Local media is reporting that Ghassan Hitto, elected by the Syrian National Coalition (SNC) as head of an interim government in Syria, was a member of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) in addition to his other ties to the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas support organizations. According to a NUVO News report:
Ghassan Hitto, who was elected to the post on March 19, holds degrees from two Central Indiana institutions: B.S. degrees in computer science and mathematics from Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis, and an M.B.A. from Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion. He was also a member of the Islamic Society of North America in Plainfield until his family moved away from the area about 20 years ago, according to an ISNA member who answered the phone. Hitto, who was born in Syria, is a naturalized American citizen.
A Hudson Institute report identifies ISNA as a part of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood.
A post from last week reported on the election of Mr. Hitto and his leader position in several U.S. Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas support organizations:
- According to investigative research posted on the GMNBDR, Mr. Hitto was a Secretary-Treasurer of the American Middle Eastern League for Palestine (AMELP), another name by which the Islamic Association of Palestine (IAP) operated and that shared the same office and officers. The IAP was known to have been part of the Hamas infrastructure in the U.S.
- In 2002, U.S. media also identified Mr. Hitto as a “friend of the Elashi family” and who appeared to be acting as their spokesperson. In 2009, Ghassan Elashi was sentenced to 65 years in prison for his role in financing Hamas as part of the Holy Land Foundation.
- In 2002, U.S. media identified Mr. Hitto as the Vice-President of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) Dallas Fort-Worth Chapter (see Note 1). A Hudson Institute report identifies CAIR as part of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas support infrastructure in the U.S.
- According to the Texas Secretary of State, Mr. Hitto is a director of the Muslim American Society (MAS) Youth Center of Dallas. He has also been listed in the past as the contact person for the Dallas chapter of the MAS. The Hudson Institute report also dentifies the MAS as part of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood and close to the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood.
So far, U.S. media has completely failed to identify any of these positions held by Mr. Hitto who has now become the fourth U.S. Muslim Brotherhood figure to be identified as part of the Syrian National Council. According to an Al-Jazeera report, Hitto founded the Coalition of Free Syria activist group in 2011, and become a national board member of the Syrian American Council the following year. The same report says he is a member of the recently formed National Coalition.
(Note 1: Fort Worth Star-Telegram May 15, 2002, Wednesday FINAL EDITION “Woman tells of detention”)