Mufid Abdulqader | |
---|---|
Born | 1960 |
Occupation | Engineer |
Mufid Abdulqader is a former Dallas Public Works and Transportation Department engineer, entrepreneurial investor, who was sentenced to 20 years of prison [1] for raising funds for Hamas, on three separate conspiracy charges. [2] His family has claimed his innocence, and demands his release. [3] Human Rights Watch has also condemned the trial and called on the Biden administration to release all 5 accused. [4]
Abdulqader was born in 1960 the West Bank village Silwad, [5] at the time a territory of Jordan. Together with Abdulqader's half brother Khaled Mashal, his father moved the family to Kuwait afterwards for financial reasons, where Abdulqader, like his half-brother Khaled, completed high school. [6]
Abdulqader's half-brother is Khaled Mashal, who later became the leader of Hamas and stepped down as Hamas' politburo chief in 2017. [7]
Mufid won praise from Dallas Mayor Laura Miller during his tenure as a "rising star" in the Dallas Public Works and Transportation Department, where he worked on street design and sidewalk projects, and led the $4.8 million Bishop Arts District redevelopment in 2001. [8] By September 2003, he was Senior Project Manager. [9] Before Dallas, he worked at the Oklahoma Department of Transportation from 1988 to 1996. [10]
Mufid performed for the band Al Sakhra ("The Rock"). It performed "stridently anti-Semitic" songs [11] on coast-to-coast tours in the United States. [12] In addition to singing, Mufid performed skits on stage. [13] His band was afterwards called Al Nojoum.
Together with co-worker Mohammad Elyazgi, Abdulqader was a co-owner of Sinbad Greek & International Food in Oklahoma. [14] [15] [10]
Abdulqader was a "top fundraiser" for the Holy Land Foundation, [16] [17] and was described by The New York Times as a "leader" of it. [18]
In September 2008, prosecutors asked the judge for the dismissal of 29 counts each against Abdulqader and Abdulrahman Odeh, [19] keeping only three conspiracy counts. [20]
On October 29, 2012, the United States Supreme Court denied a petition for writ of certiorari; thus making Abdulqader's conviction final and definitive. [21] [22] [23] Nonetheless, the American Human Rights Council in 2017 asked for Mufid Abdulqader's conviction, as well as others, to be commuted to time already served by then-president Barack Obama. [24]
A 2011 NPR report claimed Abdulqader is imprisoned in a highly restrictive Communication Management Unit in Terre Haute, Indiana. [25]
In 2018 Miko Peled published the book, Injustice: The Story of the Holy Land Foundation Five, where he catalogs the trial of the criminalization and dismantling of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, leading to the arrest and jailing of Foundation President Shukri Abu Baker, Chairman Ghassan Elashi, Mohammad el-Mezain, Mufid Abdulqader and Abdulraham Odeh. [26] In 2022 His daughter, Nida Abu Baker along with the Thursday by Within Our Lifetime, the Coalition for Civil Freedoms and the Samidoun Prisoner Network called for his release along with other Palestinians imprisoned by the US government. [27]
Human Rights Watch has condemned the trial as it was based on hearsay evidence and called on the Biden administration to release all 5 accused. [4]
Hamas, an acronym of its official name, Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya, is a Palestinian Sunni Islamist militant resistance movement governing parts of the Israeli-occupied Gaza Strip since 2007.
The Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR) is a Muslim civil rights and advocacy group. It is headquartered on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., with regional offices nationwide. Through civil rights actions, media relations, civic engagement, and education, CAIR's stated purpose is to promote social, legal and political activism among Muslims in America.
Islamic Association of Palestine was an organization convicted of providing material support for terrorism in the United States for Hamas. The organization was established in 1981 and has been defunct since 2004. It described itself as "a not-for-profit, public-awareness, educational, political, social, and civic, national grassroots organization dedicated to advancing a just, comprehensive, and eternal solution to the cause of Palestine and suffrages of the Palestinians." For a time it also used the name American Muslim Society (AMS) and operated as the American Middle Eastern League for Palestine (AMEL).
