Category Archives: Gangs and Crimes

More Facts on Migrants in Europe

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SoS, John Kerry had a meeting with Hammond, the UK Foreign Minister. Among many topics, Syria was discussed:

Hammond: We have, of course, talked primarily this morning about the situation in Syria and the migration crisis that is affecting Europe, and we’ve talked about how to move forward with our partners in response to recent developments in Syria to tackle the growing threat from ISIL and to ensure that we’re joined up between our actions in Iraq and our actions in Syria.

Kerry:

With respect to Syria, obviously, we spent a significant amount of time and we covered a lot of territory today. As the foreign secretary said, we talked about Yemen, where we urged the parties to get to negotiations. We talked about Libya, where hope that the work of Bernardino Leon will bear fruit. But obviously, there are challenges, and we call on the house of representatives to return to that process and to recognize this is a critical moment. And ISIL and other extremist groups take advantage of a vacuum, and a vacuum is what is left if there is not an agreement. So we need for the sake of the 6 million citizens of Libya, where there is great opportunity and significant wealth available to be able to help that country bind its wounds and move forward. We hope that they will make the right choices in the days ahead.

With respect to Syria, the foreign secretary and I agreed completely on the urgency of nations coming together in order to resolve this war that has gone on for much too long. And it is clear that the challenge to continental Europe, but to everybody, of the migrant population of refugees seeking a better life cannot be properly addressed just by addressing the numbers of refugees coming into a country or providing more support to them; it has to be addressed by dealing with the root cause, which is the violence in Syria and the lack of hope and possibility of a future that so many people in that region feel as a consequence of the violence that’s taking place.

The full meeting readout is here.

*** Deeper facts:

In part: DailyMail, includes photo essay

Four out of five migrants are NOT from Syria: EU figures expose the ‘lie’ that the majority of refugees are fleeing war zone 

  • Some 44,000 of the 213,000 refugees who arrived in Europe were from Syria
  • A further 27,000 new arrivals on the continent came from Afghanistan
  • Britain received one in 30 of all the asylum claims made by new applicants
  • David Cameron has offered to take in 20,000 refugees but none from the EU

Only one in every five migrants claiming asylum in Europe is from Syria.

The EU logged 213,000 arrivals in April, May and June but only 44,000 of them were fleeing the Syrian civil war.

Campaigners and left-wing MPs have suggested the vast majority of migrants are from the war-torn state, accusing the Government of doing too little to help them.

‘This exposes the lie peddled in some quarters that vast numbers of those reaching Europe are from Syria,’ said David Davies, Tory MP for Monmouth. ‘Most people who are escaping the war will go to camps in Lebanon or Jordan.

‘Many of those who have opted to risk their lives to come to Europe have done so for economic reasons.’

The figures from Eurostat, the EU’s official statistical agency, show that migration from April to June was running at double the level of the same period in 2014.

The number of Afghans lodging asylum claims is up four-fold, from 6,300 to 27,000. Another 17,700 claims were made by Albanians, whose country is at peace.

A further 13,900 applicants came from Iraq which, like Syria, is being torn apart by the Islamic State terror group.

Sample individual stories: From Voice of America

One is a sixth-grader who braved walks through Balkan forests to join his brother in England; another fought the Taliban while serving Afghan forces in Helmand; a third spent years working in Turkey to cover a human smuggler’s fee.

They are Afghanistan’s latest diaspora, refugees of raging war and shrunken economic prospects, swept up in the largest flood of migrants Europe has seen in more than 70 years.

Until their numbers were eclipsed by refugees from the Syrian war last year, Afghanistan had produced more refugees than any other nation thanks to more than three decades of intractable conflict.

While the majority of prior Afghan refugees made new lives in Pakistan and Iran, United Nations data say nearly 80,000 Afghans are now officially seeking asylum in Europe — the highest rate in 20 years.

Their exodus has only increased as a resurgent Taliban wages its bloodiest offensive in 14 years.

Drawn by the promise of a better life, many tapped into their life’s savings and money from family already in Europe to pay smugglers to spirit them across six countries. The less well-off risked the journey alone.

