Civil Rights

UPDATES! Holy Land Foundation Not Guilty of Financing Terrorism! Alhamdulillah!

Published

October 22, 2007

Abu Reem

*See this entry on Firedoglake blog. Cross-posted on Dailykos & Streetprophets
See this great video on Dallas Morning News with one of the jurors*

Seems like awesome news Mashallah. Alhamdulillah, alhamdulilah, alhamdulilah!

The title is the headline from about an hour ago in Dallas Morning News. If everyone can help keep up with details, esp. any folks in Dallas, that would be great.

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IF the headline is true in all of its flavor, then alhamdulilah… and quite unbelievable that Muslims could get a court victory in America these days… May Allah’s Help aid these brothers.

Here’s more from WFAA:

12:22 p.m. This trial was about money laundering and the funding of terrorism, the terrorist group Hamas. The government spent a long time preparing for it. It began the investigation in 1993. So when it ended today in a mistrial for five of the six defendants – and one of those defendants is the Holy Land Foundation – it has been a very anticlimatic thing as far the government is concerned. Right now, the Islamic community is elated. They are happy because this trial will have to go to the jury again. There is a gag order of everyone involved

12:02 p.m. You can see a huge celebration on the part of the Muslim community who see this as a victory. This is because the mistrial was pronounced. It will have to be tried again but if you look at how the jurors spoke to the judge and what they said, they had a resounding not guilty verdict on two of the defendants and on two more they couldn’t make up their minds.

11:35 a.m. The Holy Land Foundation terrorism-financing trial ended in a mistrial Monday after the jurors deadlocked on most of the counts. But a government prosecutor said the Justice Department would retry the case.

11:22 a.m. A mistrial on most defendants has been reached. WFAA-TV

11:00 a.m. Jurors in the landmark Holy Land Foundation terrorism financing case acquitted some of the former Richardson charity organizers on charges they aided terrorists abroad, but appear to have deadlocked on other charges, according to the verdict unsealed Monday.

10:45 a.m.The jury in the Holy Land Foundation terrorism-financing trial was unable to reach unanimous decisions on most of the defendants including the Holy Land Foundation and its top officials, U.S. District Judge Joe Fish said Monday.

10:31 a.m. The original chairman and director of endowments of the Holy Land Foundation was found not guilty of supporting terrorism by sending money to charity committees controlled by Hamas.

10:24 a.m. The Holy Land Foundation was found not guilty of supporting terrorism by sending money to charity committees controlled by Hamas.

10:19 a.m.The jury in the Holy Land Foundation terrorism-financing trial was unable to reach unanimous decisions on three of the six defendants, U.S. District Judge Joe Fish said Monday as he unsealed their verdicts.

10:16 a.m.The Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development was found not guilty of supporting terrorism by sending money to charity committees controlled by Hamas.

9:30 a.m. The lobby of the courthouse is packed with journalists literally from all over the world. Both English and Arabic Al-Jazeera are here and Al-Arabia.

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Abu Reem

Abu Reem is one of the founders of MuslimMatters, Inc. His identity is shaped by his religion (Islam), place of birth (Pakistan), and nationality (American). By education, he is a ChemE, topped off with an MBA from Wharton. He has been involved with Texas Dawah, Clear Lake Islamic Center and MSA. His interests include politics, cricket, and media interactions. Career-wise, Abu Reem is in management in the oil & gas industry (but one who still appreciates the "green revolution").

32 Comments

Amad

October 22, 2007 at 11:38 AM

If a jury in Texas can be intelligent and fair-minded enough to not pass the “popular” guilty pleas… there is STILL HOPE in American for Muslims!

Reply
ibnabeeomar

October 22, 2007 at 12:02 PM

alhamdulillah

Reply
AnonyMouse

October 22, 2007 at 12:18 PM

Allahu akbar!

May this be a sign of America waking up and realizing what it has done to its own citizens… and restore those rights it’s been steadily taking away! We can only ask Allah to grant our brothers and sisters tawfeeq…

Reply
SaqibSaab

October 22, 2007 at 12:19 PM

Alhumdulillah. May Allah (SWT) grant us more victories against injustice.

I bet the courts were packed with Muslims from the Dallas masjid communities. That’s awesome, alhumdulillah. Similar to how it was for us in Chicago for the Mohammed Salah trial; community members and especially students filled court rooms and made a big impact on the case in terms of support.

Earlier this year, an Illinois jury acquitted a Chicago-area businessman on charges that he and a co-defendant aided Palestinian terrorists. Two years earlier, a Florida professor also was found not guilty on similar terrorism-support charges, and the jury deadlocked on several other charges.

Imagine the court room filled, particularly with dozens of hijabi students showing up to support Salah.

Any brothers/sisters from Dallas? How was it?

Reply
ibnabeeomar

October 22, 2007 at 12:24 PM

its not over yet.. 3 of the jurors said the verdict was wrong….

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21377847/

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Abdul-Alim

October 22, 2007 at 12:24 PM

Allah u Akbar, Allah u Akbar, Allah u Akbar

Reply
Amad

October 22, 2007 at 12:30 PM

the panel was sent back to deliberate on the other defendants after three jurors said the verdicts read in court were wrong.

