Raided Muslim Charity Sues Bank (Over Patriot Act)

AP ^ | 11/27/06

[Mr. Brightside]

Today: November 27, 2006 at 6:0:10 PST

Raided Muslim Charity Sues Bank

ASSOCIATED PRESS

DETROIT (AP) - A Muslim charity raided by federal agents in September has sued a bank, saying it violated the charity's civil rights by planning to close its accounts.

The charity, Life for Relief and Development, also seeks an injunction to stop Comerica Bank from giving other banks any information it might have about the organization. The charity is challenging the constitutionality of a section of the Patriot Act, which allows financial institutions to share information about suspected money laundering or terrorist activity.

Comerica had told the charity that it planned to terminate the accounts Nov. 15, but granted an extension, according to the lawsuit.

Comerica Vice President Kathy Pitton declined to comment on the lawsuit, filed Wednesday in federal court.

FBI agents assigned to a terrorism task force searched Life's offices Sept. 18, seizing computer servers, donor records and other financial documents. They also searched the homes of the charity's chief executive, an ex-employee and two board members.

The FBI would not say what agents were looking for, but charity officials have said it might be related to relief work the group did in Iraq. The international humanitarian organization also is active in Afghanistan.

No charges have been filed. The charity has sought to reassure the Detroit area's Muslim community that it is legal to donate money to the organization, which was founded in 1992 by Iraqi immigrants.

[Finop]

Quite honestly, there isn't any room for Muslims in this country. Plenty of room for Americans, but no room for Muslims.

[ANGGAPO]

That sounds like a good assumption.

[HOTTIEBOY]

If they would start denouncing radical islam and do something about it, the world might look at them differently.

But as it stands they are guilty by association.

[Finop]

Or a simple truth.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Muslim communities belong in Muslim countries. France, UK, Holland, etc., are finding this out.

[XR7]

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1&section=0&article=Kingdom
The Middle East's Leading English Language Daily

(25, Jumada al-Ula, 1427)

	Media Campaign in US to Dispel Islamophobia Javid Hassan, Arab News
RIYADH — A survey conducted by Cornell University recently found that around half of Americans have a negative view of Islam and would like the US government to curtail the political activity of Muslims in the US. Addressing a press conference at the headquarters of the World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY), Paul Findley, a former US Congressman, said that the cancer of anti-Muslim and anti-Islamic sentiments was spreading in American society and requires corrective measures to stamp out this malaise. It was also announced that the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) would be launching a massive $50 million media campaign involving television, radio and newspapers as part of its five-year program to create a better understanding of Islam and Muslims in the US. Referring to the anti-Islamic sentiments in the US, Findley said that the campaign was being spearheaded by a tiny but influential section of society, including some politicians, academics and opinion-makers. Findley commended CAIR’s initiative that he said could go a long way toward improving the image of Islam and Muslims, which has been badly dented in part due to the events of Sept. 11, 2001. Speaking on his interaction with the US media, Ibrahim Cooper, spokesman for CAIR, said that his own feeling was that American journalists are receptive to issues affecting Muslims. For this reason, nearly all American newspapers, print or online, refrained from reproducing the caricature of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) that were at the center of a controversy earlier this year. He said CAIR took advantage of the issue by distributing DVDs free of charge, bringing out a book on the Prophet, and launching an awareness campaign. “All of this had a positive impact,” said Cooper. Parvez Ahmed, CAIR chairman, spoke on what he described as the most “vicious attacks on Islam” he has ever seen in recent years, adding that the campaign is being orchestrated by a minority fringe element in the US seeking to drive a xenophobic wedge between Muslims and non-Muslims. He said a minority of Muslim extremists helps perpetuate anti-Muslim sentiment in the US, but that it is wrong for Americans to rush to conclusions based on these groups that have distorted or misinterpreted Qur’anic text. He compared it to making judgments on Christians based on the Crusades. Elaborating on the CAIR campaign to dispel misunderstandings of Islam and Muslims, Nihad Awad, CAIR executive director, said that his group proposes to spend $10 million annually for five years in a media campaign. He said that CAIR would also recruit volunteers and produce educational material as part of its initiative. “We are planning to meet [Saudi] Prince Alwaleed ibn Talal for his financial support to our project. He has been generous in the past,” he added.

