By Ben Barrack
**SHOEBAT EXCLUSIVE**

Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), the soon-to-be talk radio Congressman is putting another highly disturbing notch in his belt. He is scheduled to be the keynote speaker at an event that will have Ground Zero mosque imam Feisal Abdul Rauf and his wife Daisy Khan as guests of honor.

When viewed in conjunction with all the suspect things Rogers has done relative to the Benghazi investigation (and his defense of Huma Abedin as an ‘American patriot’) – which Shoebat.com has chronicled – this is perhaps one of his more shameful.

But this is not the most troubling news. The host of the event which House Intelligence Committee chairman will be delivering the keynote speech is the Vice President of a Muslim Organization that is once held senior positions with a government is identified as a State Sponsor of Terrorism. At the time, Osama bin Laden lived in that country, where he was seeking safe harbor. The leader of that country is still in power and is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity.

ICRD Dinner announcement.

While ICRD’s connections to Muslim Brotherhood front groups in the U.S. – laid out in a letter to Rogers – is itself disturbing, the connections of the organization’s Vice President to a State Sponsor of Terrorism should be greater cause for alarm, not just concern.

The ICRD website lists Abubaker Y. Ahmed Al-Shingieti as its Vice President for Preventive Engagement. Shoebat.com has written extensively about al-Shingieti [here and here].

In additioin to al-Shingieti’s role with Muslim Brotherhood front, the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), he also has a history that includes time as an extremely prominent figure with the government of Sudan at a time when Osama bin Laden was hiding there. Shockingly, his bio on the ICRD website doesn’t hide it, though few people might recognize the significance:

As Shoebat.com has reported on extensively, the older brother of the President of the United States – Malik Obama – works as an Executive Secretary for the Islamic Da’wa Organization (IDO) under Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir, a figure wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity. Sudan remains listed by the U.S. State Department as a State Sponsor of Terrorism. It was originally designated as such in 1993, when al-Shingieti was a top propagandist for al-Bashir.

Al-Shingieti and Rauf are also familiar with one another:

Shingieti (L) with Feisal Abdul Rauf (R) at CFR event in 2013.

Perhaps not so coincidentally, the Obama administration wants to have Sudan removed from the list, as revealed by Shoebat.com.

As for Rogers, a former FBI Special Agent, he must know the background of this organization. In fact, as was reported to Shoebat.com by a confidential source earlier this year, Rogers also knows about Malik’s ties to the government of Sudan and was looking into the case during his trip to Egypt.

Rep. Rogers meets with Egypt’s Gen. Abdel Fatah el-Sisi in February.

On a 2008 page from its website, ICRD lists quotes from prominent figures who’ve issued praise for the group, to include McFarlane who is scheduled to join Rogers at the ICRD dinner. Another quote, attributed to a former U.S. Senator is eerily significant in light of al-Shingieti’s ties to al-Bashir:

“In Kashmir, none of the ‘old hands’ would have imagined that you could have achieved the measure of reconciliation you have already established.” – Robert McFarlane, former U.S. National Security Advisor

“I appreciate the Center’s work to resolve one of Sudan’s most difficult issues.” – Senator John Danforth, U.S. Ambassador to U.N. at the time.

“The International Center for Religion and Diplomacy is doing important and worthwhile work.” – Colin Powell, U.S. Secretary of State

“The work which ICRD has accomplished has been the product of great patience and perseverance.” – Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, Archbishop of Washington

The behavior of Rogers as Intelligence Committee chairman relative to the Benghazi investigation has been incredibly suspect. This latest development should raise serious eyebrows.