1-Year Prison Term for Ex-HLF Detroit Representative

A singer who performed at fundraisers for the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF) will serve a year in prison and face deportation after pleading guilty to lying on an immigration application.

Mohamad Ali Masfaka omitted any reference to HLF on his application for naturalization despite being on its payroll for nearly a year. He denied being an HLF employee when federal agents challenged him. He pled guilty to one count in October and was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison Tuesday in Michigan.

Five former HLF officials were convicted in 2008 of illegally routing millions of dollars to Hamas through a network of Palestinian charities controlled by the terrorist group. "The purpose of creating the Holy Land Foundation was as a fundraising arm for Hamas," U.S. District Judge Jorge Solis said as he sentenced the HLF defendants last year.

In addition to singing in a band that performed at HLF functions, internal records admitted into evidence during the HLF trial show that Masfaka was hired in 1997 and organized the group's "activities in the Detroit area from his home, serving as the Detroit HLF representative."

Masfaka is a native of Syria. U.S. District Judge Paul D. Borman's sentencing order included a condition that Masfaka "shall make every effort to obtain a Syrian Passport" to facilitate a subsequent deportation.

Galloway Kept Out of U.S.

George Galloway, the former British MP and the leader of the pro-Hamas group Viva Palestina, was denied entry into the United States last weekend when he planned to attend a series of fundraisers. Airline officials told him there were problems with his visa.

Galloway was scheduled to speak in five different cities on behalf of the Muslim Legal Fund of America. Instead, he spoke via live video link to gatherings in Kenner, La. and San Diego. Galloway told the Louisiana audience on Monday he was unsure whether his entry denial was the result of a bureaucratic mistake or political reasons.

"Nothing will stop me. Not the government of what they call Israel; not the government of Canada or the U.S.," Galloway declared. "I cannot be silenced…I hope the U.S. government understands that. We live in the age of Skype, YouTube and Facebook. There will always be a way for me to speak."

He spoke for about an hour and a half via video link Sunday evening at the San Diego Muslim Legal Fund Benefit Dinner, also expressing his concerns about whether his denial into the U.S. was a mistake or something "more serious."

This incident is not the first time Galloway has had trouble entering foreign countries. After the third Viva Palestina convoy ended with violent clashes at the Egyptian/Gaza border, Galloway was declared "persona non grata" by the Egyptian foreign ministry in January, barring him from entering the country again. Last year, Galloway was scheduled to speak in four Canadian cities but was deemed inadmissible based on an immigration law barring foreign nationals who support terrorism. Galloway's Canadian lawyers argued in an Ontario federal court last April that the decision should be overturned because it was based on the government's pro-Israel bias. In September, a federal judge ruled that the government did not officially exclude Galloway from entering the country, and noted that he never tried to enter the country since the ban. Galloway delivered a speech in Canada to a crowd of hundreds in early October, and returned to Canada in November for a 10-day speaking tour.

Galloway's Viva Palestina convoys have successfully delivered millions of dollars to the Hamas regime in Gaza during four land convoys to the region. Galloway directly delivered cash to a Hamas minister during the first Viva Palestina convoy in March, 2009, and has met with and supported Hamas hardliners.

U.S. Reps. Sue Myrick, R-NC, and Brad Sherman, D-CA, have urged the government to take action against Galloway and his group. In a December, 2009 letter addressed to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Sherman wrote, "The borders of the United States should not remain open to individuals that provide support to recognized terror organization. Please act so that Mr. Galloway and others who solicit funds for terrorist organizations do not receive visas to visit the United States and determine whether Viva Palestine, IFCO and their leadership should be designated as supporters of a Foreign Terrorist Organization."

Galloway raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Viva Palestina on U.S. soil in 2009 and 2010.

Man Charged in Facebook Threat to Bomb DC Metro

Authorities have unsealed a criminal complaint against a Virginia man who threatened to bomb the D.C.-area Metro subway system in postings on Facebook. Awais Younis, also known by his online identities Sundullah "Sunny" Ghilzai and Mohkhanmed Khan, was charged December 6 for making the threats.

