October 30, 2009
Islamists Try to Spin Religion Out of Abdullah Case
Steve Emerson
The imam had driven from Detroit to northern Virginia to raise money for a jailed friend, a convicted cop killer.
"If you study the case you'll see that it's a conspiracy," the imam said. "If you study what went on with him, you'll say, 'How in the world is he in jail?'"
But it was what Luqman Abdullah said on the way to that March 2008 fundraiser that helped bring the FBI to his door on Wednesday in what proved to be a fatal confrontation. In the car with his son and two followers, one of whom turned out to be an FBI informant, Abdullah repeated his long-standing concern that law enforcement was after him. According to a criminal complaint:
"Abdullah stated that the FBI is the enemy of Islam. Abdullah stated something to the effect, 'If they are coming to get me I'll just strap a bomb on and blow up everybody.' Abdullah gave S-3 the impression that he has access to an explosive device." [Emphasis original]
According to the FBI, Abdullah led a separatist movement which wanted "a separate, sovereign Islamic state ('The Ummah') within the borders of the United States, governed by Shariah law. The Ummah is to be ruled over by Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin, formerly known as H. Rapp Brown."
Al-Amin is the convicted killer Abdullah was working to free. He's a political prisoner, Abdullah told his audience at the fundraiser, held at the All Dulles Area Muslim Society, or ADAMS Center, in 2008. Then he challenged the audience on its commitment to free Al-Amin:
"How much can we sacrifice in order to see Imam Jamil released? If we could sacrifice our lives, would we?"
Abdullah also was a founder and board member of the Muslim Alliance of North America (MANA) The group issued a statement Thursday expressing "deep concern" over the case. The concern was not why Abdullah refused to lower his weapon and fired at agents, but at why he was shot:
"This tragic shooting raises deep concerns regarding the use of lethal force by law enforcement agents."
An FBI statement said agents considered the suspects to be armed and dangerous, and "special safeguards" were employed to try to make the arrests peacefully. The complaint contains repeated references to Abdullah's instructions that his followers stay armed and his vow not to be taken by law enforcement. An FBI dog was killed in the shootout that resulted.
The MANA statement said allegations in the complaint were "shocking and inconsistent" with what they knew about Abdullah. It also stressed that the charges involved regular criminal activity and should not be used "in order demonize American Muslims."
Abdullah did not share that sensitivity when it came to the conspiracy theories he preached against America. According to the complaint, he threatened "straight up war" if the FBI came after him. He also believed the FBI was behind the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and the Oklahoma City bombing. They were "part of a plot to blame Muslims for violence."
Similarly, he told the 2008 ADAMS Center audience that Jamil Al-Amin was better off not "to be out here on the street when they drive planes into the World Trade Center – whoever did it. Whoever did."
According to the complaint, Abdullah repeatedly preached a confrontational brand of Islam that advocated the spread of the religion through violent jihad. He also kept weapons in his mosque, used it for martial arts training and was recorded saying it would be a good place from which to sell stolen goods.
However, the faith of Abdullah and 11 alleged co-conspirators should never have entered the case, argued spokesmen for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.
In an interview on WDET-FM in Detroit, CAIR's Michigan Executive Director Dawud Walid said the emphasis on Islam could trigger a backlash against other Muslims and contribute to Islamophobia. The ADC's Michigan Regional Director Imad Hamad expressed similar concerns on the same program. Both men indicated that they expressed their concerns to the FBI.
The pressure appeared to take root. At a news conference Thursday, U.S. Attorney Terrence Berg made a point of asking "people not to connect the group, headed by Luqman Ameen Abdullah, with Muslims in general. Abdullah, 53, was killed in a shootout with FBI agents Wednesday at a Dearborn warehouse.
Berg said the group in question 'is a specific brand of radical ideology.'"
Islamic groups want to use the case to resurrect a simmering debate on the FBI's use of informants, especially those who enter mosques as part of the investigation. ADC's Hamad told the Detroit Free Press that: "The case – regardless of the facts, regardless of the allegations, regardless of what went right and what went wrong – brings back that issue of informants."
Walid also stoked the issue, telling the Free Press "As much as our president says nice, flowery things about Muslims and Islam in Cairo or Istanbul, these types of stories just erode that."
Walid has said he had considered Abdullah to be a respected imam and that "We have no information about illegal activity going on at that mosque."
Mujahid Carswell, Abdullah's son, was arrested in Windsor, Canada Thursday. Two other defendants in the case remain at large. The men are charged with conspiring to sell stolen goods, violating weapon laws and other crimes.
The Washington Times reports that federal officials warn that Abdullah's death may generate retaliation by radical sympathizers against law enforcement officials.
Reader Comments: Submit Your Comment (4)
Why are these people given so much coverage? Reading or listening to the media, one would think that they are the important ones, and we are rather unimportant. For God's sake, we are a free country, for American citizens that is, and we owe our enemies nothing. If our agents have shot one of them, so be it. Their aim is to ruin our government, and eliminate all non-believers (Christians) from the earth. We are in a way, and most of us do not even realize it. Fight them the same way they fight us. If one listens to our soft hearted, soft headed, do-gooders (and most of the media), our troops will soon be told that they are not to shoot one of our enemies. We are not that kind of people. The Bible says "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth". Thats probably true - six feet of it.
posted by : Lloyd Revalee
Friday, October 30, 2009 at 10:16 AM
The question of the connection between this incident and the Muslim community in general cannot be resolved by acquiescing to the stated concerns of individuals who warn of "Islamophobia". It needs to be deeply investigated and the public needs to educate itself about the tenets of Islam. We (USA citizens) are being pressured to not have that conversation. There are organizations already in place in the USA - not supposedly deranged individuals, "misunderstanders" of Islam - that are working for the Islamization of the USA. IONA (Islamic Organization of North America), mosque in Warren, is one, with roots from a "radical" group from Pakistan. It may be that many of its members are not fully aware of the nature of the group. Real unafraid education has to happen - is beginning to happen because of these kinds of events. Information is easily available on the internet.
posted by : Goldie45
Friday, October 30, 2009 at 10:43 AM
There is a creeping movement to turn the USA into a Caliphate and our government is helping it along.
The people need to be informed more and more about these cases and they need to fight back.
Our 9/12 group would be a good place to start. It proves that the American people still believe in the things that have made this a great country over the years and are ready and willing to fight for them.
Don't expect any help from the MSM because it seems part of their job these days is to spread the garbage and hide the truth.
posted by : lee
Friday, October 30, 2009 at 01:10 PM
One of the posters complains that we're hearing too much about "these people" (the Radical Islamists in the USA); au contraire, I'd say! We're not hearing anough about these cases! We need to be informed about all the plots & cells & general bad news that's coming out of Radical Islam USA! Some of these "Imams" and their followers were/are just plain criminals & gang-bangers that were radicalized & converted to Islam in prison. Radical Islam and a "new" state within the USA fits in perfectly with the generally anti-social and anti-American mindsets with which they entered prison in the first place, or, at least, that have guided them since their ill-spent youth. "Know thine enemy!" - and our enemy today is Radical Islam!!! We MUST defend against any successful outcome for these evil miscreants in the USA!!
posted by : Joy
Sunday, November 1, 2009 at 05:30 AM
