Muslim Charity Sues Scholar, Think Tank, and Publisher

KinderUSA, a Muslim-American charity that helps children in war-torn areas around the world, has sued Yale University Press for libel, reports The Chronicle of Higher Education.

The group is suing based on a book released by the company, titled Hamas: Politics, Charity, and Terrorism in the Service of Jihad.

The book was written by Matthew Levitt, who directs a program on intelligence, terror, and policy at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a think tank in the District of Columbia. Mr. Levitt and the institute have been named as co-defendants in the lawsuit in addition to Yale University Press.

The book alleges that KinderUSA supports the terrorist organization Hamas and has ties to the Al Qaeda network. The charity says it asked the university press and the think tank to issue a public retraction, but was met with refusals.

The press defends the book, saying in a statement, “The authors of Hamas, Matthew Levitt and the Washington Institute, stand by the material contained in the book and have assured us that they have presented such material accurately.”

For more on the investigation of Muslim charities, read The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

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