MIM:Yusuf Islam uses his Dubai based Astrolabe company to distribute
Islamic products and propagation materials . The Astrolabe "company
hopes our products reach America at-large and inform an enlightened
religious and cultural dialogue." http://www.astrolabe.com/about.php
Yusaf Islam's deceptively named 'International Institute for
Education Resources and Research'. which omits the word Islam is an
international enterprise which publishes textbooks and educational
materials for use in Islamic schools. (see details of IBERR meeting in
2001 at US school below where Islam proposes tranmitting Islamic videos
by satellite and note the discussion for the possible publication of
texbooks in Jeddah ,Saudi Arabia) http://www.iberr.co.za/san2001b.htm
MIM: The IBERR 'mission statement' from a conference in 1999 openly
calls for preparing young Muslims to implement the othe "khalifate", a
global Muslim state:
Islamic Education Movement
"...The International Board of Educational Research and Resources is
the brainchild of a group of Muslims stimulated into action by Brother
Yusuf Islam..."
"...It could be said that the Islamic education movement started as
a reaction to the ‘secularisation' of education in Muslim countries and
the consequent marginalisation of the traditional Islamic sciences
based on the Qur'an and Sunnah. Starting with the landmark World
Islamic Education Conference held in Makkah in 1977, efforts were made
to define and develop an Islamic education model based on the basic
tenets of ‘Aqidat al Tawheed' which prepares young Muslims to undertake
the mission of ‘khilafat' ..."
http://www.iberr.co.za/iberr1.htm
----------------------------
http://artsweb.bham.ac.uk/bmms/1996/02February96.html#Islamia%20School%20funding%20crisis
MIM: In 1996 at the same time that Islam started Muslim Aid and had
been treasurer of the Muslim Council of Britain his school funding from
Saudi Arabia was cut for because of his "moral support for those
opposed to the government of Saudi Arabia.This is further proof of his
support for groups such as Al Qaeda and would fit in with his funding
of Muhajideen in Bosnia.
Islamia School funding crisis
The Islamia school in Brent, north London, is facing a severe
financial crisis due to an 85% cut in the donation usually received
from Saudi Arabia and handed over in Ramadan (see BMMS for December
1995). Yusuf Islam, the school's founder and chair of the board of
governors, believes that the cut, from £150,000 to £25,000, may be due
to his moral support of those opposed to the Saudi government. He said:
"We try to be unbiased but if I was locked up I hope someone would ask
about me. It is only wishing for your brother what you wish for
yourself" (Guardian Weekly 22.02.96). However, Mr Islam laid the
responsibility for lack of funds on the educational policies of the
government. He said: "...we have to go, begging bowl in hand, to
affluent Muslim countries asking for help, even though the law of the
land is on our side for state funding". Over 7000 Christian and 24
Jewish schools receive state funding, whereas none of the 45 Muslim
schools does (Muslim News 16.02.96). [BMMS February 1996 Vol. IV, No. 2, p. 11]
---------------------------------------
MIM: Sound Vision, an affiliate of the the Mosque Foundation in
Bridgeview Illinois. The Mosque Foundation has been under law
enforcement scrutiny for more then a decade for ties to terrorism and
several of their congregants have been arrested . The most recent
arrest of a Mosque Foundation member was Mohammed Saleh, who was
charged with involvement in funding and recruiting terrorist operatives
in Gaza .
Besides being documented as having given "tens of thousands of
dollars to Hamas" while on visit to Israel in 1998 Yusuf Islam, aka Cat
Stevens, is the head of Astrolabe enterprises. Astrolabe is an Islamist
multi media organisation which distributes Islamic propagation
materials and products for the Muslim market and is based in Dubai. http://www.astrolabe.com/contributor/396/Yusuf_Islam
Astrolabe is the UK equivalent of Sound Vision, a Chicago based
company which is a financing front for the Mosque Foundation in
Bridgeview, the US headquarters for the Islamic Association of
Palestine, the American wing of Hamas. Astrolabe is part of Islam's
"Mountain of Light" music company based since 2002 in Dubai. http://www.yusufislam.org.uk/newsreleasesept02.htm
Islam's close friend Abdul Malik Muhajid, the director of Sound
Vision, is listed as the National Coordinator for the Bosnia Task Force
and Kosova Task Force. The Bosnia Task Force is alleged to have direct
ties to Al Qaeda and the Benevolence International Foundation, an Al
Qaeda funding front whose founder Ernaam Arnaout, is now jailed on
terror funding charges.
In 2002 Islam started and is the chairman of 'Small Kindness' a
'charity' primarily focused on Bosnia and Kosovo, which uses " widows"
and "orphans" as standard props for soliciting donations for
'humanitarian - terrorism" causes. According to Islam's mission
statement
"...Our belief is that we should not stop our support simply
because the TV cameras have turned to other hotspots. Small Kindness
intends to stay and grow in Kosova and the Balkans at large to help
rebuild the future of its people In sha' Allah (God Willing). "... http://www.smallkindness.org/mission.htm
Islam also produced a record in solidarity with Bosnia together with
'activists' there -which is a collection of pro Bosnian propaganda
under the cynical guise of children's songs. The album cover depicts 4
children with a Bosnia flag waving behind them . In the background a
hulking Imam holding what appears to be a Koran towers in front of the
mountains. Between the two mountains the face of someone appears almost
ghostlike. It is most likely a picture of Dr. Irfan Lubiankic, who is
regarded as a martyr by Yusuf Islam and Bosnian Muslims after he was
killed when his plane was alleged to have been shot down by Serbs in
1995.
