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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"

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"Maulana Shafayat Mohammed : President of Hollywood Interfaith Council embraces Bin Laden buddy"

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/126

"The Taco Bellnality of Evil - Mohammed Javed Qureshi and local Muslims lie about their roles in Padillas conversion

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/108

"Florida Islamic Conference Outed as Jihad- fest"

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/18

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SUNRISE OK'S HUGE ISLAMIC COMPLEX
Jennifer Rivera-Lyles, Miami Herald, 8/25/04
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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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(Link to article with pictures of Islamic School project in 2002)

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/126

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.

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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"

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/73

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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.

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For more on Imam Ekrima Sabri pictured above click on:

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/24


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The SISB mission statement:

All praise is due to Allah Who guided us to the straight path and made us Muslims. We ask Him to help us stay on the right path and serve Islam in the best manner.

TheSchool of Islamic Studies at Broward is providing facilities to establish the five daily prayers including Friday Congregation (Salaat-ul-Jumua), daily Halaqa after Maghrib prayer, Islamic library, Islamic and non Islamic public educational lectures, Da'awa Center, and Social Activities as well as other services. All of such activities will, Insh Allah, be conducted according to the Quran and Sunnah and we will avoid any inovations. May Allah, the Most High increase our Iman, and reward the efforts of those who strive in prosperity and adversity to serve Him (SWT).

4505 N.W. 103 Avenue, Sunrise, Florida 33321
Telephone: (954) 741-8130 / E-mail: [email protected]
Lat: 26:21:30 N - Long: 080:05:00 W
Quiblah: 56 degrees from North

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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 .

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.assalamcenter.org/index.shtm

In The Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Preparing our Muslim Children and Youth to become Model Citizens


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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.

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
by Dale M. King

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:

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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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, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Thursday, February 27, 2003

WEST PALM BEACH -- A 14-year-old former Boca Raton

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 Boca Raton, said Wednesday that his whole family has

felt persecuted since 9/11. His son now attends an Islamic school in Broward

County.

Raised in both Egypt and Palestine, Dremali said he came to the United

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."

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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.

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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

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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.
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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 "

Critics questioning Boca mosque's past ties

Islamic Center of Boca Raton draws ire; officials there say all they want is peace

Published Sunday, April 27, 2003

by Aaron Shea

By Aaron Shea
STAFF WRITER
It was billed as an enlightening evening with Islamic leaders and scholars to raise money for a new, permanent mosque in the heart of Boca Raton – a sprawling 27,000-square-foot complex planned to include a worship center and education facility.
Among the speakers at the Islamic Center of Boca Raton's Nov. 16 fund-raising dinner last year was Dr. Rafil Dhafir, a respected Fayetteville, N.Y., oncologist and nationwide lecturer.
Four months after his speaking engagement at the benefit held at the Hilton in Deerfield Beach, however, Dhafir was arrested by the federal government for allegedly conspiring to funnel more than $2.7 million to Iraq—a country that has been subject to economic sanctions since the first Gulf War in 1991.
Dhafir's appearance at the fundraiser and his subsequent arrest are among several incidents that worry well-known terrorism researcher and "American Jihad" author Steven Emerson. He joins other critics who question the political views and intentions of the organization's spiritual leader, Imam Ibrahim Dremali.
"There are questions of [Dremali's] associations in the past which I think merit further investigation," Emerson told the Boca Raton News.
Dremali and others at the mosque, however, strongly deny that he and the local Islamic center have any goal other than to provide a peaceful place for Muslims to worship and for others to learn about Islam.
In any case, Dhafir certainly knew a lot about fundraising before his arrest, federal officials said. After a three-year probe, federal officials said Dhafir and three other alleged conspirators — using an Iraqi aid charity called "Help the Needy" — solicited contributions from people in the United States, deposited the funds in several New York banks and laundered much of the money to Iraq through accounts maintained in the Jordan Islamic Bank in Amman. The charity failed to obtain the required licenses to provide humanitarian aid to Iraq, prosecutors said.
The February indictment also alleges Dhafir directed checks as large as $100,000 to be cut from the relief group for individuals located in Baghdad.
Dhafir, who has been charged with 12 counts of money laundering and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, remains in jail without bail.

