North American Islamic Group Hosts Pakistani Terror Leader
Close ties to al-Qaeda don't appear to be an obstacle to obtaining a visa to lecture in Toronto.
Just days before his appearance in Toronto at the ISNA-Canada conference, Qazi had been in Tehran as the keynote speaker at a three-day “Muslim Unity Conference” sponsored by the Iranian regime and presided over by former Iranian President Rafsanjani.
According to a press release issued by JEI, Qazi called on the Muslim ummah to unite against America and oppose the war on terror, hailing Iran’s “spirit to fight to the death” against the U.S.:
Qazi condemned the American threats being hurled against Pakistan and Iran, and said the unity of the Iranian nation and their spirit to fight till death against the colonists has actually become a symbol of Iran’s security, sovereignty, and independence, which should serve as a guiding principle for the whole Muslim world.
Qazi’s ties to the Iranian regime go back even before the Islamic Revolution brought Ayatollah Khomeini to power. In fact, one analyst attributes Qazi’s support of Khomeini as a primary factor in the revolution:
The JI’s Qazi Hussein Ahmad is well liked in Tehran, and whenever he visits the country he is treated like a head of state. He has had ties with the Islamic parties there since the early 1970s, and his party Jamaat Islami played an important role in the Ayatollah Khomeini-led Islamic revolution that swept the Shah out of power in 1979.
Prior to the revolution, and while Khomeini was in exile in Paris, Qazi Hussein Ahmad was instrumental in having his tapes and literature smuggled into Iran to stir the masses.
JEI’s connection to terrorism also extends to Afghanistan, with Qazi serving as mentor and longtime benefactor to Hizb-i-Islami warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, who as the Jamestown Foundation noted was behind an assassination attempt last month against Afghan President Hamid Karzai and has taken an active role in leading the insurgency against coalition forces. Hekmatyar’s Hizb-i-Islami has also helped to train JEI’s terrorist wing, the Hizbul Mujahideen of Jammu and Kashmir, which has been responsible for hundreds of terrorist activities in recent years. Hizbul Mujahideen has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States.
A number of sources have reported that the relationship between JEI and al-Qaeda is more than just moral support. As noted by the Christian Science Monitor in 2003, al-Qaeda operations chief Khalid Sheikh Mohammad was captured in Pakistan at the home of a prominent JEI parliamentary official, and other JEI members have been captured alongside other al-Qaeda officials hiding in Pakistan. Another report issued by the South Asia Analysis Group observed a number of direct connections between JEI and al-Qaeda.
And in 2006, terrorism correspondent Bill Roggio reported that Qazi himself had been caught by Pakistani authorities attempting to enter a restricted area after a U.S. strike on an al-Qaeda training compound. According to Roggio, Qazi made the blockade run to attempt to link up with al-Qaeda officials to coordinate their response to the U.S. attack:
By denying access to Qazi and others, Pakistan is preventing the jihadi political leadership such as Qazi from coordinating with al-Qaeda on a political message.
ISNA is not the only Islamic organization to embrace JEI’s extremism and Qazi’s open support for terror, however. ISNA’s sister organization, the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), has even closer associations to Qazi.
A July 2005 article by CNS News investigative reporter Sherrie Gossett said that Qazi had been ICNA’s sole representative at a meeting held in 2000 in Woodside, NY. Gossett had obtained confidential meeting notes from that event identifying ICNA as the active arm of JEI in the U.S.
At that meeting, Qazi reportedly spoke on the topic of “Jihad Is a Comprehensive Concept,” saying that jihad was an essential part of Islam and that “Islam must be translated into political dominance,” as “the sword and the Koran go together.”
Coincidentally, ICNA announced last September a national radio campaign “to inform fellow Americans about the true teachings of Islam and to clear up any misunderstandings regarding Islam.”
Undoubtedly, ISNA and ICNA will respond that demanding the exclusion of the heads of foreign terrorist organizations from their conferences and events is yet another manifestation of how the war on terror is actually a war against Islam itself, and such criticisms will be cited as proof of rampant “Islamophobia.”
I must admit that I am far from a dispassionate observer concerning ISNA’s conference speakers, as my own hometown of Columbus, Ohio, will be the setting for ISNA’s 45th annual convention this coming August. A reported 25,000 attendees will be flocking to central Ohio. It should be noted that last year’s ISNA conference included an exhibitor’s booth manned by the extremist Hizb-ut-Tahrir — much like JEI, banned throughout Europe and the Middle East — situated right beside the Department of Homeland Security recruiting booth. That event was overshadowed by ISNA’s designation by federal prosecutors as an unindicted co-conspirator in last summer’s Holy Land Foundation terrorism financing trial.
