Abdul Rahman al-Amoudi

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

Abdul Rahman Al-Amoudi
File:Al-amoudi.jpg
Abdul Rahman Al-Amoudi in 1995
Born Eritrea
Occupation Lobbyist and fundraiser
Criminal charge Illegal financial transactions with Libyan government, unlawful procurement
of citizenship, impeding administration of Internal Revenue Service, and role
in Libyan conspiracy
to assassinate Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah
Criminal penalty 23-year prison sentence
Criminal status USA
Conviction(s) Illegal financial transactions with Libyan government, unlawful procurement
of citizenship, impeding administration of Internal Revenue Service, and role
in Libyan conspiracy
to assassinate Saudi
Crown Prince Abdullah (October 2004)

Abdul Rahman Al-Amoudi, (Audio file "En-us-Abdurahman Alamoudi from U.S. pronunciation (Voice of America).ogg" not found ahb-duh-rah-MAHN ahl-ah-MOO-dee[needs IPA]; also known as Abdurahman Alamoudi is an American former Muslim activist known for founding the American Muslim Council. He pled guilty to financial and conspiracy charges in 2004, which resulted in a 23-year prison sentence.[1]

Biography

Al-Amoudi was born in Eritrea, raised in Yemen, and later immigrated to the United States.

He founded the American Muslim Council, a lobbying group to advocate on behalf of Muslims in the United States, in 1990. The Council's aim was to inform and influence both Republicans and Democrats. Until 1998, Al-Amoudi was involved with the selection of Muslim chaplains for the U.S. military (through the American Muslim Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs Council, which he co-founded in 1991), and acted as a consultant to The Pentagon for over a decade.

During this time Al-Amoudi served as an Islamic adviser to President Bill Clinton and a fundraiser for both the Republican and Democratic parties.[2] More recently, Al-Amoudi worked with leading conservatives, such as Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform. Al-Amoudi became a U.S. citizen in 1996.

On several public occasions during the 1990s he expressed his endorsement for Hamas, which he did not repute a terrorist organization.[2][3] In 1996, he declared his support for Hamas deputy political leader Musa Abu Marzook, which was deported after the U.S. designation of Hamas as a terrorist entity in 1997.[2] During an interview with for a Middle East television channel in March 1997, Alamoudi famously declared: “I really consider him to be from among the best people in the Islamic movement," and added that he worked with Marzook and Hamas.[4]

Al-Amoudi and other Muslim leaders met with then-presidential candidate George W. Bush in Austin in July 2000, offering to support his bid for the White House in exchange for Bush's commitment to repeal certain anti-terrorist laws.

In October 2000, during the anti-Israel protest outside the White House he attended, Alamoudi declared himself a proud supporter of Hamas and “a supporter of Hezbollah.”[5]

After the September 11, 2001 attacks, Al-Amoudi spoke at the Washington National Cathedral prayer service held to honor the memory of the victims.

Alamoudi was arrested in September 2003 for illegal dealings with Libya that included his involvement in a complex plot financed by the Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi to have then Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah killed by two U.K. based al-Qaeda operatives.[6] He was later extradited to the United States, pleaded guilty and was convicted of being a senior al-Qaeda financier who “had funneled at least $1 million into the coffers of that terrorist organization”, but also for tax evasion and immigration fraud.[3]

In 2004 he pled guilty to three charges of illegal financial transactions with the Libyan government, unlawful procurement of citizenship and impeding administration of the Internal Revenue Service, as well as a role in a Libyan conspiracy to assassinate then-Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah. He agreed to cooperate in ongoing investigations in return for prosecutors dropping 31 other counts and possible reduction in a pending 23-year sentence and $750,000 in fines.[7][8] He was sentenced to 23 years in October 2004.[1]

The U.S. Department of the Treasury cited Alamoudi on the occasion of the July 2005 terrorist designation of the Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia as providing support to al-Qaeda.[9] Alamoudi also appeared on the list of “unindicted co-conspirators” and “joint venturers” who had contributed to fundraising on behalf of Hamas released by the U.S. authorities after the 2007 Holy Land Foundation trial.[10]

Al-Amoudi was described as an "expert in the art of deception" in a report by Newsweek journalists Mark Hosenball and Michael Isikoff, for expressing moderate, pro-American sympathies in his lobbying and public relations work with Americans, but then expressing support for Hamas and Hezbollah at an Islamist rally.[11]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 28 Fall from grace, Al-Ahram Weekly, October 28 – November 3, 2004 Issue No. 714.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Kushner, Harvey W. (1998). The Future of terrorism. Violence in the New Millenium. Sage Publications. P.54
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ U.S. Muslim admits guilt in plot; Conspired to kill Saudi prince, Washington Times, July 31, 2004.
  8. ↑ Rasha Saad , Libyan quandary, Al-Ahram Weekly, 5 – August 11, 2004 Issue No. 702
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Attachment A: List of Unindicted Co-conspirators and/or Joint Venturers. United States of America v. Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development. In the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division. CR No. 3:04-CR-240-G. Retrieved 2016-01-07 —via cair.net
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Retrieved from "https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=Abdul_Rahman_al-Amoudi&oldid=3508726"