FBI agents first learned of Younis on November 28, after someone contacted the New Orleans field office regarding "a person making several threats to use explosives in the Washington, D.C. area," including the Metro transit system, an affidavit filed with the court said. In an online chat, Younis described plans to build a pipe bomb. He said he knew "what type of shrapnel would cause the greatest damage." Younis also mentioned placing a pipe bomb under a sewer head in Georgetown in order to maximize casualties.

The affidavit offers no information indicating whether Younis acted on his threats.

On December 5, Younis allegedly lashed out at his unnamed Facebook friend, saying "BITCH I know what you are up too and you better stop if you know what is good for you!!!!! … you are sticking your nose where it doesn't belong into something bigger then you and I. that is the problem with Americans they cant leave well enough alone until something happends then they sit there wondering why we dropped the twin towers like a bad habit hahaha. im telling you right now you are going to regret doing what you did. for your peace i hope what i am hearing is all lies."

The complaint was filed the following day.

Younis was a recent graduate of George Mason University, where convicted terrorist Zachary Chesser attended. He also spent time studying at the University of Virginia and Virginia Commonwealth University. He was also a summer intern for three months in the Department of the Interior.

Facebook was also a major source of information about another plot, Muslim convert Antonio Martinez's attempted bombing an armed forces recruiting center in Cantonsville, Maryland.

This is the second arrest involving the DC Metro in two months. Ahmed Farooque is alleged to have conspired with an FBI informant, whom he believed was an al-Qaida agent, to bomb the DC metro system.

New Hizballah Crackdown

The U.S. Treasury Department targeted Hizballah's financial and logistical support network Tuesday, designating the terrorist organization's fundraisers and an operational commander. The "multinational network generates millions of dollars in funding and secures strategic geographical strongholds for Hizballah," Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Stuart Levey said in announcing the moves.

The designations include Ali and Husayn Tajideen, the brothers and business partners of previously designated man named Kassim Tajideen. Together, the three have reportedly funneled millions of dollars to Hizballah. At least one of the brothers, Ali, is a former Hizballah commander.

The sanctions targeted a network of businesses the brothers own or control. Those businesses—from the real estate, food and diamond trades, among other fields—spanned the globe, from Gambia, Lebanon, Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola, and the British Virgin Islands. The men used the proceeds from their businesses to funnel millions of dollars in financial support to Hizballah.

In addition to striking a blow to the financial dealings of Hizballah, Treasury also designated Hizballah's chief representative in South America, Bilal Mohsen Wehbe. As chief representative, Wehbe has relayed information and direction between Hizballah leaders in Lebanon and South America.

Hizballah's presence in South America was well established even before its 1992 bombing of the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires killed 29 and wounded hundreds of others. The terrorist organization has long-used parts of the region as a training ground, in particular the tri-border region where Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay meet.

These new Treasury actions aim at further disrupting the ability of Hizballah to fundraise, plan, and train from within South America. See the recent Investigative Project on Terrorism report on Hizballah in the United States here, here, and here.

Ex-Pakistani Commander Appointed Al-Qaida's Top Military Strategist

Al-Qaida has appointed Ilyas Kashmiri as its chief military strategist, according to an Indian news report. A former commander in the Pakistani military's Special Services Group, Kashmiri heads the Pakistan-based terrorist outfit Harkat ul-Jihad al-Islami, or HuJI ("Movement of Islamic Holy War"). He has been tied to several terrorist attacks in India, including the bombing of a German Bakery in the Indian city of Pune in February that killed nine people, including two foreigners, and wounded at least 60 others.

Kashmiri replaces Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in North Waziristan in May. In a tape released by al-Qaida's media wing in May, Yazid had praised Kashmiri's combat skills and appointed him his successor in the event of his death, the report said.

