Massive Blow to Muslim Brotherhood, ICE Detains MAS Dallas Leader Marwan Marouf
The detention of Marwan Marouf — a top MAS Dallas leader and brother-in-law to the Elashi family at the center of the Holy Land Foundation terror-finance convictions — marks a rare but decisive federal strike against the Muslim Brotherhood’s entrenched network in Texas.
Federal immigration authorities this week detained Marwan Marouf, a top official of the Muslim American Society (MAS) in Dallas and the brother-in-law of a member of the Elashi family at the heart of the Holy Land Foundation terror-financing case. This arrest represents a significant win in the fight against militant Islamic influence in the United States — and a direct strike at the Hamas support networks that once made Dallas ground zero for Islamic financing.
According to immigration records, Marouf first entered the United States more than 30 years ago as an international student. He later married and raised a family in North Texas, and for over a decade, he pursued permanent legal residency through his employer. But those applications repeatedly stalled amid federal scrutiny of his charitable and organizational affiliations. On the very day of his detention, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services formally denied his green card petition — echoing prior findings that flagged his activities more than a decade earlier.
But Marouf’s arrest is not just about his MAS role — it is explosive because of his deep family ties to Hamas’s U.S. support network and direct links to the most infamous terrorism-financing prosecution in American history.
According to contemporaneous Associated Press reporting, Marouf is the brother-in-law of Bayan Elashi, one of the Dallas businessmen prosecuted alongside his brothers in the 2002 Infocom case. During those arrests, Marouf was publicly identified as a family spokesman, telling reporters the Elashis were being unfairly targeted and portraying the family as victims of government overreach.
That Infocom prosecution was no minor business case — it was the first major blow to Hamas’s U.S. network. In 2004–2005, all five Elashi brothers were convicted in federal court on charges ranging from illegal computer exports to Libya and Syria, to money laundering. Even more damning, prosecutors proved they conspired with Mousa Abu Marzook — Hamas’s political bureau chief and their own cousin by marriage.
U.S. Attorney Richard Roper warned at sentencing: “Those who knowingly violate the laws prohibiting any transactions with terrorist organizations can expect prosecution and lengthy incarceration.” Bayan received an 84-month prison sentence, Ghassan and Basman each received 80 months, Hazim received 66 months, and Ihsan received 72 months, while Infocom itself was convicted and placed on probation.
That case proved to be the prelude to the far more famous Holy Land Foundation prosecution just a few years later. Ghassan Elashi — already convicted in the Infocom trial — also served as chairman of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF). In 2008, he and four others were found guilty on 108 counts of funneling $12.4 million to Hamas under the guise of charity, in what remains the largest terrorism-financing trial in American history.
Federal immigration authorities this week detained Marwan Marouf, a top official of the Muslim American Society (MAS) in Dallas and the brother-in-law of a member of the Elashi family at the heart of the Holy Land Foundation terror-financing case. This arrest represents a significant win in the fight against militant Islamic influence in the United States — and a direct strike at the Hamas support networks that once made Dallas ground zero for Islamic financing.
According to immigration records, Marouf first entered the United States more than 30 years ago as an international student. He later married and raised a family in North Texas, and for over a decade, he pursued permanent legal residency through his employer. But those applications repeatedly stalled amid federal scrutiny of his charitable and organizational affiliations. On the very day of his detention, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services formally denied his green card petition — echoing prior findings that flagged his activities more than a decade earlier.
But Marouf’s arrest is not just about his MAS role — it is explosive because of his deep family ties to Hamas’s U.S. support network and direct links to the most infamous terrorism-financing prosecution in American history.
According to contemporaneous Associated Press reporting, Marouf is the brother-in-law of Bayan Elashi, one of the Dallas businessmen prosecuted alongside his brothers in the 2002 Infocom case. During those arrests, Marouf was publicly identified as a family spokesman, telling reporters the Elashis were being unfairly targeted and portraying the family as victims of government overreach.
That Infocom prosecution was no minor business case — it was the first major blow to Hamas’s U.S. network. In 2004–2005, all five Elashi brothers were convicted in federal court on charges ranging from illegal computer exports to Libya and Syria, to money laundering. Even more damning, prosecutors proved they conspired with Mousa Abu Marzook — Hamas’s political bureau chief and their own cousin by marriage.
U.S. Attorney Richard Roper warned at sentencing: “Those who knowingly violate the laws prohibiting any transactions with terrorist organizations can expect prosecution and lengthy incarceration.” Bayan received an 84-month prison sentence, Ghassan and Basman each received 80 months, Hazim received 66 months, and Ihsan received 72 months, while Infocom itself was convicted and placed on probation.
That case proved to be the prelude to the far more famous Holy Land Foundation prosecution just a few years later. Ghassan Elashi — already convicted in the Infocom trial — also served as chairman of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF). In 2008, he and four others were found guilty on 108 counts of funneling $12.4 million to Hamas under the guise of charity, in what remains the largest terrorism-financing trial in American history.
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