‘An unfortunate
coincidence'

Since Dhafir's arrest, leaders at the Boca Raton mosque have denied any prior knowledge of Dhafir's alleged illegal activities. His appearance at the mosque's November fund-raiser, they say, was simply an unfortunate coincidence.
"He just happened to be [in Florida], and we invited him for the fundraiser," said Dr. Bassem Al-Halabi, a Florida Atlantic University computer engineering professor who co-founded the Islamic center, which today is based in a storefront on Northwest 20th Street. Al-Halabi is also a former treasurer for the mosque and current board member.
"We know that he is a good fundraiser," he explained. "Not too many people know him in the mosque, but the people involved in fundraising in this mosque do know about him. He's visited many [Islamic] centers in the past."
In a brief phone interview with the Boca Raton News, Dremali, who has been the imam of the mosque since its inception in 1998, said he did not know Dhafir.
But Dhafir's presence at the fundraiser has added fuel to the fire for critics of the mosque and its spiritual leader. Detractors point to published reports quoting Dremali allegedly supporting Arab martyrdom against Israeli Jews and affiliations the mosque has made in the past.
All the accusations have been denied or discounted by Islamic Center of Boca Raton officials, including Dremali.
"We're a small mosque, but even when we are a small mosque, some don't want us to exist," said Dr. Mohammad Khalid Hamza, a FAU professor who co-founded the Islamic center with Al-Halabi. The mosque today has more than 200 members.
One of the mosque's most determined critics has been Joe Kaufman, chairman of a group that calls itself "Citizens Against Hate."
Kaufman, who is Jewish, is leading a crusade to halt construction of the planned 27,000-square-foot Islamic center and mosque.
Recently, the Tamarac resident's Web site, www.Joe4Rep.com, was criticized by a national Muslim group for having a link to an anti-Arab Web site, which in turn linked to Kach, a Jewish organization recognized as a terrorist group by the U.S. government. Kaufman has since removed the links.
The 3.3-acre mosque project on Northwest Fifth Avenue north of Glades Road, which has gotten the go-ahead from the city, is far behind in its fundraising goals, Dremali said, and the mosque will hold another fundraiser May 10 at the Hilton in Deerfield Beach to raise cash for the complex.
Kaufman is convinced that a new, large mosque could attract anti-Israeli and anti-Jewish elements and should not be built in Boca Raton.
"It's not the Muslims we are fighting," Kaufman has said. "The mosque might be a threat to the community. If it is built, we don't know what is going on behind the walls."
Bill Gralnick, southeast regional director for the American Jewish Committee, supports Kaufman's views.
"It's not necessarily the physical mosque or Islam that gives me anxiety," Gralnick said. "It's who might be going through its doors or the types of other things that might or might not be going on in a political, social respect."

‘A question of character'

Just as he refuted knowing Dhafir, Dremali also denied to the Boca Raton News that he had any close ties to accused terrorist and Sunrise resident Adham Hassoun, who was arrested by a South Florida terrorism task force last June for his alleged ties to Jose Padilla. Padilla is a former Broward County resident accused of having ties to Osama bin Laden's terrorist network al-Qaeda and conspiring to explode a radiological device in the United States. Padilla is being detained by the federal government as an "enemy combatant" of the U.S.
Hassoun remains locked up in the Krome Detention Center in Miami on an immigration charge.
Yet in an August 2002 bail hearing at Krome Detention Center Dremali was called as a witness for Hassoun's defense. Dremali, however, said he only met Hassoun once when the alleged terrorist visited the Boca mosque four or five years ago.
"I don't know the guy," Dremali said, adding that the testimony he gave during the hearing "was not about [Hassoun]. It was about Islam."
Hassoun, a Palestinian, has also been accused of being a member of a militant Islamic group linked to the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, engaging in an assassination plot and soliciting people to engage in terrorist activities.
Hassoun has denied the charges.
Hassoun's Miami attorney, Akhtar Hussain, said Dremali was primarily used as an expert witness during the hearing to discuss how a mosque runs and how charitable donations are handled. But, Hussain added, Dremali did speak about Hassoun's character as well.
"He was for the most part an expert witness," said Hussain. "[He discussed] how a mosque runs, its membership, how charities work and where the money goes. It boiled down to [Jose] Padilla, because he was a member of Hassoun's mosque.
"Dremali slightly spoke about how long he knew [Hassoun]. What kind of person [Hassoun] is," Hussain added. "[Dremali] has known [Hassoun] more than a couple of years. I know that."
Hussain would not offer further details.
In addition, Hassoun founded the Florida chapter of the Chicago-based Benevolence International Foundation, which was shut down by the government for suspected terrorist ties on the same day the Global Relief Foundation was raided.
In December 2001, the government shut down and froze the assets of the Global Relief Foundation based in Illinois after alleging the charity had links to terror financing. The Boca Raton Islamic Center donated nearly $17,000 to the charity, but officials from the mosque have said all along they were under the impression they were only giving money to the destitute in the Middle East.
"When people come to your mosque for money, you cannot say, ‘No,'" explained Dremali, referring to the importance the Muslim faith places on the worshipers to help those in need. "It's not our job to investigate [charities]. That's the job of the government."

