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The Quranic Literacy Institute:
accused of funding terrorism
The Quranic Literacy Institute (QLI) of Oak Lawn, Illinois would be one Muslim organization you would think the American government would leave alone. It's a church status organization established in 1991 that produces and translates Islamic literature in accessible English. Its work is based in and focused on North America. The QLI is led by Dr. Ahmed Zaki Hammad, former president of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and a former leader of two major Masjids. He holds Ph.D.s from the University of Chicago and Al-Azhar in Egypt. But for the American government, the QLI has funded terrorism. Over $1 million seized In 1998, the U.S. federal government seized $1.4 million in QLI's assets, as they were about to purchase a $2 million dollar building. The assets have been seized without a trial, on allegations that the organization ran a money laundering scheme funding terrorism overseas. U.S. Attorney Scott Lassar said the case marked the first time that civil asset forfeiture had been used to seize money in U.S. banks to prevent it from being used for terrorism abroad. Muhammad Salah, a naturalized U.S. citizen who used to volunteer for QLI, has been singled out in connection with this case. The U.S. government filed a civil forfeiture complaint in federal court in Chicago against the father of three and his wife, Azita's, house and other assets. A front for terrorism The U.S. government alleged that Salah used money raised through the QLI to give money to Hamas for use in terrorist acts against Israel. Federal prosecutors say the organization was sending funds to support Hamas and that Salah's was employed at the QLI as a cover for his position as a high-level Hamas military operative. Salah was arrested in Israel in 1993 and pleaded guilty in 1995 to supporting Hamas. After serving his sentence, he returned to the United States in November 1997. Salah has not been charged with any crimes, only named in a civil forfeiture proceeding. The case against Salah is based on information from the Israeli government, allegedly from a confession Salah gave when he was imprisoned in Israel on charges that he was a terrorist. This case is not an accident "This is the first time in the history of America and the history of civil forfeiture that civil forfeiture has been used against a church status organization. In my view it's not innocent or just a coincidental fact. I think that there has been a very specific and definite targeting of a variety of approaches in order to begin to execute certain policies or a certain agenda against Muslims," says Amer Haleem, QLI's secretary in an interview with Sound Vision. He calls the FBI's affidavit against QLI and Salah an "expert distortion of reality": a series of twisted facts and juxtapositions. As well, he says the claims that QLI was involved in fundraising for any kind of activity abroad is false because the organization has done has only been focused in the U.S. "This is simply McCarthyism in another form," he notes. The fear of Muslims in North America getting organized "There are these forces at work, they I believe really view Muslims as a threat to their special interest agendas. In my view this is a systematic effort to curtail the institutionalization among Muslims that is taking place because they feel if we institutionalize here we will begin to have specific and powerful social effects on this society and political effects," Haleem notes. This is where cases like the QLI's are relevant. "To stop that institutionalization, what they want to do is to intimidate Muslims from giving funds. Because they think if they dry funding up they will impede the institutionalization of Muslims in North America," he says. Targeting Muslim leaders and scholars An extension of this, is the targeting of Muslim intelligentsia. The QLI's Hammad is one example. A more recent case is that of Imam Jamil Al-Amin. "They're looking at scholars, they're looking at writers and communicators, they're looking at people who are social leaders and that's why Jamil al-Amin is being looked at," Haleem says. Clinton administration: bad news for Muslim civil rights Haleem notes that cases like the QLI's point to the slow but sure erosion of Muslim civil rights in the last few years. "Under the Clinton administration, for all the talk about a liberal administration, what we have seen is the worst erosion of civil rights in America," notes Haleem, citing the broadening of judicial and police powers as an example. QLI: not giving up "We've committed to fighting it to the end to vindicate ourselves," says Haleem. He notes that this case is not just about the QLI. It's about Muslim civil rights. "I've recognized there's something afoot here with Muslims in general and if we don't respond collectively and defend our rights, if we don't make it known that we don't tolerate this kind of harassment then it's going to continue and get worse." (Check out this link to the case for more details)
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