A collection of Islamic-American businesses and nonprofit entities have been under federal investigation for allegedly bankrolling terrorist organizations.
But more than three years later, no charges have been filed.
The group of organizations Ñ which U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials call the "Safa Group" Ñ has been under investigation since at least March 2002, when federal agents raided their Herndon offices at 555 Grove St. and eight homes in Herndon and Loudoun County.
"All I can say is that the investigation is ongoing," said Dean Boyd, a spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the Department of Homeland Security. The groups are being scrutinized for allegedly funding Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, according to court documents.
Through their attorney, members of the Safa Group denied any connection to terrorist groups. None of them have been charged with any illegal activity.
Over the last four years, the Safa Group entities have contributed nearly $63,000 to candidates for the General Assembly.
But the Safa Group's campaign contributions have nothing to do with the federal investigation. Instead, the contributions are intended to back candidates who reflect a traditionally conservative political ideology Ñ specifically those who oppose same-sex marriage, vote to further restrict abortion, according to their attorney and three General Assembly candidates who have enjoyed their support.
Mukit Hossain, chairman of the Herndon-based Muslim American PAC, which supports candidates from both parties, said the 2002 raids prompted fear and confusion in the Northern Virginia Muslim community.
Three years later, he said, many Muslim-Americans are outraged the investigation appears to have been fruitless and the Safa Group's reputation was destroyed.
"The investigation has essentially been dropped, but the government won't come out and say it," he said. "Most people are trying to get on with their lives. It seems the government just won't admit they didn't find anything."
The biggest recipient of the Safa Group's political contributions was Del. Dick Black (R-32), who has received a total of $33,270. Of that amount, at least $13,500 was received over the last year for Black's campaign to be re-elected on Nov. 8.
"Many of the folks in the Muslim community have very strong conservative values on issues such as homosexuality, abortion and pornography," said Black, a Loudoun County attorney who is known as one of the General Assembly's most vociferous opponents of abortion and same-sex marriage. "Not one of these American citizens have been charged. And, frankly, I'm not going to discriminate based on race, religion or skin color."
State Sen. Ken Cuccinelli (R-37) was the Safa Group's second-highest recipient, having received $15,900 during his 2003 re-election campaign.
Cuccinelli, who said he agrees with his Muslim-American supporters on social issues like abortion and gay marriage, said he would never refuse a campaign contribution simply because the government suspects them of impropriety.
"I'm not going to implicitly accuse somebody of being guilty when the federal government clearly doesn't even have enough evidence to charge them," he said.
More recently, the Safa Group contributed $7,000 to Republican candidates who ran in the June 14 primary election for the House of Delegates.
Chris Craddock, a 26-year-old youth minister who unseated Del. Gary Reese (R-67) in last monthÕs primary, received $2,000 from Mar-Jac Investments, which is part of the Safa Group, according to unsealed court documents detailing the investigation.
"In America, you're innocent until proven guilty," said Craddock, who will face Democrat Chuck Caputo and Libertarian Chuck Eby in November. "If they're convicted of something, it becomes a different story."
Steve Chapman, who attempted to unseat Manassas Republican Del. Harry Parrish in the primary election, received a total of $3,500 from Sterling Management Group and Mar-Jac Poultry Ñ both listed in the investigation's unsealed affidavit. Chris Oprison, who failed in his bid to unseat Del. Joe May (R-33) on June 14, also received $2,000 from Mar-Jac Poultry.
NO CHARGES HAVE BEEN FILED in direct connection to the 2002 searches of eight homes or Herndon offices. However, two convictions Ñ of Falls Church resident Abdurahman Alamoudi and of Egyptian Soliman Biheiri Ñ were aided by information gleaned from the Herndon raids, according to court documents provided by Boyd.
Alamoudi, a Muslim activist, is currently serving a 23-year sentence for violating international sanctions against travel and financial dealings with Libya. Biheiri, currently serving a 13-month prison sentence, was found guilty of making false statement to federal agents about a $1 million business deal with a top Hamas leader, according to documents filed with the U.S. District Court in Alexandria.
An unsealed 2002 affidavit filed to seek a search warrant claims that the Safa Group sent more than $26 million in untraceable funds overseas and its leaders conspired to provide material support to terrorist organizations. But no charges have materialized from the claims, authored by Homeland Security agent David Kane. Affidavits filed by law enforcement official in support of search warrants are official court documents, but are considered investigative tools, not proven fact.
Nancy Luque, attorney for the eight families whose homes were searched, said it is clear the government was overreaching in its accusations and is not going to file charges or accuse any of the individuals directly linked to the March 2002 raids.
"Federal prosecutors will never say their investigation is over. They'll never apologize for ruining these families' reputation. It's unfair. It's absolutely unfair," she said. "It's as if they did this as a publicity stunt. It's really damaged some reputations."
The Alamoudi and Biheiri cases are not truly connected to the 2002 raids, Luque said. Rather, federal agents point to those investigations because the Herndon investigation has come up empty, she said.
"The government just doesn't want to admit it made a mistake busting into these people's homes," Luque said. "These are American citizens. They came here to participate in democracy Ñ not be treated this way."
Black, who wrote a letter to then U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft complaining about the 2002 raids, said it is wrong that the federal government tarnished the Safa Group's reputation.
"I was a career prosecutor and I had never seen anything like this," Black said. "And it appears that their investigation has not resulted in one bit of information."
THE SAFA GROUP is primarily comprised of first-generation Muslim-Americans Ñ many of whom are Iraqi born, Luque said.
Despite being investigated by the government, they still believe in democracy and participating in the political process, she said.
As a demographic group, first-generation Muslim-Americans tend be socially conservative on issues like same-sex marriage and abortion, said Peter Mandaville, director of George Mason University's Center for Global Studies.
"They have a definite empathy with the social conservatives in their local communities," he said. "You can see it in their voting patterns and campaign contributions."
On the federal level, Muslim-Americans tend to support candidates of both parties, but base their support less on social issues and more on the candidate's foreign policy views, Mandaville said.
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the Safa Group has contributed to federal campaigns of both parties. U.S. Rep. Jim Moran (D-8) was given around $15,000, but he returned the money after the 2002 raids and learning about the investigation.
The issue of the Safa Group's support of GOP candidates in Northern Virginia was raised during the 2003 General Assembly campaign.
Democrats running against Black and Cuccinelli in 2003 pointed to the campaign contributions as evidence of wrong doing, but the effort backfired and many liberal members of the Muslim-Americans supported the Republicans instead, Hossain said.
"The conservative politicians have come to the assistance of these organizations being investigated," said Hossain, who lives in Cascades. "Their help has been very much appreciated."
It would be wrong to assume that all Muslim-Americans support conservative politicians, Hossain said. Younger Muslim-Americans, particularly those who grew up in the West, tend to be more progressive and lean Democratic, he said.
"There's a real generational cultural battle going on in our community," he said.