VOA Afghan Service anchor Ahmad Fawad Lami traveled to Hungary and Serbia where he caught up with many Afghan refugees just as Austria briefly opened its border.

These are just a few of their stories. A must read.

Dawa Jaan Sahil

The Word Police in Media Deny Judges Op-Eds

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Right on the Department of Homeland Security website, it appears that the term ‘illegal alien’ is acceptable. Curiously, the Department of Justice uses ‘unlawful aliens’.

So, rather than solve the bigger issue, the matter gets bogged down in political correctness and terminology objections?

Ex-judges bolt legal journal over ban on term ‘illegal alien’

FNC: A pair of veteran immigration judges have left a widely read legal journal over its ban on the term “illegal alien,” calling the decision a case of the “political correctness word police” taking control of the immigration debate.

Retired U.S. Immigration Court judges Mahlon “Mick” Hanson and Elizabeth Hacker, who wrote opinion articles for Law360’s “expert analysis” section since the beginning of this year, say they used the term “illegal alien” without issue. But when they submitted an article in July on sanctuary cities, the editors of the publication declined to publish it unless certain changes were made, including the removal of the term illegal alien.

“Language must conform to Law360 style, avoiding what is perceived to be derogatory reference to ‘illegal aliens,'” Christian Lewis, assistant managing editor of Law360, wrote in a July 30 email to Dale Wilcox of the Immigration Reform Law Institute, who was submitting the piece on behalf of the judges because they are IRLI board members.

“The only legally correct term is ‘illegal alien.'”

– Retired US Immigration Judge Mahlon Hanson

“I understand based on the authors’ June 10 article that they believe this is a semantic argument, however our publication does follow the rule that ‘illegal’ applies to actions, not individuals,” Lewis wrote.

Law360 — a subscription, legal news source which boasts a readership of 400,000 and is operated by the Portfolio Media company, a subsidiary of LexisNexis — first suggested the judges change the language to “undocumented alien” and then “unauthorized alien.” In addition, Lewis questioned the sources used by the seasoned immigration jurists in writing their piece, which roundly criticized sanctuary cities following the July 1 murder of 32-year-old Kathryn Steinle. Francisco Sanchez, an illegal alien, is accused of killing Steinle, who was shot while walking with her father in San Francisco. Sanctuary cities are communities that have an official policy of not cooperating with federal authorities in the detention of illegal immigrants or handing them over for deportation.

The judges said they were “shocked” by the editorial board’s insistence the term not be used — noting the Immigration & Nationality Act and its various amendments use “illegal alien,” as do judges presiding over immigration law cases nationwide. A LexisNexis search of the term’s use in case law generates thousands of examples.

Hanson and Hacker said they trimmed their article at the editors’ request and clarified their sources, but refused to resubmit the piece with language they deemed legally incorrect.

“I was, quite frankly, very surprised,” Hacker told FoxNews.com. “We had submitted several other articles to them on immigration-related issues and had used that term, which we consider to be the legally correct term.”

“I don’t want to use inappropriate language, which in my opinion is designed to deceive people as to the state of affairs in the immigration area,” Hacker said.

“The only legally correct term is ‘illegal alien,'” added Hanson.

In an email to FoxNews.com, Law360 explained that it is simply complying with The Associated Press guidelines for journalists. In 2013, the AP dropped the use of the word “illegal” to describe a person who enters or resides in a country in violation of civil or criminal law.

“Like many other news organizations, Law360 follows Associated Press style on the use of the term “illegal immigrant,” Cat Fredenburgh, editor-in-chief of Law360, said in the email. “Per AP, Law360 uses the term ‘illegal’ to refer only to actions, not people. Law360 requires all third-party contributors to comply with our style guidelines.

“Hon. Elizabeth Hacker and Hon. Mahlon Hanson submitted an article for publication with Law360 but withdrew the article upon learning of Law360’s policy against the use of the term ‘illegal’ to refer to people,” Fredenburgh said. “We did not ban the judges from writing for Law360. In fact, we suggested ways the article could still be published while complying with our style. The judges’ decision to withdraw the article from consideration with Law360 was theirs alone.”

The editorial board’s style change — and the reason for it — did nothing to persuade the judges to resubmit their piece.

