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Besides his own unlawful activities, Alhalabi has had a number of friends, colleagues and associates who have committed crimes as well.
From 1989 to 1990, Alhalabi was a Research Assistant for then-professor at the University of South Florida (USF) Sami al-Arian. This, while al-Arian was laying the groundwork for a Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) infrastructure based within the Temple Terrace section of Tampa Bay, Florida.
In 1996, Alhalabi used al-Arian as a reference, when he applied for his job at FAU. He also co-authored publications with al-Arian. In April 2006, al-Arian pled guilty to raising money and providing support to PIJ and was sentenced to 57 months in prison. Al-Arian is currently under house arrest in Virginia.
Another individual Alhalabi co-authored publications with – along with al-Arian – was Hussam Abujbara. Alhalabi called Abujbara a “close friend.” In September 2003, Abujbara pled guilty to felony immigration fraud and was deported from the U.S. in 2004.
In October 1998, Alhalabi, along with two others, including a Hamas-related individual named Syed Khawer Ahmad, incorporated the Islamic Center of Boca Raton (ICBR), where Alhalabi still acts as a Director. Since then, a number of individuals from ICBR have been taken into custody:
- In October 2010, co-founder and former imam of ICBR, Ibrahim Dremali, and his wife were arrested by federal immigration agents on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States and unlawful procurement of citizenship or naturalization.
- In May 2007, then-ICBR member Rafiq Sabir was sentenced to 25 years in prison for conspiring to provide material support to al-Qaeda. Earlier this month, a federal appeals court upheld Sabir’s conviction.
- In July 2005, former Director and then-Spokesman for ICBR, Daniel “Abderahman” McBride, was arrested for his connection to a wide-ranging insurance fraud scheme.
Between his own infractions and those of whom he is closest to, one has to wonder how Bassem Alhalabi can continue to maintain such good standing with FAU.
One would think that the citizens of Florida, especially those personally involved with FAU, would be outraged and spurred to take action, considering that part of their taxes are going towards paying the salary of a terror-associated professor and considering that FAU’s students are in danger of coming into contact with a member of faculty who is prone to violence.
But then again, maybe they don’t know that this has occurred, as the media has, for whatever reason, sought to ignore the story. So it is now up to the public to spread this story and make sure it is heard.
While Alhalabi teaches us all a lesson in terrorism and violence, we must counter it by demanding that those types of evils will not be tolerated, particularly at an educational institution such as FAU. If we wish for our society to remain civil, we must make that demand.
For the outraged, click here to voice your concern to FAU’s administration and trustees. People like Alhalabi should never be able to use our universities as cover for their fanatical behavior.
Let us teach our own lesson that terrorism and violence doesn’t pay.
Joe Kaufman is the Chairman of Americans Against Hate and the founder of CAIR Watch. He has been responsible for the closure of at least one terror-related charity and has convinced a number of government officials to shun the Hamas front group, CAIR. In June 2009, he won a lawsuit brought against him by seven Dallas-area radical Muslim organizations.
Beila Rabinowitz, Director of Militant Islam Monitor, contributed to this report.
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