Win or lose, efforts by two Islamist groups to purge their names from a list of unindicted co-conspirators in a Hamas-support trial have proven counter-productive. The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and its related financial arm the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT) were named among eight "individuals/entities who are and/or were members of the US Muslim Brotherhood," in court papers filed in May 2007.
Prosecutors say the groups were part of a broad scheme to support Hamas financially and politically. The Texas-based Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF) was at the heart of that scheme. It and five former officials face a retrial Sept. 8 on charges they conspired to provide material support to Hamas. With that looming, ISNA and NAIT petitioned U.S. District Judge Jorge A. Solis in June, demanding they be struck from the list.
It is one thing to persuade gullible politicians and journalists that their established roots in the Muslim Brotherhood either don't exist or don't matter. But to argue in court does nothing but beg a pointed and damaging response.
Their brief, filed on their behalf by the American Civil Liberties Union, argued that inclusion among groups and people who belonged to the Muslim Brotherhood in America improperly labeled them without a chance to defend themselves. This, they claim, is harming their reputations with government agencies and other religious organizations. Read more ...
Prosecutors say the groups were part of a broad scheme to support Hamas financially and politically. The Texas-based Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF) was at the heart of that scheme. It and five former officials face a retrial Sept. 8 on charges they conspired to provide material support to Hamas. With that looming, ISNA and NAIT petitioned U.S. District Judge Jorge A. Solis in June, demanding they be struck from the list.
It is one thing to persuade gullible politicians and journalists that their established roots in the Muslim Brotherhood either don't exist or don't matter. But to argue in court does nothing but beg a pointed and damaging response.
Their brief, filed on their behalf by the American Civil Liberties Union, argued that inclusion among groups and people who belonged to the Muslim Brotherhood in America improperly labeled them without a chance to defend themselves. This, they claim, is harming their reputations with government agencies and other religious organizations. Read more ...
Source: IPT News
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