And we've been repeatedly assured by Muslim groups that the government's actions with regard to that Islamic "charity" were unfounded and a case of post-9/11 Islamophobia.

But now we have a guilty plea to confirm that the organization was supporting terrorists.

The imam of a northern Georgia mosque pleaded guilty to providing material support to the militant group Hamas in a case in which the agreement, charges and even the plea hearing were handled in secret.

The U.S. attorney's office said Friday that the charges and plea agreement involving Mohamed Shorbagi were filed Aug. 28 in federal court in Rome, Ga., a division of Atlanta's federal court, but were sealed until Friday.

Shorbagi, 42, agreed to a maximum of 15 years in prison, prosecutors said. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for Nov. 3.

According to prosecutors, between 1997 and 2001, Shorbagi provided financial support to Hamas, a group designated by the United States as a foreign terrorist organization. He also was accused of conspiring with unnamed others to provide material support to Hamas.

The donations were passed through the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, prosecutors said.

"It was not for a large amount of money," U.S. Attorney David Nahmias said. "But that goes to show you it doesn't take a large amount of money to get 15 years in prison."

What did Imam Shorbagi and the Holy Land Foundation do to support terrorism?

Nahmias's office said Shorbagi was a Georgia representative of the Holy Land Foundation and knew money provided to the foundation was actually funneled to Hamas.

He had attended Holy Land Foundation meetings at which high-level Hamas officials made presentations condemning Israel, and had hosted high-level Hamas officials at the Rome mosque where he served as imam, prosecutors said.

So it appears that there was more than charity work going on out of the offices of the Holy Land Foundation (a name intended to trick American Christians into giving money to support Muslim terrorism against Israel and the US), and more than religious activities going on at the mosque. Is it any wonder, then, that many of us believe that the FBI should be monitoring mosques and other Muslim organizations for ties to terrorists as we continue the Crusade Against Jihadism?

Of course, the usual suspects are up in arms over the fact that their fellow jihadi Islamists have been investigated, charged, and in this case determined to be guilty of support for terrorism.

“The facts of these cases are never actually released,” said Rabiah Ahmed, a spokeswoman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, based in Washington. “There’s no public scrutiny except what the government chooses to release. The perception is that they’re being heavy-handed and the Muslim community is being unfairly targeted.”

The reality is that Imam Shorbagi could have had a trial in open court in which his crimes and those of the Holy Land Foundation would have been laid out for all to see. Instead he cut a deal to save his own skin, tuning on his fellow jihadi-wannabes. There will be plenty of time for all the evidence to be laid out in court when the principals of the Holy Land Foundation are put on trial. And by the way -- I can't wait for charges to be filed against CAIR, which I understand has its own Hamas connections.

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