‘Further investigation'

Among those who say he is taking a hard look at the Boca Raton mosque and its leader is Steven Emerson, the nationally recognized terrorist expert, former CNN correspondent and founder of the Investigative Project, which was created to root out possible terrorist cells in the United States and came to prominence following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
"I think the activity of Dremali and the mosque has raised serious questions on whether he is tethered to a militant Islamic group," said Emerson.
Emerson also produced the controversial 1994 PBS documentary video "Jihad in America" and wrote the best selling book "American Jihad," in which he claims members of the al-Qaeda network had set up shop in Boca prior to the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. It was discovered shortly after the planes hit the twin towers that several of the hijackers lived in nearby Delray Beach.
During the 1990s, Emerson insisted there were Muslim professors at the University of South Florida active in the terrorist organization Islamic Jihad, which was documented in his video. It wasn't until this past February, however, that federal agents arrested USF professor Sami Al-Arian and Emerson's accusations were substantiated. Al-Arian has been charged with running the U.S. operations of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
Some have accused Al-Halabi—the Boca Islamic Center's co-founder—of associating with Al-Arian. But the FAU professor and former USF student denies any such link.
"He was a teacher at the university when I was a student there, but I had no relations with him of any kind," Al-Halabi said.

‘Disparaging words'

Critics of Dremali and the mosque have also focused on issues unrelated to anyone indicted for alleged terrorist ties.
Following the escalation of Palestinian violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in late 2000, known as the intifada, tempers began to flare among many Jews and Muslims in the United States. One of the hot spots in South Florida was in Miami.
During one pro-Palestinian rally there in October 2000, according to a report from a Web site called IslamOnline, demonstrators issued a call for Muslims to stage a "jihad" to reclaim land they said was rightfully theirs.
During the tense demonstration, Dremali—a native of the Gaza Strip who is constructing a second home in the war-torn territory—reportedly "urged the crowd not to be sad for those who were martyred, and to not be afraid to die for what they believe in," according to the Web site report.
Last year, former Boca Islamic center spokesman Hassan Shareef, who now lives in Saudi Arabia, told the News that Dremali had made the comments in the heat of the moment.
But this month, Dremali, married and the father of four, denied to the Boca Raton News that he ever made the comments, although he acknowledged attending the rally.
"I never said that. I don't know where [the author of the article] got that," said Dremali, who came to the United States 15 years ago from Egypt. "I need peace and nothing else."
The author of the article could not be reached for comment.
A year after the rally and shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, Dremali invited Rabbi Merle Singer of Temple Beth El of Boca Raton and Gralnick to his home. According to the Palm Beach and Broward county editions of New Times, Dremali told the two Jewish leaders that the Muslims do not like the Jews in Israel, but don't hold the same kind of animosity towards Jews in America.
"He did say that," Gralnick confirmed. "That's not an uncommon thing with anti-Semites. [Jews] don't make that distinction between the ones in Israel and the ones here."
In addition, a story in the Boca Raton News recently publicized a link on the Islamic center's site that provided access to the Palestine Information Center, which in turn offered anti-American and anti-Israeli articles and photographs. The major link to the site, called Islam Q&A, was removed days later and all other remaining links were severed from the site within the following week.
Mosque leaders including Dremali, Hamza and Islamic center spokesman Dan McBride denied having any knowledge that the Palestine Information Center site had been accessible from the Islam Q&A link.

