Sunday, January 24, 2010

Muslim arrested at Canadian border for lying about aiding Hamas, but Tariq Ramadan welcomed back in

Jihad Watch

Now wait a minute. Mohamad Mustapha Ali Masfaka is indicted for lying about his ties to a charity that aided Hamas. Yet Tariq Ramadan gave money to a charity that aided Hamas, and he has been granted a special "exemption" to enter the country after being barred for five years. Of course, Mohamad Mustapha Ali Masfaka is probably not a soothingly deceptive voice of Islamic moderation, or a vocal and high-profile critic of the Bush Administration. "Man hid link to Hamas funding, U.S. charges Detroit," by Cecil Angel for the Detroit Free Press, January 23 (thanks to Louise):

A Syrian-born man was indicted in federal court in Detroit for lying to federal officials about his ties to a charity that the U.S. Department of Treasury says provided aid to the militant Palestinian group Hamas, U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade said Friday.

Mohamad Mustapha Ali Masfaka, 47, of Detroit has been charged with attempted naturalization fraud, making false statements to FBI investigators and immigration officials, and perjury. If convicted of the charges, he faces up to 23 years in prison and up to $750,000 in fines.

According to federal investigators, Masfaka was employed by Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development in 1997 and 1998 and ran the group's operations in the Detroit area including organizing and participating in fund-raising events.

The group gave money to the Islamic Resistance Movement, known as Hamas, investigators said. The U.S. government considers it a terrorist group.

In 2002, Masfaka failed to mention his employment with the Holy Land Foundation in an application for naturalization with the Immigration and Naturalization Service. In 2003, he told FBI agents he only worked for the group as a singer for fund-raising events but never received compensation.

However, investigators uncovered cashed checks showing that Masfaka's role was more extensive than he admitted and they he had been paid for his work.

Masfaka was arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection when he attempted to reenter the United States from Canada via the Ambassador Bridge, McQuade said Friday.

No comments: