Another Problem ISNA Speaker

by IPT News  •  Jul 17, 2009 at 12:14 pm

http://www.investigativeproject.org/blog/2009/07/another-problem-isna-speaker

The anti-Semitic, homophobic, pro-jihad diatribe by a radical imam at the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA)'s annual conference earlier this month has the group engaging in damage control. It seems the group has some more explaining to do.

ISNA issued a statement rejecting Umar's bigotry, but has not explained how they were unaware of his extremism despite a well-documented history, nor apologized for allowing him such a platform.

Now, blogger Patrick Poole notes that ISNA featured holocaust-denier Yassir Qadhi at its 2008 convention. Poole cites this excerpt from a 2001 speech by Qadhi:

"All of these Polish Jews which Hitler was supposedly trying to exterminate, that's another point, by the way, Hitler never intended to mass-destroy the Jews. There are a number of books out on this written by Christians, you should read them. The Hoax of the Holocaust, I advise you to read this book and write this down, The Hoax of the Holocaust, a very good book. All of this is false propaganda and I know it sounds so far-fetched, but read it. The evidences [sic] are very strong. And they're talking about newspaper articles, clippings, everything and look up yourself what Hitler really wanted to do. We're not defending Hitler, by the way, but the Jews, the way that they portray him, also is not correct."

Qadhi later tried to walk back his Holocaust denial, but at the 2008 ISNA conference, he praised holocaust denier David Irving, Poole writes.

Qadhi also teaches at the Al Maghrib Institute, which had a booth at the ISNA convention this year. Al Maghrib instructors, Poole writes, routinely dabble in Holocaust-denial and extremist speech, noting this recording by the Investigative Project on Terrorism among others.

Related Topics: The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA)  |  IPT News