‘We are not terrorists'

Today, Dremali said he can't understand those who claim he promotes anything other than peace and his Muslim faith at the mosque on Northwest 20th Street.
"We are not terrorists. We want to live in peace with no problems," said Dremali, who is a professor. "We have a very peaceful religion. We are Americans. I love this country and that is why we stay in this country."
An FBI spokeswoman at the Miami bureau would not comment on whether the mosque or Dremali has ever been investigated or is under investigation now.
Hamza said he cannot figure out the determination of some to run the mosque out of town.
"We've had it up to our ears with [opposition] spreading rumors," said Hamza, who accuses FAU professors of anti-Arab bias against him and plotting to rid him from the university. A state board cited discrimination as a factor in Hamza's denial of tenure. University officials have disputed the report.
"They're scaring the hell out of our community," he added. "What do they want us to do, go away and die?"
Among the more frightening moments for the mosque came immediately following Sept. 11 when Dremali told Boca Raton police he and other members of the mosque had experienced anti-Muslim backlash firsthand. The religious leader also claimed to have been threatened with guns by unknown assailants outside his Boca Raton home.
"I want to live in this country in peace," Dremali said. "We are Americans and people have to understand that. We work in this country together. I say all of this from my heart."

Staff Writer Brian Bandell contributed to this report.

MIM: Adhan Hassoun links to Padilla- Shukrijumah and Al Qaeda in Sunrise Florida.

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.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/06/27/attack/main513641.shtml


U.S.-based al Qaeda Network


(Photo: CBS/AP)



Sources said domestic intelligence intercepts have now convinced officials that such a network of al Qaeda fundraisers and operatives exists in the U.S.


Terror suspect Adham Hassoun and unidentified child (Photo: CBS)


(CBS) U.S. officials have collected intelligence that appears to confirm what they have feared most since 9/11 — that al Qaeda is still active in the United States. Officials tell CBS News that accused American al Qaeda member Jose Padilla was apparently expecting help from such a network when he returned here last month on a target scouting mission.

U.S. officials tell CBS News Correspondent Jim Stewart that Padilla had contacted a Florida man from overseas before leaving on his mission and was apparently en route to meet him when he was arrested.

Federal investigators monitored the communication between Padilla and Palestinian Adham Hassoun of Sunrise, Fla. They arrested Hassoun earlier this month following months of surveillance.

Hassoun is now being held on an immigration charge at an INS facility and is considered a flight risk. U.S. officials describe him as an "important link" not only to the Padilla investigation, but possibly to a suspected U.S.-based al Qaeda network awaiting orders for future attacks... ... Hassoun is also well known in the Muslim neighborhoods of South Florida for his financial and vocal support of extremist Islamic groups, although friends said today such actions were a political statement only.

"I would consider him that he's against violence, but he has a strong tongue, you know, he has a strong tongue!" said Sofian Abdelaziz, with the American Muslim Association of North America.

MIM:Adham Hassoun, and Padilla " attended the same mosque " at the School for Islamic Studies in Broward.

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.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/news/nation/8004621.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp

Man picked up by terrorism task force denied bond

BY CHRISTY MCKERNEY
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - (KRT) - A Sunrise, Fla., man swept up by a federal terrorism task force 19 months ago and still held on weapons charges lost his bid to be freed on bond Friday after prosecutors announced plans to bring a new round of more-serious charges.

Adham Amin Hassoun, who attended the same mosque as "dirty bomber" Jose Padilla, could face additional charges of obstructing justice, perjury and making false statements as soon as next week, a federal prosecutor told U.S. Magistrate James M. Hopkins.

Arguing that the 42-year-old computer programmer shouldn't be freed on bond, Assistant U.S. Attorney Russell Killinger called Hassoun a "desperate man" and a flight risk who has relatives abroad and has talked about moving to countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and New Zealand.

Hopkins agreed, ordering Hassoun detained because of the risk that he could flee.

"The weight of the evidence against the defendant is substantial," he said during the hearing in West Palm Beach, Fla.

Hassoun, who was born in Lebanon but is Palestinian, was picked up during a traffic stop by the Joint Terrorism Task Force on June 12, 2002, and detained by immigration for overstaying a 1989 student visa.

Agents found a loaded Smith & Wesson 9mm pistol in Hassoun's west Sunrise home the day he was arrested. Foreigners without residency cannot legally possess guns in the United States. The government unsealed the grand jury indictment on the illegal gun charge last month.

Killinger would not give details of forthcoming charges Friday, but said they included obstruction of justice, making false statements and perjury.

"I'm not in a position today to present or proffer the fact of that obstruction," he said.

Hassoun, wearing a tan prison jumpsuit, sat silently through the hearing. He crossed his arms and looked at the wall while defense attorney Fred Haddad argued Hassoun was a prominent member of the local Muslim community and had his entire family in South Florida.

Haddad pointed out the government confiscated Hassoun's passport and other paperwork, his three children are U.S. citizens and his wife is applying for citizenship.

