Mosque of the Martyr Izzedine Al-Qassam
Chicago, IL
Two former presidents of this Chicago mosque, Ghassan Zayed Ballut and Hatem Fariz were indicted in Florida with Sami Al-Arian for involvement in the PIJ. At the time of the indictment, Ballut was the current president of the mosque. Fariz was the president before him. [1]While Ballut was acquitted, Fariz pled guilty to one count of "conspiracy to make and receive contributions of funds, goods, or services to or for the benefit of specially designated terrorists," on September 21, 2004.[2] Another leader of this mosque, Tariq Isa, pled guilty to drug distribution charges in 2006. [3] Isa was also photographed with Ramadan Shallah before Shallah became Secretary General of the PIJ. These three men had signatory status over the mosque's bank accounts, prosecutors said.[4]
See: Hatem Fariz
[1] Douglas Holt, "8 accused of funding terrorism in Mideast," Chicago Tribune, http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2003-02-21/news/0302210359_1_hatim-naji-fariz-suicide-bombing-indictment (accessed July 21, 2010).
[2] USA v. Hatem Naji Fariz, 8:03-CR-77-T-30TBM, "Judgment in a Criminal Case," (M.D. Fla. July 26, 2006).
[3] USA v. Tariq Isa, 1:04-CR-00473-1, "Judgment in a Criminal Case," (N.D. Ill. January 6, 2006).
[4] US Department of Justice Release #099, "Members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Arrested, Charged with Racketeering and Conspiracy to Provide Support to Terrorists," February 20, 2003. See also O'Connor, Matt, "Mosque Official's Release Denied," Chicago Tribune, August 11, 2004.