MIM: The so called' kids' album is entitled: "I Have No Cannons that
Roar" and includes such ditties as : "Allah is Enough for Me" and "The
Little Ones" . The album is intended to raise funds for "Small
Kindness", and is a crude piece of political propaganda exploiting
children on it's cover to elicit sympathy:
Note that the Bosnian Muslim cause has been aided and abetted
since it's inception by Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda .The Benevolence
International Foundation was set up as a 'charity' funding front in
Bosnia which opened offices in Chicago and Florida. In 2002 Islam's
Muslim Aid 'charity' was on a Spanish police list
"Muslim Aid, created in London by singer Cat Stevens (now known
as Yusuf Islam), which used funds to send mujahadeen fighters to
Bosnia"
http://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/europe/12/08/spain.alqaeda/
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Israel National News 2004
Excerpt from: "Islamist Recruitment in Bosnia - A white Al Qaeda"
"...Serbian news outlets have been reporting with increasing
intensification in recent days on attempts by Islamist terrorist
groups, including Al-Qaeda, to recruit soldiers among Bosnia's Muslims.
The independent Serbian news agency FoNet reported on Tuesday
that Muslims from Bosnia-Herzegovina are being recruited to join the
what has been called "white Al-Qaeda".
Slobodan Radulj, former member of Bosnia-Herzegovina's
anti-terrorist task force and an adviser to the Serb member of the
presidency of Bosnia-Herzegovina, told the Nezavisne Novine Serbian
daily, "Reports by international intelligence services saying that
future terrorists will be blue-eyed and blonde indicate that Al-Qaeda
is recruiting in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo. This is why the
authorities should prevent radical Islamists from paying young and poor
men to go to battlefields and to die there." (MIM: Note Yusuf Islam's
statements about "Blue eyed and blonde haired Muslims...chanting
"Allahu Akhbar")
Radulj also charged that among the 400 Non-Governmental
Organizations operating in Bosnia, many of them were fronts for
money-laundering and the financing of terrorist organizations..." http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1062704/posts
-----------------------------------------------
MIM: According to Kenneth Timmerman's Insight Magazine Iran has
played a large role in terrorist training and recruitment in Bosnia.
Note that Yusuf Islam echoes Islamist recruitment rhetoric when
he refers to as the "recent genocide in Bosnia" and "Christian hatred
towards Islam and Muslims" as "a turning point for Muslims".
Islam's Iran- Bosnian connection may be a significant factor as
to why Yusuf Islam is a welcome visitor in Teheran and that his music
is being marketed throughout Iran where he has celebrity status.
Yusuf Islam was also accused by the US government of being
linked to Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, who recruited Americans to fight in
Bosnia while based in Brooklyn.The British group Al Muhajiroun is also
connected to Abdel Rahman and has followers in New York.One of them,
Junaid Babar was recently jailed in connection with a bombing plot.
"...After the Cold War, Rahman's followers, such as Hampton-El, recruited for the Bosnia "jihad." See: Al Qaeda Recruited U.S. Servicemen: Testimony Links Plot To Saudi Gov't. Sure enough, ABC News reported "that Bosnian Muslims were part of the group led by Egyptian Islamic cleric Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman..."
According to a Spanish police report,
"Muslim Aid, created in London by singer Cat Stevens (now known as
Yusuf Islam)... used funds to send mujahadeen fighters to Bosnia."
http://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/europe/12/08/spain.alqaeda/
--------------------------------------------------------------
Excerpt from : "Jihadists Change Terror Stereotype - Iran and Al
Qaeda have been recruiting and training brigades of blonde blue- eyed
Jihadists to wage war in the West"
..."More than 10 years ago, Iran and the al-Qaeda terrorist
network began recruiting and training Bosnian Muslims for war against
Orthodox Christian Serbs and Catholic Croats in order to expand the
Muslim base in Eastern Europe. "
..."In 1992 the TFTUW (Task Force on Terrorism and
Unconventional Warfare ) documented this escalation by Iran and
al-Qaeda, which included funding the training of Bosnian Muslims and
importing weapons. The report says Iran proclaimed the battleground of
Bosnia-Herzegovina a microcosm for resisting the West's war on Islam,
and called in reinforcements. "They arrived in Bosnia-Herzegovina in
answer to Tehran's call to fight the jihad and eager to commit
martyrdom in the name of Islam. They included highly trained and
combat-proven volunteers from Iran, Afghanistan, Lebanon and several
other Arab countries."
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1571/is_42_18/ai_95150326
----------------------------------------------
YUSUF ISLAM STATEMENT ON NEW ALBUM AND BOSNIA
The recent genocide in Bosnia was a turning point for Muslims
in Europe: not only did it ignite the ghosts of Christian hatred
towards Islam and Muslims, it also taught about the hitherto unknown treasure of Islamic culture and civilization which Bosnia represents. The
live T.V. pictures of blond haired, blue-eyed Muslims reciting the
verses of the Holy Qur'an and chanting 'Allahu Akhbar', while they
prayed and sang stirring anashid (songs) amidst the smoke and fury of
the war, brought a whole new perspective to the concept and
understanding of Islam for the many who witnessed it...
MIM: The "Peace Train Man" had this to say about his music being islamically permissable as a form of Jihad:
"...Looking again at the question of music and particularly singing
in Islam, it became more clear that the issue was still highly
debatable, particularly in circumstances of Jihad and war. Surely the
use of certain musical instruments for the defence of the Islamic
identity and culture of a nation is worthy of the same allowance as
guns and rockets? It was, after all, the self-identification and
culture of Bosnian Muslims and their Turkish influence (i.e. Islam)
which had come under attack - not the Bosnian Muslim's military
strength. A hadith may be worth quoting here. When the Prophet, peace
and blessings upon Him, was entering Makkah to perform his ‘umrah al
qada' (lesser pilgrimage), Abdullah bin Rawahah was walking in front of
him reciting poetry against the disbelievers. ‘Umar stopped him and
said, ‘O Ibn Rawahah! In the presence of the Messenger of God and in
the Holy sanctuary of Allah, you are reciting poetry?' The Prophet,
peace and blessings upon Him, said, "Leave him O ‘Umar. These couplets
are more forceful than the showering of arrows upon them..." 1
"...I Have No Cannons That Roar' is the result of co-operative
effort, constructed thoughtfully with the intention of arming Muslims
with a desperately needed cultural weapon in order to protect and
strengthen ourselves. We will watch its effect on the public with
interest, praying that it will also open many hearts to the light of
Islam and the harmony which it can bring to society and human
civilisation. And we pray to Allah for forgiveness for any mistakes
made in connection with our work on this project, may He pardon us and
guide us to what is best. Amin..."