Hassoun had lived in South Florida for 13 years when agents arrested him on his way home from work to a quiet cul-de-sac of upper-middle class homes near Sawgrass Mills mall.

Hassoun has said in a petition to a federal judge that he was detained because of alleged terrorism ties and that an immigration judge found he participated in an assassination plot, donated money to charities being investigated for possible links to terrorism, recruited a jihad fighter and belonged to Al-Gama Al-Islamiyya, an international terrorist organization.

Known as an outspoken member of the local Muslim community, Hassoun knew both alleged "dirty bomber" suspect Padilla and Adnan El'Shukri-Jumah, a former Miramar man whose picture is on the FBI Web site, saying he is "wanted in connection with possible threats against the United States."

It is uncertain how well Hassoun knew Padilla or El'Shukri-Jumah.

Padilla, a former Chicago gang member who converted to Islam while living in Broward County, Fla., is being held as an enemy combatant, for allegedly conspiring to detonate a radioactive dirty bomb in the United States. Dirty bombs use explosives to disburse radioactive materials.

In 1993, Hassoun founded the Florida chapter of Benevolence International in a Plantation strip mall but resigned months later. The Muslim charity's funds were frozen in 2001 after the U.S. government alleged connections to Osama bin Laden.

Hassoun, who is being held at the Palm Beach County Jail, has steadfastly maintained his innocence.

Hadded complained Friday the he has had difficulty meeting with his client, who has been held in maximum-security lockdown. He asked prosecutors to help him gain access to Hassoun.

--------------------------------------

MIM: Islamic Center of Boca Raton Imam Ibrahim Dremali testified in defense of Adham Hassoun. The director of the American Muslim Association of North America, Sofian Abdelaziz Zakout stated :"This guy is clean"..." It's only because he's Muslim."

Never one to lose a media opportunity to feign indignation and victimisation, Dremali proclaimed " Am I on trial here... or is Islam on trial ?"

------------------------

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.uwsa.com/pipermail/uwsa/2002q3/032901.html

Sunrise man who befriended 'dirty bomber' is denied bail
By Jeff Shields and Tanya Weinberg
The Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale), August 2, 2002
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.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-chassoun02aug02.story

Supporters of Adham Hassoun, a computer programmer from Sunrise who
befriended alleged "dirty bomber" Jose Padilla in the 1990s, blasted the
justice system Thursday after an immigration judge refused to release
Hassoun on bail.

After two days of testimony and evidence, Immigration Judge Neale Foster
declared Hassoun, 40, a Palestinian from Lebanon, a potential danger to the
community based on evidence presented in a sealed courtroom.

Agents from the South Florida Joint Terrorism Task Force arrested Hassoun
on June 12 because of his connection to Padilla, who converted to Islam in
South Florida and was a friend of Hassoun's. Padilla is being held in South
Carolina as an "enemy combatant," accused of plotting to detonate a bomb on
U.S. soil that would spread radioactive material around its target area.

Federal investigators say that they want to know more about the
relationship between Hassoun and Padilla. The Immigration and
Naturalization Service will not comment on the case.

Hassoun has contributed to several Islamic charities that the government
now accuses of supporting terrorism, and he worked briefly for one in 1993.
He was a circulation contact in the United States for an Australian-based
militant Islamic magazine, The Call of Islam.

Hassoun has denied that he supports terrorism and dismissed media accounts
that he had recent contact with Padilla.

His attorney, Akhtar Hussain, said he was shocked at the nature of the
proceedings in Immigration Court at Krome detention center, which he said
were closed to the public over his objection.

Hussain is barred from discussing the details of the hearing by court
order, but he said Padilla was never mentioned and that the best evidence
the government presented involved "somebody overhearing something in 1997."

"I have never seen anything like this in my 22 years in practice -- there
is no evidence, no witnesses, nothing," said Hussain, who said he was
prevented from subpoenaing witnesses to rebut government evidence.

"They did not rebut my client's denials. They have no one there to back up
what they're saying," Hussain said. "I would be satisfied if they brought
something; then I could counter that. How can I counter a ghost?"

Friends of Hassoun, who has three small children, were crestfallen.

"We were so optimistic today, and we feel the system betrayed us," said
Sofian Abdelaziz, director of the American Muslim Association of North Amer=
ica.

He was one of about 15 Muslim community leaders, friends and colleagues at
Krome for the hearing.

"They don't have anything against him. It's just because he is Muslim. This
is how we feel," Abdelaziz said. "The guy is clean. If there's anything
wrong, we would have known, and we wouldn't go there for him. But they have
no respect for him, no respect for his religion, no respect for us -- as if
we don't exist at all. This is not good."