“I think it’s basically a propaganda tool when The Associated Press is starting to tell reporters what term to use,” Hanson said.

“It’s really disappointing because they advertise themselves as a trusted legal resource,” he said of the law publication. “You know how definitions are important in court cases in using the precise legal terminology…I was surprised that they pushed it to that extent.”

In an Op-Ed published Thursday for FoxNews.com, Hacker and Hanson blamed the Obama administration and other factors for changing the terms of the illegal immigration debate to push an agenda.

“This administration, a compliant media and the ‘political correctness’ word police have taken control of the immigration debate with an agenda of deception, doublespeak and censorship.”

Of the term “undocumented immigrant,” Hacker and Hanson said it is “factually incorrect because many of the aliens illegally present in this country have documents.”

“These documents may range from those unlawfully obtained, like Social Security cards or Social Security numbers, fraudulent drivers licenses, or other documents legally obtained such as ‘cedulas’ or driver’s licenses,” they said. “Also, the term ‘immigrant’ only applies to a person who has either legally entered the United States as a lawful permanent resident or has been adjusted to that status while in the United States.”

Update: Conditions of Voting Machines

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What can you do?

  1. Take the class to be a poll worker
  2. Call your State Secretary, ask hard questions, get documentation, never believe the first answer.
  3. Investigate machines in your district or state, irregularities should be reported to the State Attorney General.

Voting machine study finds problems – but not ones easily fixed

Across the country, aging computerized voting machines nearing end of useful life

43 states set to use machines that will be at least 10 years old

Estimated cost to upgrade voting machines at $1 billion

By Chris Adams

cadams@mcclatchydc.com 

WASHINGTON

Finding that many of the nation’s voting machines are “perilously close” to the end of their useful life, a study of voting systems in all 50 states recommended a series of steps that could be undertaken before voters cast their ballots in coming years.

Estimating it as a $1 billion problem, the experts from the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law said it likely was too late to replace equipment in most places before the 2016 election – although local officials should be preparing emergency paper ballots and taking other steps to minimize problems caused by failing machines.

 

Officials should already be looking ahead to 2020.

“One of the things that was really shocking to me is how far reaching it has become, and how few places have taken steps to replace their equipment,” said Lawrence Norden, deputy director of the Brennan Center’s Democracy Program.

The center is a nonpartisan law and policy think tank and advocacy organization that “seeks to improve our systems of democracy and justice.”

The report – “America’s Voting Machines at Risk” – was based on a wide-ranging review of the nation’s election systems. It included interviews with more than 30 state and 80 local election officials across the country.

While some voting-machine problems have been written about locally, others had not, reflecting the reality that even national elections are handled on the local level.

In fact, broad problems in voting systems can go unnoticed for years – until there is a tight election.

But many argued that unless and until equipment is replaced, we will increasingly see problems . . . flipped votes, freezes, shut downs, long lines, and, in the worst case scenarios, lost votes and erroneous tallies.

Brennan Center for Justice study ‘America’s Voting Machines at Risk’

Consider Florida and the presidential election of 2000, where the state’s hanging chads, high voter error rates and lost votes became central to the outcome and recounts that gripped the nation and put George W. Bush in the White House.

“Everything is at the local level,” Norden said. “So unless you have a Florida 2000 situation, you’re not getting national coverage of these individual problems, even if they’re becoming fairly common.

“In some ways, that’s the lesson of 2000,” he added. “There were plenty of warnings about punch-card machines before 2000, but they were reported locally. There were warnings from experts, but nobody was listening.”

As it stands, several battleground states have aging equipment.

According to Norden, 90 percent of counties in Ohio are using machines that will be at least 10 years old in November 2016. In Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia and Florida, about half or more of counties have machines that will be 10 or more years old by November 2016.

The Brennan Center’s state numbers assume that equipment currently in use will not be replaced by 2016, although a very small number of counties or local jurisdictions could upgrade between the time they were surveyed and the elections.

One example of the kind of problem cited in the study: Until an upgrade last year, the voting system in Leon County, Fla., was more than 20 years old and still needed to use an old-fashioned – and slow – analog modem to transmit information. When he needed to replace those modems, voting systems manager Mark Earley turned to eBay.

