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Muslim company harrassed
Kashif
09/12/01 at 17:19:03
FBI Raids Muslim Web Hosting Company Copyright: http://www.iviews.com Published Wednesday September 05, 2001 By iviews.com staff report http://www.iviews.com/scripts/articles/stories/default.cfm?id=12809&category_id=40 FBI agents raided a Muslim web hosting business Wednesday, a Dallas area television station reported. Witnesses outside the building told iviews.com that the entire building, which housed the business along with several others, had been evacuated and surrounded by at least 50 federal agents. Along with agents from the State Department, U.S. Customs and the U.S. Secret Service, the FBI began their search at Infocom Corporation, based in Richardson, Texas earlier this morning. The company hosts web sites for more than 500 companies, including several major Muslim American organizations such as the Council on American Islamic Relations, the Islamic Society of North America, the Islamic Association for Palestine and the Holy Land Foundation. The raid comes just one week after Bank One corporation shut down the bank account for Holy Land Foundation without any explanation. The raid also comes just two weeks after two Muslim bashers openly called upon the FBI in a Wall Street Journal column to shut down the web sites of IAP and HLF. Steven Emerson and Daniel Pipes wrote in the August 13 issue, "The time has also come for the US to support Israel in rolling back the forces of terror". "The federal authorities should use the tools it already has in closing down these web sites and organizations," they wrote. WFAA reported that the raid could take as long as two to three days, as agents might seize massive amounts of company records. Bayan Elashi, the owner of Infocom, told reporters he did not know why the FBI was there. “We are just waiting for them (the FBI) to tell us what this is about,” Elashi said.

