Ten years ago, the founders of the Richardson Texas-based Holy Land Foundation -- the largest Islamic charity organization in the United States at the time -- were found guilty of a variety of charges including conspiracy, money laundering, terrorist finance, and tax evasion. In 2009 the five defendants, now commonly known as the HLF five, were given sentences of between fifteen and sixty-five years in prison for funneling money to Hamas through a charity front organization and for other terror-related activities. The case is often looked to as an unequivocal victory over shadowy Islamist figures intent on civilizational jihad. However, few are aware of the profoundly negative effect the trial had on the local and national coverage of terrorist finance cases like HLF. Todd Bensman was a reporter for the Dallas Morning News from 1993 to 2003. He remembers the strategic campaign launched against the Dallas Morning News by such organizations as Muslims Against Defamation at...(Read Full Article)