After accusations of terrorist ties were leveled at the Islamic Society of Boston by two Boston media outlets over the past two years, the ISB has announced that it is fighting back.
In a series of reports dating to October 2003, the Boston Herald and FOX25 alleged that the ISB was providing funds to fundamentalists overseas.
But in a lawsuit filed on Halloween this year, two ISB leaders, Dr. Yousef Abou-Allaban and Dr. Osama Kandil, insisted that the allegations were part of a coordinated attack on Boston’s Muslim community intended to derail the construction of a $22 million mosque and cultural center in Roxbury.
The lawsuit is an expansion of two previous lawsuits by Abou-Allaban and Kandil to include other members of an alleged conspiracy against the ISB. The new litigation seeks damages for defamation and argues that the media outlets and others conspired to deprive the plaintiffs “of their basic rights of free association and the free exercise of their religion.”
THE BACKGROUND
On Oct. 28, 2003, the Herald reported that Abdurahman Muhammad Alamoudi, one of the founders of the ISB, had been indicted for dealings with the Libyan government and had been “portrayed by prosecutors as a key financier for militant Islamic groups and terrorist organizations,” such as al-Qaeda and Hamas.
The Herald also reported that Dr. Yusuf Abdullah al-Qaradawi, who had been listed as a member of the ISB’s board of directors on its income tax returns, was a “leading voice of the fundamentalist Wahhabi sect of Islam.”
The story also alleged that “al-Qaradawi praises Palestinian suicide bombers, declaring they are martyrs, not terrorists. He also regularly denounces U.S. support of Israel and encourages Muslims to either join the jihad as combatants or contribute money to finance it.”
Over the next three days, the Herald reported that Kandil was a member of the “Safa Group,” citing a federal affidavit that said the group funneled money to terrorist organizations. The paper also reported that Dr. Walid Fitaihi, another ISB leader, had published strongly anti-Semitic remarks in the Arab press.
The Herald went on to publish several more articles in 2004 linking Kandil to terrorists and alleging that the federal government was investigating his involvement with terrorist organizations.
In addition, reports on FOX25 in November 2004 questioned whether Abou-Allaban was linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, a radical Islamist group.
THE ISB FIRES BACK
The ISB has strongly denied the claims that any leaders currently involved with the ISB are tied to terrorists. According to the ISB’s website, Alamoudi has not been involved with the ISB in several years, and the ISB considered inviting al-Qaradawi to become an honorary member of the Board of Trustees before any controversy surrounded him. The listing of al-Qaradawi as a member of the Board was “an administrative oversight.”
The ISB website also says that “Dr. Osama Kandil has not now or ever been under investigation for any alleged links made to any suspected terrorists, terrorist supporters or terrorist financiers.”
After a review of Fitaihi’s remarks, the ISB found that “the articles were intended to condemn particular individuals … the articles were not meant to incite hatred of an entire faith or people.”
Howard Cooper, a lawyer for the ISB, called the allegations “an intentional case of extreme intolerance” intended to intimidate the ISB and damage the reputation of the organization and its leaders.
“In this day and age, when you label someone as a terrorist or supporter of terrorism, I think it’s fairly obvious that you do substantial or irreparable damage to their reputation,” Cooper said.
“It’s not unlike the experience of other minority groups who have come to this country and who have been painted with an intolerant, broad-brush, discriminatory label,” he added.
Among the other defendants besides the Herald and FOX25 are Steven Emerson, an author who has written extensively on Islamic terrorism, and his organization, the Investigative Project; The David Project, a local group “whose purpose is to promote a fair and honest discussion of the Middle East conflict,” according to its website; and Citizens for Peace and Tolerance, another local organization.
The lawsuit alleges that Herald reporter Jonathan Wells, who later joined FOX25, worked with Emerson and representatives from The David Project and Citizens for Peace and Tolerance to craft a campaign of libel against the ISB.
THE MEDIA’S SPIN
But the defendants believe the allegations against the ISB were valid, and say it is the ISB who is trying to intimidate its opponents, rather than the other way around.
“We regard the lawsuit … as an attempt to intimidate and bully people into not asking these questions,” said Jeffrey Robbins, the attorney for The David Project and Citizens for Peace and Tolerance.
Robbins denied that the allegations against the ISB are part of a concentrated attack on Boston’s Muslim community.
“This is really not a religious issue at all,” he said. “It’s a question about the specific evidence about very specific individuals and their specific relations with the ISB.”
Robbins emphasized the failure of the ISB to answer the questions that have been asked of it, noting that the City Council called a hearing to investigate, but the ISB refused to attend.
“Somebody said that patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels,” Robbins said. “I don’t know whether or not that is the case, but it would be useful if people did not find ways to dodge questions by citing this issue or that issue. … Just answer the questions.”
The allegations against ISB members with ties to terrorist organizations are justified and need to be seriously considered, Robbins said, citing as an example a U.S. Department of the Treasury document that said the arrest of Alamoudi dealt a “serious blow” to al-Qaeda.
