A prominent New Jersey bank closed the account of the Islamic Educational Center of North Hudson, right before the hajj pilgrimage if you can believe it, and CAIR wants to know why: Hudson United slams bank doors on Islamic center.

Muslim groups want to know why a bank closed a Union City Islamic center’s three bank accounts.

Hudson United Bank closed the Islamic Educational Center of North Hudson’s accounts just before last month’s hajj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia. That action created difficulties for Muslims seeking to pay for hotel rooms and other travel needs, according to Yousef Abdallah, the center’s outreach director.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a nationwide civil rights group based in Washington, has written to the bank asking for an explanation of the closure, but has not received a response.

“The seemingly arbitrary nature of the decision to close the account is of concern to the Muslim community in New Jersey,” said Magdy Mahmoud, president of the group’s New Jersey chapter. “Hudson United Bank should launch an immediate internal investigation of this incident to eliminate the possibility that anti-Muslim bias played a role in the decision.”

Well, apparently the bank already sent them a detailed explanation.

Recently, the Bank has received inquiries regarding the closing of certain accounts that had been maintained by the North Hudson Islamic Education Center. The Bank provided the North Hudson Islamic Education Center with a detailed letter dated December 31, 2004 explaining the reasons that the deposit accounts were closed. The Bank believes that any reader of the December 31, 2004 letter would conclude that the religious affiliation of the depositor was not a factor in the Bank’s decision to close the accounts. Hudson United Bank strenuously rejects any suggestion that the depositor’s religious affiliation played any role in the closing of the accounts and encourages that further inquiries regarding the basis for the closing of these account be directed to the North Hudson Islamic Education Center. State and federal privacy laws prevent Hudson United Bank from publicly disclosing the reasons for closing the accounts to any parties other than to its customer.