Kashmiri is expected to launch increased attacks in the region and against the West. He is suspected of being behind the suicide bomb attack on a secret CIA base in the eastern Afghan province of Khost in December that killed at least eight Americans. He is also part of two significant terrorism indictments issued in Chicago. In January, Kashmiri was added as a defendant in an indictment filed against American Lashkar operative David Coleman Headley for his role in the November 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. The attacks killed 166 people, including six Americans. Kashmiri allegedly also worked with Headley in a plot to attack the offices of the Danish newspaper Jyllands Posten and kill two of its employees—an editor and a cartoonist. A separate and unrelated indictment in March charged Pakistan-born Chicago cab driver Raja Lahrasib Khan with attempting to send money to Kashmiri to support al-Qaida's terrorist activities.

Kashmiri's appointment marks the growing alliance between al-Qaida, the Taliban and Kashmir-focused groups in Pakistan and the lawless tribal region bordering Afghanistan. The collaboration has bolstered al-Qaida's ability to launch large-scale attacks against the U.S. and its allies in the region and abroad.

To read a full IPT expose on Kashmiri, click here.

Accused Bomb Plotter Remains in Custody

A federal judge in Baltimore ruled Monday that the 21-year-old man accused of being behind last week's foiled Baltimore terror plot would remain in custody until his trial.

Antonio Martinez, who also goes by Muhammed Hussain, was arrested Dec. 8 after he attempted to detonate a phony car bomb in the parking lot of the Armed Forces recruiting station in Catonsville, Md. Martinez was charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to murder federal employees.

During the hour-long detention hearing, prosecutor Christine Manuelian stated that on the day of the planned bombing, Martinez was videotaped shown "grinning from ear to ear."

Defense lawyer Joseph A. Balter said the government induced his client "to be involved in an act that was clearly the design of the government." Federal prosecutors stated it was Martinez's idea to target the recruiting center using a bomb.

Magistrate Judge Susan K. Gauvey said Martinez would be a danger if released. She added that the defense would continue to argue that Martinez was entrapped.

Martinez, a recent convert to Islam, "said it was his dream to be among the ranks of the mujahideen and that he hoped Allah would open a door for him because all he thinks about is jihad," according to court documents

Martinez faces a maximum of life in prison.

Al-Qaida Affiliate: Stockholm blasts mark "new era in our jihad"

An audio recording featuring a leader of the al-Qaida-linked Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) threatened NATO-member countries and warned Monday that the recent suicide and car bombing in Sweden were "only the beginning of a new era in our jihad."

In the two-minute recording, ISI "War Minister" Abu Suleiman al-Nasser told NATO countries to "withdraw their troops from Afghanistan immediately and unconditionally," and ordered them to "stop their war against Islam."

Should the countries not follow these demands, warned Nasser, "You'll have no security" and "should expect that we will strike at the heart of Europe."

The ISI praised Saturday's car bombing and suicide attack, publishing a picture of the suspected bomber Taimour Abdulwahab al-Abdaly.

The ISI's threat should be taken seriously considering its recent history of terrorist attacks.

In October, the ISI claimed responsibility for an attack on a Baghdad church in which it held hostages in a stand-off, demanding the release of al-Qaida members.  When Iraqi security forces stormed the church to try to free the hostages, more than 50 people were killed in the ensuing gunfire.  The group also claimed responsibility for other bombings in Baghdad earlier this year in January and April and was suspected to be behind several bombings in August.

The ISI is not the first al-Qaida-linked group this year to promise ensuing terror following an attack. The Somali militant organization al-Shabaab announced it would "unleash a new tide of terror" in July after its bombing of several targets in Kampala, Uganda, which killed more than 70 people.

Dunleavy Dismantles Entrapment Claims

Groups like MPAC are missing the forest for the trees when it comes to domestic radicalization. That's the conclusion of Patrick Dunleavy, writing that while these Islamist organization's criticize law enforcement tactics, they "refuse to see how the process of self-radicalization works and the need for law enforcement's intervention."

