islamic trust nait type private ; not for profit ; tax exempt organization under section 501 c 3 of the internal revenue code founded plainfield indiana us 1973 1973 founder muslim students association headquarters oak brook il us area served us parent islamic society of north america subsidiaries allied asset advisors ; american trust publications ; islamic book service website nait.net the north american islamic trust nait is based in plainfield indiana owns islamic properties and promotes waqf islamic endowments in north america . many muslim institutions founded by immigrants who arrived in the usa during the 1960s have roots in the muslim students association where they were college activists . 1 2 in the 1970s and thereafter nait helped provide college students with a place to provide worship services . nait does not provide any financial or other monetary support to the muslim student association . nait serves as the trustee of about 200 islamic centers mosques and schools . the properties of those mosques are estimated to be worth in the hundreds of millions of dollars . 3 nait finances and holds titles to mosques islamic schools and other real estate to safeguard and pool the assets of the american muslim community develops financial vehicles and financial products that are compatible with both shari ah and american law publishes and distributes islamic literature provides legal advice to muslim organizations and facilitates and coordinates islamic community projects . 4 on october 20 2010 judges garza benavides and crone of the fifth circuit court of appeals found that the u.s. department of justice violated the fifth amendment rights of the north american islamic trust nait and by implication the rights of more than 300 similarly named muslim organizations and individuals such as cair when it included them on the publicly filed unindicted co conspirator list in 2007 . the court also ruled that inclusion on the list was the result of simply an untested allegation of the government made in anticipation of a possible evidentiary dispute that never came to pass . the listing is simply part of tactical pre trial maneuvering and not an indicator of guilt . in 2011 attorney general eric holder indicated that department of justice officials determined after looking at the facts and the law a prosecution would not be appropriate . this conclusion was reached after two reviews conducted under both the bush and obama administrations . contents 1 background 2 financial services 2.1 financing mosques and islamic schools 2.2 financial products and services 2.3 the dow jones islamic fund 3 islamic literature 3.1 american trust publications 3.2 islamic book service 4 controversy 5 references 6 external links background edit nait is a not for profit entity that qualifies as a tax exempt organization under section 501 c 3 of the internal revenue code . nait was established in 1973 in indiana by the muslim students association msa of the united states and canada the predecessor of the islamic society of north america isna by some of the same muslim brotherhood members who started the msa . 5 6 isna s president dr. ingrid mattson is a former member of the nait board of directors . 7 a sister organization under the same name registered a few years later in the canadian province of ontario . 8 nait supports and provides services to isna msa their affiliates and other islamic centers and institutions . 9 financial services edit financing mosques and islamic schools edit nait offers waqf protection to properties of mosques safeguards these community assets and ensures their conformity to islamic purposes . according to a report by the council on american islamic relations cair in 2000 nait funded an estimated 27 % of the 1 209 mosques in the us . 10 nait held title to over 320 properties as of june 2003 . title to about one in four mosques in the us are held by nait . 11 nait does not monitor manage or supervise any mosque community center school or place of worship . 1 nait facilitates the establishment of mosques such as the dar al hijrah islamic center the grounds of which were purchased on june 19 1983 by nait 12 and islamic schools by extending limited interest free loans to needy communities from its investment venture called the islamic centers cooperative fund iccf . about 8 % of this fund goes annually to support local communities acquiring and improving mosques . the remainder is placed in real estate and other investments . financial products and services edit nait develops islamic financial products that comply with shari ah while addressing the investment and financial needs of muslim organizations individuals and their businesses . over the last two decades nait has established and sponsored mutual funds that invest in companies which meet the universal ethical principles of islam . the dow jones islamic fund edit the dow jones islamic fund imanx is a no load mutual fund launched in june 2000 and offered by allied asset advisors a subsidiary of nait which in 2003 had over 35 million 45 022 612 today in assets . 13 nait invests in shari ah compliant companies . it includes among others shares of stocks from the dow jones islamic market indexes which consist solely of common stocks that meet universal islamic principles as advised by a shari ah supervisory board of six islamic scholars from six countries . 14 islamic literature edit nait says that the ever increasing muslim population in the us demands a variety of islamic literature . some publishers of certain islamic literature believe it maintains that the media and others misrepresent islam and muslims . nait says these publishers believe that this alleged misrepresentation necessitates the development of authentic islamic literature . nait believes it meets this need by publishing and distributing what it views as credible islamic literature . american trust publications edit american trust publications atp established by nait in 1976 is a publishing house that has published over 260 books mostly focusing on islamic faith and practice . 