Note that Islam quotes :
1) Al Tirmidi's collection of Prophetic Traditions
"The Order of Jihad"
Hadith - Al-Tirmidhi #3835, Narrated AbuHurayrah
Allah's Messenger said, "If anyone meets Allah with no mark of jihad, he will meet Allah with a flaw in him." [Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah transmitted it]
--------------------------------
Read the rest of Yusuf's statement
http://catstevens.com/articles/00029/index.html
--------------------
For more on Yusuf Islam's statements and activities on behalf of Bosnian Muslims click on the URL:
http://catstevens.com/features/tour1997/
---------------------------------------------------
MIM: This' tribute' is by Abdul Malik Mujahid - director of
Sound Vision and national coordinator of the Bosnia (Kosovo) Task Force
http://www.soundvision.com/shop/pview.asp?Item=7166-006
This album is dedicated to Dr. Irfan (Lubiankic), Foreign
Minister of Bosnia, whose helicopter was shot down by the Serbs in
1995. A few months earlier he met Yusuf Islam and gave him a rough
cassette of a song he had written and recorded at home, entitled 'I
have no cannons that roar.' The song was translated into English and
combined with other songs hence resulting in the production of this
album. Dr. Irfan's martyrdom was the catalyst which brought about this
album. It is also a tribute to the people of Bosnia and their
courageous defense of their country".
----------------------------------------------------
This album is a tribute to the Muslims of Bosnia. This
collection of songs, in Bosnian and English, and instrumental styles,
sometimes somber and sometimes heartening, will ensure that listeners
never forget Bosnia and what Bosnia means for all of us. Yusuf Islam,
the primary composer and lyricist, sings a reflective tune entitled,
'The Little Ones'. Other songs are 'I Have No Cannons That Roar', 'Hey
Homeland', 'Allah is Enough for Me', 'Last Flight', 'I Am a Son of
Yours', 'Mother, Father, Sister, Brother', 'When Adhans Are Called,'
'The Blossoms Blown', 'Where Are Makkah and Madinah', and 'Spring of
Tasnim'. While saddened by the Bosnian tragedy, this album looks toward
a bright future, Insha'Allah. As Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic stated, 'we believe that Bosnia will be better ".
http://www.astrolabe.com/products/viewitem.php?id=1227
----------------------------------------------------------
For more on :" Humanitarian Terrorism" and how Muslims and Arabs
are exploiting children's charities as terrorism funding fronts see: http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/221
-----------------------------------
Note that Yusuf Islam is a supporter of Bosnian Muslim leader
Alija Izetbekovic who aided and abetted the setting of an Al Qaeda
network in Britain . Which begs the question of how much funding Yusuf
Islam provided for his cause.
Excerpt from "Balkan Wars and Terrorist Ties "
In Bosnia-Herzegovina, where the civil war lasted just over
three years, the ties between the Islamic fundamentalist regime of
Bosnian Muslim leader Alija Izetbegovic and known terrorists were
exposed quickly. At the beginning of the war, Izetbegovic re-connected
with his old friend and a member of ruling clique (National Islamic
Front) in Sudan, Dr. Elfatih Hassanein-omal-Fatih.
The Bosnian
Muslims, through Fatih's Third World Relief Agency (TWRA), began
smuggling arms for their cause in 1992. American sources suspect that
Sheik Omah Abdel Rahman, the radical imam who was convicted of
organizing the terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre in New York
in 1993 had several links to TWRA. Another terrorist with strong links
with TWRA is Osama bin Laden, who tops the most wanted terrorist list
in the United States. The Riyadh, Saudi Arabia-born bin Laden is noted
as the most vicious terrorist today. He was indicted for terrorist
attacks on a US military base in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and United
States' embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
Several Bosnian
Muslims have direct ties with TWRA, including: Irfan Ljevakovic, a
founder of the Stranka Demokratske Akcije (SDA–Alija Izetbegovic's
ruling Bosnian Muslim party), the Bosnian Muslim political wing and the
man responsible for bringing mujahadeens to Bosnia-Herzegovina; Alija
Izetbegovic, SDA and Bosnian Muslim president who guaranteed Fatih's
credentials to the Die Erste Osterreich Bank (Austria), enabling him to
open an account there. The Bosnian Muslims used the bank account to
solicit and transit funds for arms purchases. Other Bosnian Muslims
listed as Executive Directors of TWRA include: Hasan Cengic, Husein
Zivalj (deputy foreign minister of Bosnia-Herzegovina), and Faris Nanic
(an advisor of Alija Izetbegovic).
Such ties between "humanitarian organizations" and terrorists are nothing new when in comes to the Balkans. ..
Click on link below for complete article or scroll to the bottom of the page.
http://www.balkanpeace.org/our/our02.shtml
------------------------------------
Yusuf Islam spoke at a
rally for the Bosnian Task Force in Washington, D.C. Abul Malik Muhajid
recounted that Frank McCloskey the former president of the BTF decided
that it would be "politically incorrect" to stand on the podium with
Yusuf Islam because of his calls for Salman Rushdie's murder .
The Bosnian Task Force is linked to the Al Qaeda run Benevolence
International Foundation, which started operating from Chicago and
opened a branch in Sunrise, Florida which was run by Adham Hassoun, who
is awaiting trial on multiple terrorism charges and is said to be the
man who helped Jose Padilla travel abroad and arranged for his training
with Al Qaeda. ( For more on Yusuf Islam's links to the BTF see excerpt
from article on SV website below).