Writing in the New York Post, Dunleavy, the former deputy inspector general of the New York State Department of Corrections, highlights the role of confidential informants and undercover operations in disrupting domestic terror plots. These same policies are frequently lambasted as entrapment by MPAC and its ilk, and the failure to recognize their effectiveness should cause the law enforcement community to second-guess its outreach to these organizations.

As a recent analysis by the Investigative Project on Terrorism demonstrated, MPAC has been hypocritical at best when it comes to the use of informants. While conceding that "informants are an extremely important tool that can be sued to great effectiveness in various kinds of criminal investigations, including counterterrorism ones," MPAC has also made the false and incendiary charge that the FBI uses informants to actually instigate terrorist plots.

As Dunleavy demonstrates in highlighting the role of undercover operations in disrupting recent terrorist plots in Portland and Baltimore, the effectiveness of these tactics is not just theoretical. Both Mohamed Osman Mohamud and Antonio Martinez were prevented from bombing a Christmas-tree lighting festival in Oregon and a military recruitment center in Maryland, respectively, due to the work of undercover officers. And as Dunleavy explains, "providing an opportunity for someone predisposed to commit a crime is not entrapment. It's simply one of our few tools for protecting ourselves from self-radicalized jihadists."

Sweden's First Suicide Bombing

An email received by Swedish news agency TT warned "now your children, daughters and sisters die like our brothers' and sisters' children die." Shortly afterwards, one person was killed and two were injured in Sweden's first terrorist attack Saturday evening.

"Our actions will speak for themselves, as long as you don't stop your war against Islam and degrading the prophet and your stupid support of that pig [Muhammad cartoonist Lars] Vilks…" an audio file attached to the email said.

The joint suicide attack and car bombing targeted Drottninggatan, the Swedish capitol's busiest shopping district. The scene of Christmas shoppers fleeing in panic was a new sight for Sweden, which in October raised its terror alert from low to "elevated" over concerns about "a shift in activities" among local extremist groups. It was the first time the country's authorities had been on such a high level of alert.

The email, which did not specify whether the bombing was a lone attack or part of an organized effort, called on other terrorists to attack. "Now it's time to strike, don't wait any longer," it declared. "Come forward with whatever you've got, even if it's only a knife. I know you've got more coming up."

Although the attack was Sweden's first at home, terrorists with Swedish connections have begun appearing throughout the world.

Somali's al-Shabaab recently issued a new recruitment video, targeting international jihadists and particularly Somali youth living abroad. In a Swedish-language section, former Swedish resident Abu Zaid called on his audience to "make Hijra," to immigrate to Somalia. Drawing his finger across his throat, Abu Zaid also threatened cartoonist Lars Vilks, whose drawings of the Prophet Muhammad have led to death threats that now keep Vilks living in seclusion. "Know what awaits you, as it will be nothing but this, slaughter," Zaid told the Swedish listeners, "If you can, kill this dog Lars Vilks. Then you will receive a great reward from Allah."

Some of the approximately 25,000 Somalis living in Sweden have responded to al-Shabaab's call. Police and residents report that roughly 20 youth left to join the terrorist group, particularly from the heart of the Swedish Somali community, Stockholm's suburb of Rinkeby. The Swedish state security police, SAPO, stated that five of them have been killed and 10 are still at large in Somalia. Al-Shabaab recruitment was also linked by Swedish authorities to a Somali youth center in Rinkeby, which had been receiving funds from the Swedish government. In addition, two Somali immigrants, one from Stockholm and another from Gothenburg, recently received 4 year sentences for planning to go and fight with al-Shabab.

Swedish Islamists have been tied to other causes abroad. In 2010, a Tunisian immigrant to Sweden blew himself up in Iraq, killing and injuring police officers in an attack for al-Qaida affiliate Islamic State of Iraq. He left behind four children and his wife, who declared, "What he has done is right. I'm proud of him."

