Changes

==About==

==About==

Jamal Siad, 60, is a Palestian immigrant who grew up in the West Bank. During the Arab-[[Israeli]] war of 1967, his family moved Jordan, eventually having a house in Amman. He was schooled in Islam at a Saudi Arabian university. He came to Chicago to teach Arabic to African-American Muslims. <ref>[http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/chi-0402080265feb08,0,3085677.story?page=5 Hard-liners won battle for Bridgeview mosque] Chicago Tribune, April 04, 2008</ref>

Jamal Siad, 60, is a Palestinian immigrant who grew up in the West Bank. During the Arab-[[Israeli]] war of 1967, his family moved Jordan, eventually having a house in Amman. He was schooled in Islam at a Saudi Arabian university. He came to Chicago to teach Arabic to African-American Muslims. <ref>[http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/chi-0402080265feb08,0,3085677.story?page=5 Hard-liners won battle for Bridgeview mosque] Chicago Tribune, April 04, 2008</ref>

==Bridgeview Mosque==

==Bridgeview Mosque==

Sheikh Jamal Siad is the spiritual leader of the [[mosque]] along with Mosque Foundation president Osama Jammal. Of the 50 mosques and 400,000 Muslims in Islamic centers of Chicago, Bridgeview is near the top attracting 10,000 plus worshippers each week, a million dollars a year operation. According to The Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago, most worshipers are of Palestinian decent.  

Sheikh Jamal Siad is the spiritual leader of the [[mosque]] along with Mosque Foundation president Osama Jammal. Of the 50 mosques and 400,000 Muslims in Islamic centers of Chicago, Bridgeview is near the top attracting 10,000 plus worshipers each week, a million dollars a year operation. According to The Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago, most worshipers are of Palestinian decent.  

In 1973, the Mosque Foundation and the American-Arabian Ladies Society purchased the plot of land at 7360 W. 93rd St. for $50,000. They settled on Bridgeview, a village just southwest of [[Chicago]] would be the future home of mosque. <ref>[http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/chi-0402080265feb08,0,3085677.story?page=5 Hard-liners won battle for Bridgeview mosque] Chicago Tribune, April 04, 2008</ref> But before the mosque was completed, the Mosque Foundation transferred its title to the North American Islamic Trust, a subsidiary of the Islamic Society of North America. The Islamic trust now owns nearly a third of all mosques and Muslim centers in the United States. In 1981, A pale stone building with its large blue dome was built for $1.3 million. Financing was raised from Kuwaiti donors, the government of Saudi Arabia and religious ministry of the United Arab Emirates.

In 1973, the Mosque Foundation and the American-Arabian Ladies Society purchased the plot of land at 7360 W. 93rd St. for $50,000. They settled on Bridgeview, a village just southwest of [[Chicago]] would be the future home of mosque. <ref>[http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/chi-0402080265feb08,0,3085677.story?page=5 Hard-liners won battle for Bridgeview mosque] Chicago Tribune, April 04, 2008</ref> But before the mosque was completed, the Mosque Foundation transferred its title to the North American Islamic Trust, a subsidiary of the Islamic Society of North America. The Islamic trust now owns nearly a third of all mosques and Muslim centers in the United States. In 1981, A pale stone building with its large blue dome was built for $1.3 million. Financing was raised from Kuwaiti donors, the government of Saudi Arabia and religious ministry of the United Arab Emirates.

==Sermons==

==Sermons==

Sermons are in [[Arabic]] and claim authentic interpretations of the Koran along with following strict Islamic rule. Jamal Said mixes eloquent sermons with ardent pleas to help oppressed [[Muslims]]. As prayer leader, he preached that America was a land of disbelievers, where families were not valued. Some of the sheikhs edicts include; don't celebrate Valentine's Day and Thanksgiving because those were not Islamic holidays. Don't listen to contemporary music. Women should not travel long distances without chaperones. Those that criticize mosque leaders to outsiders are "hypocrites"

Sermons are in [[Arabic]] and claim authentic interpretations of the Koran along with following strict Islamic rule. Jamal Said mixes eloquent sermons with ardent pleas to help oppressed [[Muslims]]. As prayer leader, he preached that America was a land of disbelievers, where families were not valued. Some of the sheik's edicts include: don't celebrate Valentine's Day and Thanksgiving because those were not Islamic holidays. Don't listen to contemporary music. Women should not travel long distances without chaperons. Those that criticize mosque leaders to outsiders are "hypocrites"

==Associations==

==Associations==

* In 2004, Khaled Smaili, onetime President and CEO of the now-defunct terror-linked charity KindHearts. He presented the "Mosque of the Year" award to Mosque Foundation President during a fundraising. <ref>[http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=6463 Mosque Foundation] discoverthenetworks.org</ref>

* In 2004, Khaled Smaili, onetime President and CEO of the now-defunct terror-linked charity KindHearts. He presented the "Mosque of the Year" award to Mosque Foundation President during a fundraising. <ref>[http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=6463 Mosque Foundation] discoverthenetworks.org</ref>

* Held board positions with [[Mazen Asbahi]] in the [[Allied Asset Advisors Fund]], the subsidiary of the North American Islamic Trust and linked with the Muslim Brotherhood. Mazen has signicant influence in the Muslim community, is a Chicago lawyer and was chosen as [[Barack Obama]]'s Muslim liaison for the campaign. Mazen Asbahi resigned one week after starting due to a question about his ties to Sheikh Jamal Said.

* Held board positions with [[Mazen Asbahi]] in the [[Allied Asset Advisors Fund]], the subsidiary of the North American Islamic Trust and linked with the Muslim Brotherhood. Mazen has significant influence in the Muslim community, is a Chicago lawyer and was chosen as [[Barack Obama]]'s Muslim liaison for the campaign. Mazen Asbahi resigned one week after starting due to a question about his ties to Sheikh Jamal Said.

==Federal Actions==

==Federal Actions==

Pre-9/11, the Mosque Foundations and Jamal Said were investigated for supporting Hamas financially. By the late 1990s, federal agents were knocking on doors, trading leads with investigators in other cities and flying to Israel to interview authorities. Agents wanted to investigate the mosque itself, viewing it as a gold mine of information that could help their inquiry into terrorism financing, said Mark Flessner, the former prosecutor who led the investigation.  Before the 2001 legislation, intelligence gathered with the special wiretaps could not be used for criminal cases. If prosecutors wanted information on the same targets, they needed to get their own wiretap orders after meeting the higher legal burden of proving there was probable cause to suspect criminal activity. Only after the Sept. 11 attacks did the government's interest in Hamas and mosque leaders materalize. <ref>[http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/2580 US Investigating Mosque Foundation] Militant Islam Monitor.org</ref>

Pre-9/11, the Mosque Foundations and Jamal Said were investigated for supporting Hamas financially. By the late 1990s, federal agents were knocking on doors, trading leads with investigators in other cities and flying to Israel to interview authorities. Agents wanted to investigate the mosque itself, viewing it as a gold mine of information that could help their inquiry into terrorism financing, said Mark Flessner, the former prosecutor who led the investigation.  Before the 2001 legislation, intelligence gathered with the special wiretaps could not be used for criminal cases. If prosecutors wanted information on the same targets, they needed to get their own wiretap orders after meeting the higher legal burden of proving there was probable cause to suspect criminal activity. Only after the Sept. 11 attacks did the government's interest in Hamas and mosque leaders materialize. <ref>[http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/2580 US Investigating Mosque Foundation] Militant Islam Monitor.org</ref>

After the [[Patriot Act]] passed shortly after 9-11, prosecutors were granted access to years' worth of surveillance previously unavailable to them. Federal actions led directly to terror-funding schemes and the organizations behind them. It became an expose about a complex web of small businesses and charitable associations accused of funneling money to Palestinian terrorist groups.

After the [[Patriot Act]] passed shortly after 9-11, prosecutors were granted access to years' worth of surveillance previously unavailable to them. Federal actions led directly to terror-funding schemes and the organizations behind them. It became an expose about a complex web of small businesses and charitable associations accused of funneling money to Palestinian terrorist groups.