Ali Ghaleb Himmat

Himmat, Ali Ghaleb
Born (1938-06-16) 16 June 1938 (age 86)
Damascus, Syria
OccupationBusinessperson

Ali Ghaleb Himmat (Arabic: علي غالب همت; born 16 June 1938 in Damascus, Syria) is an Italian businessman who lives in Campione d'Italia, Italy, near Youssef Nada.[1][2][3]

Personal life

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Himmat and Nada lived in the United States.[3] In 1990 he received Italian citizenship.[4]

His daughter Huda Himmat was deputy chair of the Forum of European Muslim Youth and Student Organizations (FEMYSO).[4]

Business activities

Himmat was managing director and co-founder of al Taqwa Bank, a company founded in Lugano in 1988.[3][5]

Religious activities

According to Ian Denis Johnson, author of the book A Mosque in Munich, Himmat is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood in Europe.[1] From 1973 to 2002 Himmat ran the Islamic Community of Germany (IGD).[6][7] Ibrahim El-Zayat, a former shareholder of the al Taqwa Bank, succeeded Himmat as Chairman of the IGD.[8]

Accusations of criminal activity

In early 2005, Al Taqwa Bank was accused of supporting al Qaeda.[9][10] In 2005 the Attorney General of Switzerland canceled the criminal proceedings against the two Al Taqwa leaders Youssef Nada and Ghaleb Himmat.[9]

Himmat was removed from the UNSCR 1267 sanctions list on 10 August 2009.[11]

In April 2008 an Egyptian military court sentenced Himmat in absentia to ten years in prison for money laundering and supporting a banned organization.[12][13] On 26 July 2012, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi pardoned Himmat along with other Muslim Brotherhood officials sentenced by the Mubarak regime.[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ a b Frappierende Parallelen Leseprobe "Die vierte Moschee" von Ian Johnson, Internetseite der Zeitung Freitag [broken link]
  2. ^ Commission Regulation (EC) No. 866/2003 of 19 May 2003 amending Council Regulation (EC) No. 881/2002 imposing certain specific restrictive measures directed against certain persons and entities associated with Usama bin Laden EUR-Lex
  3. ^ a b c "Capitalism's Achilles heel: dirty money and how to renew the free-market system" Raymond W. Baker, Verlag John Wiley and Sons, 2005. ISBN 0471644889 . Page 125 in Google books [broken link]
  4. ^ a b Women, equality and Islam: Rethinking the faith to meet the expectations of modern man Samir Khalil Samir, AsiaNews 03/02/2010
  5. ^ Brothers at bay – Egypt's government battles with the Muslim Brotherhood The Economist 17. April 2008
  6. ^ "Über uns". Archived from the original on 16 February 2006. Retrieved 1 July 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) IGD Webseite.
  7. ^ Guter Muslim Beat Balzli, Der Spiegel 46/2001, 12 November 2001
  8. ^ Wendiger Weltmann Andrea Brandt, Der Spiegel Spezial 2/2008, 25 March 2008
  9. ^ a b Verdacht gegen Al Taqwa nicht erhärtet swissinfo 2 June 2005
  10. ^ Nada scagionato[permanent dead link‍] Telegiornale, swissinfo.ch 1 June 2005
  11. ^ U.N. Security Council (10 August 2009). "SC9730". Retrieved 16 November 2012.
  12. ^ Egyptian Brethren appear in court BBC, 4 June 2007
  13. ^ Egypt: Military Court Convicts Opposition Leaders Human Rights Watch 15 April 2008