[stevie_d_64]

Al-Qaeda National Bank...

"Put your Money where your Mouth is..."

Our ATM's are conveniently located at most flight schools...

Free Checking during those busy times at Ramadan...

When it absolutely, positively has to get there overnight...

[Long Island Pete]

Why would they do that when they can just run to CAIR or the ACLU

[ApplegateRanch]

Thanks for posting that article.

Copied & sent to a few good, but somewhat clueless, people.

[Sword_Svalbardt]

Closed its accounts, that's outrageous! We should have seized the accounts, found out who donated, and hung each donator from lamp posts in broad daylight - good for what ails ya'. Teaches infadels a good lesson about not behaving in an exemplary manner.

[piasa]

* Life for Relief & Development aka LRD :
2002 fall : (BAGHDAD TRIO TRIP IS FUNDED BY A CHARITY, 'LIFE FOR RELIEF AD DEVELOPMENT,' WHICH IS ALSO KNOWN FOR LAUNDERING MONEY TO THE TERRORIST GROUP HAMAS - See OIL FOR FOOD SCANDAL) McDermott was one of three Congressmen who went on Saddam’s propaganda tour of Iraq in Fall 2002. The trip was funded by Life for Relief and Development (LRD), a “charity” which laundered money to terrorist group Hamas’ Jordanian operation. LRD is funded in part by Shakir Al-Khafaji, a man who did about $70 million in business with Saddam through his Falcon Trading Group company (based in South Africa). LRD’s Iraqi offices were raided by US troops last week, and the Detroit-area “charity” is suspected of funding uprisings, such as the one in Fallujah. Its officials bragged of doing so at a recent private US fundraiser.
Mr. Alkhafaji, one of two Americans named in Iraqi newspapers as a participant in Saddam’s “Oil for Food” scam, gave Congressman McDermott $5,000 in October 2002 for McDermott’s legal defense fund in a lawsuit against him…. http://www.bowlingfortruth.com/fahrenheit911/terrorists.htm 38 posted on 10/06/2004 8:10:12 PM PDT by lwd

*****

The trip that three Democratic congressmen made to Baghdad last week was jointly funded by two private organizations — a religious group and a charity, both of which oppose a war with Iraq.The costs were shared by the Interfaith Network of Concern for the People of Iraq, a project of the Church Council of Greater Seattle, and a charity in Southfield, Mich., called Life for Relief and Development (LIFE), which provides humanitarian aid to Iraq. --------- Peace visit to Iraq had outside help Washington Times ^ | 10/03/02 | Joyce Howard Price

* LIFE was formerly IRA-USA :
The organization called LIFE was formerly called "IRA" and used to have a website at : http://ira-usa.org/ Its 'storefront' was located elsewhere but LIFE was located here as of DECEMBER 21, 1998, when they asked for " tax deductible donations " to be sent to :
LIFE for Relief and Development
17300 W Ten Mile Rd
Southfield, MI
Their tax ID on their web site is (Tax ID # 95-4402149)
25 posted on 10/03/2002 3:03:04 AM PDT by piasa | To 24

LIFE can also be found in Pomona, CA- they take donations for several purposes ... same tax number :

LIFE for Relief & Development A UN affiliated NGO presents Emergency Fundraiser for Afghan Refugees
Sunday, November 11, 2001 at 5pm
Shaykh Abdul-Jalil Mizgouri Br. Omar Ahmed
Facts: -UN appeals for $584 Million to help 7.5 Million Afghans -6 Million Afghans need help to SURVIVE. -Millions are on the move in search of safety and assistance. -Over 500,000 Widows. -At least 1.5 Million Orphans.
Tickets: $25 (Students $20)
Location: Chandni Restaurant 5738 Mowry School Road Newark, CA 94560
SECURITY & BABYSITTING provided All Donations are Tax Deductible, Tax-ID # 95-4402149 LIFE for Relief & Development is a UN registered Relief agency. It is currently accepting donations online at www.LIFEusa.org. FOR MORE INFO CONTACT:

337 E. Foothill Blvd., Pomona, CA 91767

26 posted on 10/03/2002 3:24:11 AM PDT by piasa | To 25

[AIC]

This is nothing but an ongoing community propaganda media being setup to undermine the TRUTH about Islam but as long as we know what it is let them spend millions of dollars trying to tell us different.