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Society of Hatred and Holy War
By Joe Kaufman
FrontPageMagazine.com | December 28, 2005
It has been said that 80 percent of all the mosques and Islamic centers inside the United States are financially and spiritually tied to a radical form of Islam originating from Saudi Arabia. This ideology, identified as Wahhabism, does not promote the inclusion of persons into democratic society.
One of the American locations that Wahhabi influence has been overtly prevalent is the Tampa-St. Pete area of Southwest Florida. It is here that Sami Al-Arian, a college professor, created a wide-ranging operation that assisted in terrorist activity abroad, through Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
Within Al-Arians universe lies a little known mosque, which has been fomenting hatred and violence. Recognized as the Islamic Society of Pinellas County (Islamic Society as in the predecessor of Hamas) or by its less publicized name Al-Farooq (the same title as Al-Qaedas former headquarters in Brooklyn), the mosque has been in existence since 1988.
The congregations most prominent member is Ahmed Bedier, who is currently involved with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a group whose parent organization was created by the number two leader in Hamas, Mousa Abu Marzook. Bedier is the Spokesman for the Florida chapter of CAIR and the Director of CAIRs Tampa office. Prior to joining CAIR, Bedier had the position of Outreach Director for the Islamic Society of Pinellas County (ISPC). In September of 2002, Bedier represented the mosque when he spoke at an event held in Davie, Florida, entitled, A United and Secure Florida for All. Also speaking at that event was a fairly large panel of Islamist radicals, including Rafiq Mehdi, the imam of the mosque where Dirty Bomber Jose Padilla was said to have converted to Islam and where terror fundraiser Adham Hassoun worshipped. Recently, Bedier -- the medias go to man for answers to questions concerning Al-Arian -- stated that, prior to 1995, there was nothing immoral about Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
Bedier credits ISPC with bringing him to his Islamic faith. This is evident in the fact that, shortly after the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, on his personal website, he replaced a link to Disney Online with a large golden picture of Allah written in Arabic. He also began to look into his Egyptian family lineage, and he proclaimed loudly on an internet site, YOUR GOD AND MY GOD ARE THE SAME BEING, THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE TRUE GOD, WE WITNESS THAT THERE IS NO GOD BUT GOD. TO FIND OUT MORE PLEASE READ THE QURAN.
But with his newfound spirituality, something else was brewing. According to the St. Petersburg Times, as his faith deepened, he questioned his decision to remain in a non-Muslim country. When one asks why Bedier felt this way, the answer may be all too obvious and ominous...
Kathianne said:CAIR is a front group, maybe 'gateway' would be a more apt description, of radical Islam in the US:
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=20684
GunnyL said:Wonder how come they don't get the same bad press the KKK, Nazis or white separatists get?
I'm not defending them btw .... just wondering how come they are the only ones the MSM villifies.
Kathianne said:Well they keep CAIR on their 'good list', because they are tangentially working with the enemy, thus an 'enemy' to the administration, a friend to MSM.
Kathianne said:Yep, sick but the most likely explanation.
Kathianne said:CAIR is a front group, maybe 'gateway' would be a more apt description, of radical Islam in the US:
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=20684
By Robert Green
TAMPA, Florida (Reuters) - Former university professor Sami al-Arian has pleaded guilty to aiding the Palestinian group Islamic Jihad and agreed to be deported, according to documents made public on Monday by a U.S. court in Florida.
Al-Arian and three co-defendants were arrested in 2003 and charged with helping the group carry out attacks in Israel. In December, a federal jury found al-Arian not guilty on eight charges and failed to reach a verdict on nine others after a six-month trial.
The United States has designated Islamic Jihad a terrorist organization.
Al-Arian accepted the plea agreement on Friday to avoid another trial on the deadlocked charges.
According to the documents, the former University of South Florida professor admitted he "... conspired to make and receive contributions of funds, goods and services to or for the benefit of specially designated terrorists."
U.S. District Judge James Moody scheduled sentencing for May 1.
Former Fla. Professor to Be Deported
By Spencer S. Hsu
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, April 18, 2006; Page A03
Former Florida professor Sami al-Arian pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to provide support to a Palestinian terrorist organization and agreed to be deported from the United States in a deal with federal prosecutors, unsealed in federal court yesterday, that ends one of the nation's highest profile terrorism cases.
By entering a guilty plea Friday at a closed hearing in Tampa, al-Arian, 48, appears likely to soon win his release from prison, where he has spent most of his time in solitary confinement since his Feb. 20, 2003, arrest, and be reunited with his wife and five children, said his lawyer, Linda G. Moreno.
The U.S. government claimed a measure of vindication after suffering a stunning setback in December, when a federal jury in Tampa deadlocked on nine charges that al-Arian aided terrorists, found him not guilty of eight other counts -- including conspiracy to maim or murder, perjury, and immigration violations -- and acquitted three co-defendants on all 34 charges against them.
The 15-page deal, accepted yesterday by U.S. District Judge James S. Moody Jr., leaves a murky outcome for the first criminal prosecution that relied mainly on vast amounts of secretly gathered intelligence against terrorism suspects collected under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act...
Now Can They Fire Him?
"The University of South Florida and Gov. Jeb Bush dishonor the ideals of public universities by trying to fire a Palestinian professor whose anti-Israel statements have produced threats to the campus and a decline in contributions. . . . The case involves Sami Al-Arian, a tenured professor of computer science active in the Islamic movement. In 1988, he gave a speech in which he called for "victory to Islam" and "death to Israel." Last September, in a television appearance, Mr. Al-Arian was reminded of his words 14 years ago and asked about militant Muslims whom he had invited to the university. Mr. Al-Arian distanced himself from his previous statements and from violence of any kind."--editorial, New York Times, Jan. 27, 2002
"A former Florida college professor, Sami Al-Arian, has pleaded guilty to aiding Palestinian Islamic Jihad and agreed to serve more jail time before being deported from America, according to records made public yesterday by a federal court in Tampa."--New York Sun, April 18, 2006