Seems that these 3 didn’t have it their way and are now causing confusion:

The jury forewoman said she was surprised by the three jurors’ actions.

“When we voted, there was no issue in the vote,” she said. “No one spoke up any different. I really don’t understand where it is coming from. All 12 made that decision.”

Why is it there is no confusion when our brothers are found guilty at all other times??

Reply
Amad

October 22, 2007 at 12:52 PM

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/102207dnmetholyland.1878fd716.html

Mistrial declared… seems like 3 jurors hijacked the trial and backed out on what they had agreed on earlier… I can’t imagine that it could have been misunderstood as the forewoman stated. These 3 were probably on a high dose of jihadwatch episodes.

So,

The Holy Land Foundation terrorism-financing trial ended in a mistrial Monday after the jurors deadlocked on most of the counts. But a government prosecutor said the Justice Department would retry the case.

One official – Mohammad El-Mezain, the Holy Land’s original chairman and endowments director — was acquitted on most of the counts by a unanimous jury. But he could still face prosecution on a charge of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorism.

Seems that the Justice dept will continue to work the case for the Israeli government and somehow make sure that no one dare support Palestinians in the future… at least thats the message!

Reply
AnonyMouse

October 22, 2007 at 1:03 PM

Aarrrrgggghhhhh, losers! :(

Reply
Abu Omar

October 22, 2007 at 1:30 PM

Well, I’m sure that Steven Emerson and company got down there to lecture (or threaten) the jurors with horror stories of “Islamofascist terrorism” and fairytales of an American “Caliphate’ ruled by CAIR officials.

Reply
MR

October 22, 2007 at 1:33 PM

Alhamdulillah! Now we should support and donate to the Holy Land Foundation! They probably lost a lot of money trying to win this case. We need to really show our support by supporting them financially!

Reply
MR

October 22, 2007 at 1:36 PM

Someone needs to update the Wikipedia article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Land_Foundation_for_Relief_and_Development

Reply
Amine

October 22, 2007 at 2:22 PM

Not so fast. Unfortunately, since this is a mistrial, it will be retried on other counts in which the jury reached no verdict . May ALLAH let the truth prevail.

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Amad

October 22, 2007 at 2:35 PM

If you look at this story, there is no guarantee that the government will pursue those counts… if Mukasey becomes AG, probably will!

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/5234701.html

Fish said he plans to send the case back to court for reassignment, although it’s not clear if the government will retry the defendants. A gag order preventing those involved from speaking about the case still stands, the judge said.

Reply
Sis Shaykha

October 22, 2007 at 3:00 PM

Alhamdulilah sounds like good news.

It’s sad that many Islamic Charities are being shut down for such [ridiculous] charges. And many Muslims are afraid to donate.

Insha’ALlah May ALlah distinguish the truth from this falsehood, and May Allah protect the many Islamic Charities in America. Ameen

Reply
Amine

October 22, 2007 at 3:26 PM

Here is my source that the prosecution might resort to retrying the case:

“First Assistant to the US Attorney of the Northern District of Texas Jim Jacks told the judge that the prosecution planned to retry the case. The judge, who is shifting to senior status this month, said he would not preside over a retrial but rather let another judge take it over. ”

http://www.law.com/jsp/tx/PubArticleTX.jsp?hubtype=TxCaseAlert&id=1193043811617

Although Sheikh Abu Ibrahim was acquitted on the first four counts when the judge entered the not guilty judgment on them, he declared a mistrial on the last, the fifth count, which means that it is so far still outstanding and subject to be retried.

Salam,

Reply
Safia

October 22, 2007 at 5:56 PM

Allahu Akbar!!!

Reply
Abu Bakr

October 22, 2007 at 6:02 PM

They were probably paid off by someone from the administration of Chancellor Bush.

May Allah help the Muslims and deal with their enemies.

Reply
DallasMuslim

October 23, 2007 at 10:59 AM

Last night there was a MASSIVE turnout at the Dallas Central Mosque (IANT) with the defendants and all the community members getting together to celebrate and recieve an update. Alhumdullilah it was an amazing experience!!!

The amount of joy and happiness that I saw on the faces of each and everyone, I have not seen in my time! This victory is really from the mercy of Allah (swt).

200+ counts were brought in front of the Jury after 14 years of research and not a single count had a unanimous decision of guilty!!

The event started with Br. Monzer Taleb reciting Surah Nasr, with his loud and powerful voice resounding in the hearts of everyone there. Mahdi Bray, who had also flown in, gave a captivating speech which left everyone in tears and he recieved a standing ovation with loud cheers! His speech probably ranks in the top 3 speeches that I have ever witnessed live. Nihad Awad (CAIR) also spoke well on the victory and the work that still needs to be done. The defendents also spoke with one of the defendents stating that the whole experience had brought him close to Allah (swt) and increased his tawukkul. He stated that no matter how much power people or countries have, when its divided by the power of Allah (swt) which is infinity, their power is ZERO. There were various others speakers who thanked Allah and quoted verses of the Quran and Hadith of Muhammad (saw) on the subject.

