Laila Al-Marayati
Encyclopedia
Laila Al-Marayati is a Palestinian-American doctor and Islamic activist, and former presidential appointee to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, where she served for two years after being appointed by President Bill Clinton
.
Al-Marayati was born in 1962 and was raised in Los Angeles
. Her father, the late Dr. Sabri El Farra, was originally from the Gaza Strip and her mother is from Missouri.
She earned her medical degree from UC-Irvine, and received specialty training in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Los Angeles County USC
Women's Hospital. After, she opened her own practice focusing on gynecology, which she ran for 11 years. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine. She also serves as the Director of Women's Health at the Eisner Pediatric and Family Medical Center in downtown Los Angeles.
In the 1990s, Al-Marayati served as a member of the US State Department's Advisory Committee on Religious Freedom Abroad, and was a member of the official US Delegation to the United Nations
Fourth World Conference on Women
in Beijing
, China
, alongside former-First Lady Hillary Rodham-Clinton, in 1995.
From 1999 to 2001, she served as a presidential appointee to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).
She is married to Salam al-Marayati, the controversial, Iraqi-born executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council
(MPAC), whose co-founders --- Egypt-born physicians Hassan Hathout and his brother Maher (10 years Hassan's junior) --- were first-generation acolytes of Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan al-Banna
.
She is currently the chairperson of KinderUSA, which describes itself as a non-profit American organization providing humanitarian assistance to Palestinian children and their families in the West Bank, Gaza and Lebanon.
However, KinderUSA has known ties to terrorism. In Apr. 2006, the U.S. Dept. of Treasury froze its assets, along with those of KindHearts for Charitable Humanitarian Development. Both were Islamic charities founded in 2002 by former officers of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development
to replace it after the Treasury Dept. in Dec. 2001 closed HLF and froze its assets for funding Hamas.
In Nov. 2008, five HLF officers were convicted on all 108 of 108 charges of money laundering, tax fraud and terror-financing. KindHearts had registered in Ohio in 2002, maintaining operations in Colorado, Indiana, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Nevada. In 2002, KindHearts donated $20,000 to KinderUSA. In 2006, Stuart Levey, then Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, said KindHearts was HLF progeny and tried to mask its terror-funding behind a charity façade.
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
.
Al-Marayati was born in 1962 and was raised in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. Her father, the late Dr. Sabri El Farra, was originally from the Gaza Strip and her mother is from Missouri.
She earned her medical degree from UC-Irvine, and received specialty training in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Los Angeles County USC
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
Women's Hospital. After, she opened her own practice focusing on gynecology, which she ran for 11 years. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine. She also serves as the Director of Women's Health at the Eisner Pediatric and Family Medical Center in downtown Los Angeles.
In the 1990s, Al-Marayati served as a member of the US State Department's Advisory Committee on Religious Freedom Abroad, and was a member of the official US Delegation to the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Fourth World Conference on Women
Fourth World Conference on Women
The United Nations convened the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace on 4-15 September 1995 in Beijing, China. 189 governments and more than 5,000 representatives from 2,100 non-governmental organizations participated in the Conference...
in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, alongside former-First Lady Hillary Rodham-Clinton, in 1995.
From 1999 to 2001, she served as a presidential appointee to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).
She is married to Salam al-Marayati, the controversial, Iraqi-born executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council
Muslim Public Affairs Council
The Muslim Public Affairs Council is a national American Muslim advocacy and public policy organization headquartered in Los Angeles and with offices in Washington D.C...
(MPAC), whose co-founders --- Egypt-born physicians Hassan Hathout and his brother Maher (10 years Hassan's junior) --- were first-generation acolytes of Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan al-Banna
Hassan al-Banna
Sheikh Hasan Ahmed Abdel Rahman Muhammed al-Banna known as Hasan al-Banna was a schoolteacher and imam, best known for founding the Muslim Brotherhood, one of the largest and most influential 20th century Muslim revivalist organizations.-Early life:Banna was born in 1906 in Mahmoudiyah, Egypt...
.
She is currently the chairperson of KinderUSA, which describes itself as a non-profit American organization providing humanitarian assistance to Palestinian children and their families in the West Bank, Gaza and Lebanon.
However, KinderUSA has known ties to terrorism. In Apr. 2006, the U.S. Dept. of Treasury froze its assets, along with those of KindHearts for Charitable Humanitarian Development. Both were Islamic charities founded in 2002 by former officers of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development
Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development
The Holy Land Foundation was the largest Islamic charity in the United States. Headquartered in Richardson, Texas, it was originally known as Occupied Land Fund....
to replace it after the Treasury Dept. in Dec. 2001 closed HLF and froze its assets for funding Hamas.
In Nov. 2008, five HLF officers were convicted on all 108 of 108 charges of money laundering, tax fraud and terror-financing. KindHearts had registered in Ohio in 2002, maintaining operations in Colorado, Indiana, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Nevada. In 2002, KindHearts donated $20,000 to KinderUSA. In 2006, Stuart Levey, then Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, said KindHearts was HLF progeny and tried to mask its terror-funding behind a charity façade.