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Man linked to al-Qaida funding arrested
Adham A. Hassoun, 40, was arrested Wednesday and was being held at Krome Detention Center, INS spokesman Rodney Germain said. State records show Hassoun was listed as the Florida registered agent of Chicago-based Benevolence International Foundation, which in April was charged in federal court in Chicago with funding al-Qaida. The foundation describes itself as an international charity organization benefiting refugees and children. It benefits them by paying jihadis and that... that... well, that does something for refugees and children... Hassoun's arrest came the same week the Justice Department announced the May 8 arrest in Chicago of Jose Padilla, also known as Abdullah al Muhajir, an American accused of conspiring to explode a radiological device in the United States. The Miami Herald and South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported Saturday that Padilla and Hassoun were acquaintances and attended the same Fort Lauderdale mosque, Al-Iman. Harf-harf-harf! Hey, Dr Frank! Didja catch that one? We should start a psychic hotline and make some real money! A message left at the mosque was not immediately returned Saturday, and no one answered the door at Hassoun's home in Sunrise. A woman across the street who said she was Hassoun's sister said she was told her brother was arrested on an overdue student visa. "He has done nothing," she said. The woman would not give her name. "He's a good boy. Wouldn't hurt a fly. Kind of a loner. Keeps to himself..." In November, Hassoun told The Herald that he briefly served as North American distributor for the Call of Islam magazine published by the Islamic Youth Movement, which advocates jihad and trains youngsters in guerrilla warfare. The magazine has featured exclusive interviews with Osama bin Laden. Kinda like The Watchtower, only with guns and high explosive... Hassoun told The Herald he had no active role in the organization and that the FBI had interviewed him several times after agents spotted his name on the Islamic Youth Movement Web site. "They know I'm clean," he said. "Y'got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'! I ain't sayin' nuttin' widdout me mout'piece!" The former imam at the mosque, Raed Awad, was the chief Florida fund-raiser for the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, which the government shut down in December, charging that the group funded the militant Palestinian group Hamas. The organization denies the charges. Awad left Al-Iman about two years ago and is now living in Alabama. His home number rang unanswered Saturday. He's too busy shredding stuff to answer. Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2002-06-16 |
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