Editorial: Mosques Now must be More Engaged in Condemning Terror

August 12, 2004

Source: The Christian Science Monitor

http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0812/p12s01-lire.html?s=hns

On August 12, 2004 the The Christian Science Monitor reported, "This week, Muslim leaders nationwide find themselves rallying - again - to defuse the notion that terrorism finds a sympathetic ear in America's 1,200-plus mosques. On Tuesday in Albany, N.Y., a federal judge refused bail for the imam and one other member of a local mosque, who were indicted on 19 counts of money laundering and promoting terrorism. The pair were caught in a government sting in which they are alleged to have conspired to launder money through their organizations as part of a fictitious plot to assassinate the Pakistani ambassador to the United Nations. The Albany case has shocked many in the Muslim community, which is 5 million to 7 million strong. Though some blame an overzealous government intent on entrapment, the indictments come as the latest in a series of blows to US Muslim credibility in the war against terrorism. These setbacks have prompted many religious leaders to take visible steps to repair that credibility."