In 2008, a federal court convicted the Holy Land Foundation (HLF) and leaders on providing material support to Hamas, a designated foreign terrorist organization. Of the five leaders convicted at the trial, three of them lived in North Texas, a short drive away from Irving, Texas. MacArthur High School in Irving is where “Clock Boy” Ahmed Mohamed was arrested earlier this year.
The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the largest terrorism financing trial in United States history. The judge found there was ample evidence that ISNA, among other co-conspirators, assisted the Holy Land Foundation in funding millions of dollars to a Palestinian military terrorist organization that has killed Israeli children.
The HLF was designated as a terrorist organization by the federal government in 2001. The organization was shut down and its assets were seized because a key purpose of the charity was to fund Hamas. Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. and other governments.
In May 2009, five of the key leaders of the HLF were sentenced after having been convicted in November, 2008, of providing material support to the terrorist organization. Two of the leaders lived in Richardson where the Islamic Association of North Texas is located. Another leader was from nearby Garland, Texas. The two other defendants were from San Diego, California, and Patterson, New Jersey. Three of these individuals incorporated the HLF, and two of them worked as fundraisers.
According to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in 2009, the now-defunct HLF was the largest U.S. Muslim charity before it was shut down in 2001. The foundation existed to support Hamas “[f]rom its inception,” states the DOJ.
The DOJ charged that “the HLF intentionally hid its financial support for Hamas behind the guise of charitable donations.” It added, “HLF and these five defendants provided approximately $12.4 million in support to Hamas and its goal of creating an Islamic Palestinian state by elimination the State of Israel through violent jihad.”
As reported by Breitbart Texas, armed protestors and members of the Bureau of American-Islamic Relations (BAIR) are planning an armed protest in Richardson on December 12. More protesters and supporters are planned for the same day at the Irving Islamic Center, as reported by Breitbart Texas’ Merrill Hope. Nearly 100 demonstrators rallied in front of the Islamic Center in Irving, Texas last weekend.
The City of Irving and the area has been ground zero for Islamic protests and tension in Texas.
“Clock Boy” Ahmed Mohamed was arrested after he brought a clock that looked like a bomb to an Irving ISD school. Irving Mayor Beth Van Duyne received multiple disturbing, sexually violent threats. The mayor remains a controversial figure over the decision made by the Irving ISD and the Irving Police Department to detain Mohamed, as reported by Breitbart Texas.
Thirty minutes from Irving is Garland, Texas where two Islamic terrorists were killed by a police officer in May after storming the parking lot of the site of a Mohamed Art Exhibit and Contest, as reported by Breitbart Texas. The Arizona-based terrorists arrived at the parking lot armed with AK-47s and grenades after driving across the country from Phoenix.
The cities of Irving and Richardson are approximately 20 miles apart, and Garland is 25 miles from Irving and just 9 miles from Richardson, Texas.
Lana Shadwick is a contributing writer and legal analy for Breitbart Texas. She has served as an associate judge and prosecutor. Follow her on Twitter @LanaShadwick2
UPDATE: A prior version of this article identified the Islamic Society of North America as the Islamic Association of North Texas.
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