Raid on InfoCom Decried by Muslim Leaders

• By theWHIR.com , September 10, 2001

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September 10, 2001 -- (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) -- American Muslim leaders said a raid Wednesday on a Texas Internet business was part of an

"anti-Muslim witch hunt" promoted by a pro-Israel

lobby in America. Early yesterday morning, more than

80 agents from the FBI, INS, Customs Service, and

other federal agencies raided the offices of InfoCom

Corporation in Richardson, Texas.

In a statement released at a news conference outside

Infocom's headquarters, the Muslim groups said:

"American Muslims view yesterday's action as just one

of a long list of attempts by the pro-Israel lobby to

intimidate and silence all those who wish to see

Palestinian Muslims and Christians free themselves of

a brutal Apartheid-like occupation. We believe the

genesis of this raid lies not in Washington, but in

Tel Aviv.

"Hundreds of innocent American businesses and citizens

are being harmed by the government's actions. This

incident can only serve to marginalize millions of

American Muslims who are committed to the betterment

of our diverse society.

Groups represented at the news conference included

American Muslim Council, American Muslims for

Jerusalem, American Muslim Alliance, Council on

American-Islamic Relations, Islamic Society of North

America, Islamic Circle of North America, Islamic

Association for Palestine, Muslim Alliance in North

America, Muslim Public Affairs Council, and Muslim

Student Association of US and Canada.

However, the FBI later denied these allegations,

saying the nature of the raid was due to criminal

activity.

Infocom hosts web sites for some 500 companies

worldwide, and many of them are media companies based

in Qatar.

One of Infocom's clients whose web site was shut down

by the raid is Qatar-based Al-Jazeera satellite

television network. Al-Jazeera, a popular and

respected Arabic news outlet, has frequently been

criticized by Israel for its reporting on that state's

brutal policies in the Occupied Territories.

The raid came just weeks after a Wall Street Journal

column by Steven Emerson and Daniel Pipes that called

for just such an action by the government. They wrote:

". . . the federal authorities should use the tools it

already has for closing down these Web sites and

organizations."

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