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Eagle - August 7, 2007
Islamic Center members outraged and shocked
at Washington Post article allegations
By CHELSEA MCDOUGALL
When members of the Islamic Center of Macomb (Illinois) read an article by a Washington Post reporter and after it was printed in the Macomb Journal on Tuesday, July 24 they were outraged and shocked.
The article about Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, who spent time in Macomb and has alleged ties to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, brought strong allegations against the Islamic Center.
Allegations they vehemently deny.
In two paragraphs, Susan Schmidt, Washington Post staff writer, claimed the Islamic Center of Macomb came to the "attention of intelligence and law enforcement agencies" because of "financial irregularities." Additionally, the article said the Islamic Center of Macomb received $10,000 from the Islamic Assembly of North America (IANA), which the "government accused of creating Web sites to promote violent jihad" and members of the center had "dealings" with the group.
All of the allegations in the article regarding the Islamic Center are false, the center said in a released statement. They never received a donation from IANA and to the "best of our knowledge," the statement said, "none of the previous or current members of the Islamic Center Board have been a member of IANA." Furthermore, the center has never been investigated for terrorism as the article suggests.
"We are unaware of the so-called reference to a 2003 terrorism case that was filed in a federal court," the statement said. "The center has never been charged with any act of terrorism whatsoever."
Ehsan Salman has been the center’s treasurer for the last four years. At no time, he said, did he sit down for an interview with the Washington Post reporter nor was he contacted to do so. “I don’t know who she talked to or how she came up with that story about the Islamic Center of Macomb,” Salman said.
Furthermore, Salman said the transactions are maintained regularly by the bank and there are records of all financial transactions.
http://eaglepublications.com/article.php?&ID=1186498359_3845
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