Obama prayer speaker belongs to group linked to Hamas

Washington, Jan.18 (ANI): One of the religious leaders invited to address Barack Obama's inaugural prayer service reportedly heads an Islamic group linked to the Hamas.

According to Politico, Ingrid Mattson, president of the Islamic Society of North America, is scheduled to join Christian ministers and Jewish rabbis offering prayers for the new president and his family during a service at the National Cathedral in Washington.

Mattson's group calls itself "the largest Muslim umbrella organization" in North America.

However, in May 2007, federal prosecutors included ISNA on a list of nearly 300 co-conspirators filed in a criminal case charging that the Holy Land Foundation of Richardson, Texas, funneled more than 12 million dollars to Hamas.

The U.S. government designated Hamas as a terrorist group in 1995.

A trial in Dallas in 2007 for the foundation and five of its leaders ended with acquittals and mistrials.

However, Holy Land and the five officials were convicted of all 108 charges in a second trial last year.

A spokeswoman for the inaugural, Linda Douglass, however, hailed Mattson as "a widely respected faith leader with a stellar reputation." (ANI)