“They were even hard to find on eBay,” Earley said in an interview with McClatchy. “The system was a great system, for as long as it lasted. But as that modem issued showed, it was nearing the end of its life.”

Although Leon County, which includes the state capital of Tallahassee, upgraded in time for the 2014 election, several other counties in the state are still on the same system Leon County previously used, Earley said.

The central problem is that unlike voting machines of previous eras, systems in place today were not designed to last for decades.

“No one expects a laptop to last for 10 years,” the report noted. And yet many of the voting machines today that are entering their teen years have not been properly maintained – perhaps being stored in moist conditions – or rely on outdated software.

According to the center, experts agree that the expected lifespan for core components of most voting machines purchased since 2000 is between 10 and 15 years.

In all, 43 states are using some machines that will be at least 10 years old in 2016. In 14 states, machines will be 15 or more years old.

And while officials in 31 states said they wanted to purchase new voting machines in the next five years, officials from 22 of those states said they did not know where they would get money to do so, the report said.

That said, systemic problems and aging machines don’t necessarily make for an immediate calamity.

“No one we talked to predicted there will be a vast meltdown of all, or even most, of the nation’s voting equipment in 2016,” it concluded. “Aging machines do not all fail at once on a single day.”

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/election/article35249379.html#storylink=cpy
Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/election/article35249379.html#storylink=cpy

 

How the Internet/Hacking Could Affect You Personally

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From NextGov:

The FBI and Department of Homeland Security have issued alerts about, in essence, the modern Internet.

Their public service announcements concern security risks posed by the so-called Internet of Things, or IoT, a situation where everyday objects connect to a network.

Researchers this summer proved that connected items can endanger people driving cars and wearing pacemakers. The Defense Department secretary last week mentioned the inventors of the Internet have been working on security fixes for IoT.

But until those technologies are rolled out, the FBI and DHS are offering some pointers.

First, the FBI names the following 10 things as examples of IoT devices:

  1. Automated devices that remotely or automatically adjust lighting or HVAC
  2. Security systems, such as security alarms or Wi-Fi cameras, including video monitors used in nursery and daycare settings
  3. Medical devices, such as wireless heart monitors or insulin dispensers
  4. Thermostats
  5. Wearables, such as fitness devices
  6. Lighting modules that activate or deactivate lights
  7. Smart appliances, such as smart refrigerators and TVs
  8. Office equipment, such as printers
  9. Entertainment devices to control music or television from a mobile device
  10. Fuel monitoring systems

Some of the potential horror stories depicted by the FBI:

  • Cyber criminals can take advantage of security gaps in the configuration of surveillance video cameras used by private businesses or built-in cameras on baby monitors. “Systems not properly secured can be located and breached by actors who wish to stream live feed on the Internet for anyone to see.”
  • Criminals can exploit unsecured wireless connections for “garage doors, thermostats and lighting,” among other automated systems. Those security holes can let crooks “remotely monitor the owner’s habits and network traffic,” as well as “easily exploit these devices to open doors, turn off security systems, record audio and video, and gain access to sensitive data.”
  • Unprotected home health care devices provide avenues for bad guys to glean personal or medical information stored there, as well as “possibly change the coding controlling the dispensing of medicines or health data collection.”
  • Monitoring systems on gas pumps that are connected to the Internet can be tampered with. Nefarious individuals could make the pump register incorrect levels, “allowing a refueling vehicle to dangerously overfill the tanks, creating a fire hazard.”

People using one of the above things, or other network-infused objects, are advised to:

  • Place the device on a separate protected network
  • Disable “Universal Plug And Play” settings that allow an item to automatically connect to another device on the Internet
  • “Consider whether IoT devices are ideal for their intended purpose”
  • Purchase IoT devices from manufacturers with a good track record on network security
  • When vendors make them available, update devices with security patches
  • Identify any passwords and Wi-Fi connections to the device and change the passwords; only allow the device to operate on a home network with a secured Wi-Fi router
  • When changing the password, do not use common words, simple phrases or passwords containing easily found personal information, such as important dates or pet names
  • Make sure patients prescribed medical devices capable of remote operation are informed about the risk they could be targeted

A military agency that gave birth to the Internet, and by default, IoT, has been researching patches, Defense Secretary Ash Carter says.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in 2011 launched a program to help make “the code behind the physical control systems of an airplane or self-driving car,” for instance, “become mathematically, provably unhackable,” Carter said at a future technology forum hosted by the agency.

