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U.S. Activist May Have Been Money Courier
Edited for new material:A leading U.S. Muslim activist charged with having illegal dealings with Libya may have been acting as a courier to funnel thousands of dollars from that country to terrorist groups in Syria, the government alleges. Adurahman Alamoudi was headed to Damascus, Syria, last month with $340,000 in U.S. currency provided by Libya when he was detained in London, according to an affidavit filed in federal court in Alexandria, Va. Terrorist groups such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad maintain offices in Damascus and many of the al-Qaida fighters in Iraq have come from Syria, the affidavit says. Really? Al-Amoudi contended the money was for the American Muslim Foundation that he heads in the United States. He told investigators he was given the money by an anonymous individual after he had visited the government-controlled Libyan Islamic Call Society in Tripoli. "He just walked up and handed me the cash. Really, he did." Al-Amoudi insists that his fund-raising travels were intended for Muslim organizations in the United States, according to court papers. But the government contends that he was among a group of Muslim activists involved in a web of charities that was actually raising money for terrorist groups. Other documents filed in court by the government show that the branch of the American Muslim Foundation in Portland, Ore., provided money to Patrice Lumumba Ford and to Ahmed Bilal. The Portland Seven, remember them? Ford is awaiting trial on charges of plotting to fight the United States in Aghanistan. Bilal has pleaded guilty to similar charges. Four have pleaded guilty, two awaiting trial, one on the run. Posted by: Steve 2003-10-02 |
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