And yet with Hamas operatives attempting to get on the Columbus Public School Board (a story first covered here exclusively at Pajamas Media); the guilty plea earlier this month of local al-Qaeda cell member Christopher Paul to charges of conspiring to use weapons of mass destruction against Americans at home and abroad (the third member of our local al-Qaeda cell to plead guilty); and local Islamic clerics speaking at conferences alongside designated terrorists, I would say that Columbus already has more radical Islam and terrorist support than we can handle without the added extremism that an ISNA convention invariably brings.
<- Prev Page 2 of 2
Patrick Poole is a regular contributor to Pajamas Media, and an anti-terrorism consultant to law enforcement and the military.
 |
 |
 |
Podcasts |  PJM Home |
Pajamas Media appreciates your comments that abide by the following guidelines:
1. Avoid profanities or foul language unless it is contained in a necessary quote or is relevant to the comment.
2. Stay on topic.
3. Disagree, but avoid ad hominem attacks.
4. Threats are treated seriously and reported to law enforcement.
5. Spam and advertising are not permitted in the comments area.
The clause regarding "hate speech" has been deleted because readers criticized it as being too loosely defined. We agreed.
These guidelines are very general and cannot cover every possible situation. Please don't assume that Pajamas Media management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment. We reserve the right to filter or delete comments or to deny posting privileges entirely at our discretion. If you feel your comment was filtered inappropriately, please email us at story@pajamasmedia.com.
18 Comments
1. Andrew Ian Dodge:I guessing that they tried to get Abu Hamza who is no longer available to speak.
Jun 21, 2008 - 3:43 am 2. Mike B:Canada is such a weird country. I know from personal experience they have many citizens who are all for the War on Terrorism, they have had troops in a hot spot in Afghanistan since 2003 with many killed and wounded, a small but very highly trained and professional Army, and yet they still insist on allowing things like this to occur. Come on, Canada. You’re either for us or against us. Can we depend on you or not?! You can be as politically correct and “enlightened” as you want to be (not saying I agree with your policitically correct attitudes) but terrorism is terrorism and you have to draw a line somewhere in the sand. I’m sure glad this modern world’s attitude about our enemies (and yes, they are our enemies who want to kill, maim and destroy us and our culture) weren’t around in WWII. Hitler’s grandson would now be running Europe and Tojo would have retired to Hawai’i years ago. Right is right and wrong is wrong and I’m sick to death of the politically correct elitists trying to redefine it for the rest of us common sense, realistic folks. WAKE UP!!!!!
Jun 21, 2008 - 3:46 am 3. Louise:Yes, Mike B., Canada sucks, but don’t forget your own backyard party at Columbia University which featured I-am-a-mad-jerk from Iran as special guest speaker. I think the West in general needs to shape up, and real fast, too.
Jun 21, 2008 - 8:02 am 4. Amy Alkon:Meanwhile, that dangerous deployer of rickrack, Martha Stewart, is being kept out of England. Who knows…she might try to cover objects with small felt pieces while she’s there!
Jun 21, 2008 - 10:36 am 5. Jim C.:Louise wrote, “Yes, Mike B., Canada sucks, but don’t forget your own backyard party at Columbia University which featured I-am-a-mad-jerk from Iran”
Louise, don’t YOU forget the US hasn’t brought someone into a kangaroo court for merely the words of someone just like Qazi.
Yet.
Jun 21, 2008 - 5:05 pm 6. Drakken:I say string the little sob from the nearest gallows with a porckchop shoved in his mouth. It is about time these islamaniacs start fearing us and lets send the message, We in the west will no longer tolerate the savages!
Jun 21, 2008 - 6:57 pm 7. ReCon USMC:It is ironic that many people use “Islamism” as a figleaf term to avoid speaking about Islam itself; they pretend that the political and imperialistic and supremacist elements of Islam are not deeply rooted within it, but are merely “Islamist” inventions that can with relative ease be eradicated and are already rejected by the Islamic mainstream. Yet here, The Independent assumes that to speak about Islamism is to speak about Islam, and suggests that Canadian authorities might think the same thing.
Jun 22, 2008 - 9:46 am 8. Patrick Poole:Canada is be-coming JUST LIKE Denmark but even Denmark has had enough of these be Islamist Nation or else ! Denmark finally want or Else as hopefully Canada will as well very soon !
Islamist have only one way . The Wabbhist 1200 AD version of the Koran or death !
In light of new information, I have asked the editors to include this update at the beginning of the article:
“Naresh Raghubeer of the Canadian Coalition for Democracies, the organization that opposed Qazi Hussein Ahmad’s entry into Canada for the ISNA conference last month, reports that Qazi was eventually denied a visa by the Canadian government as a result of the public outcry and political pressure, preventing him from speaking at the ISNA conference. He also clarifies that despite the extensive ties of Qazi’s Jamaat-e-Islami to Al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups, Canada has not yet officially designated it a terrorist organization, as originally reported in the article. Another organization also operating in Southeastern Asia with the same name has been so designated. We appreciate Mr. Raghubeer’s update and correction.”
