Some CAIR Officials Convicted of Crimes, More Tied to Extremist Groups
http://www.investigativeproject.org/article/624
by Steven Emerson (note: The third installment of our CAIR dossier can be viewed in its
entirety at http://www.investigativeproject.org/documents/misc/111.pdf) The questionable associations and actions by many of its leaders cast serious
doubt on CAIR's claims of moderation and restraint. Some have committed criminal
acts themselves; others have ties to organizations with connections to Islamic
extremism. Those convicted of direct criminal activity include Ghassan Elashi, a
founding board member of CAIR-Texas; Randall (Ismail) Royer, once a
communications specialist for the national group, and Bassam Khafagi, the
organization's one-time director of community relations. In the more egregious cases, the organization has tried to distance itself
from the individuals, contorting both logic and the English language. As the
IPT's series on CAIR's history and activities continues, we look at the suspect
nature of these examples and others close to the organization. • Ghassan Elashi, who attended a 1993 Philadelphia meeting called by Hamas to
discuss derailing U.S. peace initiatives, was convicted in 2004 on six criminal
counts, including making false statements, conspiracy to violate the Export
Administration Regulations and the Libyan Sanctions Regulations, and conspiracy
to file false shipper's export declaration forms. He was a defendant again in
the 2007 Hamas-support trial of the Holy Land Foundation (HLF), where jurors
were unable to reach unanimous verdicts on the charges against him. Elashi served as HLF chairman and treasurer and vice president of Infocom, a
computer export company. He was sentenced to 80 months in prison for making
illegal computer shipments to Libya and Syria and conspiring to send money to
Mousa Abu Marzook, an admitted Hamas leader. Seeking to minimize Elashi's ties to CAIR, Executive Director Nihad Awad
assured U.S. senators in 2003 testimony, "Mr. Elashi was never an employee or
officer of our corporation. The fact that he was once associated with one of our
almost twenty regional chapters has no legal significance…" • Randall Royer, the former CAIR communications specialist, has a more
colorful criminal history. Police who stopped his car for a traffic violation in
2001 found an AK-47-style rifle and 219 rounds of ammunition inside. Then, in
2003, he was indicted on charges stemming from participation in the ongoing
jihad in Kashmir -- specifically, doing propaganda work for Lashkar-e Taiba, a
Specially Designated Global Terrorist group, and personally firing at Indian
positions in Kashmir. Pleading guilty to weapons and explosives charges in 2004, he was sentenced
to 20 years in prison. Again, CAIR reacted defensively, seeking to downplay both his ties to the
organization and, indeed, the nature of his crimes. "Notwithstanding the fact
that any criminal action to which he pleaded guilty was done when Royer was no
longer employed with CAIR and not at CAIR's direction," the group said, "it is
important to note that the only crimes that he pleaded guilty to were weapons
charges, not charges of terrorism." CAIR's timing point contradicts media reports indicating that Royer still
worked for the group in October 2001; while the charges to which Royer pleaded
guilty do not directly contain the word "terrorism," they involved his
activities in support of the designated terrorist Lashkar-e Taiba. • Bassam Khafagi pleaded guilty to bank and visa fraud charges in September
2003, after his arrest and indictment earlier that year. "At the time of his
arrest," the Associated Press reported, "he was community affairs director of
the Council on American-Islamic Relations." Khafagi also served as a founding member and president of the Islamic
Assembly of North America. That group was investigated on charges of money
laundering and recruiting terrorists over the Internet and the FBI raided its
offices in February 2003. Trying to put the best face on the situation once again, Awad claimed in
Senate testimony, "Khafagi was never an 'employee' of CAIR," but rather an
"independent contractor for CAIR." Among other CAIR officials: • Nabil Sadoun, currently on CAIR's board and chair of CAIR-Texas, helped
found the United Association for Studies and Research (UASR). While there has
been no criminal prosecution of the UASR, Sadoun founded it along with Hamas
leader Marzook. Internal records show the UASR was a founding member of the
Muslim Brotherhood's Palestine Committee in America. Federal prosecutors say
that committee's "designed purpose was to support Hamas." Sadoun also co-founded the Muslim American Youth Association. MAYA's
conferences, many of which it co-sponsored with IAP, have long supported
Hamas. • Mohammad El-Mezain, the former chairman and director of endowments for HLF,
conducted fundraising at a 2004 CAIR-New York event, soliciting over $100,000
for CAIR. He was indicted soon afterward for providing material support to
Hamas. Acquitted of most counts against him in the HLF trial, he faces retrial
on a charge of conspiring to provide material support to a terrorist group. • Rabih Haddad served as a fundraiser for CAIR's Ann Arbor chapter. He
co-founded the Global Relief Foundation (GRF), one of the largest Islamic
charities in the United States -- but one that the U.S. government has
investigated of funding violent jihadism. In December 2001 the FBI raided GRF's headquarters and arrested Haddad, then
its chairman, on a visa violation. He was deported to Lebanon after an
immigration judge found that he presented "a substantial risk to the national
security of the United States." The Treasury Department said Haddad had been a
member of Makhtab Al-Khidamat, the precursor organization to Al Qaeda. Again, to view the full installment, click here:
IPT News
March 26, 2008
http://www.investigativeproject.org/documents/misc/111.pdf
