The Biden administration launched a civil rights investigation into anti-Muslim incidents at Harvard University based on a complaint from a Muslim legal fund that has represented convicted terrorists and pushed anti-Semitic rhetoric.
The Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights launched the investigation on Tuesday in response to a complaint from the Muslim Legal Fund of America, which claims that Muslim and Arab students have faced discrimination at Harvard University for taking part in anti-Israel protests at the school.
The group could prove a controversial litigant. Hatem Bazian, the Muslim Legal Fund of America's chairman, has called for "intifada" against the United States and circulated erroneous claims that the Israeli government illegally harvests Palestinians' organs. Bazian is also the founder of Students of Justice for Palestine, an anti-Israel group that has defended Hamas at campus protests across the country. Members of the group's George Washington University chapter projected the pro-Hamas phrase "glory to our martyrs" onto the school's library. The group's national chapter organized a "day of resistance" in support of Hamas a day after the terrorist attack, in which more than 1,000 Israelis were slaughtered.
The Muslim Legal Fund of America, which launched in the wake of 9/11, has raised money and provided legal defense for Islamic terrorists convicted in some of the country's biggest terrorism cases. The group raised money for and represented the "Holy Land Five," a group of officials at an Islamic relief charity who were convicted of funding Hamas.
The fund also represented Aafia Siddiqui, dubbed "Lady Al Qaeda" for her connections to the terrorist group. Siddiqui, who said at her trial that she did not want "Zionist Jews" on her jury, was sentenced in 2010 to 86 years in prison on attempted murder and other charges.
Sami al-Arian, a Florida professor who pleaded guilty to raising money for the terrorist group Palestinian Islamic Jihad, tapped the fund to cover his legal expenses. The group hailed al-Arian as a "leading champion" of Muslim-American civil rights who was the victim of an "overzealous government."
The Muslim Legal Fund of America also represented Hafiz Khan, a Miami imam convicted in 2013 for funding the Pakistani Taliban. The legal fund claimed as part of a fundraising drive for Khan that he was arrested for "educating children."
The Department of Education is opening its probe of Harvard as President Joe Biden tries to placate Muslim voters upset over his handling of the Gaza war. Biden campaign manager Julie Chávez Rodriguez last week visited Dearborn, Michigan, the largest Muslim community in the country. She met with Osama Siblani, an influential Dearborn leader who has called Hamas "freedom fighters" and refers to Biden as "Genocide Joe."
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona has met with other Muslim activists who have espoused support for terrorist groups. In November, he met Lina Assi, an official at the group Palestine Legal, to discuss anti-Muslim activities on college campuses. Assi has called for "intifada" and praised the terrorist group Hezbollah as "crucial and important," the Washington Free Beacon reported.
The Department of Education said it does not comment on pending civil rights investigations.