The Bosnia and Kosova Task Force is also connected to the
American Muslim Council. The president of the American Muslim Council,
Abdel Rahaman Alamoudi was jailed last year on terror related charges
and for complicity in a Libyan funded plot to hire a hit man to
assassinate Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.
Islam's connections to Abdel Malik Muhajid are reason enough to
ban him from the United States. Ironically Muhajid, who calls his
friend Islam a "pacifist" is named "holy warrior" in Arabic.
Even more alarming is the fact that Islam, who was documented
as funding Hamas and has a 16 year friendship with Abdul Malik Muhajid,
the national coordinator of the Bosnia/Kosova Task Force, and director
of a company with ties to Hamas ,the Islamic Association of Palestine ,
and the Bridgeview Mosque Foundation, which is alleged to have been
visited by associates of the 9/11 hijackers was awarded VIP status as
recounted in the Chicago Sun Times article :
"Islam visited Washington last May and met with officials of
the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives "to
talk about philanthropic work," according to White House spokeswoman
Claire Buchan.
The office is across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House. Buchan said that was before Islam was added to the no-fly list."
Several of Islam's close affiliates whose lectures he markets such
as Hamza Yusuf, an American convert to Islam, have blamed the 9/ 11
attacks on the United States and have proudly declared their militancy
as can be seen by Dr. Daniel Pipes recent weblog entry regarding Hamza
Yusuf's speach at an Islamic Society of North America conference. http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/327
Hamza Yusuf Fails My Test I have offered a number of questions to ask of Muslims to determine whether they are radical or moderate. Hamza Yusuf, called by the Guardian "arguably the west's most influential Islamic scholar," announced at the just-ended convention of the Islamic Society of North America, "I took that test and I failed. And I want to say to all of you, I hope you fail that test too." (September 6, 2004)
Islam's own stance disputing Muslim involvement in 9/11 drew accolades from Iranian leaders.(see quotes below ).
In a cynical attempt to diffuse criticism Islam repeatedly states to
the media that he was planing to donate a portion of his album
royalties to the 9/ 11 fund. Yet a look at the article reveals that
Islam added that : the rest is going to orphans and homeless families
in underdeveloped countries". This once again shows that Islam was able
to disquise his true intentions : ie of funding Bosnian and Kosovo Al
Qaeda linked organisations, by claiming that he was also going to
donate to the victims of 9/11. http://www.vh1.com/thewire/content/news/1449391.jhtml
The documentation below shows that Islam's support and funding of a
children's charity in Kosovo and Bosnia is directly linked to Al Qaeda.
It can be no coincidence that Benevolence International Foundation,an
Al Qaeda funding front which began in Bosnia, opened an office in
Chicago, home of Sound Vision and it's director Abdul Malik Muhajid,
who is a long time friend of Yusuf Islam. Muhajid calls himself the
national coordinator of the Bosnia and Kosovo Task Forces. Yusuf Islam
spoke at a BTF rally in Washington and then went on to start his "Small
Kindnesses' 'charity' which is linked directly to Bosnia. The aim of
Bosnian Muslims is to set up an Islamist state in the Balkans.
. Bosnia Muslims have been linked to Al Qaeda since the 1980s and
Americans who were arrested in connection with the 1993 WTC bombings
had fought on the side of the Muhajideen in Bosnia. The ex CAIR
communications director Ismail Randall Royer, who was recently jailed
on assorted terrorism charges, had boasted of his activities as a
fighter in Bosnia.
Excerpt from "Al Qaeda and Bosnia - Zero Degrees of Separation":
"...The United States has long been alarmed by the presence in
Bosnia of hundreds of Arab-born Muslim fundamentalists who first
traveled there in the 1990´s to fight for the nation's predominantly
Muslim population during the civil war. Many went there at the
direction of Osama bin Laden, who apparently saw the opportunity for a
Jihad defending Muslims against Serb and Croat Christians.
Osama
Bin Laden directly aided the Bosnian Muslims, both financially (weapons
procurement) and with training. In addition, that same "aid" was
extended to the separatist Albanians of Kosovo and Macedonia.
Ironically, the US found Bin Laden and his supporters "convenient"
allies when dealing with Bosnian Muslims and Kosovo Albanians, again in
another so-called struggle for "freedom". http://www.balkanpeace.org/our/our15.shtml
----------------------------------------------------
MIM:
Another Al Qaeda 'charity front' is the (International) Islamic Relief
Organisation which like Yusuf Islam, also proclaimed they would give
money to 9/11 victims.
The Islamic Relief organisation in the UK, which is directly linked
to the Saudi Wahabist government operations and funding for bombers
families and Al Qaeda, is one of the 'charities' being sued by the
families of victims of 9/11. Islamic Relief , which is based in the UK
and has a branch in California, brazenly solicited donations for 9/11
victims and published a cynical "Action Alert" replete with minarets.
See poster below.
----------------------------
Since the mid-1990s, business executives in Saudi Arabia have
transferred tens of millions of dollars to bank accounts linked to
Osama bin Laden. The money was deposited into the accounts of Islamic
charities, including Islamic Relief and Blessed Relief, that serve as
fronts for bin Laden, according to senior U.S. government officials. http://www.biohazardnews.net/binladen.shtml
------------------------
In March 2004 an Egyptian attorney proclaimed to CNN News that Bin
Laden deputy Al - Zahawiri was a charity worker for the IIRO and "not a
warrior"
Al-Zawahri is an engineer by profession. El-Zayat said he was not a warrior, but was in Afghanistan working with a Saudi-based Islamic relief agency, The International Committee for Islamic Relief.
http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/03/04/egypt.alqaeda.ap/
MIM: Note that the International Islamic Relief and Islamic Relief are both part of the same Saudi organisation.
