Islamic group allegedly helps turn prisons into al Qaeda recruiting grounds

Islamic group allegedly helps turn prisons into al Qaeda recruiting grounds

The conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch says closer attention needs to be paid to a supposed Islamic charity that has allegedly helped turn the U.S. federal prison system into a fertile recruiting ground for al Qaeda.

Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton says the Islamic Society of North America enforces the extreme Wahabi Islamic theology in thousands of officially recognized mosques across the United States. This Islamic group is among the organizations included in Judicial Watch's recently released report "Muslim Front Organizations: Moderate Non-Profits or Elaborate Deceptions?"

"The Islamic Society of North America is involved in many programs here in the United States; they are the chief proponent of Islamism in the United States, arguably," Fitton notes. "They hold educational forums and annual conferences, and they're in our prisons," he says.

To understand why the Islamic Society of North America is included among the organizations that Judicial Watch believes need to be watched, Fitton suggests that one only has to read what the then-president of the Muslim group said following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001: "America has to learn," the Judicial Watch spokesman reads, quoting the Islamist group's leader. "If you remain on the side of injustice, the wrath of God will come. Please, all Americans, do remember that Allah is watching everyone. If you continue doing injustice and tolerating injustice, the wrath of God will come."

The Islamic Society of North America "enforces this extreme Islam branch of theology called Wahabism in 1,200 mosques across the [United States]," Fitton contends. "And this type of activity is turning our federal prison system into a recruiting ground for al Qaeda," he asserts.

And yet, despite all the evidence suggesting the dangerous influence of this group, members of the Islamic Society of North America "are getting invitations to the White House," Fitton laments. The Judicial Watch official says he cannot understand why organizations like this one are still being allowed to operate in the United States.