Islamic State Propagandist from Islamic Society of Boston Allegedly Killed in Airstrike
The Iraqi Interior Ministry claims a government airstrike killed two Islamic State filmmakers including Ahmad Abousamra, of the United States. The U.S. has yet to comment or confirm the claims that Ahmad Abousamra has actually been hit.
Abousamra grew up in Stoughton, Boston where he attended a private catholic school for the majority of his education. In 2004, he traveled to Yemen and Pakistan to receive jihadist training. In 2006, Abousamra fled Boston after authorities questioned him and is suspected of residing in Aleppo, Syria. In 2009, he was indicted with charges of conspiring to support al Qaeda and in 2013, he was placed on the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorist list.
In reference to Abousamra and Tarek Mehanna, a co-conspirator who also traveled to the Middle East to receive training, the FBI states:
“Both men were self-radicalized and used the Internet to educate themselves,” and that “They came to it independently, but once they found each other, they encouraged each other’s beliefs”
However, both Abousamra and Mehanna attended the same mosque in Boston. While this in and of itself is not incriminating, a look at this specific mosque reveals that it may be problematic. While there may be select cases where individuals self-radicalize, this does not appear to be one of them. The mosque has produced not two, not three, but twelve known terrorists. The mosque, the Islamic Society of Boston was also where the Boston Marathon Bombers went.
Although it isn’t just the younger generation that has become radicalized, the roots go back to the very beginning. The mosque was founded by Abdurahman Alamoudi. Alamoudi. Alamoudi, who is now serving a 23-year prison sentence for plotting terrorism and raising money for al-Qaeda, used to serve the Clinton Administration as an Islamic-Affairs advisor.
The Islamic Society of Boston (ISB) has strong connections to the Muslim Brotherhood. Alamoudi himself, after being sent to prison, wrote that he hoped he was still a member of the Muslim Brotherhood in the U.S. Even more incriminating is that Yousef al-Qarawadi, the Muslim Brotherhood’s spiritual leader, happens to have served on the mosque’s board of trustees as did Jamal Badawi, another individual linked to the Brotherhood and known to have praised Hamas and Hezbollah.
This is not an example where there is one “bad seed.” The ISB, as an organization, donated thousands of dollars to the Holy Land Foundation, a front charity from the Muslim Brotherhood that was ultimately charged and found guilty of funding Hamas, as U.S. designated terrorist organization.
Not all mosques preach jihad, but those dominated by US Muslim Brotherhood leadership have engaged in indoctrinating individuals and preaching jihad. Cracking down on jihadist mosques, and removing the Brotherhood from its position of authority is crucial to stopping homegrown terrorists and promoting peace and tolerance.