“DARPA’s already made some of that source code openly available online – it can give the Internet of Things a critical foundation of cybersecurity, which it’s going to need,” he said.

By 2020 there will be 250 million Internet-connected vehicles on the road, according to Gartner. A Wired journalist a few months ago had private researchers remotely kill the transmission of a Jeep on a St. Louis highway — while he was sitting in the driver’s seat.

Meanwhile, University of South Alabama students demonstrated the fatal dangers of network-synched health devices by manipulating a pacemaker in a medical-grade human simulator, Motherboard reports.

“The simulator had a pacemaker so we could speed the heart rate up, we could slow it down,” said Mike Jacobs, director of the university’s simulations program. “If it had a defibrillator, which most do, we could have shocked it repeatedly. If it was the intent, we could definitely cause harm to the patient. It’s not just a pacemaker, we could do it with an insulin pump, a number of things that would cause life-threatening injuries or death.”

Some industry groups, such as CompTIA, expect federal agencies will try to contain privacy and security threats in the IoT by adapting regulations created for electronic health records, the digital collection of financial information, and other data-intensive activities.

Did Washington DC FBI Field Office Miss a Jihad Memo?

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Embedded image permalink

Note the date? Are they perhaps playing each other?

Primer:

Oh, DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson was there…..hummmm

All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) Hosts Muslim Community Forum with the Honorable Jeh Johnson, Secretary of Homeland Security: Thursday, June 11, 2015 in Sterling, Virginia

Building on and deepening its 14 years of community partnership with all levels of law enforcement, and its ongoing independent efforts for national security, civil rights, and social resilience, on Thursday evening, June 11, the All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) hosted a forum with The Honorable Jeh Johnson, Secretary of Homeland Security, and members of his team.

Approximately 100 community leaders, activists, and young people from Virginia, DC, and Maryland mosques and organizations representing several hundred thousand VA/DC/MD Community members participated in the  forum. Participants discussed national security, countering and preventing violent extremism and hate crimes, and protecting civil rights.  The overall spirit was positive and constructive.  The group focused on the key values of shared engagement, partnership, and participation of grass roots citizens, congregations, organizations, and the Department.

ADAMS Board Chair, Rizwan Jaka, introduced the program and reaffirmed Muslim Community partership for National Security, Counter-Terrorism, and Civil Rights

   
ADAMS Quran student and youth recited the verse from the Quran “O humankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise (each other). Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of God is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And God has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things)”

ADAMS Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of America led a Flag Ceremony, Pledge of Allegiance and Sang America The Beautiful
ADAMS President, Syed Moktadir, welcomed the community leaders and said “We truly appreciate the commitment of community partnership and dialogue demonstrated by Secretary Johnson and his team and
thanked the community leaders for being engaged and at the table.” 
   
ADAMS Executive Religious Director, Imam Mohamed Magid mentioned that Muslim community should be at the table in dialogue and looked at as partners and not suspects. He also discussed the FATWA (religious ruling) Against Terrorism:
The main subject areas of discussion included:

I.  Countering Violent Extremism (CVE)

It was noted that the number of young people potentially susceptible to recruitment to extremism is small (a fraction of a fraction), but that one person radicalized is one too many.  99.999% of Muslim Youth are productive and high achieving citizens, and immune to any threat of radicalization.Discussions occurred around how to engage mental health and human services components into counter-radicalization and counter-violent extremism.  Those few youth susceptible to extremist recruitment have often shown signs of mental health and behavior problems similar to those enticed into other destructive paths, such as joining gangs or getting involved in drugs.  Parents of those who might be susceptible are alerting imams about their concerns, and imams are counseling them to de-radicalize them.  We talked about how we can partner more effectively to counter-radicalize before someone crosses the line, while making sure law enforcement handles anyone planning to do criminal action.

