By Patrick Poole
When Fawaz Damra was deported in early January 2007, he left a sizable leadership void at the Islamic Center of Cleveland, the largest mosque in Ohio where he had served as imam since 1991. Damra was convicted in June 2004 for failing to disclose his ties to three terrorist organizations when he applied for U.S. citizenship and was also named an unindicted co-conspirator in Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Sami al-Arian’s terrorism trial. The pair had been captured on video tape raising funds for the terrorist organization and recorded on FBI wiretaps discussing raising funds for the families of suicide bombers. Damra had also been caught lecturing his congregation on how Jews were “the sons of monkeys and apes.”
Prior to coming to Cleveland, Damra was one of the three founders of the al-Kifah Refugee Center, the U.S. recruiting office for the Maktab al-Khidamat, a bin Laden-financed precursor to al-Qaeda. He also served as the imam of the al-Farouq mosque in Brooklyn that served as the hub of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing plot and the home of now-convicted “blind sheikh” Omar Abdel-Rahman.
Since Damra’s forced departure, two potential successors have rapidly come and gone. The first intended successor, Mohamad Altabaa, who was hired from another area mosque, was quickly given the heave-ho for being too moderate. Now, however, the Cleveland mosque has settled on a permanent replacement, Egyptian cleric Sayed Ahmed Abouabdalla, who seems qualified to pick up where Damra left off. Read more ...
When Fawaz Damra was deported in early January 2007, he left a sizable leadership void at the Islamic Center of Cleveland, the largest mosque in Ohio where he had served as imam since 1991. Damra was convicted in June 2004 for failing to disclose his ties to three terrorist organizations when he applied for U.S. citizenship and was also named an unindicted co-conspirator in Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Sami al-Arian’s terrorism trial. The pair had been captured on video tape raising funds for the terrorist organization and recorded on FBI wiretaps discussing raising funds for the families of suicide bombers. Damra had also been caught lecturing his congregation on how Jews were “the sons of monkeys and apes.”
Prior to coming to Cleveland, Damra was one of the three founders of the al-Kifah Refugee Center, the U.S. recruiting office for the Maktab al-Khidamat, a bin Laden-financed precursor to al-Qaeda. He also served as the imam of the al-Farouq mosque in Brooklyn that served as the hub of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing plot and the home of now-convicted “blind sheikh” Omar Abdel-Rahman.
Since Damra’s forced departure, two potential successors have rapidly come and gone. The first intended successor, Mohamad Altabaa, who was hired from another area mosque, was quickly given the heave-ho for being too moderate. Now, however, the Cleveland mosque has settled on a permanent replacement, Egyptian cleric Sayed Ahmed Abouabdalla, who seems qualified to pick up where Damra left off. Read more ...
Source: Pajamas Media
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