US authorities allege Oregon imam assisted radicals – Medford News, Weather, Sports, Breaking News

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US authorities allege Oregon imam assisted radicals By The Associated Press Jul 20, 2015 12:00 AM A A PORTLAND — U.S. authorities are seeking to revoke the citizenship of an Oregon imam who they say tried to conceal past associations with radical Islamic groups. In a petition filed Monday in federal court in Portland, the U.S. Department of Justice says Mohamed Sheikh Abdirahman Kariye raised money, recruited fighters and provided training for insurgent groups battling Soviet forces in Afghanistan in the 1980s. Government lawyers say Kariye for a time "dealt directly" with al-Qaida founder Osama bin Laden and recruited sympathizers in the United States and Pakistan for an al-Qaida precursor known as Maktab Al-Khidamat. He's also accused of working with the Global Relief Foundation, which authorities say provided assistance to al-Qaida and other terror groups. Federal authorities say Kariye failed to reveal those details in his application for citizenship.