15 islamic book service edit islamic book service ibs established in 1965 offers a comprehensive stock of books by muslim scholars titles for children and multi media products . ibs sells over 2 500 book titles primarily in english and arabic cds dvds and audio and video tapes about islam and is one of the largest distributors of islamic books in the west . 16 controversy edit nait acts as a mosque title holder for more than several hundred mosques in the united states . since its inception in 1973 several incidents have taken place . the islamic academy of florida in hillsborough county florida and founded in 1992 by sami al arian was described in a 2003 federal indictment as a base of operations and support for a terrorist cell of the palestinian islamic jihad a group said to be responsible for the murders of more than 100 people . the indictment said the academy s offices were used to communicate with islamic jihad operatives and a woman seeking to support the palestinian cause was told simply to write a check to the academy . 17 on march 2 2006 al arian entered a guilty plea to a charge of conspiracy to help the palestinian islamic jihad a specially designated terrorist organization . 18 al arian was sentenced to 57 months in prison and ordered deported following his prison term . 19 in august 2004 mohammed m. hossain and yassin m. aref two leaders of a mosque in albany were arrested in a sting operation on charges that they took part in what they thought was a plot to import a shoulder fired missile and assassinate a pakistani diplomat in new york city . 20 they were convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2007 . in 2007 federal prosecutors brought charges against holy land foundation for allegedly funding terrorist activities of hamas and other islamic terrorist organizations . nait was named as an unindicted co conspirator in the case 21 along with the council on american islamic relations cair and isna . the al ahram weekly said muslims are witnessing a smear campaign and said these groups represent the viewpoints and interests of the mainstream american muslim community . . 22 in 2009 u.s. district court judge jorge solis found that the justice department violated the fifth amendment rights of the nait and cair in 2007 by including them on the co conspirator list . other terrorism connected mosques controlled by nait include the islamic society of boston where a dozen terrorists have worshipped including the 2013 boston marathon bombers dzhokhar tsarnaev and tamerlan tsarnaev ; islamic community center of phoenix where worshippers included two isis inspired terrorists who attacked a dallas area event in 2015 ; and dar al hijrah islamic center where some of the 9 11 hijackers worshipped and got help obtaining ids and housing followed by the 2009 fort hood shooter and several other terrorists who have attended the mosque just outside washington . 23 references edit the muslims of america yvonne yazbeck haddad oxford university press us 1993 isbn 0 19 508559 0 isbn 978 0 19 508559 4 accessed december 12 2009 islam and the blackamerican looking toward the third resurrection p. 71 sherman a. jackson oxford university press us 2005 isbn 0 19 518081 x 9780195180817 accessed december 12 2009 islamic group once tied to terror trial received thousands in farm subsidies without growing crops . foxnews.com . fox news . 1 february 2014 . retrieved 21 january 2016 . american jihad steven emerson simon & schuster 2003 isbn 0 7434 7750 2 isbn 978 0 7434 7750 5 accessed december 12 2009 muslims in america a short history p. 121 edward e. curtis oxford university press us 2009 isbn 0 19 536756 1 isbn 978 0 19 536756 0 accessed december 12 2009 mintz john and farah douglas in search of friends among the foes ; u.s. hopes to work with diverse group washington post september 11 2004 accessed december 12 2009 north american islamic trust about us religion and politics islam and muslim civilisation pp. 100 01 jan erik lane hamadi redissi ashgate publishing ltd. 2004 isbn 0 7546 4167 8 isbn 978 0 7546 4167 4 accessed december 12 2009 islam in black america identity liberation and difference in african american islamic thought p. 120 edward e. curtis suny press 2002 isbn 0 7914 5370 7 isbn 978 0 7914 5370 4 accessed december 12 2009 funding evil how terrorism is financed and how to stop it rachel ehrenfeld bonus books inc. 2005 isbn 1 56625 231 8 isbn 978 1 56625 231 7 accessed december 12 2009 struggle for the soul of islam hard liners won battle for bridgeview mosque infiltration how muslim spies and subversives have penetrated washington p. 338 paul e. sperry thomas nelson inc 2005 isbn 1 59555 003 8 isbn 978 1 59555 003 3 accessed december 12 2009 islamic index fund puts faith in finances social funds september 8 2000 accessed december 12 2009 murphy h. lee having faith in the markets and in a higher law crain s chicago business november 20 2000 accessed december 12 2009 philanthropy in america a comprehensive historical encyclopedia volume 3 p. 283 dwight burlingame abc clio 2004 isbn 1 57607 860 4 isbn 978 1 57607 860 0 accessed december 12 2009 the north american muslim resource guide muslim community life in the united states and canada ppl 65 110 mohamed nimer taylor & francis 2002 isbn 0 415 93728 0 isbn 978 0 415 93728 3 accessed december 12 2009 king robert local ties to islamic school are intricate st. petersburg times march 16 2003 accessed december 12 2009 plea agreement ; u.s. v. al arian pdf . february 28 2006 . retrieved march 8 2010 . meglaughlin in his plea deal what did sami al arian admit to