Islamic Association of Palestine (IAP), and alternately as the American Muslim Society (AMS) and American Middle Eastern League for Palestine (AMEL), was an American not-for profit organization. Established in 1981, the IAP described itself as "a not-for-profit, public-awareness, educational, political, social, and civic, national grassroots organization dedicated to advancing a just, comprehensive, and eternal solution to the cause of Palestine and suffrages of the Palestinians." IAP founders included later Hamas politburo leader Mousa Abu Marzook.

The Islamic Association of Palestine had strong ties to the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development and to several organizations established in the U.S. that were alleged to serve as fronts for Hamas. In 2004, a US Federal Court found the IAP liable (alongside the Holy Land Foundation and Quranic Literacy Institute) for the 1996 murder of American citizen David Boim by Hamas operatives. As of 2004, the organization is defunct.

Establishment and goals

The organization "was originally formed in 1981 by Dr. Aly Mishal at the personal direction of Khaled Meshal (who was then a senior Muslim Brotherhood activist and would later become secretary general of Hamas)." When the Muslim Brotherhood leader in Gaza formally established Hamas in 1987, "the IAP became the group's mouthpiece in North America."

Matthew Levitt, a fellow at pro-Israeli think tank Washington Institute, alleged that Hamas invested considerable resources to give "the Palestinian cause an Islamic flavor." According to The Bridge Initiative at Georgetown University, the memo's "language is wishful, and does not reflect the Muslim Brotherhood's agenda as outlined in documents obtained by the FBI." Allegedly, seven checks, for a total amount of $125,000, were deposited into IAP bank account between 1990 and 1991.

thumb|[[FBI transcript of the Palestine Committee summit meeting that took place on October 2–3, 1993. The Palestine Committee is the Muslim Brotherhood created Hamas support network in America. It has come to be known as the 1993 Philadelphia Meeting.]]

Among IAP officers and founding members were several Hamas senior leaders who participated in a 1993 Philadelphia meeting attended by Hamas officers.

In a 2007 court filing, United States Federal Prosecutors asserted the IAP "was the first organization to publish an English version of the Hamas charter." The organization further distributed the Hamas publication Filisteen al-Muslima in the U.S., "which [paid] glowing tributes to Hamas suicide bombers, justifies their attacks, and suggests they be models for future suicide bombers."

In December 2004, a federal judge in Chicago ruled that the IAP (along with the Holy Land Foundation) was liable for a $156 million lawsuit for aiding and abetting the terror group Hamas in the death of 17-year-old David Boim, an American citizen. In December 2007, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit overturned the judge's ruling, holding that plaintiffs failed to prove that financial contributions to Hamas played a direct role in Boim's slaying. In 2008, the Seventh Circuit reheard the case en banc, and ruled in favor of the Boims.

In a 2017 lawsuit, the Boim family filed a lawsuit against American Muslims for Palestine, alleging the organization to be "a mere continuation of the Islamic Association under a new name" and seeking to collect unpaid damages from the 2004 judgment.

References

  • iap.org was the IAP domain name until after February 2005.<!-- Identification of old web site is useful for web archive access -->
  • Site Institute See also Site institute