Floyd Abrams wrote an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal a few days ago that has not gotten the attention it deserves. In his article, Mr. Abrams explains that suing someone in court isn’t always the smartest course of action. “Be Careful What You Sue For” provides a few examples of cases where parties sued in court for things said about them only to have the suit bite them in the proverbial rear end.
The latest example, and a case Mr. Abrams was part of, is what I wish to direct this post towards. Recently, the Islamic Society of Boston sued 17 assorted individuals for libel. The Society had obtained a piece of property from the Boston Redevelopment Authority for a price far below its market value. Numerous parties including Mr. Abrams client, terrorist expert Steve Emerson, raised concerns about the transaction. Mr. Emerson and others urged, “…Boston authorities to reconsider their decision to provide the land on such favorable terms…to an organization whose present or former leaders had close connections with or who had otherwise supported terrorist organizations.” Remember, we are talking about a charity operating in the United States and dealing with a local government.
As the court case began to unfold, things started looking bad for the Islamic Society of Boston. The founder of the Society, Abdurahman Alamoudi, “…had been indicted in 2003 for his role in a terrorism financing scheme, pleaded guilty, and had been sentenced to a 23-year prison term.” But really, can we judge one charity based on the founder being a terrorist? Not so quick…
One of the members of the board of trustees, Yusef Al-Qaradawi, also had a few skeletons. Al-Qaradawi has been identified by the US Treasury as a senior member of the Muslim Brotherhood. Al-Qaradawi also endorsed the killing of Americans in Iraq and Jews everywhere. Is this enough to be suspicious of the Society…
Walid Fitaihi, a director of the Islamic Society of Boston, had written endorsing the killing of Jews for their, “oppression, murder and rape of the worshipers of Allah.” He had also accused the Jews of committing the “worst of evils” and of bringing “…the worst corruption to the earth.” And in case you still have any doubts, bank records revealed that the Society had raised funds for the Holy Land Foundation and the Benevolance International Foundation. Both of these charities have been identified as groups that raise money for Hamas (in the case of the Holy Land Fund) and Al-Queda (the Benevolance International Foundation).
At the end of the article, Mr. Abrams points out the lessons to be learned from this and similar cases. The first is that individuals or groups suing for libel should carefully consider what may happen if they sue. Secondly, counsel fees should be awarded to the winning side in cases similar to this. Both of these lessons are important, but I think Mr. Abrams misses the bigger lesson, a charity was shown to have terrorist ties in a court of law.
These are details that were brought as the case was pursued. An Islamic Charity is operating in the United States, and continues to operate in the US that has been proven to have terrorist ties. While I am not surprised this isn’t getting more coverage, I am greatly troubled that it isn’t. How can we even be debating some of the issues in Congress right now, when we allow a group to raise funds and associate with terrorist in our own backyard? Boston has plans for this group to give lectures regarding Islam to the local community. Do we really want to provide a venue for terrorist to teach the public here in our home towns?
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There are even worse terrorists than this operating in the open in the U.S. A small cell has organized the killing of somewhere between 30,000 and 650,000 people in just the past four years. The operate in full view of the public at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
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