The Dallas Morning News is just getting around to writing about Louay Safi, a US Muslim Brotherhood leader who became part of the Muslim Brotherhood-dominated Syrian opposition. The report begins:
Louay Safi
05 September 2013 When the main Syrian opposition group speaks, it is often through a longtime U.S. resident whose ties to Islamist extremists were detailed in a 2010 Dallas Morning News report.
The Syrian-born man, Louay Safi, has made big news twice recently. Last month, at a coalition news conference in Turkey, he accused Syria’s government of using chemical weapons. A few days ago, he called President Barack Obama’s consultation with Congress about attacking Syria a ‘failure of leadership.’
Safi used to work occasionally on U.S. Army bases, teaching soldiers about his Islamic faith. But as we reported in 2010, he was suspended shortly after the Fort Hood massacre and subjected to a military criminal investigation.
Authorities said these actions stemmed from a complaint about the alleged terrorist connections of Safi’s main employer at the time, the Islamic Society of North America, or ISNA. Thirteen members of Congress asked the Defense Department to ‘stop any lecturing by Louay Safi or ISNA affiliated speakers.’
Details of the military investigation have never been released publicly. But Safi’s suspension remains in effect, military officials confirmed this week.
Here are some other takeaways from our 2010 report: 1) On a wiretapped 1995 phone call, Safi and a terrorism suspect mocked a U.S. order that banned dealings with foreign terrorist groups. They also said that Jews controlled the White House. The suspect, a Florida professor named Sami al-Arian, later pleaded guilty to conspiracy. Prosecutors named Safi an unindicted co-conspirator in that case.”
