There is a great deal going on under the surface in the Muslim communities in the Boston area. I have an imperfect understanding of what's going on (to say the least), but nonetheless I try to point out and comment on things that strike me as significant, but that aren't getting coverage in the media. Today and tomorrow, I'll try to tackle some recent developments one by one. Today we start with Jessica Masse, the new interfaith coordinator and spokesman for the Islamic Society of Boston (ISB)...

...Ms. Masse, it's not news to anybody that the Saudi government and Saudi organizations have been financially supporting and exporting a radical Wahabi/Salafi version of Islam around the world for a few decades now. Many Muslims decry the increasing influence of Saudi fundamentalism in mosques across Europe, Southeast Asia, Northern Africa and the U.S. A moderate imam in Dublin, Ireland (of all places!) is speaking out forcefully against the Islamic extremism he sees in mosques. While we cannot assume that any Saudi funding is linked to terrorism, it is reasonable and prudent to investigate Middle Eastern funding of a mosque in Boston, Massachusetts. It is worthy of scrutiny...

Well, actually we were speaking about Imam Hafiz Muhammed Masood, former former imam from the Islamic Center of New England. While no local papers have reported this, Masood happens to the brother of Hafiz Saeed, the founder of a notorious terrorist group in Pakistan, Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET). It's been reported in newspapers in India and Pakistan, but not in the U.S. Not sure why, that sounds like news to me.

It also turns out that the other arrested imam, Hafiz Muhammad Hannan of the Islamic Society of Lowell, is Saeed's brother-in-law. And Hafiz Mahmood Hamid, the imam of the Islamic Society of Greater Worcester, is Saeed's brother. What a curious family affair we have going on here in Massachusetts! What are the chances?...

With his visa status already in question, the spiritual leader of the Islamic Center of New England’s mosque in Sharon may soon be a man without a home.

The directors of the Islamic Center have given the Imam Muhammed Masood and his family notice to leave their residence on the grounds of the Sharon mosque.

Brookline attorney George Garfinkle, representing the board, said last night the Pakistani cleric has been asked to leave ‘‘sometime soon,’’ though not by a specific date...

...Garfinkle also confirmed that some former Islamic Center board members have been called before a federal grand jury in Boston over the past month in connection with the investigation of Imam Masood’s alleged visa violations.

He did not identify who was called. Board president Rashid Noor of Norton declined comment about the grand jury appearances.

Imam Masood is expected to have a visa hearing within the next few months. He could be deported at that time...

Leave it to Lane Lambert of the Patriot Ledger to get the scoop here. Imam Hafiz Muhammed Masood, one of two area imams arrested in religious visa fraud charges last November (2006), apparently was the subject of a Federal Grand Jury this week...