II.  National Security Partnerships between Law Enforcement and the Muslim community

We discussed partnership and trust as key to national security.  Muslim community members are increasingly seen, respected, and engaged as partners, rather than as suspects; we agreed on the importance of cultivating this trend.  Its value has already been actively demonstrated: Some 42% of terrorism arrests have resulted from Muslim community members calling law enforcement: (http://sanford.duke.edu/centers/tcths/about/documents/Kurzman_Muslim-American_Terrorism_Since_911_An_Accounting.pdf )

III.  Civil rights and Civil liberties

Civil rights issues such as ethnic or religious attire profiling, especially in airports and in travel generally, were discussed.  Also, there was discussion of the increases in hate crimes against mosques and Muslim community members, as well as discussions of DHS’ role in responding to hate crimes.

IV.  Responding to all Violent Extremists

DHS activity to counter other violent extremist groups was another key concern.  An FBI study of terrorism on U.S. soil from 1980 to 2005 found that 94% of terror attacks were committed by non-Muslims:
http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/terrorism-2002-2005/terror02_05#terror_05sum

V.  In Conclusion

The evening drew on a wide range of people and perspectives, unified by all parties’ shared commitment to the safety of the nation, its peoples’ security, the growing partnership between citizens and the Department, and the resilience of its future.  As the evening concluded, the mood was positive, confident, and upbeat.  The ADAMS website will continue to carry news of this work and invitations to related events, and the Center invites you to connect and participate.

REFERENCES:

1. For over 14 years, ADAMS has been a key member of the FBI Washington Field Office (WFO)’s American Muslim Sikh Advisory Committee.  We have consistently encouraged open dialogue and cooperation between the Muslim community and law enforcement, simultaneously protecting our nation’s safety while safeguarding the individual civil rights accorded and guaranteed by the US Constitution.  ADAMS has hosted several Town Hall meetings with the FBI WFO at our mosque, and had many advisory sessions with the WFO director and field agents, sharing mutual concerns and exploring ways of enhancing and strengthening our cooperation.

2. FATWA (religious ruling) Against Terrorism:
    https://www.adamscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/FATWA_Muslims_Against_Terrorism.pdf

3. ADAMS is a National Community Outreach Partner with the FBI in its Arab/Muslim/Sikh/South Asian-American Category.  See the section “Our Outreach Partners” on the FBI website:
http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/partnerships_and_outreach/community_outreach/outreach_contacts

4.  ADAMS has also been a member of the Department of Homeland Security’s Countering Violent Extremism Working Group:
(http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/hsac_cve_working_group_recommendations.pdf).

5.  http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/fbi-field-office-director-james-mcjunkin-leads-by-example/2011/08/30/gIQAxIg3HK_story.html

6.  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/20/AR2006092001675.html

7.  http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1129587,00.html

8.  MUFLEHUN – Counter-Radicalization organization – Chaired by Imam Magid (ADAMS) and Humera Khan (Executive Director):
http://www.muflehun.org/

9. ADAMS Hosts Seminar on Preventing Violent Extremism in the Muslim American Community since 2011:
http://muflehun.org/event-internet-safety-workshop-what-parents-need-to-know/

10.  New York Times Article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/20/us/muslim-leaders-in-us-seek-to-counteract-extremist-recruiters.html

11.  ABC NEWS Interviews:
–  ABC News’ Martha Raddatz speaks to an imam in Virginia fighting attempts by ISIS to lure young Muslim Americans into extremism.
http://abcnews.go.com/ThisWeek/video/countering-isis-recruiting-tactics-29141084
(ADAMS Interviews start at Video Time Period 1:30)
http://abcnews.go.com/US/isis-recruiters-run-virginia-imam-working-counter-message/story?id=29166473