Re: Taking the war to the internet
Arsalan
09/06/01 at 15:56:43
Muslim Web Sites Remain Shut Down as FBI Continues Probe Copyright: http://www.iviews.com Published Thursday September 06, 2001 By iviews.com staff report http://www.iviews.com/scripts/articles/stories/default.cfm?id=12829&category_id=40 The web sites of several major Muslim American organizations remained down on Thursday, as FBI agents continued to search the offices of InfoCom Corporation, a Muslim owned internet service provider. FBI special agent Lori Bailey told reporters on Wednesday that they were executing a search warrant and that the company's servers had been shut down. The search is reportedly part of an ongoing, two-year investigation being conducted by the North Texas Joint Terrorism Task Force.  No additional information on the reasons for the investigation were available because the search warrant application had been sealed by a federal judge. Agents from the Department of Commerce, the Department of State Diplomatic Security Service, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the Internal Revenue Service, the Customs Service and the Secret Service also took part in the raid. InfoCom hosts a web portal that services the Middle East and hosted servers for several major Muslim organizations, including the Islamic Society of North America, the Muslim Students Association, the Islamic Association for Palestine, and the Holy Land Foundation.  As of Thursday, all of their web sites remained shut down.   The Council on American Islamic Relations, a Washington based Muslim advocacy group, just recently moved its server from InfoCom to another location, but a CAIR staff member said that its e-mail service was still being provided through InfoCom. The campaign to shut down HLF The raid comes just weeks after two Muslim bashers, Steven Emerson and Daniel Pipes, called upon the federal government to shut down the web sites of IAP and HLF. Emerson and Pipes wrote in an August 13 column in the Wall Street Journal: "The time has also come for the US to support Israel in rolling back the forces of terror". "The federal authorities should use the tools it already has in closing down these web sites and organizations," they wrote. Meanwhile, officers and an attorney for InfoCom went to federal court Wednesday, requesting a judge to allow them to re-open their business while the FBI continues its investigation.  No immediate information on the outcome of the request was immediately available. Television reporters in Dallas said the feds were investigating any links between InfoCom and HLF, which is located across the street. But Dalell Mohammed, a spokesperson for HLF, said she was not aware of any investigation of her organization. HLF, a relief organization that provides humanitarian aid to Muslims in Palestine, India, Chechnya, Bosnia and other countries around the world, is the target of a six hundred million dollar lawsuit filed by a Jewish family. The lawsuit aims to hold HLF and several other Muslim charities and individuals, responsible for the death of their son, David Boim, in a 1996 shooting incident in the West Bank. A copy of the lawsuit, obtained by iviews.com, said Boim was shot and killed while waiting with other students at a bus stop. Boim, who held citizenship in both Israel and the United States, was in Israel studying at a yeshiva. Boim's parents accuse HLF of funding "Hamas terrorists" and of "soliciting, financing and providing material support" for the attack. "The front organizations solicit contributions directly through mosques in heavily Islamic areas in Illinois and Texas. HLF also solicits donations over the internet," reported the suit. The plaintiffs bring the action under the new federal Anti-terrorism law, enacted by the Clinton administration. Mohammed said the accusations are completely false. "Holy Land is in the business of helping refugees and people in need. We don't condone any sort of violence as we are a humanitarian organization." HLF was also the target of a political campaign orchestrated by Israeli sympathizers.  In a copy of a letter obtained by iviews.com, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York urged former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and former Attorney General Janet Reno to "crack down" on HLF for "raising millions of dollars for the Palestinian cause in the Middle East, some of which has been knowingly channeled to support the families of Hamas terrorists." The letter was faxed to at least several other news organizations, including the New York Post and Jewish Week. Assistant New York State Attorney General Karen Goldman has also made attempts to shut down HLF. In letters and meetings, Goldman asked the IRS to audit the records of HLF in an effort to "enforce the laws applicable to exempt organizations". In the past, the State Department has been successful in negatively impacting another Muslim charity. USAID, under pressure from the State Department, revoked two grants totaling $4.2 million awarded to the Islamic African Relief Agency, which is based in Columbia, Missouri. The charity has since challenged the action as unlawful. Growing tension between Muslims and Bush Administration The federal raid on the Muslim business comes at a time of growing tensions between US Muslims and the White House.  Many Muslims, who supported Bush in his bid for the presidency, have become increasingly critical of his actions since entering the White House. Muslims say they are angered by his mishandling of the Palestinian-Israeli situation and for his support of the Macedonian government against Muslim Albanians. Adding to the tension was an incident in which a young Muslim activist was ejected from a meeting with Administration officials earlier this summer. About two dozen members of various Muslim organizations came to the Old Executive Building, which is part of the White House complex, to discuss President George W. Bush's faith-based initiative that calls for providing federal funds to religious organizations involved in charity and community work. But in the middle of their discussion with presidential assistant Mark Scott, Secret Service agents entered the room and asked one of the delegates, Abdullah Al-Arian, an intern for House Democratic Minority Whip David Bonior, to leave the premises. He complied. But the rest of the group refused to continue the meeting and walked out of the building. Abdullah Arian, 20, a Duke University student, told the Washington Post a Secret Service agent said he did not have security clearance to be in the meeting. "He told me my name checked out on some list," Arian said, "that he made a mistake in letting me in and that now he was rectifying that mistake." The American Muslim Council, one of the groups that organized the meeting, said in a statement that Al-Arian was found suspicious "due to his father's political activities." Sami Al Arian heads the National Coalition to Protect Political Freedom, a group that defended among others Mazen Al-Najjar, a Palestinian who was jailed in Florida for three years on suspicion of association with so-called Middle Eastern "terrorism networks".  However, the US government failed to substantiate such claims. Sami Al Arian was among a group of Muslim leaders who attended a political briefing at the White House just one week prior to the incident.  But Muslim leaders said they were insulted at that meeting too, when Vice President Dick Cheney did not appear as scheduled. White House officials were reportedly embarrassed by the incident and Bush was forced to make an apology. Described as "very upset", Bush admitted the Secret Service made a mistake. "The president is very concerned that an action was taken that was wrong, inappropriate and the president apologizes for it on behalf of the White House," press secretary Ari Fleischer said. Aslam Abdullah, editor of two prominent Muslim American newspapers, lashed out at Bush in a written statement issued earlier this summer. "I offer my unconditional apology for asking the community to support Bush. From now on until the next election, I will keep repeating the message that the decision to support Bush was wrong," said Abdullah.

