Imam in Iowa Continues to Fend Off Accusations Linking Him to Terrorism

April 19, 2006

Source: The Des Moines Register

http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060419/LIFE05/604190372/1039/life

On April 19, 2006 The Des Moines Register reported, "When Ibrahim Dremali accepted the position of imam for the Des Moines Islamic Center a little over a year ago, he was effusive in his praise of the warm Iowa welcome he and his family received. He said the acceptance was in stark contrast to the hostile environment he left behind in Florida, where, after Sept. 11, 2001, he and members of his mosque were accused of being terrorists... Since coming to Des Moines, Dremali has held a high-profile position in the community, inviting Christians to visit the mosque to learn about Islam and speaking alongside Jewish and Christian leaders at schools and churches. He is in much demand as a panelist at student events across the nation. However, the groups that dogged him when he was imam for a Boca Raton, Fla., mosque continue to bombard Des Moines media outlets with anti-Dremali e-mails. The most recent, sent by Joe Kaufman of Coral Springs, Fla., chairman of Americans Against Hate, was headlined: 'Episcopal Cathedral to Host Radical Islamist.' The e-mail noted Dremali would be a speaker in the 'From the Root of Abraham' at St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral. The Lenten series incorporated Christian, Jewish and Muslim religious texts. Kaufman called on St. Paul's to cancel the event and bar Dremali from its premises."