--------------------
Sound Vision and the Hamas/ IAP/ PIJ connection :
http://soundvision.com/info/peace/mccloskey.asp
MIM: This excerpt is from an article written by Sound Vision
director Adul Malik Muhajid in tribute to Paul McCloskey,, and details
how that McCloskey refused to share a podium with Islam at a Bosnian
Task Force rally in Washington, because of Islam's "controversial "
position on Rushdie.
----------------------------
"Frank McCloskey -Simple, Humble and Straight"
By Adul Malik Muhajid
...McCloskey lost the election as Republican storm troopers took
over Congress in 1994. His opponent declared him a congressman from
Bosnia, accusing him of neglecting his constituency.
I met McCloskey only once, long after he had lost the election
but won peace a chance in Bosnia. When I thanked him for his work, his
response was as humble as he looked. He did regret losing his seat in
Congress, but thought it was more due to a nationwide Republican
mobilization than his opponent's campaigning against his work in
Bosnia. His sincerity towards the cause of Bosnia struck me as an
extension of his honest personality.
He (McCloskey) had agreed to speak at the Bosnia rally in
Washington DC organized by the Bosnia Task Force, USA. He was, however,
stopped by a member of his staff who thought that his standing with
Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens) on the same stage was wrong because of Yusuf
Islam's "controversial" position on Salman Rushdie. The staff
member said it could be used by his opponents against the Congressman.
McCloskey, nevertheless, personally called the office of Bosnia Task
Force, USA to show his regret and full support for the cause.
On behalf of the now defunct Bosnia Task Force, USA, its volunteers,
the Bosnian and the Muslim community in the USA, I would like to
express my deep sorrow to the family of Frank McCloskey. I pray that we
have more moral voices like his in America for the cause of justice in
all quarters of the world. It is individuals like him who can once
again make America great by being good.
-----------------------------------------------
For more information on the Bridgeview Mosque Foundation and Sound Vision see:
Fun with Fundamentalism for Kids: To Achieve the Best of this World and the World to Come -with Sound Vision"
http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/228
--------------
Bridgeview
Mosque Foundation -Hamas member Mohamed Saleh arrested with Howard U
professor Abdelhaleem Ashqar on terrorism charges"
http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/251
------------------------------------
Chicago Islamist leader Kareem Irfan sees beheadings as "a primordial sense of retaliation and revenge" http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/177
http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/301
Dr. Daniel Pipes writes about Sound Vision's cynical standardized press
release designed for Islamic Centers to give the appearance of
denouncing terrorism.
Boilerplate for Denouncing Terrorism: I recently wrote an analysis exposing "CAIR's Phony Petition"
in which I concluded that its Not-in-the-Name-of-Islam effort "seeks to
clean up Islam's image without doing anything of substance."
Well, it gets even worse. Sound Vision, a project of the radical Bridgeview Mosque outside Chicago, has produced "A sample statement/resolution of condemnation"
for use with the media when Islamist terrorism once again rears its
ugly head. Sound Vision helpfully suggests that "Your Islamic center
can adopt, rewrite and issue the following statement to your local
media." It also advises users to "replace ‘Muslims of America' with the
Muslim community of your city" and "type this or your modified version
on your Masjid or Islamic center's letterhead." It even explains that
to fax the press release to the news desk of local media outlets you
can "find the fax numbers in your yellow or white pages."
Then follows the meaningless boilerplate statement. (July 30, 2004)
----------------------------------------------
Steven Emerson recounts his visit to the Mosque Foundation aka Bridgeview mosque:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/649858/posts
Later,
he took Khalid and me to the Bridgeview Mosque, where Jamal Said was
the imam. I could tell immediately that we were deep in the heart of
Hamas territory. The walls of the vestibule were covered with Hamas
posters and recruiting literature showing masked gunmen brandishing
automatic weapons. It was all in Arabic, but you could see daggers
plunged into Jewish hearts wrapped up in American flags. They even had
a library filled with militant terrorist videos and books. Khalid was
there to translate for me. The Friday service was a rather strange
experience. Out of 800 people, I was the only one wearing a red ski
jacket. When the service was over I approached the imam and asked him
if he had known Abdullah Azzam. He was very defensive. "I never met
with him," he said quickly and then dismissed me. Earlier that year,
two Hamas operatives, congregants of the mosque, were arrested in
Israel for transferring money from the United States to terrorists on
the West Bank. One of these men, Mohammad Jarad, told the Israelis that
he was sent on his mission by Jamal Said.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
MIM:
Abdul Malik Muhajid director of the Hamas affiliated Sound Vision
company and Al Qaeda linked Bosnia (and Kosovo ) Task Force asserts
that his friend Yusuf Islam is a pacifist and urges him to sing and
"tell them what you believe".
--------------------------------------------
MM:Yusuf
Islam laments that Muslims will get a bad rap because of the
"allegedly" Muslim background of the 9/11 hijackers: He contradicts his
his professed uncertainty by ending his 'boilerplate' condemnation of
the 'disaster' insinuating that Muslims will be the victims of
retaliation.
"..As
chairman of the board which runs the small one-form primary school, I
decided, in consultation with the teachers and parents alike, to shut
the school for a few days, until the dust settles and people can see
things a bit more clearly. But, sadly, as more evidence is uncovered,
the latest horror to hit the United States allegedly looks to have been
caused by people bearing Muslim names and of Middle Eastern origin...
...This
is why I felt it necessary to write and explain some basic facts about
the reality of this noble way we call Islam before, God forbid, another
bout of disaster occurs - aimed probably next time at the Muslim
World..."
http://www.soundvision.com/info/terrorism/yusufislam.asp
-----------------
MIM:
The Iranian government propaganda ministry valued celebrity Muslim
convert Yusuf Islam's support of the Ayatollah Khomeini's fatwa calling
for the murder of fellow Briton , the writer and lapsed Muslim Salman
Rushdie, so much that they announced they would 'reward him' by
marketing his music.They also approved of Yusuf Islam's statements
denouncing claims that Muslims were behind the 9/11 attacks.
