Previously on the IPT blog we stressed the need for the Defense Department's Islamic Chaplaincy program to adopt a stricter vetting process, citing historically radical imams who have served in the program. Now the same can be said for the chaplaincy program for the Illinois State Police. The Mosque Foundation website reports that Sheikh Kifah Mustapha recently completed a four day training session in Springfield, Illinois to become the first certified Muslim chaplain for the Illinois State Police.
Mustapha's name appears on a list of unindicted co-conspirators in the Holy Land Foundation (HLF) Hamas financing trial, which ended with sweeping convictions in November of 2008. On this list he is identified as a member of the Muslim Brotherhood's Palestine Committee. According to the indictment in the HLF trial, the "Muslim Brotherhood is an international Islamic fundamentalist organization" that is "committed to the globalization of Islam through social engineering and violent jihad." It created the Palestine Committee with a "designed purpose to support HAMAS" politically and financially.
A 1991 internal memo to Palestine Committee members reveals that members of the committee intended to further the Muslim Brotherhood's goals "on the American front." Mustapha appeared on the list due to his positions with HLF and Hamas' U.S. propaganda arm, the Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP).
The IAP also was a component in the Palestine Committee's Hamas-support network.
In a deposition for the civil litigation Boim v. Quranic Literacy Institute Kifah Mustapha explained that he was a "registered agent for HLF in Illinois" from the mid 1990s until 2001 when HLF's assets were frozen. During this time Mustapha raised money for HLF.
During the deposition Mustapha also described himself as a former member of a volunteer committee for the IAP beginning in the early 1990s. As a volunteer, he "distributed flyers" and helped prepare for "festivals or conventions." Those meetings often featured incendiary rhetoric and skits portraying Hamas violence against Israelis. Additionally Mustapha said that he donated money to HLF and "maybe" IAP.
In addition to his work with the HLF and IAP, Mustapha has helped raise money for other U.S. Muslim Brotherhood front groups. Mustapha has raised money for the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) which is under fire for its origins in the IAP and is also listed as an unindicted co-conspirator in the HLF trial. As recently as March of 2009, at a Dearborn, Michigan CAIR event, Mustapha helped raise $130,000 for CAIR. He also helped raise over $150,000 at a 2007 CAIR Chicago fundraiser. He has also raised money for the Muslim American Society (MAS) during a 2005 Chicago event.
It's not clear whether the Illinois State Police knew about these connections and didn't care, or whether it failed to adequately research Mustapha's background. Either raises serious concerns about who will counsel the state's Muslim troopers.