Seeing two of Hassoun's young sons sitting outside the courtroom with sad
faces and unable to speak, Ibrahim Dremali said they looked like orphans.

"That broke my heart, believe me," said Dremali, the religious leader of
the Islamic Center of Boca Raton.

During more than an hour of questioning, Dremali -- one of four witnesses
called in Hassoun's defense -- said he never had the sense the government
had anything solid against Hassoun.

"I feel they want to show the American people they are doing something," he
said.

Dremali said that prosecutors didn't appear to have a good understanding of
Islam, and that he felt their questions became accusatory.

"Am I a witness here, or am I on trial?" he asked. "Is Islam on trial?"
------------------------------------------------------------------
MIM: In 2001 The Islamic Center of Boca Raton had links on their site to the Islamic Association of Palestine, Qudsway (Hamas) , Qoqaz (Jihad in Chechyna).

After an expose' in the Boca News the ICBR took down it's entire website virtually overnight. (see Boca News article above)

Note that the site issued a lame disclaimer that the ICBR was not responsible for the contents of external sites - yet on their homepage the ICBR proudly announces the new link to Jihad in Chechyna aka Qoqaz aka Al Qaeda .

----------------------------------------------------

Links To Information In The Muslim World


You can obtain updated news from Palestine from the following webistes:

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://web.archive.org/web/20010809202659/http://ww.iap.org/
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://web.archive.org/web/20010809202659/http://www.free-jerusalem.com/
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://web.archive.org/web/20010809202659/http://www.sis.gov.ps/arabic/quds/quds_en.html


You can obtain updated news from Chechnya from:

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://web.archive.org/web/20010809202659/http://www.qoqaz.net/


Note: Please note that the opinions expressed by the external sites are not necessarily endorsed by ICBR

--------------------------------

Application form for Daar of Islamic Heritage Conference

Labor day weekend Daar of Islamic Heritage Conference

Download the May Weekly Activities Calendar

Click Here to Donate to the ICBR Land Project

New Link: Holy Qur'aan Broadcasting Station

Islamic Games and Quizes for all ages in the Kids Corner!

New Link: Jihad in Chechnya

Interested in Learning the Truth


141 N.W. 20th Street, Suite #A-7, Boca Raton, Florida 33431
Telephone: (561) 395-7221 / Fax: (561) 395-7229 / E-mail: [email protected]
Lat: 26:21:30 N - Long: 080:05:00 W
Quiblah: 56 degrees from North

All praise is due to Allah Who guided us to the straight path and made us Muslims. We ask Him to help us stay on the right path and serve Islam in the best manner.

The Islamic Center of Boca Raton maintains facilities for the establishment the five daily prayers including Friday Congregational prayers (Salaat-ul-Jumua). In addition ICBR offers daily Halaqa's (educational gatherings) after Maghrib prayer, a modest Islamic library, Islamic and general public educational lectures, an active Da'awa Center, and a wide host of Social Activities, as well as other services. We strive our utmost inshallah to keep all of such activities grounded in and conducted according to the Quran and Sunnah, with strict attention given to avoiding any innovations (Bida'). May Allah, the Most High increase our Iman, and reward the efforts of those who strive both in prosperity and in adversity to serve Him (SWT).

Please feel free to contact us for more information. All Masjid activities and information are located on this web site.

-----------------------------

Upcoming School fundraiser AT ICBR 'GArDen OF the Sahaba' School And 'Stems'

http://www.icbr.org/

http://www.icbr.org/fundr.htmorg/

----------------------

------------------------------------------------


http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-c3bdig25sep25,0,111738.story?coll=sfla-news-broward

Broward County news briefs

2003eptember 25, 2003

Sunrise

Mosques to sponsor Fund-raising dinner

An unprecedented number of South Florida mosques -- 19 -- are banding together Saturday for a fund-raising dinner for children of war. The event, at Mehfil Restaurant, 8550 NW 44th St., will raise money to be distributed by Islamic Relief, a British-based charity with offices in Burbank, Calif.

The group finances development projects in Iraq, Chechnya, Kashmir and the Palestinian territories.

An event organizer, Sofian Abdelaziz of the Shamsuddin mosque in North Miami Beach, said he took extra care to inspect documents from the organization and felt assured of its legitimacy. He said that, in light of investigations linking Islamic charities to terrorism, the Muslim community has become more cautious in dealing with charity, an important part of Islam.