------------------------------------------
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1204687/posts
"Iran's Islamic Propagation Organisation has approved for sale the music of Cat Stevens, the British singer who converted to Islam and changed his name to Yusuf Islam.
"We have chosen to put on the market a selection of songs from Cat Stevens, to show to the Iranian youth that not everything in the West is bad," the organisation's music director Reza Mahdavi told AFP.
"We
want to invite Yusuf Islam to Iran. When his album and book comes out,
it will be a good time for him to come," Mr Mahdavi said, adding a
second album and book was ready to roll if the first release proved a
success.
But
it is unclear if Stevens, who is 56 and lives in London where he is
involved in several Muslim charities, will be making any royalties from
the Iranian release of his work
"We
will also publish the comments of Yusef Islam after September 11, in
which he denounces the allegations made against Muslims," the official
said, before going on to say the singer should visit the Islamic
republic".
-----------------------------------------
MIM:
Abdul Malik Mujahid, director of the Sound Vision company which is a
subsidiary of the Mosque Foundation in Chicago, tied to Hamas and the
Islamic Association of Palestine for over a decade, claims that his
friend of 16 years, who was banned from Israel for donating money to
Hamas , and supported a fatwa calling for the murder of a writer, is a
pacifist .
----------------------------------
Local Friend Portrays Stevens as Muslim Pacifist
http://www.suntimes.com/output/terror/cst-nws-cat23.html
by Andrew Herrmann
Chicago Sun Times
News
of trouble for Yusuf Islam, formerly known as Cat Stevens, sent
Chicago's Abdul Malik Mujahid rushing to his computer. Mujahid's e-mail
message to his friend, the onetime pop sensation: sing.
Mujahid,
who has been friends with Yusuf Islam for about 16 years, advised the
1970s star to "write some songs for America. Tell them about Islam.
Tell them what you believe."
Islam
was deported to London on Wednesday, a day after the
London-to-Washington flight he was on was diverted to Maine because his
name was on a government watch list.
U.S.
officials said Islam is forbidden from entering the United States
because of alleged ties to possible terrorists but provided few
details.
| Singer vows to find out why he is banned from the United States
LONDON-- Puzzled and angry at being barred from the United
States, the singer formerly known as Cat Stevens returned to London on
Thursday vowing to find out why.
Surrounded by a throng of reporters at Heathrow Airport, Yusuf
Islam said it was ludicrous that he was on Washington's no-fly list for
having suspected ties to terrorists, and he said he would challenge the
decision to block him from entering the country.
"Half of me wants to smile, and half of me wants to growl. The
whole thing is totally ridiculous," said Islam, whose string of hits in
the 1960s and 1970s included "Peace Train," "Wild World" and "Morning
Has Broken."
"Everybody knows who I am. I am no secret figure. Everybody
knows my campaigning for charity, for peace. There's got to be a whole
lot of explanation."
Islam, a Briton who was born Stephen Georgiou, abandoned his
music career after becoming a Muslim. His United Airlines flight from
London to Washington's Dulles International Airport was diverted
Tuesday to Bangor, Maine, when U.S. officials reviewing the passenger
list discovered he was aboard.
U.S. authorities provided few details about Islam's alleged
connection to terrorism or when he was added to the watch list. U.S.
Homeland Security Department spokesman Brian Doyle said Wednesday the
intelligence community had recently obtained information that "further
heightens concern" about Islam.
"Yusuf Islam has been placed on the watch lists because of
activities that could potentially be related to terrorism," Doyle said.
"It's a serious matter."
A second U.S. government official said on condition of
anonymity Wednesday that American authorities believed donations from
Islam may have ended up helping fund blind sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman,
convicted for a plot to bomb New York City landmarks, and Hamas, a
Palestinian militant group responsible for scores of suicide bombings
in Israel that is considered a terrorist organization by the United
States.
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw complained to U.S.
officials Wednesday about their treatment of Islam, telling Secretary
of State Colin Powell "that this action should not have been taken,"
the Foreign Office said. It was unclear whether Straw was referring to
Islam's detention or his inclusion on the watch list.
Islam, who was traveling with his 21-year-old daughter,
Maymanah, told reporters in London that he was bound for Nashville,
Tenn., "to initiate some recording,s and suddenly we were forced to
land and I was being interrogated by officers." His daughter was
allowed to remain in the United States.
Islam said he was treated well by FBI agents and U.S. officials.
"The one positive thing I can say is that a lot security
officers are pleased because they got my autograph," he said. "People
make mistakes. I just hope they made a big mistake. We'll see."
A statement on Islam's Web site said he was seeking further
information from U.S. authorities "so that we can challenge the
decision to refuse him entry."
According to his Web site, the singer was last in the United States two months ago with his record company.
During a visit in May, he met with officials of the White House
Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, "to talk about
philanthropic work," according to White House spokeswoman Claire
Buchan.
AP
|
|
Alleged links to terrorism
Homeland
Security spokesman Brian Doyle would only say that the intelligence
community has recently obtained information that "further heightens
concern" about Islam.
"Yusuf
Islam has been placed on the watch lists because of activities that
could potentially be related to terrorism," Doyle said. "It's a serious
matter."
A
second government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said
U.S. authorities think donations from Islam may have ended up helping
to fund blind sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman, convicted in a plot to bomb New
York City landmarks, and Hamas, a Palestinian militant group considered
a terrorist organization by the United States.
Mujahid
said the charge that his friend is associated with terrorists is
ridiculous, arguing that Islam devoted a portion of profits from a
boxed set of Cat Stevens tunes to the World Trade Center Fund.
