Federal Agency Will Co-Sponsor Convention Linked to Indicted Islamic Charity

The U.S. Justice Department is co-sponsoring a civil-rights convention held by the Islamic Society of North America, which was named an unindicted co-conspirator in the federal case against the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, reports The Washington Times.

A Justice Department lawyer, who spoke to the newspaper on the condition of anonymity, said that fellow lawyers are nervous that the department’s participation in the convention will weaken the case against Holy Land, a charity accused of funneling money to the terrorist group Hamas. Holy Land has denied wrongdoing.

“There is outrage among lawyers that the Department of Justice is funding a group named as a co-conspirator in a terrorist financing case,” said the lawyer.

“The civil-rights division will have a table at the ISNA convention over Labor Day weekend to hand out literature and answer questions about the division’s work. The ISNA convention attracts more than 30,000 American Muslims every year, and the division has had tables at the convention in previous years,” said Erik Ablin, a Justice Department spokesman.