Head Of Arab-American Banquet Hall In Dearborn, Michigan Arrested For Funding Hezbollah

The Detroit Free Press reports:

Authorities have arrested a noted member of Dearborn's Arab-American community on charges of smuggling for and funding Hizballah, his attorney said.

Ali Hammoud, president of the Bint Jebail Cultural Center in Dearborn, was arrested at his Dearborn home late Friday by police on a felony arrest warrant requested by the FBI, said attorney Majed Moughni.

Hammoud heads the most well known banquet hall in Dearborn, a place where the Arab-American community often holds events. Prominent leaders, from CIA director Leon Panetta to former Governors John Engler and Jennifer Granholm, have spoken at the center.

"This is devastating to the community, to have one of its leaders sitting in jail," said attorney Moughni. "He's well-liked and well-known."...

Moughni said Hammoud is innocent and thinks that authorities may have mistaken him for someone else.

"This is uncalled for," he said.

Located in the eastern section of Dearborn, the Bint Jebail Cultural Center is named after a town in southern Lebanon where many Shia Muslims live. Hizballah is a group led by Lebanese Shia that the U.S. government classified as a terrorist group while some Arabs see them as a group that defended Lebanon against Israel....

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