We are developing the social individualist meta-context for the future. From the very serious to the extremely frivolous... lets see what is on the mind of the Samizdata people.

Samizdata, derived from Samizdat /n. - a system of clandestine publication of banned literature in the USSR [Russ.,= self-publishing house]

No distance at all

You’ve heard the name Al Arian recently I’m sure: the Florida professor alleged to have assisted with Islamic Jihad fundraising? It seems he also has some connections to the “Not In Our Name” fundraising as well:

“For its fund raising, the Not In Our Name Project is allied with another foundation, this one called the Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization. Founded by several New Left leaders in 1967 to “advance the struggles of oppressed people for justice and self-determination,” IFCO was originally created to serve as the fundraising arm of a variety of activist organizations that lacked the resources to raise money for themselves.

In recent years, IFCO served as fiscal sponsor for an organization called the National Coalition to Protect Political Freedom (their partnership ended when the coalition formed its own tax-exempt foundation). Founded in 1997 as a reaction to the 1996 Anti-Terrorism Act, the coalition says its function is to oppose the use of secret evidence in terrorism prosecutions.

Until recently, the group’s president was Sami Al-Arian, a University of South Florida computer-science professor who has been suspended for alleged ties to terrorism. (He is still a member of the coalition’s board.) According to a New York Times report last year, Al-Arian is accused of having sent hundreds of thousands of dollars, raised by another charity he runs, to Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The Times also reported that FBI investigators “suspected Mr. Al-Arian operated ‘a fund-raising front’ for the Islamic Jihad movement in Palestine from the late 1980s to 1995.” Al-Arian also brought a man named Ramadan Abdullah Shallah to the University of South Florida to raise money for one of Al-Arian’s foundations – a job Shallah held until he later became the head of Islamic Jihad. “

The courts will have to decide if the charges against Al Arian are true, but the connections are interesting nonetheless. The far left looks to be nearly as incestuous in its’ interconnections as the spacer community…

And that’s going some.

4 comments to No distance at all

  • ellie

    Al Arian was also a contributor to the 2002 congressional campaign of pro-Arab Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney. (Cynthia is now best-known for her fawning letter to some Saudi prince in which she implied that Sept 11 was due to US support of Israel. ) As a matter of fact, Al Arian has made several sizable political contributions, which is somewhat surprising given his modest salary. Frankly, as a longtime resident of Florida, I’m looking forward to the day when my tax dollars will no longer be funding his ‘lifestyle.’

  • John J. Coupal

    Ellie, your tax dollars may continue to fund his lifestyle after his trial.

    Either, incarceration fees (long-term), or the local electric utility/pharmaceutical company (short-term)!

  • Dale, good post.
    Isn’t it too bad that ex- U.S. Prez Jimmuh “Peanut” Carter chose this same time as Al-Arian’s bust to declare his affiliation for “Not in our Name?” Heh-heh.

  • ellie

    John: I’ll consider the costs associated with keeping Sami’s ass in prison an excellent investment! Actually, I’d be happy with a single, relatively minor felony conviction that would allow us to deport him. Maybe Britain will grant him asylum.