The 7 p.m. event is open to the public and costs $10.

INVITATION TO ALL CARING MEMBERS OF SOUTH FLORIDA

-----------------------------------------------

Fund Raising Dinner

(This Fund Raising Dinner ~ 100% of Collected Fund will go insha Allah to the Children of War)

Fund will be collected by: The Islamic Relief:

Please visit them online at: www.IRW.org

Speaker: Shaykh Abdul Malik

When: SATURDAY 27th, 2003. TIME: 7:00 PM

(Please note that the date of the event has been changed to the 27th)

Where: Mehfil Restaurant,

8550 NW 44 Street, Sunrise, FL 33351, Tel. 954-742-3370

($10.00 for the ticket for Adults & $5 for under12) – Babysitting is Available

SPONSERED & SUPPORTED BY:

- AMANA/ THE AMERICAN MUSLIM ASSOC. OF NORTH AMERICA

- Muslim Access National Internet Provider

- CAIR - Florida

- MASJID AN-NOOR

- MASJID AL-EHSAN

- MIAMI GARDENS MASJID (MCA)

- Miami Masjid / Flagler (MCA)

- Islamic Center of Boca Raton (ICBR)

- Masjid Al-Iman

- Masjid Ibrahim

- Masjid Al-Muhmin

- Masjid Al-Ansar

- Masjid Islamic Movement (IMOF)

- Masjid Shamsuddin

- Darul-Uloom Institute / Masjid

- Masjid Ansaruddin

- Masjid Nur-ul-Islam

- Islamic Center of South Florida (ICSF)

- Masjid Jamaa Al-Mumineen

- West Palm Beach Masjid

- Masjid Al-Tawheed

- School of Islamic Studies of Broward

- The Islamic Foundation of Florida Masjid

------------

From an article in USA Today by Jack Kelly


According to a Saudi government audit acquired by U.S. intelligence, five of Saudi Arabia's top businessmen ordered the National Commercial Bank (NCB), the kingdom's largest, to transfer personal funds, along with $3 million diverted from a Saudi pension fund, to New York and London banks.

The money was deposited into the accounts of Islamic charities, including Islamic Relief and Blessed Relief, that serve as fronts for bin Laden.


The businessmen, who are worth more than $5 billion, are paying bin Laden "protection money" to stave off attacks on their businesses in Saudi Arabia, intelligence officials said. Bin Laden, whose family runs the largest Saudi construction firm, has called for the overthrow of the Saudi government.
--------------------------

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-chassoun17sep17,0,2026381,print.story?coll=sfla-home-headlines

By Ann W. O'Neill
Staff writer

September 17, 2004

A federal grand jury in Miami indicted two men who met at a Fort Lauderdale mosque, accusing them Thursday of providing money and recruits for radical Islamic terrorists bent on waging a global holy war.

The 10-count indictment, announced at a Washington news conference by U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, charged Adham Amin Hassoun, also known as Abu Sayyaf, and Mohamed Hesham Youssef, aka Abu Turab, with conspiracy and providing material support to terrorists.

"This indictment alleges that an individual living here in the United States, enjoying all the freedoms that our society has to offer, was secretly plotting to support murder and terror being perpetrated by violent jihadists overseas," Ashcroft said.

The indictment makes no connection to the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. Instead, it alleges the two men sent money from the United States to fund terrorist activities in countries such as Afghanistan, Libya, Egypt, Somalia, Chechnya and Bosnia.

It cites electronic interceptions of conversations, including one in which Hassoun quotes an Islamic leader: "The only way to deal with the infidels is by the sword."

Federal authorities said the indictment was significant because it came as a result of intelligence-sharing made possible by the U.S. Patriot Act, which went into effect after the Sept. 11 attacks. Hassoun's activities had been monitored for a decade before that, Ashcroft said.

Hassoun, 43, a computer programmer from Sunrise, has denied any connection with terrorists. He said in earlier interviews that he met Youssef and another terror suspect, so-called "dirty bomber" Jose Padilla, at Fort Lauderdale's Masjid Al-Iman Mosque during the 1990s.

One of Hassoun's friends, Sofian Abdelaziz of Miami Lakes, questioned the timing of the latest indictment, coming two months before the presidential election.

"This charge is nothing but political," said Abdelaziz, who has known Hassoun since 1994. "C'mon, after 21/2 years [of detaining Hassoun] and now you find this. You would have found this from Day One."

