Last month, anonymous letters attacking the leadership of the Islamic Center of America were mailed to Dearborn households. The letters contain unsubstantiated accusations of corruption, adultery and lack of religiosity against the spiritual leader of the ICA, Imam Hassan Qazwini, and the chairperson of its board, Ron Amen. 

Upon examining the claims, it is easy to detect that they are baseless. For example, the letters accuse Amen, who is a prominent community activist, of not praying and fasting during Ramadan. As Amen himself pointed out to our paper last week, the authors of the letters do not live with him and have no way of finding out his worship routine.

In another instance, a letter claims that Qazwini had engaged in temporary marriage (Mutah) with a married woman and refused to pay her dowry. The letter concludes that the marriage is null and void because the dowry was not paid. 

But if she were already married, the alleged marriage to Qazwini would have been null and void and blatant adultery to begin with. The authors of these letters do not know what they are talking about.

The contents of these letters are ridiculous and should not be taken seriously.

A group that calls itself “The Gathering of Muslim Youth in Dearborn” claims responsibility for these accusations. This group is not only unknown; it is fictitious. The accusations were initially sent during Ashura. A true Islamic group would have at least delayed sending the letters in respect of the occasion, which is sacred to Muslims, particularly Shi’a.

If such a group existed and had legitimate concerns, it would address them in the open, not cowardly behind the darkness of anonymity. 

The accusations were sent shortly before the ICA’s semi-annual fundraising dinner. They were a malicious attempt to overshadow and hurt the event. But they failed. 

If those responsible for the letter cared about the well-being of the community, they would have used the money and efforts they invested to attack the ICA to encourage people to vote in the midterm elections, where Dearborn’s Arabs failed to turnout in large numbers. 

The poorly written statements, which were sent in English and Arabic, are filled with offensive, personal insults. They address Qazwini disrespectfully, often calling him “Hassoun,” as if he were a little child. It is apparent that tarnishing the images of Qazwini and Amen, not valid criticisms, are the aims of the authors. 

Our defense of the ICA against this attack is not to say that our religious institutions do not need reform. Our mosques should do more to help people in need locally, combat sectarianism and encourage civic engagement. 

No institution or individual— including religious leaders— is above criticism. But there is a fundamental difference between pointing out flaws in an organization and personally attacking its leaders. Name-calling cannot be a call for reform. 

These allegations were either made by people with an anti-Islamic agenda or unintelligent individuals who have a personal vendetta against the ICA leadership. 

In either case, they are not credible. They are inflammatory, divisive and immature.  They are not worth the papers they were printed on. We ask our community members to see through these venomous attacks and take them for what they are— cheap, unsupported claims.

Some individuals who support the ICA have criticized The Arab American News for reporting on the letters last week. They argued that we gave its authors the publicity they wanted. 

However, the statements were a known matter in the community. It was our journalistic responsibility to address them. Tackling issues of interest to our readers is one of our founding principles. We will stand by our professional ideals and refuse to sweep any issue under the rug, even if it is an uncomfortable subject.