In
1995, Mujahid helped persuade Islam to go back into the studio after 20
years. Islam's effort then, "The Life of the Last Prophet," included
three songs. It was released by Mujahid's Sound Vision, a Bridgeport
firm specializing in the Muslim market.
Mujahid doesn't want Sound Vision to release the new songs.
"I'd rather it be a mainstream label so everyone could hear him."
Though it was Cat Stevens who wrote the classic "Peace Train" in 1971, Yusuf Islam "is still all about peace," Mujahid said.
Attended Chicago conventions
For
many Chicago Muslims, Yusuf Islam is a familiar face -- he attended
religious conventions here in 1999 and 2003 and his children's
recordings, like the eight-song "A is for Allah," are popular among
many Islamic families. At a first anniversary memorial service for
victims of the 9/11 attacks, children from a Villa Park mosque sang his
"Silent Sunlight." Pop stars such as Sheryl Crow and Mandy Moore have
covered Cat Stevens' songs.
Raised in Orthodox Christianity, he formally embraced Islam in 1977 after nearly drowning.
He abandoned the pop music world as incompatible with his new life.
Mujahid had dinner with Islam last year in Chicago. "He opposes the Iraq war, but he's opposed to all wars," Mujahid said.
Islam
visited Washington last May and met with officials of the White House
Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives "to talk about
philanthropic work," according to White House spokeswoman Claire
Buchan.
The office is across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House. Buchan said that was before Islam was added to the no-fly list.
Islam's
brother David Gordon said he has condemned terrorist acts and donates
money to terrorism victims. "He just wants to be an ambassador for
peace," said Gordon, who lives in Princeton, N.J., and serves as
Islam's business manager.
----------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------
MIM:
Sound Vision bio of Abdul Malik Mujahid states that he was the national
coordinator for the Bosnian Task Force and Kosova Task Force which
comprises "more the 15 national organisations of Muslims groups North
America".
Both the Bosnia and Kosova task forces have been linked to Al Qaeda.
Sound
Vision is affiliated with the Mosque Foundation which is the US
headquarters for Hamas and the Islamic Association of Palestine. The
spokesman for the Mosque Foundation is Rafiq Jaber the head of the IAP
in the U.S.
------------------
http://www.soundvision.com/about/boardofdirectors.asp
ABDUL MALIK MUJAHID, President
HASEEB AKHTAR, Secretary
TAUFIQ AHMAD, Treasurer
MUHAMMAD FUAD LASHKARWALA, Director
MUHAMMAD KHALID RIAZ, MD. Director
ABDUL MALIK MUJAHID, is the President and Director of Sound Vision Foundation Inc. Award-winning author
and producer, he is an Imam in the Chicago area. A graduate of Darul
Uloom Shah Waliullah in Islamic Studies and the University of Chicago
in Political Science, he has learned television production as director
and producer at the Chicago Access Corporation. He is the producer of
Sound Vision's programs. He was also responsible for the concept and
design of Al-Qari, the leading Quran learning multimedia software.
Mujahid has served as the National Coordinator of Bosnia Task Force,
USA. It was in this capacity that he initiated the formation of the
Islamic Shura Council of North America. He also serves as National
Coordinator of Kosova Task Force, USA, an alliance of 15 national
organizations of Muslims in America.
------------------------------------
http://www.islam-online.net/iol-English/qadaya/qpolitic-13/qpolitic1.asp
MIM:
In a pre prison interview , jailed AMC president Abdelrahman
Alamoudi,speaks about the American Muslim Council's ties to the Bosnia
Task Force and support for the Bosnia cause.
After
the arrest of AMC president Abdelrahman Alamoudi on terrorism charges.
the AMC virtually dissappeared overnight. The AMC was involved in
countless fundraising groups and initiatives linked to terrorism under
the façade of charitable enterprises.
Alamoudi's
case is a textbook study of how militant Islamists can pass for years
under the guise "mainstream Muslims" and enjoy VIP status before
finally being arrested on terrorism charges.
-------------------------------------------
For more on the Abdulrahman Alamoudi and the American Muslim Council see :
United States of America vs. Abdulrahman Mohamed Alamoudi
http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/98
"Abdulrahman Alamoudi : Qadaffi's Hit Man?"
http://www.danielpipes.org/article/1876
Adulrahman Alamoudi: A Slick Islamist Heads to Jail
http://www.danielpipes.org/article/1994
---------------------------------------------
The
American Muslim Council has co-sponsored several events with
non-Islamic organizations. Can you give us some examples and what were
these events designed to achieve?
A: We have sponsored several
conferences, as well as participated in numerous projects. For example,
although the American Muslim Council is part of the Bosnia Task Force USA, a
Muslim group, we helped establish the American Task Force for Bosnia
(ATFB), to include members of different faiths. We successfully brought
Christian, Jewish and other organizations together in support of
Bosnia. We believe Bosnia is more a humanitarian issue than a purely
Islamic one.
----------------------------------------------
http://www.justiceforall.org/kosova-btf.asp
Many
of you are familiar with the Bosnia Task Force, USA, a national
coalition that was supported by over 10 national organizations unifying
Muslims from across America in solidarity with their brothers and
sisters in Bosnia.
-------------------------------------------
MIM:
Excerpt detailing Steven Emerson's analysis of the Kosovo Task Force as
a front for militant Islamic groups in the United States.
http://www.forward.com/search/gitell200403151258.php
One
terrorism analyst, Steven Emerson, said there is some evidence that
Islamic extremists are attempting to exploit the Kosovo conflict. "It's
a moral issue, and there's been a power vacuum, and the Mujahadeen
sponsored by Iran have jumped into the fray," said Mr. Emerson.
"Perhaps American involvement will prevent the extremists from
capturing the issue as some did in Bosnia."
Mr.
Emerson also made available to the Forward material he is publishing in
an upcoming issue of The Journal of Counterterrorism. The material
includes a document titled "Kosova Task Force, USA," which lists a
coalition of American Islamic groups with anti-Israel records,
including the American Muslim Council amd the Council on American
Islamic Relations.