Hassoun's wife and three children sold their belongings and left the country two months ago because of the turmoil surrounding his detainment, Abdelaziz said.

Rafiq Mahdi, spiritual leader of Masjic Al-Iman, called Thursday's announcement theatrics.

"Mr. Hassoun has been incarcerated for two years," he said. "He certainly has been no threat to anybody over that time. [After 9-11] there was an agenda that someone has to be accountable and that heads have to roll, and Mr. Hassoun, because of some of his over-the top-rhetoric, became a very applicable target.

"I think there was an agenda to detain Mr. Hassoun until they could find something to charge him with."

Ashcroft deflected complaints that the timing was political, telling reporters federal authorities have a "responsibility" to investigate and prosecute terrorists.

Hassoun is in a South Florida jail for an earlier indictment that accused him of lying to investigators and an immigration judge about his activities. He was scheduled to appear before a federal judge in Miami on Monday in connection with that case. His lawyer, Fred Haddad, said the court date will likely double as an arraignment on the charges contained in the new indictment.

Youssef is in Egypt, where he is serving a sentence related to other terrorist activities, federal authorities said. Ashcroft said the authorities will seek to bring him to U.S. soil once he is freed.

A Palestinian national born in Lebanon, Hassoun had studied and worked in the United States for 15 years. Before his arrest on June 12, 2002, he lived with his family in an upper middle class neighborhood near the Sawgrass Mills mall. Hassoun, who was known to raise money for Muslim charities, registered the Florida branch of the Muslim charity Benevolence International in 1993 before resigning from the group months later.

The government froze the charity's funds in 2001, connecting the money to Osama bin Laden, the alleged mastermind behind the Sept. 11 attacks.

The government has described Hassoun as a member of Al-Gama Al-Islamiyya, a terrorist organization connected to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

From 1994 until early 2002, the indictment alleges, Hassoun helped recruit fighters in the United States for groups engaging in Islamic jihad or holy war. Youssef was one of his recruits, according to the indictment.

Over that period, Ashcroft said, Hassoun wrote checks for more than $53,000 to terrorist organizations, allegedly relying on code words such as "tourism," "trade" or "soccer equipment" to disguise the intended purpose.

Ashcroft said the conspiracy charge against Hassoun and Youssef includes an intercepted conversation in September 2000 in which they discussed financing the travel of a U.S. citizen who applied to attend a terrorist training camp. That person, identified only as "Unindicted Co-conspirator #2," was in the Middle East and returned to the United States in May 2000, the indictment says.

Although Ashcroft declined to name him, the description closely matches Padilla, a former Broward County resident who once worked at a Taco Bell in Davie. An alleged al-Qaida member, Padilla is being held indefinitely in a military brig in North Carolina as an "enemy combatant."

Authorities say Padilla was returning from a terrorist training camp when he was arrested in May 8, 2002 at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, where he grew up.

The indictment gives a similar history for the unindicted co-conspirator, adding that he was carrying Hassoun's name and phone number among his papers when he was arrested on May 8, 2002. A month later, members of a joint terrorism task force arrested Hassoun for immigration violations.

That unindicted co-conspirator "sounds like Padilla," said Hassoun defense attorney Haddad. He said he knew for several months the indictment was coming, but had expected Padilla to also be named as a defendant.

"I think he's probably cooperating," Haddad said of Padilla. "After 30 years of doing this, I can say that if someone's an unindicted co-conspirator, he's a witness."

According to the indictment, Hassoun wrote a series of checks to Muslim charities such as the Holy Land Foundation and Global Relief Foundation, which federal authorities have linked to terrorist financing.

In July, the Holy Land Foundation and seven of its leaders were indicted on charges of providing material support to Hamas, a foreign terrorist organization. The Treasury Department has designated the Global Relief Foundation as an organization that funneled money for terrorist-related activities.

Phone conversations picked up through electronic surveillance showed that Hassoun said in 1999 he was providing financial support and travel guidance to Youssef and the unindicted co-conspirator fitting Padilla's description. Hassoun also allegedly wrote a $1,000 check to another person with the co-conspirator's name on the memo line. On another occasion, Youseff told Hassoun that the co-conspirator "went to the area of Osama," the indictment stated.

The terror counts are the most serious charges, each carrying a maximum 15-year sentence if Hassoun and Youssef are convicted. But Hassoun also has been charged with possessing a 9 mm Smith & Wesson handgun, which could add 10 more years to his sentence.

Staff Writer Jon Burstein contributed to this report.



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