Free Republic

Mon September 29, 2003 10:02 AM ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A man affiliated with at least two American Muslim groups has been arrested on criminal charges, federal law enforcement officials said on Monday. They confirmed a report by Al Jazeera, the Arabic satellite channel, that Abdul Rahman al-Amoudi has been arrested. They declined to give details of the charges against him. Muslim activists described him as one of the founders of a group called the American Muslim Armed Forces and Veteran Affairs Council and a board member of another Washington, D.C.-based group called the American Muslim Council. The officials said...

<p>A founding member of a U.S. Muslim group that endorsed an Army chaplain now accused of espionage has himself been arrested on criminal charges.</p> <p>Abdul Rahman al-Amoudi, 51, who helped organize the American Muslim Armed Forces and Veteran Affairs Council and is a board member of the Washington, D.C.-based American Muslim Council, was taken into custody Sunday by agents from the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the FBI.</p>

<p>The American Muslim leader charged with smuggling $340,000 out of Libya was suspected of funneling cash from Osama bin Laden to blind Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman in the failed 1993 attempt to blow up New York City landmarks, The Post has learned.</p>

<p>A leading Muslim activist arrested for reportedly violating U.S. sanctions against Libya once helped select and train Islamic military chaplains as part of a Pentagon-approved process being investigated by the Defense Department and Congress.</p> <p>Abdul Rahman al-Amoudi, founder of the American Muslim Council and the American Muslim Foundation, was involved with the American Muslim Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs Council and the Islamic Society of North America, two groups that selected and trained Muslim clerics for the U.S. military, authorities said.</p>

<p>The Pentagon yesterday ordered a review of how it recruits military chaplains, particularly Muslim clerics endorsed by two groups with ties to radical Islam.</p> <p>Pentagon officials yesterday informed senators of the review as Sens. Jon Kyl, Arizona Republican, and Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, announced upcoming hearings on whether the radical Wahhabi sect has infiltrated the U.S. military chaplain corps.</p>