Goa, May 18 -- News coming from the White House is certainly unexpected. Two highly controversial appointments to the White House Advisory Board under the Trump administration have sparked widespread criticism due to the appointees' documented links to terrorism and extremist networks. Ismail Royer, a former convict with proven ties to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Al-Qaeda, and the Taliban, and Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, a prominent Islamic scholar accused of connections to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, were both named to the Advisory Board of Lay Leaders under the White House Religious Liberty Commission.

Ismail Royer, born Randall Todd Royer, converted to Islam in 1992 and became involved in militant Islamist circles. He travelled to Pakistan i...