Ali Ghaleb Himmat

Himmat, Ali Ghaleb
Born 16 June 1938
Damascus, Syria
Occupation Businessperson

Ali Ghaleb Himmat (Arabic: علي غالب همت‎; born 16 June 1938 in Damascus, Syria) is an Italian businessman who lives in Campione d'Italia, Italy, near Youssef Nada. [1] [2] [3]

Personal life

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Himmat and Nada lived in the USA. [3] In 1990 he received Italian citizenship.[4]

His daughter Huda Himmat was deputy chair of the Forum of European Muslim Youth and Student Organizations (FEMYSO).[4]

Religious Activities

According to Ian Denis Johnson, author of the book A Mosque in Munich, Himmat is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood in Europe.[1] From 1973 to 2002 Himmat ran the Islamic Community of Germany (IGD).[5][6] Ibrahim El-Zayat, a former shareholder of al Taqwa, succeeded Himmat as Chairman of the IGD.[7]

Business Activities

Himmat was managing director and co-founder of al Taqwa Bank, a company founded in Lugano in 1988. [3] [8] [9]

Accusations of criminal activity

Al Taqwa Bank

Al Taqwa Bank has been accused of supporting al Qaeda. [10] [11]

Exoneration

In 2005 the Attorney General of Switzerland canceled the criminal proceedings against the two Al Taqwa leaders Youssef Nada and Ghaleb Himmat. [10] On 6 July 2009 US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recommended removing Himmat and al-Taqwa from the UNSCR 1267 sanctions list.[12] Himmat was removed from the list on 10 August 2009. [13]

Egyptian Military Trial

In April 2008 an Egyptian military court sentenced Himmat in absentia to ten years in prison for money laundering and supporting a banned organization. [14] [15] On 26 July 2012, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi pardoned Himmat along with other Muslim Brotherhood officials sentenced by the previous regime.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Frappierende Parallelen Leseprobe "Die vierte Moschee" von Ian Johnson, Internetseite der Zeitung Freitag [broken link]
  2. ↑ Commission Regulation (EC) No. 866/2003 of 19 May 2003 amending Council Regulation (EC) No. 881/2002 imposing certain specific restrictive measures directed against certain persons and entities associated with Usama bin Laden EUR-Lex
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Capitalism's Achilles heel: dirty money and how to renew the free-market system" Raymond W. Baker, Verlag John Wiley and Sons, 2005. ISBN 0471644889 . Page 125 in Google books [broken link]
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Women, equality and Islam: Rethinking the faith to meet the expectations of modern man Samir Khalil Samir, AsiaNews 03/02/2010
  5. ↑ Über uns at the Wayback Machine (archived February 16, 2006) IGD Webseite.
  6. ↑ Guter Muslim Beat Balzli, Der Spiegel 46/2001, 12 November 2001
  7. ↑ Wendiger Weltmann Andrea Brandt, Der Spiegel Spezial 2/2008, 25 March 2008
  8. ↑ Adrian Morgan:Exclusive: The Muslim Brotherhood's Long-Standing War On The West: Part Three (of Four) Family Security Matters Archive, 6 June 2007
  9. ↑ Brothers at bay - Egypt's government battles with the Muslim Brotherhood The Economist 17. April 2008
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Verdacht gegen Al Taqwa nicht erhärtet swissinfo 2 June 2005
  11. ↑ Nada scagionato Telegiornale, swissinfo.ch 1 June 2005
  12. ↑ Clinton, Hillary. 09STATE69814. US State Department cables. Via Wikileaks and Cryptome. 6 July 2009.
  13. ↑ U.N. Security Council (10 August 2009). "SC9730". Retrieved 16 November 2012.
  14. ↑ Egyptian Brethren appear in court BBC, 4 June 2007
  15. ↑ Egypt: Military Court Convicts Opposition Leaders Human Rights Watch 15 April 2008