The bank claimed its move to close the Islamic center's account was acted in good faith and for “valid” reasons.

NEWARK, N.J., February 23, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – The Muslim community in the United States slammed a decision by a North Jersey bank to close an Islamic Center's bank account for no valid reasons, urging a probe into what they deemed “an arbitrary move”.

Days before the Muslim pilgrimage, the Hudson United Bank closed the account of the Islamic Educational Center of North Hudson, a move that created major difficulties for the American Muslims seeking to pay for hotel rooms and other travel needs, said the Washington-based Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Tuesday, February 22.

“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 CAIR's New Jersey chapter, according to CAIR’s Web site.

“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.”

On December 14, the bank sent a letter to the Islamic center saying that it “has recently performed a review of the above-referenced account and, unfortunately, will no longer be able to service your financial needs,” according to the Associated Press (AP).

“As Hudson United Bank reserves the right to close an account at any time, we are requesting that you provide us with written instructions to transfer your account within thirty days of the date of this letter.”

“Valid” Reasons

The bank claimed that “there was a discrepancy in the names of one of the officers,” said Yousef Abdallah, the Union City center's outreach director, according to CAIR’s Web site.

That should not justify closing an account for a center that has “never so much as bounced a check”.

Following the bank’s decision, the Islamic center transferred its money, totaling about $100,000, to a different bank that was happy to have its business, Abdallah added.

The bank, for its part, declared in a statement Tuesday that its move to close the center's account was acted in good faith and for what it termed “valid” reasons, according to the AP.

“Hudson United Bank and its employees are committed to providing its customers with quality banking services and products,” wrote Jacques Driscoll, the bank’s executive vice president for retail banking.

“Factors that include, but are not limited to, race, color, ethnicity, religion, gender or marital status are not considered with regard to determinations concerning the extension of credit or in the opening or closing of deposit accounts.”

A recent nation-wide poll, conducted by the Cornell University , showed that at least 44 percent of Americans backs curbing Muslims’ civil rights and monitoring their places of worship.

A May 2004 report released by the US Senate Office Of Research concluded that Arab Americans and the Muslim community in the US have taken the brunt of the Patriot Act and other federal powers applied in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.