The Boston Herald reports that the Islamic Society of Boston, a group preparing to build the largest mosque in the Northeast, has long-standing ties to a radical Egyptian cleric who praises suicide bombings—and to American Muslim Council leader Abdurahman Alamoudi, who has publicly supported Hamas and Hizb’Allah and is currently under arrest for suspected terrorist financing: Outspoken cleric, jailed activist tied to new Hub mosque.

The Islamic Society of Boston, which has city approval to build a sprawling $22 million Islamic cultural center and mosque on Malcolm X Boulevard, has had a long association with Dr. Yusuf Abdullah al-Qaradawi, whose vocal support of the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas prompted the State Department to bar him from entering the U.S. four years ago.

The local religious organization, now headquartered on Prospect Street in Cambridge, was founded by Abdurahman Muhammad Alamoudi - a high-profile Washington, D.C. activist who has publicly supported Hamas, Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations.

Alamoudi was arrested Sept. 28 at Dulles International Airport in Virginia and charged with making illegal trips to Libya and accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars from the Libyan government in violation of U.S. law.

Last Thursday, Alamoudi was indicted for his dealings with Libya and portrayed by prosecutors as a key financier for militant Islamic groups and terrorist organizations.

In that case, the U.S. government alleges Alamoudi funneled more than $230,000 to two front organizations for terrorist Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda network, as well as more than $100,000 to groups funding Hamas.

A lawyer representing the Islamic Society of Boston said the local group is not militant or extremist, and is in no way connected to Islamic terrorism.

However, public records indicate Al-Qaradawi and Alamoudi have both held leadership positions with the Islamic Society of Boston.