Sami Al-Arian was convicted of being a secret Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader in the U.S. He’s under house arrest, so he isn’t seen in public much. Except for November 5, when he was photographed attending a pro-Muslim Brotherhood briefing on Capitol Hill.
Al-Arian was able to attend because of a change in his regulations. He is now only on a curfew and can leave his home if he wears a tracker. It is unclear why security protocols at the Cannon House Office Building didn’t prevent his entry.
A new pro-Muslim Brotherhood organization named the Egypt Freedom Foundation organized the event using a room reserved by Rep. Andre Carson (D-IN). A spokesperson for the congressman said he did not know who was attending the event.
The Egypt Freedom Foundation was incorporated on October 1 and includes Ahmed Bedier as an officer. Bedier used to lead the Tampa chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a U.S. Muslim Brotherhood entity and unindicted co-conspirator in a terrorism-financing trial. During Bedier’s time as a CAIR chapter leader, he was videotaped refusing to give a stance on Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The scene is in our film, The Third Jihad.
The Egypt Freedom Foundation was also behind a recent pro-Brotherhood event at Georgetown University that was to include a Christian-Egyptian Nazi. He was eventually disinvited.
Sami Al-Arian is one of the founding fathers of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood network. He admits that he was a Brotherhood operative from 1978 to 1982. He is a founder of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA). He had also had strong financial ties to the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT).
Another attendee was Mahdi Bray, another convicted felon. He has held positions with the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) and Muslim American Society (MAS).
In 2000, Bray was on stage with Abdurrahman Alamoudi when he praised Hamas and Hezbollah. He gestured his approval when the crowd cheered. Alamoudi was later convicted on terrorism-related charges.
Bray later condemned the Israeli assassination of Hamas’ spiritual leader as “state-sponsored terrorism.” He has also accused the U.S. of waging a “war on Islam.” In February 2008, Bray traveled to Egypt to stand in solidarity with Brotherhood members being prosecuted by the ruling government.
Everyone on the Hill with any real knowledge of counter-terrorism knows who Sami al-Arian is. His trial was one of the most high-profile terrorism cases in U.S. history. And he continues to be embraced by Islamist activists in America and allowed access to Congressional briefings.