This is a positive sign that there may still be sense and reason enough to continue to confront the threat of Islamic extremism in Canada and (hopefully) the US. Congratulations are due to the folks at the Canadian Coalition for Democracies for their success. May there be many more in the future.
Jun 22, 2008 - 1:04 pm 9. Winston:Canuckistan is following Eurabia’s path to abyss….
Jun 22, 2008 - 11:41 pm 10. tanstaafl:Abu Hamza
Hamza (former bouncer at a club, then preacher at England’s Finsbury Park mosque and all around rabble rouser who blew off a hand and an eye fooling with bombs) has recently been cleared for extradition to the US from Britain.
The US wants to try him for some business promoting a terrorist compound in Oregon.
What a total joke, continuing to subject these cretins to western legal systems. Hey, once he’s over in the states, maybe Hamza will be eligible for habeas corpus.
Anyway, I’m sure Britain will be glad to be rid of him.
Meanwhile, radical Islamist preachers attempting to spread the hate and the “ummah” around the world (like Qazi) have absolutely nothing new to say.
“…to inform fellow Americans about the true teachings of Islam and to clear up any misunderstandings regarding Islam.”
This is the Islamists “new excuse” and the politically correct idiots (in Canada and elsewhere) appear to be buying it.
Jun 23, 2008 - 6:49 am 11. Islamic group coming to Ohio with Pakistani terror leader as speaker « Shariah Finance Watch:[...] I report today at PJM, “North American Islamic Group Hosts Pakistani Terror Leader”, ISNA invited Qazi Hussain Ahmad, the head of the Jamaat-e-Islami terrorist organization to [...]
Jun 23, 2008 - 4:18 pm 12. kelebek:I asked myself the same question about Canada allowing terrorists in when i saw that a speaker at the islamic symposium at the university here is none other than an imam who originated from an islamic centre in Maryland that was investigated for connections with 9/11. And for some reason the guy lives here now. Don’t trust canadian promises to tighten the border. I’m Canadian and am as appalled as the Americans must be by the canadian government’s immigration system. We need some american blood up here so that people will stand up and demand some changes. But no, the people are like sheep and are more concerned with appearing politically correct and not annoying anyone at the risk of seeming racist. Total BS.
Aug 8, 2008 - 11:16 am 13. asif chauhdary:“Drakken:
I say string the little sob from the nearest gallows with a porckchop shoved in his mouth. It is about time these islamaniacs start fearing us and lets send the message, We in the west will no longer tolerate the savages!
Jun 21, 2008 – 6:57 pm”
You smell as a racist buddy. If that’s how you think about Islam then I am afraid that you have no right to call the Muslims, fanatics. BTW no one tolerate savages and that’s the bottom line. Mind it.
Aug 12, 2008 - 9:30 pm 14. Omi aq:Asif Chaudary!!!
Aug 23, 2008 - 5:30 pm 15. Omi aq:Seems like u got Canadian Nationality.
and seems like most Asians there have it also, doesn’t mean you show your ignorance about Islam. when you don’t know about Islam. As Muslims we don’t talk bad about Christianity, or any other religion.
Please If anyone need to know who is playing major role in territory since 8 years!!! Refer back to 9/11 true story especially on WTC BUILDING 7.
Thank you.
UK
I just came across with something which I was waiting for a long time.
AMERICAN MASTER PLAN since Summer 2001. ( Before 9/11 )
To give you a Idea. Please follow the link to give you a hint.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xN_3gk4B9c
(Recently Released)
Truth is on the way
Thank you
Aug 23, 2008 - 6:10 pm 16. Asif Chauhdary:UK
Omi aq!
Aug 28, 2008 - 12:58 am 17. Asif Chauhdary:Brother you misunderstood me probably. The former paragraph of my post is an exerpt from Drakken’s post and I just quoted it.
Well as far as I am concerned, you will be disappointed to know that I am living 1000 miles away from Canada, in Pakistan and proud of it.
As far as the contents of your posts are concerned, I fully agree with them.
Thanks
Good day.
“Patrick Poole: In light of new information, I have asked the editors to include this update at the beginning of the article: “Naresh Raghubeer of the Canadian Coalition for Democracies, the organization that opposed Qazi Hussein Ahmad’s entry into Canada …….Jun 22, 2008 – 1:04 pm”
Patrick! Your loose sleep is absolutely needless. Being a Pakistani,I know Qazi’s party more than you and honestly speaking dont have any love lost for them but linking it to Al-Qaeda or for that matter any other terrorist group is totally baseless and nonsence.
Aug 29, 2008 - 8:50 pm 18. Pak Karamu:My Christian respected friends have been brain washed to fear anyone whose name carries Muhammad, Osama or who has a beard. Folks talk everything against Islam and Muslims but for God’s sake give others a chance too, to utter something. Please.
Assalamu’alaikum Wr Wb
Happy ‘Idul Adha
Dec 9, 2008 - 5:28 am