Here we go again. The New York branch of Fox News shrieks: Mosque Investor Was Terror Contributor.

Except that, uh, he wasn’t.

An Egyptian who’s contributing some money to Park51 once donated money to the Holy Land Foundation — before 9/11, years before the charity was known to be connected to Hamas, because he thought he was donating money for an orphanage. Like thousands of other people did.

Out of this information, Fox gets the headline that he was a “terror contributor.” And of course, the usual idiot’s chorus of anti-Muslim bigot blogs is all over it.

Ugh. This has become a flat out witch hunt now. Everyone who donates money to the Park51 project is going to have their entire past dug up, distorted, and used against them.

UPDATE at 9/3/10 5:13:14 pm:

The Associated Press report on the latest nontroversy underscores the absurdity of trying to make this connection:

Many other donors to the foundation gave thinking their donations would fund humanitarian programs.

Other people and companies who donated money, equipment or services to the foundation the year Elzanaty gave included NBA star Hakeem Olajuwon, the Microsoft Corp., and a medical equipment company owned by General Electric, according to tax records.

When the foundation’s leaders were indicted, Attorney General John Ashcroft said, the case was not “a reflection on the well-meaning people who may have donated funds to the foundation.”