Re: Taking the war to the internet
Arsalan
09/06/01 at 15:59:27
[slm] [quote]InfoCom hosts a web portal that services the Middle East and hosted servers for several major Muslim organizations, including the Islamic Society of North America, the Muslim Students Association, the Islamic Association for Palestine, and the Holy Land Foundation.  As of Thursday, all of their web sites remained shut down.  [/quote]The msa-natl mailing lists are thus also non-functional at this point.

Re: Taking the war to the internet
Kashif
09/06/01 at 16:11:54
[quote]Aslam Abdullah, editor of two prominent Muslim American newspapers, lashed out at Bush in a written statement issued earlier this summer. "I offer my unconditional apology for asking the community to support Bush. From now on until the next election, I will keep repeating the message that the decision to support Bush was wrong," said Abdullah. [/quote]
NS

Re: Taking the war to the internet
Arsalan
09/06/01 at 16:36:55
[slm] A strategic statement by Aslam Abdullah.  Way to put the pressure on the Bush administration.  Abdul Basir has written an excellent post in the other thread "election revisited."  I wanted to say "ditto" or "agreed 100%" or something of that nature, but according to the new rules, the one-liner comment would automatically be deleted! :)

Re: Taking the war to the internet
Arsalan
09/06/01 at 20:56:52
[slm] Ok Kashif.  Suppose I agree with you.  Suppose I'm awake now! Then what?  What do you want me to do come election time?   Please be specific.

Re: Taking the war to the internet
Kashif
09/07/01 at 17:02:50
assalaamu alaikum Is it better to do something wrong or to do nothing at all? Kashif Wa Salaam
NS

Re: Taking the war to the internet
Barr
09/07/01 at 20:09:40
Wa'alaikumussalam warahmatullah :-) [quote]Is it better to do something wrong or to do nothing at all? [/quote] Depends on whether doing nothing is a greater wrong. Allahua'lam "Sometimes...whatever happens today, we can only understand tommorrow"

