The North American Islamic Trust (NAIT) is based in
Plainfield, Indiana
Plainfield is a town in Guilford, Liberty, and Washington townships, Hendricks County, Indiana, United States. The population was 27,631 at the 2010 census, and in 2019 the estimated population was 35,287.
History
In 1822 a tract of land whic ...
, owns Islamic properties and promotes ''
waqf
A waqf ( ar, وَقْف; ), also known as hubous () or '' mortmain'' property is an inalienable charitable endowment under Islamic law. It typically involves donating a building, plot of land or other assets for Muslim religious or charitabl ...
'' (
Islamic
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the mai ...
endowments) in North America. Many Muslim institutions founded by immigrants who arrived in the USA during the 1960s have roots in the
Muslim Students Association
The Muslim Students Association, or Muslim Student Union, of the U.S. and Canada, also known as MSA National, is a religious organization dedicated to establishing and maintaining Islamic societies on college campuses in Canada and the United Sta ...
where they were college activists. In the 1970s and thereafter, NAIT helped provide college students with a place to provide worship services. NAIT does not provide any financial or other monetary support to the Muslim Student Association. NAIT serves as the trustee of about 200 Islamic centers, mosques and schools. The properties of those mosques are estimated to be worth in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
On October 20, 2010, Judges Garza, Benavides, and Crone of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals found that the U.S. Department of Justice violated the Fifth Amendment rights of the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT), and by implication the rights of more than 300 similarly-named Muslim organizations and individuals, such as CAIR, when it included them on the publicly-filed unindicted co-conspirator list in 2007. The court also ruled that inclusion on the list was the result of "simply an untested allegation of the Government made in anticipation of a possible evidentiary dispute that never came to pass." The listing is simply part of tactical pre-trial maneuvering and not an indicator of guilt. In 2011, Attorney General Eric Holder indicated that Department of Justice officials determined after "looking at the facts and the law, a prosecution would not be appropriate." This conclusion was reached after two reviews conducted under both the Bush and Obama administrations.
Background
NAIT was established in 1973 in
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
by the
Muslim Students Association
The Muslim Students Association, or Muslim Student Union, of the U.S. and Canada, also known as MSA National, is a religious organization dedicated to establishing and maintaining Islamic societies on college campuses in Canada and the United Sta ...
(MSA) of the United States and Canada, by some of the same
Muslim Brotherhood
The Society of the Muslim Brothers ( ar, جماعة الإخوان المسلمين'' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( ', is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan ...
members who started the MSA. ISNA's President, Dr.
Ingrid Mattson
Ingrid Mattson (born August 24, 1963) is a Canadian activist and scholar, A professor of Islamic studies, she is currently the London and Windsor Community Chair in Islamic Studies at Huron University College at the University of Western Ontario ...
, is a former member of the NAIT board of directors. A sister organization under the same name registered a few years later in the Canadian
province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...
of
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
.
Financial services
Financing mosques and Islamic schools
NAIT offers ''waqf'' protection to properties of mosques, safeguards these community assets, and ensures their conformity to Islamic purposes. According to a report by the
Council on American-Islamic Relations
A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...
(CAIR), in 2000 NAIT funded an estimated 27% of the 1,209 mosques in the US. NAIT held title to over 320 properties as of June 2003. Title to about one in four mosques in the US are held by NAIT. NAIT does not monitor, manage, or supervise any mosque, community center, school, or place of worshi
NAIT facilitates the establishment of mosques (such as the
Dar Al Hijrah Islamic Center, the grounds of which were purchased on June 19, 1983, by NAIT) and Islamic schools by extending limited interest-free loans to needy communities from its investment venture called the Islamic Centers Cooperative Fund (ICCF). About 8% of this fund goes annually to support local communities acquiring and improving mosques. The remainder is placed in real estate and other investments.
Controversy
In 2007, federal prosecutors brought charges against
Holy Land Foundation
The Holy Land Foundation (HLF) was the largest Islamic charity in the United States. Headquartered in Richardson, Texas, and run by Palestinian-Americans, it was originally known as Occupied Land Fund. The organization's mission was to "find and ...
for allegedly funding terrorist activities of
Hamas
Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Bri ...
and other Islamic terrorist organizations. NAIT was named as an
unindicted co-conspirator
In criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to commit a crime at some time in the future. Criminal law in some countries or for some conspiracies may require that at least one overt act be undertaken in furtherance o ...
in the case, along with the
Council on American-Islamic Relations
A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...
(CAIR) and ISNA. The ''
Al Ahram Weekly
''Al-Ahram Weekly'' is an English-language weekly broadsheet printed by the Al-Ahram Publishing House in Cairo, Egypt.
History and profile
''Al Ahram Weekly'' was established in 1991 by the ''Al-Ahram'' newspaper, which also runs a French-langua ...
'' said "Muslims are witnessing a
smear campaign
A smear campaign, also referred to as a smear tactic or simply a smear, is an effort to damage or call into question someone's reputation, by propounding negative propaganda. It makes use of discrediting tactics.
It can be applied to individual ...
", and said "these groups represent the viewpoints and interests of the mainstream American Muslim community." In 2009, U.S. District Court Judge Jorge Solis found that the Justice Department violated the Fifth Amendment rights of the NAIT and CAIR in 2007 by including them on the co-conspirator list.
References
External links
NAIT website''Muslim communities in North America'' Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad, Jane I. Smith,
SUNY Press
The State University of New York (SUNY, , ) is a system of public colleges and universities in the State of New York. It is one of the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States. Led by c ...
, 1994,
''Muslim Mafia: Inside the Secret Underworld That's Conspiring to Islamize America'', "Chapter 20: NAIT and the Economic Jihad,"P. David Gaubatz, Paul Sperry,
WND Books
''WND'' (formerly ''WorldNetDaily'') is an American far-right fake news website. It is known for promoting falsehoods and conspiracy theories, including the false claim that former President Barack Obama was not born in the United States.
T ...
, 2009, {{ISBN, 9781935071105
Non-profit organizations based in Indiana
Islamic charities based in the United States
Book publishing companies based in Indiana
Financial services companies of the United States
Islamic organizations established in 1973