Ex-Reagan Appointee Charged in Terror Conspiracy
Posted January 16, 2008 
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The former Republican congressman from Michigan, Mark Deli Siljander, who served two terms in the House of Representatives and was appointed by Ronald Reagan to serve as a delegate to the United Nations was charged with money laundering, conspiracy and obstructing justice for allegedly lying about lobbying senators on behalf of an Islamic charity that authorities said was secretly sending funds to terrorists.
A 42-count indictment which accuses the Islamic American Relief Agency of paying Siljander $50,000 for the lobbying was unsealed in the District Court in Kansas City, Mo. today. The alleged money that Siljander was paid turned out to be stolen from the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Mark Deli Siljander takes an interest in conflict resolution, particularly in Islamic countries, and in recent years has tried to publicize the common ground between Christianity and Islam, particularly in the Koran’s portrayal of Jesus. This is a turnaround from a previous position in which he objected to the Koran being read at a prayer breakfast, asking the emcee: “How can you read the book of the devil at a prayer breakfast?”
Siljander is widely traveled, and claims to have visited over 120 countries. He is also one of the few American politicians to have visited Libya in recent years. Siljander was born in Chicago, Illinois, where he attended the public schools, graduating from Oak Park-River Forest High School in 1969. He received a B.S. from Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan, in 1972 and a M.A. from the same university in 1973. He served as a trustee on Fabius Township Board in St. Joseph County, Michigan from 1972–1976 and also worked as a real estate broker.
In his 1986 run against Fred Upton for his incumbent House seat, Siljander had attracted controversy with his strong religious convictions. At that time, he issued a tape recording that asked local fundamentalists to help “break the back of Satan” by praying and fasting for his re-election.
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