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Arrested Muslim activist helped pick chaplains for U.S. military
A few more details, edited for new material:A leading Muslim activist arrested for reportedly violating U.S. sanctions against Libya once helped select and train Islamic military chaplains as part of a Pentagon-approved process being investigated by the Defense Department and Congress. Adurahman Alamoudi, founder of the American Muslim Council and the American Muslim Foundation, was involved with the American Muslim Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs Council and the Islamic Society of North America, two groups that selected and trained Muslim clerics for the U.S. military, authorities said. The Pentagonâs selection process also will be the focus of an investigation by the Senate Judiciary subcommittee on terrorism, technology and homeland security, whose chairman, Sen. Jon Kyl, Arizona Republican, wants to know who allowed the two groups to become the determining bodies for chaplains. "It is remarkable that people who have known connections to terrorism are the only people to approve these chaplains," Mr. Kyl said. Sen. Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, said an investigation would allow the Senate to determine whether the groups responsible for choosing and training Muslim chaplains are affiliated with radical Islamic organizations. He recently told reporters the U.S. military had given extremists "a monopoly on who becomes an imam in the military." We noticed. Most of the Muslim chaplains endorsed by the two groups were trained at the Graduate School of Islamic and Social Sciences in Leesburg, Va. Last year, federal agents raided the school. No charges were filed. Mr. al-Amoudi, 51, of Falls Church, was named in a criminal complaint unsealed Sunday accusing him of visiting Libya in violation of government-ordered sanctions and of illegally accepting $10,700 from the Libyan Mission to the United Nations. The affidavit said Mr. al-Amoudi told U.S. authorities he visited England and Saudi Arabia on a U.S. passport, but he did not tell them he had also traveled to Libya. It said Customs and Border Protection agents found Mr. al-Amoudi held a second passport issued in Yemen, which contained an entry stamp for Libya dated Sept. 19. According to the affidavit, the Yemeni passport also showed Mr. al-Amoudi visited Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Egypt. As we say, the usual suspects. Mr. al-Amoudi, a prominent Muslim spokesman who is often sought for political and religious discussions, also served as executive assistant to the SAAR Foundation, an organization created by Suleiman Abdul Al-Aziz al-Rajhi, a member of one of Saudi Arabiaâs richest families. Thereâs that Saudi money again. Posted by: Steve 2003-10-01 |
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