The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) has condemned what it calls the attempted bombing of Chicago area synagogues. According to the ISNA announcement:
(Plainfield, IN Oct 30, 2010) The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) applauds law enforcement and all other persons responsible for effectively intercepting the explosive packages sent in an attempt to bomb synagogues in Chicago. ISNA President Imam Mohamed Magid states, “ISNA and American Muslims lend their support to our fellow Jewish American community and strongly condemn this attempted bombing and any actions to attack our Jewish neighbors or any person by means of violence and terrorism.” ISNA has strong partnerships with members of the Jewish community in America and has a long record of fighting hate, extremism, and bigotry, including anti-Semitism. ISNA promotes peace and tolerance through its interfaith activities, including those with members of the Jewish community. On September 7, 2010 former ISNA President Dr. Ingrid Mattson stood beside Rabbi David Sapperstein, from the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, and other interfaith partners to share a statement that “to attack any religion in the United States is to do violence to the religious freedom of all Americans.” “We reiterate today, upon hearing this news, that an attack on any person and any religion is an attack on all religions and our ability to live cooperatively and safely together is compromised by actions of violence and religious hatred,” said Imam Magid.
As documented in a Hudson Institute report, ISNA grew directly out of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood. Contrary to the claim that ISNA has a “long record of fighting hate, extremism, and bigotry, including anti-Semitism”, the organization actually has a long history of fundamentalism, anti-semitism, and support for terrorism and during the recent Holy Land Foundation terrorism financing trial, ISNA was named as an unindicted co-conspirator as a result of what the government called “ISNA’s and NAIT’s intimate relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood, the Palestine Committee, and the defendants in this case.” Although it is true that recently ISNA has issued condemnations of terrorism which for the first time identify Hamas and Hezbollah by name, there is no indication that the organization has ever addressed or acknowledged its history of support for terrorism. Also, as the Hudson Institute report observes, almost all of the ISNA founders remain active in the organization and ISNA maintains close relations with all other components of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood.
A previous post discussed the ties between the ISNA Secretary-General, a former leader of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) Chicago chapter, and an Illinois school with close links to the Mosque Foundation, itself tied to fundraising for Hamas.