[Dallas Morning News] Jason Trahan - The FBI took a new slap at the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) on Tuesday at the Holy Land Foundation trial. FBI Special Agent Lara Burns was going over transcripts from a Philadelphia meeting in 1993 between Holy Land officials and Hamas sympathizers. Defendant Shukri Abu Baker is quoted on the wiretap transcript talking about how it would be beneficial to have more traditional, secular American organizations to help spread the Islamist message. Prosecutor Barry Jonas asked Burns whether any groups formed after the Philadelphia gathering fit this mold. "CAIR," she said. CAIR is one of about 300 unindicted co-conspirators in the Holy Land case, and testimony has shown that its founder, Omar Ahmad, and current executive director, Nihad Awad, both participated in the Philadelphia meeting. Later Tuesday, FBI Special Agent Robert Miranda began his testimony detailing the type of people Holy Land routinely called on to speak at its fundraisers in the U.S., including Mahmoud al-Zahar (a Hamas co-founder), Jamil Hamami, Mohammed Siam and Hamed Bitawi - all Hamas leaders.
2008-10-10 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive