Opinion ID: 613010
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Care's Formation and Operations

Text: Emadeddin Muntasser is a Libyan citizen and a permanent resident alien in the United States. In the early 1990s, Muntasser served as Director of the Boston branch of the Al-Kifah Refugee Center (Al-Kifah), the American face of Maktab al-Khidmat (MAK), a Pakistan-based organization that openly advocates violent, Islamic jihad and actively supports mujahideen in Afghanistan. In a letter of solicitation introduced at trial, Muntasser described Al-Kifah as an organization founded by Sh[eikh] Abdullah Azzam to serve the cause of Jihad, and which actively supports the Mujahideen in the front. [3] Among its activities, Al-Kifah's Boston branch published a pro-jihad newsletter entitled Al-Hussam, which translates from Arabic as The Sword; it sold books and audiotapes extolling the cause of jihad; and it promoted sermons and lectures by like-minded Muslim leaders. It also solicited substantial charitable donations through the publication of an annual Zakat Calculation Guide. [4] Although the organization advertised itself as a tax-exempt charity, it had never been granted charitable status by the IRS. In early 1993, shortly after the World Trade Center bombing in New York City, both Newsweek and The New York Times ran articles linking the Brooklyn branch of Al-Kifah to Islamic Militant groups, fighters in Afghanistan, and individuals who were alleged to have committed acts of violence. Within days, Muntasser dissolved the Boston branch of Al-Kifah and incorporated Care in Massachusetts. According to its articles of incorporation, Care was organized exclusively for charitable, religious, educational, and scientific purposes including . . . human welfare, charitable and relief activities. The articles listed Muntasser as Care's President, Munther Baara as Treasurer, and Ahmad Nawras as Secretary, and identified Afif Kadri, Mohamad Akra, and Waseem Abu Yasin as board members. Baara, Nawras, Kadri, Akra, and Yasin had all served in identical positions for the Boston branch of Al-Kifah. The articles also stated, It is intended that the corporation shall be entitled to exemption from federal income tax under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Following its incorporation, Care effectively replaced Al-Kifah's Boston branch. It took over Al-Kifah's mailbox address and deposited financial contributions into Al-Kifah's bank account (though these contributions were eventually transferred to an account in Care's name). Care's activities also substantially mirrored those of Al-Kifah's Boston branch, including the sponsoring of pro-jihad speakers, the sale of books and tapes advocating jihad, and the continued publication of the Al-Hussam newsletter. [5] Within the organization, individuals referred to Care as Maktab, a shorthand reference to MAK. In its own newsletters, Care referred to itself as the office of services, a name by which MAK was known in the United States. Like Al-Kifah, Care also represented itself to the public as founded by Imam Abdullah Azzam, even though Abdullah Azzam had died more than three years prior to Care's formation. At trial, the government presented two experts who testified regarding the overseas operations of MAK, Abdullah Azzam's philosophy on violent jihad, the general trend of using charitable organizations to covertly finance jihad and mujahideen, and the concept of economic jihadthe precept that, [i]f you cannot be a fighter, fund a fighter. It also asked a witness to read fifty-five pages of the Al-Hussam newsletters into the record, primarily those sections that demonstrated Care's commitment to violent jihad and its financial solicitations for the mujahideen. Defendants Al-Monla and Mubayyid had both been associated with Care in some form since 1993, and with Al-Kifah before it. In 1996, Al-Monla replaced Muntasser as President of Care. He served in that capacity until 1998, when he became Treasurer. Mubayyid, who is Al-Monla's brother-in-law, eventually replaced Al-Monla as Care's Treasurer in 1998 or 1999. He filled that role through at least 2002.