KindHearts for Charitable Humanitarian Development, "KindHearts", was a non-governmental organization operating out of Toledo, Ohio. The organization's stated goal was to provide "humanitarian aid without regard to religious or political affiliation."
Ghassan Elashi is a Palestinian-American businessman who was sentenced to prison in 2008 for his work with the Holy Land Foundation, a group that was designated by the United States as a terrorist organization in 2001. At the time, Elashi served as vice president of InfoCom Corporation, an internet company based in Richardson, Texas.
The term Talibanization refers to a type of Islamist practice that emerged following the rise of the Taliban movement in Afghanistan, where other religious groups or movements come to follow or imitate the strict practices of the Taliban.
InfoCom Corporation was an American web hosting service company founded by five brothers in 1992. It was initially based in Dallas, Texas, and before moving to Richardson, Texas. The company was raided on 5 September 2001 and its bank account frozen. Criminal charges were brought on 18 December 2002. On October 13, 2005 InfoCom Corporation was sentenced to two years’ probation resulting in it being shut down due to charges of conspiracy to violate the Export Administration Regulations and the Libyan Sanctions Regulations. Its founding members were also convicted on charges of false statements, money laundering and fundraising on behalf of the U.S.- terrorist designated Hamas.
The Holy Land Foundation, originally known as Occupied Land Fund, was the largest Islamic charity in the United States. Headquartered in Richardson, Texas, and run by Palestinian-Americans. The organization's mission was to "find and implement practical solutions for human suffering through humanitarian programs that impact the lives of the disadvantaged, disinherited, and displaced peoples suffering from man-made and natural disasters."
The Union of Good, also known as the Charity Coalition, is an umbrella organization consisting of over 50 Islamic charities and funds which funnel money to organizations belonging to Hamas, which currently rules the territory of the Gaza Strip. Hamas, which characterizes itself as an "Islamic resistance movement against Israeli occupation" is also on the US State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations.
The Covenant of the Islamic Resistance Movement, referred to as the Hamas Covenant or Hamas Charter, was issued by Hamas on 18 August 1988 and outlines the organization's founding identity, positions, and aims. In 2017, Hamas unveiled a revised charter, without explicitly revoking the 1988 charter.
The Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT) is a non-profit research group founded by Steven Emerson in 1995. IPT has been called a prominent part of the "Islamophobia network" within the United States and a "leading source of anti-Muslim racism" and noted for its record of selective reporting and poor scholarship.
Avraham "Miko" Peled is an Israeli-American activist, author, and karate instructor. He is author of the books The General’s Son: The Journey of an Israeli in Palestine, published in 2012, and Injustice: The Story of the Holy Land Foundation Five, published in 2017. He is also an international speaker.
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine is a secular Palestinian Marxist–Leninist and revolutionary socialist organization founded in 1967 by George Habash. It has consistently been the second-largest of the groups forming the Palestine Liberation Organization, the largest being Fatah.
Khaled Mashal is a Palestinian political leader who is the former head of the militant organization Hamas.
Sheikh Eid Bin Mohammad Al Thani Charitable Association is a Qatari charitable organizations established in 1995 in Doha, Qatar. The organization was named after Sheikh Eid Ibn Mohammad ibn Thani ibn Jasim ibn Mohammad Al Thani (1922-1994).
The Muslim Legal Fund of America (MLFA) is a charity that funds legal work and programs to defend the rights of Muslims in US courtrooms, prisons, and communities. They provide funding for cases that impact the civil rights of Muslims in America, issue grants for projects to increase the legal community's ability and defend Muslims, and conduct informational campaigns to spread awareness of issues and cases that impact Muslim communities.