In response to the lawsuit, which claims the Herald’s belief in sensational and entertainment-oriented stories encouraged its reporters to print false information about the ISB, the Herald released a brief statement of support for the reporting done by Jonathan Wells and other Herald staffers.
“The Boston Herald stands by its reporting on this story and we will continue to pursue news stories with the fairness and thoroughness our readers expect,” the statement reads.
FOX25 similarly denied the allegations in a statement last month.
“The complaint by the Islamic Society of Boston and several of its leaders contains highly inflammatory and false allegations, and WFXT FOX25 intends to defend the lawsuit vigorously. The award-winning FOX25 News Investigative Team has a long history of compelling, solid investigative reporting, and the station stands behind the 2004 investigative report about the Islamic Society of Boston,” the statement reads.
Emerson also expressed confidence in his research and the validity of the links between the ISB and terrorist organizations.
“If I were not considered credible, I doubt that I would be asked to testify routinely before Congress or speak regularly to law enforcement,” Emerson said in an email.
According to Emerson, the lawsuit filed by the ISB is not unique.
“I think that we have seen a growing pattern of Islamic groups that are trying to stifle free speech by filing lawsuits against those that have exposed terrorist ties,” he wrote.
ANOTHER LAWSUIT
The ISB complaint alleges that a lawsuit against the Boston Redevelopment Authority was a key part of the plot to undermine the construction of the mosque. In 2000 the BRA sold a plot of Roxbury land to the ISB at a price well below market value in exchange for services provided to the community, such as the development of an Islamic law library at nearby Roxbury Community College.
James Policastro, a Boston resident, is suing the BRA on the grounds that such a sale violates the constitutional provision of the separation of church and state.
Evan Slavitt, Policastro’s attorney, said it is legal for the government to give “generally conferred benefits” to religious institutions as a whole, but the problem with the BRA sale is that it benefits a particular institution.
“If you sell land to a particular religion at a below-market price, you are essentially favoring that religion or sect over other religions or sects,” Slavitt said.
Slavitt denied that Policastro’s suit is part of a larger conspiracy against the ISB and said he does not care about the allegations of terrorist ties.
“My suit has nothing to do with which particular religious institution it is, and it would be equally founded if the city of Boston had decided to do the same thing with a Quaker meeting house,” he explained.
In response, BRA spokeswoman Meredith Baumann said there is a “long list of instances” in which the BRA sold land for below-market value in exchange for community benefits, including sales to specific religious institutions.
“It is not our mission to get the greatest dollar value for a piece of land,” Baumann said. “Our mission is to create benefits for the city of Boston.”
Last month a judge dismissed a request by the BRA and ISB to dismiss the lawsuit.
THE CONTROVERSY
CONTINUES
Some observers of the controversy have expressed disappointment with the ISB’s decision to respond to accusations through litigation.
In a recent statement the Anti-Defamation League, an organization committed to fighting anti-Semitism, expressed “deep concern” about the lawsuit as a means of responding to “legitimate efforts to raise public concern about bigotry, hatred or extremism.”
The Jewish Community Relations Council has also criticized the ISB on the same grounds.
“These kinds of things are best talked out by the parties and litigation should rarely be used as a tactic to deal with important interfaith issues,” said Alan Ronkin, deputy director of the JCRC of Greater Boston.
Ronkin emphasized that the Muslim community is “not a monolithic population” and that many Muslims are working to establish positive relations with Jews and people of other faiths.
“It’s a complicated matter. It’s not something that’s easy. But I think there are people in our community who are trying to build bridges on both sides,” Ronkin said.
Hanza Pelletier, a spokesperson for the Muslim American Society of Boston’s Freedom Foundation, agreed that both Muslims and non-Muslims are working to establish a positive relationship.
“I really think that the individuals that are trying to attack [the ISB] are fringe groups that don’t represent any mainstream Jewish or Christian faiths,” Pelletier said. “They’re not going to really hurt our relationships with these communities.”
Nevertheless, Pelletier said MAS-Boston supports the ISB’s lawsuit.
“I think it’s appropriate. I think you have to look at the different things that are being done to the Muslim community, and unfortunately in the U.S. a lot of people don’t take you seriously unless a lawyer is involved,” he said.
City Councilor Chuck Turner (Roxbury, Dorchester) also expressed support for the ISB and said he believes the society has legitimate concerns about being unfairly tied to terrorists.
“I thought the stories in the Herald and FOX25 were slanderous, because they take very right-wing conservative stances,” Turner said. “It wasn’t surprising that they were doing it because I think that’s what their objective is.”
Turner said he was pleased that the black community and others have supported the ISB against intolerance toward Muslims.
“In the black community, people were really glad to see them standing up. We’re used to white people attacking us,” Turner said.
But regardless of whether people believe the ISB is correct, religious intolerance seems to be the issue driving a wedge into the heart of Boston.
“It’s really unfortunate that in this day and age you have people who are so bigoted toward religion,” he said. “We’ve still got a lot of work to do to change the religious bigotry.”