12. All Dulles Area Muslim Society focuses on Religious Freedom Around The World:

 
The All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS), one of the largest Muslim communities/mosques in the DC Metro Area and in the United States, is a non-profit 501c (3) Organization that serves over 6000 families(25,000 people) with 10 branches in Virginia/DC – Ashburn, Crystal City, Fairfax, Greater Gainesville, North Reston, South Riding, Sterling/Herndon, Sully/Chantilly, Tysons Corner,  and Washington DC.   ADAMS is governed by a 13-member democratically elected Board of Trustees that includes both men and women.  ADAMS Provides Religious services & education and social activities to several thousand people a week. ADAMS engages in regular interfaith, government relations, social services and community service, and has one of the largest Cub Scout, Boy Scout and Girl Scout programs in the DC Metro area. ADAMS Coordinates 22 Friday Prayers at 10 Locations. ADAMS Eid Prayers are attended by 15,000 to 25,000 People at 6 ADAMS Eid Holiday Locations. The ADAMS hosts the Adams Compassionate Healthcare Network(ACHN) Office and Clinic. ADAMS has three official seats on ACHN Board of Directors.

Why worry? From The Counter Jihad Report:

One of Northern Virginia’s most prominent Islamic organizations, the All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) Center was created by jihadis, and continues today to be a center of the Islamic Jihadi Movement in the Washington, D.C. area and beyond.

Despite this, ADAMS continues to be the primary “go-to” Islamic organization for churches, synagogues, and eventhe FBI in the D.C. metropolitan area.

122106-Holocaust2-500

Imam Mohamed Magid speaking at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum

 

The face of ADAMS continues to be Imam Mohamed Magid, the Executive Director of ADAMS and the previous leader of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), identified by the U.S. government as a financial support entity for Hamas – a designated terrorist organization – and the “nucleus” for the Muslim Brotherhood’s Islamic Movement in North America.

Besides this obvious link between ADAMS and ISNA, ADAMS identifies itself as an affiliate of ISNA on its website (see image below).

Screen-Shot-2015-03-09-at-10.37.30-AM

In the largest terrorism financing and Hamas trial ever successfully prosecuted in American history (US v Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF), Dallas 2008), the U.S. government specifically states:

“During the trial. the Court entcrcd Into evidence a wide array of testimonial and documentary evidence expressly linking ISNA and NAIT to the HLF and its principals; the Islamic Association for Palestine and its principals; the Muslim Brotherhood in the United States and its Palestine Committee headed by HAMAS official Mousa Abu Marzook; and the greater HAMAS-affiliated conspiracy described in the Government’s case-in-chief.” (GOVERNMENT’S MEMORANDUM IN OPPOSITION TO PETITIONERS ISLAMIC SOClETY OF NORTH AMERICA AND NORTH AMERICAN ISLAMIC TRUST’S MOTION FOR EQUITABLE RELIEF p7)

It should be noted the U.S. Palestine Committee is Hamas in the America, created by the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood on orders from the International Muslim Brotherhood headquarters in Egypt.  HLF and IAP were two of the four Hamas entities created in the U.S.  The other two were the UASR and the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR).

“ISNA and NAIT. in fact, shared more with HLF than just a parent organization. They were intimately connected with the HLF and its assigned task of providing financial support to HAMAS. Shortly after HAMAS was founded in 1987, as an outgrowth of the Muslim Brotherhood, Govt. Exh. 21-61, the International Muslim Brotherhood ordered the Muslim Brotherhood chapters throughout the world to create Palestine Committees, whose job it was to support HAMAS with “media, money and men.” Govt. Exh. 3-15. The U.S.-Muslim Brotherhood created the U.S. Palestine Committee, which documents reflect was initially comprised of three organizations: the OLF (HLF), the IAP, and the UASR. CAIR was later added to these organizations.” (Ibid, p13)

In his order signed in 2009 and unsealed in 2010, Federal Judge Jorge Solis ruled, “The Government has produced ample evidence to establish the associations of CAIR, ISNA and NAIT with HLF, the Islamic Association for Palestine (“IAP”), and with Hamas.”  The appellate panel ruled unanimously to keep ISNA’s name on the “Unindicted Co-Conspirator” list for the HLF case.

Imam Mohamed Magid, the Executive Director for the ADAMS Center, was the President of ISNA at the time of this ruling and was the Vice President of ISNA prior to that.