There is a notable population of American Muslims in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Dallas-Fort Worth is home to sixty-two Sunni mosques and five Shia mosques. According to Abdel Rahman Murphy, a Chicago-born, Irving-based Islamic teacher and Muslim community leader, other U.S.-based Muslims now refer to Dallas as the "Medina of America". Not only is Dallas Masjid Al Islam the oldest Muslim community in the DFW area, it established the first mosque in the city of Dallas and established the first Muslim school in the DFW area. As of 2021, many major Muslim organizations and charities have headquarters or operations in DFW, mostly located in Richardson, Texas such as: ICNA Dallas, Muslim American Society, Muslim Legal Fund of America, Helping Hands for Relief & Development, Sabrina Memorial Foundation, Islamic Relief USA, CAIR-Texas, and MA’RUF. There are also several institutions of research and higher education such as: Qalam Institute (Carrollton), ISRA Foundation (Plano), Bayyina Academy (Euless), and The Islamic Seminary of America (Richardson). -
Omar Suleiman is an American Islamic scholar and civil rights activist. He is the founding president of the Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research and an adjunct professor of Islamic studies and member of the Ethics Center Advisory Board at Southern Methodist University.
Jon Echols is an American politician who has served in the Oklahoma House of Representatives from the 90th district since 2012. He is the Majority Floor Leader.
The Ministry of Finance is a Jordan government ministry responsible for public finances of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in co-operation with the Central Bank of Jordan.
Mufid Abdulqader, 49, of Richardson, Texas, received 20 years
Mufid Abdulqader, 49, was sentenced to 20 years on three conspiracy counts.
Mufid and Khaled both graduated from a Kuwaiti high school.
But Mufid had yet another secret. His half brother is the notorious Khalid Mishaal, the current leader of Hamas
Name: Mufid Abdulqader Title: Senior Project Manager Company: Public Works & Transportation Office: City of Dallas
Adulqader and Elyazgi have worked for the Oklahoma Department of Transportation
Mufid Abdulqader -- a former city of Dallas civil engineer -- is seen performing with his Palestinian folk band, Al Sakhra, or "the rock," singing stridently anti-Semitic songs
Mufid's secrets. For more than a decade, he'd been touring the country with the popular Arabic singing troupe Al-Sakhra. If he had muffled his political views about the Middle East while at City Hall, the Arabic lyrics he sang on weekend gigs all across the country left no doubt about his true feelings. With all the angst of a rock star, he urged on the violent holy war and glorified the martyrdom of suicide bombers
videos depicted performances of the Al Sakhra band, with Albdulqader singing songs of praise for Hamas and violent jihad and performing skits depicting the killing of Jews
Mohamed Elyazgi, was a business partner of Mufid Abdulqader, a defendant in the Holy Land Foundation trial and half-brother to the political chief of Hamas
I had reviewed 1995 court documents that list Elyazgi and Abdulqader as co-owners of Sinbad Greek & International Food in Oklahoma and as co-defendants on fraud and failure to pay charges (Case No.: CJ95 2176-66)
HLF was incorporated by Shukri Abu Baker, Mohammad El-Mezain, and Ghassan Elashi. Mufid Abdulqader and Abdulrahman Odeh worked as fundraisers.
Mufid Abdulqader, a top fundraiser for the HLF, is Mishal's half-brother
The charity's leaders — Ghassan Elashi, Shukri Abu-Baker, Mufid Abdulqader, Abdulrahman Odeh and Mohammad El-Mezain — were not accused in the 2004 indictment of directly financing suicide bombings or terrorist violence. Instead, they accused of illegally contributing to Hamas after the United States designated it a terrorist group.
at the prosecution's request, the court dropped 29 counts each against Messrs. Odeh and Abdulqader. The counts, charging money laundering and providing aid to a terrorist group, pertained to individual financial transfers to the zakat committees.
prosecutors requested the dismissal of nearly 30 counts against Mufid Abdulqader and Abdulrahman Odeh. The men each will still face three conspiracy counts that could send them to prison, if convicted, for 55 years.
Five well- regarded members of the Muslim American community, Mufid Abdulqader, Shukri Baker, Ghassan Elashi, Mohammad El-Mezain, and Abdulrahman Odeh, were given unusually lengthy sentences that shocked the American Muslim community for their harshness