In my time in America, I’ve never seen the community come together with so much unity and express their true love for one other. I’m grateful to Allah that he made me witness this event last night and may He continue to bless the muslims!

Reply
Amad

October 23, 2007 at 11:08 AM

just reading your little snippet, “Dallasmuslim” gives me goose-pimples.. I wish I could have been there.

did anyone record the events at the masjid?

Reply
DallasMuslim

October 23, 2007 at 11:45 AM

Amad: There was a guy with one of those heavy duty cameras (like the ones new reporters use.) I’ve been skimming through the local dallas news sites this morning hoping to find it but haven’t had any success yet.

More from the event: The whole event stretched out to 2 hours. One of the speakers came up and asked “Would the family of the defendents please stand?” And EVERYONE in the crowd stood up! That was a powerful moment. Also some of the speakers said they were in touch with Senator Keith Ellison who had expressed his happiness and joy and said he would order an enquiry into the case (or something on those lines.) Also I think must’ve hugged about 30 people who I’ve never met :)

Reply
ibnabeeomar

October 23, 2007 at 2:20 PM

dallasmuslim: jazakallahu khayr for the recap!

Reply
...

October 23, 2007 at 3:38 PM

Dallasmuslim, reading ur post brought tears in my eyes =) May Allah swt preserve the unity and Akhuwah.

Reply
DallasMuslim

October 23, 2007 at 4:22 PM

Check out this excellent video interview of one of the jurors:

http://www.dallasnews.com/video/dallasnews/hp/index.html?nvid=185986

He clearly states that some of the other jurors were confused and acted more on emotion than facts (mentiong 9/11, taleban or OBL, all of whom had nothing to do with this case!) He also states that the prosecutors used fear tactics to get a favorable judgement but the facts were as clear as day light.

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Joseph

October 23, 2007 at 5:14 PM

I wonder how much oil money those three jurors got from the moslem lobby.

Reply
AnonyMouse

October 23, 2007 at 5:30 PM

@ Joseph
:lol: :lol: :lol:

Reply
Danya

October 23, 2007 at 6:34 PM

Alhamdulillah, it’s a wonderful way to start “Islamofascism week” Take that Horowitz!

Reply
Joseph

October 23, 2007 at 11:16 PM

It’s just a mistrial, and the government is going to retry them. Hopefully next time they’ll be able to convict these scumbags.

Reply
JusticeNPeace

October 24, 2007 at 2:47 AM

A major part of the problem are the wingnuts who believe the destruction of Iraq and the rest of the middle east fulfills prophesy leading to the return of Jesus Christ.

They are the Judas of our generation. In exchange for their version of prophecy, they will sell out an entire generations of Iraqis, Persians, Syrians, and Jews. Let us not forget, according Jews must also convert or die when Jesus comes back.

Let there be no mistake, the only thing left in prophesy – according to Armageddon Hawks – after the creation of the state of Israel is the battle of Armageddon; which is supposed to destroy the middle east.

Let us pray for the peace of America, Jerusalem, and the entire middle east.

The problem in Iraq wasn’t weapons of mass destruction. It was blood thirsty hearts which sought to bring about Armageddon. And satan justified their heart’s desire with false arguments to placate their minds.

It is a blood lust which grows stronger by the day.

This is why when John Hagee comments on Yasser Arafat’s giving blood to the victims of 9/11, he mocks this as a ploy. Because Hagee is certain that God wants Arafat to be destroyed in the battle of Armageddon.

This is why Hagee and his vocal and silent supporters have a distorted world view. They are unable to look at the world for what it is because they wear Armageddon tinted glasses.

As for the silent supporters of Armageddonism, it is none other than the media which eats up the accusations Hagee and his cohorts hurl while giving him the benefit of the doubt that his blood thirsty ideology is harmless.

Let there be no ambiguity about this. His ideology is blood thirsty and yearns for the destruction of the world so that the Rapture may take place. This is as un-American an ideology as communism. This is as dangerous a threat to America as any. Hagee seeks to mislead America to ruin America and the world. He isn’t worried about himself because he is sure he will be raptured.

The silent supporters of Hagee are the arm-chair pundits who ignore the elephant in the room and pretend Armageddonists are not out there trying to sabotage America. By their silence, they become part of the problem; in the same way that those who remained silent about slavery allowed the system of slavery to thrive.

Want to fix the middle east? The solution is simple. It’s a United States of Israel-Palestine (unitedip.blogspot.com). You will find the biggest hurdle to this proposal to be the Armageddonist crowd who see God’s plan being foiled if this happens. To them, any move toward peace is a move in the wrong direction.

Reply
Amad

October 24, 2007 at 8:11 AM

Joe:
“Hopefully next time they’ll be able to convict these scumbags.”

While bigots hope for convictions and lynchings… Muslims and fair-minded non-Muslims hope for justice!

Reply
fahmed

October 29, 2007 at 1:35 PM

HLF celebration video

http://youtube.com/watch?v=1pguM7l1eu8

Reply
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