- Talat M. Othman
Talat M. Othman (b. April 27, 1936 in Betunia, Palestine) is a prominent Palestinian-American businessman, investor and Republican fundraiser. Among other things he is notable for having opened the July 31 session of the 2000
Republican National Convention with a "dua'a", orMuslim benediction , marking the first time a Muslim had addressed a major US political gathering.Career synopsis
* 1947 – emigrated to the
United States with his family.
* early-mid 1970s – executive in the International Banking Department ofHarris Trust and Savings Bank in Chicago.
* 1987 – joined the board ofHarken Energy to represent the interests ofAbdullah Taha Bakhsh . Served as chair of the three member Audit Committee of whichGeorge W. Bush was a member.
* 1990 – among 15 Arab-Americans invited to the White House after Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait. [ [http://www.thedubyareport.com/bushbin.html The Dubya Report - Family Affair: the Bushes and the Bin Ladens ] ]
* 1995 – formed Grove Financial, Inc. of Chicago and currently serves as its Chairman and CEO.
* 2000 – opened the July 31, 2000 session of the RNC with a Muslim benediction. [ [http://www.islamicinstitute.org/pressr/news-july-31-2000.htm Islamic Institute ] ]
* April 4, 2002 – Othman joins Islamic Institute headKhaled Saffuri in a meeting with Treasury SecretaryPaul O'Neill (arranged byGrover Norquist ) as representatives of the Muslim-American community, to voice complaints about the March 20 raid on theInternational Institute of Islamic Thought and 19 related entities.Other affiliations
* former board member of the
Illinois Finance Authority .
* member of theChicago Council on Foreign Relations Independent Task Force.
*Middle East Policy Council , boardmember.
*American Task Force on Palestine , Secretary / Treasurer.
*American Muslim Council , founding chairman.
* Chairman,Islamic Free Market Institute , founded byGrover Norquist andKhaled Saffuri .
* Boardmember,Amana Mutual Funds Trust , along withJamal al Barzinji andYaqub Mirza .
* Others:Bank One Wisconsin Corp , Dansk International Design, Hartmarx Corp,Tejas Power Corp andPathoGenesis Corp .Footnotes
References
* http://www.hanania.com/profiles/Rezko06-08-05.htm
* http://www.secinfo.com/dNCa2.32.htmExternal links
* [http://www.namebase.org/main4/Talat-M-Othman.html NameBase - Othman Talat M]
* [http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/entity.jsp?entity=talat_othman CooperativeResearch - Talat Othman]
* [http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Talat_Othman SourceWatch - Talat Othman]
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