Re: Taking the war to the internet
se7en
09/12/01 at 00:34:59
Excellent article from Islamicity.com... --------- Stamp(edes) Of Disapproval     It was a site full of promise: 30,000 Muslims gathered in Chicago to celebrate the progress made by the Ummah from across the American  landscape. They celebrated a steady string of small victories that include the placing of a plastic crescent on the White House lawn, half-hearted apologies by Congressmen who are trying to conceal their openly racist remarks against Islam, and of course, the launching of the US Post Office's Eid stamp which officially 'honors' America's Muslim community. "We are part of this country!" proclaimed a regiment of national Muslim leaders: "This proves we have been accepted and recognized by America." The idle flock that stood in their wake responded with half-choked Takabeer and frail clapping. Some of those in attendance wondered about who actually elected the new American Muslim leaders - and how this could be possible when the 55% of American Muslims were holding a separate conference just a few miles away in Chicago. Two days after the party, the Federal Government sent 90 agents to raid and shut down the offices of InfoCom, a Muslim-owned internet hosting company.  Among the websites that were shut down were those of the Holy Land Foundation, CAIR and Al Jazeera - sites that are known for helping the oppressed and speaking against injustices in America and elsewhere. The closure of InfoCom is part of a  six year investigation that has tried unsuccessfully to prove a non-existent connection between the company's Muslim founders and the so-called 'Islamic terrorists' in Palestine. The raid - which was conducted by agents from the FBI, Secret Service, INS, Customs Department and other Federal agencies - sends a clear message to Muslims across this country: enjoy your Islam as long as you limit it to stamps and songs. However, if you dare think about actively supporting Palestine, Kashmir or Chechnya, it won't be smiling faces from the US Postal Service that will give you a visit. Why are Muslims subjected to this bigotry in spite of a (theoretical) just constitution? Unfortunately, the law occasionally fails to protect its citizens and is abused by powerful special interest groups. The pro-Israel lobby realizes that Zionism is losing its war against helpless teenagers - and the lobby is desperate to do anything it can to snuff out any flame of Muslim American support for the Palestinian cause: InfoCom and HLF are flames of such support. Now is the time for American Muslims to really prove their worth : will we continue to celebrate symbolic events like the Eid stamp while remaining idle when it comes to the very life of Muslims and existence of Islam in America - or will we show the mettle of Muslim courage and stand up to this injustice? We must re-energize our activism and regulate them with two guiding principles: loyalty and unity. First, our loyalty must be to none other than Allah and His Prophet. It is the command of Allah to follow all just laws without abdicating our loyalty to Allah in favor of those who are His enemies: "O ye who believe! take not for friends and protectors those who take your religion for a mockery or sport (5:57)" Let us recognize that Eid stamps and plastic crescents on the White House lawn are gestures of good faith - but they do not represent good faith in action. That will only happen when the US Government ceases its witch hunt against Muslim activists in America and reverses its support for oppressive regimes in Tel Aviv, Moscow and New Delhi. Second, we must form a sincere national leadership for Muslims in America.  It is a disgrace that there are no less than six major national Muslim organizations, each one having its own charter and convention. Muslim American leaders must hasten to unify the Ummah; they must earn legitimacy to their offices by involving all Muslims in all spheres of life - let us not have any more closed sessions, fractious infighting and elections that are restricted to small groups of self-appointed delegates. Heed the words of the Quran: "And hold fast, all together, by the rope which Allah (stretches out for you), and be not divided among yourselves; and remember with gratitude Allah's favor on you....ye became brethren; and ye were on the brink of the pit of Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus doth Allah make His Signs clear to you: That ye may be guided. (3:103)" Without absolute loyalty to Allah, the Most High and broad-based unity and freely elected leadership, Muslims in America and their organizations will be worth nothing more than the weight of a paper stamp. We welcome your feedback at ecast@islamicity.com

Re: Taking the war to the internet
blissfull
09/12/01 at 06:33:49
[quote] Ok Kashif.  Suppose I agree with you.  Suppose I'm awake now! Then what?  What do you want me to do come election time?   Please be specific.[/quote] slm Some Muslims all over the world who believe that the pen is mightier then the sword(hence media as well) and believe in speaking the same political language as the rest of the world. approach the situation a little more sensibly. i am not speaking just on todays terms but how we can Inch our way with the Deepest of Impressions. instead of saying Muslims(and thus leaving ourselfs open to the firing squad) Say Ethnic Minorities need representation. Instead of making the Ahadith and its practises apparent, words like Cultural normaties of ethnic groups will get the attention and Human Rights vilolations will make others listen. Jihad and Dawah today is to Speak the Same Language and get the results.   Having a say, having people listen, getting attention and moving emotions and thought patterns is how the kafir works.  thats what we need to do.

Re: Taking the war to the internet
SuperHiMY
09/12/01 at 09:16:48
AsalamAlay.com,       Peace and e-Greetings be upon you.       The 'Sodomites', as Jerry Falwell calls the 'Quom-al-Lut',       they wave this 'rainbow' thing as their flag and symbol.       This 'rainbow' not only represents men who wish to have       sexual relations with other men, but also women with women.       The rainbow also has grown to include this strange acronym:       'LGTB'       That is: Lesbian-Gay-Transexual/Transgendered-Bisexual'.             -------       My point is illustrate an answer the post immediately above mine.       YES, instead of JUST say MUSLIM discrimination etc,       'ETHNIC discrimination' is more encompassing and resultful.       The Sodomites marched with the Civil Rights movement       in the Sixties alongside the African Americans.       Here in Canada, Once the Italians, the Ukrainians, and Polish       communities actually got together politically and started       to endorse or not-endorse Federal Election candidates did       the three communities begin to advance their respective       community concerns.       -----------       ~ HiMY! ~
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