Judgement Against Muslim Charity Overturned

On December 29, 2007, the Washington Post reported that a federal court overturned a $156 million award against a former Muslim charity that was once considered the nation's largest.  The jury concluded that the plaintiffs failed to prove that money donated to a Hamass was a factor in the killing of an American teenager in Israel.  Here is an excerpt from the article:

[U.S. District Judge] Arlander said the defendants -- defunct charities, the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, and the American Muslim Society/Islamic Association for Palestine; and a man named Mohammed Salah -- were liable for damages because they paid Hamas in 1993 and 1994 for speaking engagements and distributed propaganda for the group.

In yesterday's strongly worded opinion, . . . Ilana Diamond Rovner[, a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit,] wrote: "Belief, assumption, and speculation are no substitutes for evidence in a court of law. . . . We must resist the temptation to gloss over error, admit spurious evidence, and assume facts not adequately proved simply to side with the face of innocence and against the face of terrorism."

For the entire article, see "Ruling Against Muslim Group Is Overturned: Former Charity, Others Not Liable in Teen's Death" in the Washington Post.

DAB