The massive amount of evidence produced in the HLF case also revealed that money was sent directly from ISNA and NAIT bank accounts to Hamas leaders and Hamas organizations overseas.  The North American Islamic Trust (NAIT) is the bank for the Muslim Brotherhood in North America.  Hamas is a designated terrorist organization.

The founding Chairman of the Board for the ADAMS Center is Ahmad Totonji, one of the original Muslim Brotherhood (MB) leaders in the United States who founded some of the largest MB organizations in North America.  Totonji resides in Northern Virginia and has been identified by the U.S government as the co-founder of the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) and the Safa Trust.  These organizations are/were headquartered in Herndon, Virginia, and provided financial and material support to designated terrorist organizations Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and Hamas.

According to the government affidavit, the Safa Trust was raided by the federal government after 9/11 because the organizations and leaders “in the Safa Group maintained a financial and ideological relationship with persons and entities with known affiliations to the designated terrorist Groups PIJ and HAMAS.”

One of those Safa organizations was the Sterling Charitable Gift Fund whose six (6) primary advisors are prominent Muslim Brotherhood leaders in America including:  Dr. Taha J. Al-Alwani (former Director of IIIT and the MB’s Fiqh Council of North America), Dr. Jamal Barzinji (one of the leading MB leaders in America), Dr. Ilyas BaYunus,  Sheikh Mohamed Hanooti (unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center Bombing and the HLF case), Dr. Iqbal Unus (senior MB leader in America), and Imam Mohamed Magid.

The Safa Trust affidavit featured ADAMS founder/Chairman of the board Ahmad Totonji:  “Ahmad Totonji is a corporate officer of several Safa Group organizations, including Safa Trust, Inc., and was referenced in Al-Alwani’s 1991 letter expressing solidarity with Al- Arian. Totonji is also referenced in another seized letter from Al-Arian to Al-Alwani. In this letter, Al-Arian solicited more funding and referred to a meeting he had with Totonji where Totonji promised him another $20,000. As recently as November 1, 2001, Totonji signed a check for $10,000 to Al-Arian through Al-Arian’s organization known as the Tampa Bay Coalition for Justice and Peace, drafted on the account of Safa Group charity IIIT.” (Affidavit, p79)

Sami Al-Arian is the convicted leader of the designated terrorist organization PIJ.

When the government conducted numerous raids in conjunction with the Safa Trust investigation, the homes of Omar and Muhammed Ashraf were also raided. Omar Ashraf is a member of the ADAMS Project Committee and Executive Vice President of Sterling Management Group.  Muhammed Ashraf is the ADAMS Legal Advisor and was also an attorney for Abdurahman Alamoudi, the convicted Al Qaeda financier.

The Vice President of the Board of Trustees and an ADAMS Laws Committee member, who was mentioned above as an Advisor for the Sterling Charitable Gift fund is Iqbal Unus.  Unus was also Dean of Students at the Graduate School of Islamic and Social Sciences (GSISS) in Leesburg, Virginia, another Muslim Brotherhood organization. GSISS was also raided during the Safa Trust investigation, as was the home of Unus.   The homes GSISS President Taha al-Alwani and Yaqub Mizra, President of the Sterling Management Group, were also raided.

A check written by Yaqub Mirza from the account of SAAR Foundation to ADAMS in the amount of $250,000, was deposited into a Safa Trust account on December 15, 1997.  On SAFA’s 1997 Form 990, however, this amount is not reflected as a contribution received from either ADAMS or SAAR.  Moreover, Safa’s 1997 Form 990 does not reflect any other transactional relationship with ADAMS or SAAR that would explain the transaction.

The relationship with the Safa Trust terrorist support network is clear.

In a 2014 letter to ISIS leader Al Baghdadi, Imam Mohamed Magid was signatory #82.  In this letter, the signatories make clear their support for Sharia, Jihad, and the Hadud punishments under Sharia, which include stonings, beheadings, and crucifixions.  This is the face of ADAMS.

The ADAMS Center was created by the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood and operates as a part of the jihadi network in the United States as a hostile entity to accomplish the Muslim Brotherhood’s stated mission here – to wage “civilization jihad” to destroy America.

When considering conducting any “outreach” to the ADAMS Center, organizations should decide whether they want to work with this jihadi organization which seeks their destruction.