The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), the umbrella group associated with the Global Muslim Brotherhood in the U.S., was recently named as an unindicted conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation terrorism financing case. In a newspaper interview, the group denied any connection to Holy Land:
The secretary-general of the Islamic Society of North America, Muneer Fareed, said his group was surprised to be named in the Texas case. “I can tell you categorically that the current administration of ISNA, as well as its stakeholders, they have no connection to my knowledge with any Holy Land foundations,” he said. Mr. Fareed denied his group has any ties to Hamas, though he said it is difficult to police all 300 mosques under his umbrella. “We might have a kid whose dad was president of Hamas for all I know,” he said. “How do you verify these things?” The Islamic official expressed frustration at the lack of detail in the prosecution’s filing. “Perhaps there’s some evidence. I just don’t really know what it is,” he said.
Perhaps the key word here is “current administration” because not long ago, the previous ISNA Secretary-General told the media a different story:
ISNA has provided convention booth space and helped raise money for a number of Islamic charities later linked to terrorism by the federal government ‘“ groups like the Holy Land Foundation. …At an ISNA conference in Chicago last April, Syeed talked with Eyewitness News about the charity issue. Syeed acknowledged ISNA is active in providing direction for Islamic charities, holding workshops and offering advice at its conventions. But he said the ties stop there.’We have helped in the past to establish these charities and relief organizations,” he said. “They are not legally part of us’ Syeed said support for Holy Land was innocent support for what the organization believed was a good cause.’We were donating money according to the claims they were making,’ he said. Asked if he believed the donations might have been diverted to militant activities, he responded: ‘I have no personal knowledge. That’s why we are dependent on the system.’
Mr. Fareed’s denial of current ISNA/Holy Land contacts would appear disingenuous because Holy Land is no longer in operation.