His attack came two years after U.S. forces killed the No. 2 of al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Qaswara, who had become a Swedish citizen after fighting in Afghanistan in the 1990s. Abu Qaswara was a nickname for Mohamed Moumou, a designated terrorist by the European Union and the United States. Moumou, whom the US designation described as "Abu Mus'ab al-Zarqawi's representative in Europe for issues related to chemical and biological weapons," ran an extremist group centered around Brandenburg Mosque in Stockholm. Also in 2008, a Moroccan court sentenced another Swede, Ahmed Essafri, for being part of a "27-man terrorist structure which was recruiting volunteers to fight in Iraq."

Gouled Hassan Dourad, a Somali Guantanamo detainee who spent time in Sweden, was an al-Qaida operative in East Africa and a member of Al-Itihad Al-Islami (AIAI). While in Sweden, an Imam at a Somali mosque arranged for Dourad and AIAI bombmaker Qasim Mohamed to train in Afghanistan in preparation for war in Somalia.

MPAC Board Member's Undisclosed Past

A member of the Muslim Public Affairs Council board of directors spoke recently before a Jewish organization based in Southern California, despite his past involvement with an Islamist magazine well-known for virulently anti-American and anti-Semitic material.

This week, MPAC reported that Magdy Eletreby, an MPAC board member, spoke to the "Left, Right, and Center," a Jewish group of retirees based in Orange County, Calif. According to the MPAC press release "Eletreby gave an overview of Muslim beliefs pointing out the areas of commonality between three Abraham faiths, as well as doctrinal differences." What's missing from this story is Eletreby's past association with a radical publication.

According to public records, Eletreby was listed in 2000 as a board member of Multimedia Vera International (MVI), "a non-profit organization dedicated to the needs of Muslims and others in the field of education and information." From 1985 to 2005, MVI was responsible for publishing The Minaret, a publication which the Investigative Project on Terrorism has shown has a history of publishing virulent hate speech.

As the IPT's investigative report demonstrated, articles and editorials in The Minaret, including those by MPAC members, "downplayed the threat posed by Islamic extremists, served up inflammatory rhetoric about Jews and Zionism, and repeated conspiracy theories about both the 1993 and Sept. 11, 2001 World Trade Center bombings."

A typical piece, written by Javeed Akhter for the March 2004 issue, painted suicide bombers as young men with "legitimate anger towards the oppressors of Muslims all over the world," and even sought to rationalize their actions. "Restoration of justice and fair play…will largely vaporize the motivation for a suicidal mission," Ahktar argued.

Other Minaret articles, including those published during Eletreby's tenure as a board member, directly praised Hizballah, a group that had by that time been involved in multiple attacks including the deadly 1983 car bombing of the U.S. embassy in Beirut and the 1985 hijacking of TWA flight 847.  Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon, a staff writer asserted in the June 2000 issue, was "a clear sign that determination and will can lead to the liberation of an occupied homeland." Describing Hizballah as "the Lebanese freedom fighter group that led the effort to drive Israel out," he wrote it was "being widely praised throughout the world."

Such rhetoric was supplemented by equally hateful cartoons that the magazine ran on a regular basis. The drawings, many by Algerian-American artist Khalil Bendib, typically attacked U.S. support for Israel over allegedly put-upon Palestinians, assailed what they identified as the "Zionist Lobby," and crudely caricatured Israeli leaders and Jews in general.

In a February 2003 cartoon, Osama bin Laden, Ariel Sharon, Jerry Falwell, and Atal Vajpayee are shown linking hands and singing the song, "We are the World." Each are shown with Swastikas on their jackets about the title "Religious Fascists of the World, Unite!" In another cartoon from the September 2000 issue, former Vice President Dick Cheney is drawn with puppets of Saddam Hussein and bin Laden, saying that Muslims and Arabs were the real threat to America. A cartoon which ran during Eletreby's tenure with MVI, in the September 2000 issue, took a direct swipe at U.S. efforts at peace negotiations, suggesting that the U.S. was not an honest broker in its attempts to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

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