dress by choice, liked the cartoon. You did call it a message to her - and I think that the message was a correct one - for our Islamic dress gives us respect and dignity. In Islam, the woman is not on display for merchandising - she is a thinking and valuable part of the human race who should not lower and disgrace herself by putting her worth into enhanced sexual features and movements as eye candy for those who have no interest in her worth as a human being nor her soul. So, thank you for that cartoon. It really brightened my day!
Lamyaa Hashim
And who, one might wonder, is this Lamyaa Hashim who would burqa America's beauties? The answer, provided by Joe Kaufman in a May 2003 article at FrontPageMag.com, is an unsettling one:
Lamyaa Hashim, or Um Ahmad as she often goes by, is a well known Islamic poet. Her poetry, including one poem which seems to be about a suicide bomber (‘My Beloved Left for Palestine'), can be seen on such radical sites as palestine4ever.net. The site belongs to the medical director for the Palestine Children's Welfare Fund, Rosemary Davis (Shadya Hantouli), and features a picture gallery of past suicide bombers. Hashim gave permission to put her poetry on the site.
You can also access more of Hashim's poetry on her personal website, ‘Struggle in Palestine,' which contains on its homepage a picture of someone burning an effigy that says on his (the effigy's) chest, "WAR IS HELL, BUSH IS SATAN." In addition, there is a link on her site to an organization associated with the terrorist group Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and a link to a site praising Abdullah Azzam, the founder of the organization that became Al Qaida.
Lamyaa Hashim is also important, because she ran a Deerfield Beach, Florida charity called the Health Resource Center for Palestine (HRCP), which as of late has closed down.
Law enforcement closed down the Florida-based HRCP in April 2002, as I have already noted on this weblog, because of its ties to Hamas.
The moral of this tale? That the distance between endorsing burqas and endorsing suicide bombers is closer than one might wish. (January 18, 2004)
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MIM: Adhan Hassoun and the Islamic Center of Boca Raton.
Islamic Center of Boca Raton's Imam Ibrahim Dremali testified as a character witness on behalf of Adhan Hassoun and claimed "I hardly know the guy".
In the same article Hassoun's attorney, Akhtar Hussain, claims that Dremali and Hassoun have "known each other for years "
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Critics questioning Boca mosque's past ties |
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Islamic Center of Boca Raton draws ire; officials there say all they want is peace |
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Published Sunday, April 27, 2003 |
by Aaron Shea