By
late Tuesday night, the Kosova Task Force's web site had posted a
statement welcoming "the order for airstrikes, although they are too
late for the thousands who have died and hundreds of thousands who have
been made refugees." The site also said, "the airstrikes must be
accompanied by immediate recognition of Kosovar self determination and
independence."
The
web site includes a listing of other causes including "Palestine,"
Algeria and Iraq. The site favors the Islamic Salvation Front in
Algeria and criticizes Turkey's government for cracking down on Islamic
education and practices. As far as Israel is concerned, it states, "the
Israelis have not lived up to any of their promises under any peace
accords, and continue to expand settlements." The site provides links
to the official web site of the Palestinian National Authority and to
that of the Islamic Association for Palestine, which features a symbol
showing all the land between the Mediterranean Sea and Jordan River as
"Palestine."
--------------------------------------------------------
MIM:
Yusuf claims he was giving charity to 9/11 victims in an attempt to
diffuse attention from his contributions to Hamas. As you can below
Bosnia 'charities' are closely linked to Al Qaeda and the Chicago based
Benevolence International Foundation . The International Islamic Relief
organisation is also cited as a conduit for money to Hamas . In 2001
the IIRO , which is under investigation by a Senate Committee
investigating terrorism financing, cynically and perversely solicited
donations under the guise of helping 9/11 victims .
Information about the Bosnia Task Force ties to Al Qaeda:
Bosnia, 1 degree of separation from Al-Qaeda
balkanpeace.org ^ | July 2003 | The Centre for Peace in the Balkans
--------------------------------------
Bosnia Charities and Al-Qaeda
There
have been longstanding concerns in the European and U.S. intelligence
services that several charities that operated in Bosnia during and
after that country's civil war were being used as a cover for Al-Qaeda
activities.
In
the spring of 2002, under the US supervision, Bosnian authorities
raided several Islamic operating in Bosnia and were forced to closed
three of them: the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation (which was banned in
Kenya after the 1998 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi), the
Global Relief Foundation and Bosanska Idealna Futura (BIF) - a branch
of the Chicago-based Benevolence International Foundation.
As
a reminder, Enaam M. Arnaout, 40, head of the Benevolence International
Foundation, has been in US custody. The indictment said a criminal
enterprise that existed for at least a decade used charitable
contributions from innocent Muslims, non-Muslims and corporations to
support bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network, Chechen rebels fighting the
Russian army and armed violence in Bosnia. The Syrian-born Arnaout, who
became a U.S. citizen nearly a decade ago, received his Bosnian
passport in the mid-1990s.
The
Bosnian raid uncovered a handwritten list of twenty wealthy donors
sympathetic to Al-Qaeda. The list, referred to as "The Golden Chain,"
reveals both the names of the donors, and the names of the recipients.
Seven of the payments were made to Osama bin Laden and "Hezb e Islami"
(a militant group run by an Afghan warlord), while at least one
donation to him was made by the "bin Laden brothers."
Intelligence
investigators also want to know why some of the charity's money was
transferred to a Bosnian company called "Ljiljan Commerce Group".
US
Attorney General John Ashcroft said documents found in the Bosanska
Idealna Futura (BIF) office in Bosnia have provided "chilling" evidence
tying Enaam Arnaout directly to bin Laden and Al-Qaeda. He said the
papers summarize the 1988 meeting at which the terror network was
founded, and include a text of the network's oath of allegiance.
BIF
had links to people involved in the 1993 World Trade Center Bombing, a
plot to bomb US airlines, and a plan to assassinate Pope John Paul II
during his visit to the Philippines in 1995.
Also
found in BIF's Bosnia offices were military manuals providing
instruction on small arms and explosives, photographs of bin Laden and
Arnaout and photos of Arnaout handling several weapons, including a
shoulder-fired rocket launcher.
Also,
joint US-Bosnian government probe connected the Saudi charity Talibah
International Aid Association to terrorist funding and an Al-Qaeda
front group. Taliban has been under investigation since shortly after
9/11 due to a foiled terror attack in Bosnia that has been connected to
Taliban and Al-Qaeda.
This
"charity group" was embedded with World Assembly of Muslim Youth [WAMY]
- a suspected terrorist organization, led by Osama bin Laden relatives,
brothers Abdullah and Omar bin Laden. The Bosnian Government later said
that a charity with Abdullah bin Laden on its board had channeled money
to Chechen guerrillas. The investigation into WAMY restarted two days
after 9/11, and after the bin Laden brothers have left the US.
Philippines
authorities believed that the International Islamic Relief Organization
(IIRO), whose Philippines branch was run by bin Laden's brother-in-law,
was funneling funds to the Abu Sayyaf organization. The brother of bin
Laden's deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, was employed by IIRO in Albania,
where he assisted Al-Qaeda's efforts in the Balkans. Reportedly,
detailed minutes of a meeting between bin Laden associates on the
stationery of these Saudi welfare agencies, captured in Bosnia,
clarifies how organizations like IIRO were to be used by Al-Qaeda.
Israel
found an IIRO payment schedule detailing how $280,000 USD was to be
distributed to 14 different Hamas charities, thereby documenting, for
the first time, the pattern of Saudi backing of terrorism. The head of
the Canadian branch of IIRO admitted in court that "The Muslim World
League, which is the mother of IIRO, is a fully government funded
organization. In other words, I work for the government of Saudi
Arabia."
--------------------------------------------
MIM:
Poster for the terrorism funding Islamic Relief Organisation cynically
exploiting the 9/11 attacks to solicit donations under the pretext of
'helping' the victims they helped to create.
------------------------------------------
 |
Islamic Relief Action Alert
EMERGENCY AID FOR VICTIMS OF
WASHINGTON D.C. AND NEW YORK TRAGEDY |