Various media are reporting that Albert “Ahmed” Huber, a Swiss convert to Islam and one of the most “colorful” individuals tied to the Muslim Brotherhood, has died at the age of 80 from unknown causes. Huber first came to worldwide prominence following the 911 attacks when the U.S., followed by the U.N. and many other countries, placed him on the list of Specially Designated Terrorists based on his role as a board member of the Al Taqwa Bank, headed by Muslim Brotherhood leaders Youssef Nada and Ghaleb Himmat. The U.S had accused Al-Taqwa of helping to finance the activities of Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda, although subsequent Swiss and Italian cases against the Bank and its officer were dropped for lack of evidence.
Huber’s extensive involvement with neo-Nazi and right-wing extremist activities in addition to his Islamic affiliations led to a surge of interest and conspiracy theorizing about possible connections between the far-right and the events of 911. At the time of his conversion to Islam, Huber was friends with Johann von Leers, an associate of Joseph Göebbels and a propaganda advisor for former Egyptian President Nasser. Leers had also converted to Islam. Huber was also a close friend of the deceased ex-Nazi and terrorist Francois Genoud. Huber said that he originally converted at at the Geneva Islamic Center, established by Said Ramadan the son-in-law of the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, but later “redid” the conversion in 1962 at Al-azhar in Egypt at the behest of the Egyptian ambassador to Switzerland whose secretary he later married. The Ambassador, Fathi el-Dib, was also rumored to be part of Egyptian Intelligence.
Huber was formerly employed as a journalist for Ringier AG of Switzerland. He was asked to leave the journalism areas of the German Parliament Building after complaints about his statements Holocaust-denying statements. In 1989, he lost his job at Ringier after appearing on television to defend the fatwa issued by the Ayatollah Khomeni against Salman Rushdie. Huber was a long time member of the Swiss Socialist Party but was expelled in 1992 over his right-wing contacts, anti-feminine attitudes, and pro-Khomeni activities. Huber had said that since the 1980’s, he had worked as a lecture speaker on behalf of the fundamentalists in Tehran with appearances in Europe, the USA, Canada, South Africa, Turkey and Iran. He also said that he is was the only European Muslim ever allowed to make a speech at Khomeni’s Iranian tomb. Another source indicates that Huber also worked for the East German News Agency in Berne from 1970 until the end of that regime in 1989. Other sources say he produced a “press review” sent to Iran, Turkish Islamicists, Hamas, and Hizbollah.
Huber had made numerous public anti-Semitic and Holocaust denying statements as well as participating in Holocaust-denial conferences. He once told an Austrian news magazine that the common goal of neo-Nazis and Islamics is to terminate “the rule of the Jews”. He had numerous contacts with Swiss, German, and Austrian far-right and neo-Nazi groups and individuals and has publicly supported an alliance between the extreme right and the Muslim world. He aalso made the improbable claim to have established a network of skinheads, neo-Nazi Americans and Islamic radicals. Huber published a large number of audio and videocassettes on various Islamic and Middle Eastern topics and displayed pictures of Hitler, Himmler, and Turkish Islamist Necmettin Erbakan in his office.
Huber had lectured at many Swiss islamic venues including the Islamic Community of Zurich and the Muslim Association of Berne. From 1991-1999, he delivered almost yearly lectures at summer “Islamic Camps” sponsored by Die Barmherzigkeit, a Swiss Islamic magazine. Topics including the “political situation of Moslems in Switzerland” and the impending demise of capitalism and it’s replacement by “Islamic banking” In 1989, Huber gave a presentation to the Turkish Islamist group Milli Gorus in Steinhausen, Switzerland and apparently attended a one of their conferences in Davos in 1993.
Huber also said that he had made “regular trips” to the U.S. and many if not all of these trips appear to have been made under the auspices of Muslim Students Association, tied to the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood. There is clear evidence that Huber spoke to MSA gatherings in 1993, 1994, 1997, and 1998. Venues included LA, Chicago, and Maryland where he spoke at a Potomac mosque where his videotapes were on sale. During one of the Chicago visits, Huber says he lectured at a Nation of Islam gathering where Louis Farrakhan was present. Huber also says he attended a private assembly in Chicago that brought together “the authentic Right and the fighters for Islam.” Huber told journalist Richard Labeviere that “major decisions were taken [in Chicago]. … [T]he reunification is under way.”
Huber also claimed to have met members of the “Bin Laden entourage” at a Beirut conference and found them to be “very discrete, educated, highly intelligent people”. He celebrated the September 11 attacks calling the World Trade Center “towers of godlessness” and the Pentagon a “symbol of Satan”. As far Huber’s connections to Al Taqwa, Huber minimized his role stating that he was a minor player who received only $1,500 annually in compensation. One report asserts that Huber was placed on the board of Al Taqwa because as a Swiss citizen, his appointment might “placate” regulators who were beginning to investigate the group’s activities. At the time of his designation, Huber denied any connections to terrorists although in the past, he was known to have sanctioned violence against “the representatives of Israel”.