One day after a jury convicted five Muslim immigrants of conspiring to kill U.S. soldiers at Fort Dix, New Jersey, two Muslim groups claimed the outcome of the trial was unfair.
Mohamad Younes, president of the American Muslim Union, questioned the jury's decision.
"I don't think they actually mean to do anything," he said. "I think they were acting stupid, like they thought the whole thing was a joke."
Jim Sues, executive director of the New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, attended five days of testimony during the trial.
"Many people in the Muslim community will see this as a case of entrapment," he told local media.
Unfortunately the media reflexively turns to the usual suspected after trials such as these--groups such at the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, and the American Muslim Union, or AMU, for opinions on issues related to issues such as this. CAIR bills itself as “the largest and most mainstream Muslim organization in America” but is known to support terror groups. "Any objective assessment of the material ... leads to the conclusion that CAIR, its leaders, and its activities effectively give aid to international terrorist groups," said Steven Pomerantz, former counterterrorism chief of the FBI.
Four current and former senior leaders of the American Muslim Union were associated with a mosque established by the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development. The Treasury Department designated Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in December 2001. Senior members of the group have expressed support for Hamas.
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Muslim leaders have objected to a US court decision to convict five Muslims for plotting a terror attack on an American military base at Fort Dix in the state of New Jersey. After an eight-week trial, a jury on Monday ruled that three ethnic-Albanian brothers, Shain, Dritan and Eljvir Duka, and two others - Turkish-born Serdar Tatar and Mohammed Shnewer from Jordan - were found guilty of planning an attack on the base in a bid to kill as many American soldiers as possible.
The jury, however, acquitted the group of charges of attempted murder.Mohamad Younes, president of the American Muslim Union, questioned the jury's decision.
"I don't think they actually mean to do anything," he said. "I think they were acting stupid, like they thought the whole thing was a joke."
Jim Sues, executive director of the New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, attended five days of testimony during the trial."
Many people in the Muslim community will see this as a case of entrapment," he told local media.
The five foreign-born residents lived in the northeastern cities of Cherry Hill in New Jersey and Philadelphia in the state of Pennsylvania. They were arrested in May 2007 after the group was infiltrated by Federal Bureau of Investigation agents. The prosecutors described their activities as an attempt to wage Islamist holy war against America, inspired by Al-Qaeda.
Defence lawyers had argued that the five were just bragging about their plans and also challenged the credibility of the government informants.
One Egyptian-born informant was paid 230,000 dollars by the FBI for his undercover work, said the defence lawyers. They also said he was on probation for bank fraud.
Defence lawyers also claimed that the men were coaxed by the government informants into making controversial and incendiary remarks which were recorded.
Mohamad Younes, president of the American Muslim Union, questioned the jury's decision.
"I don't think they actually mean to do anything," he said. "I think they were acting stupid, like they thought the whole thing was a joke."
Jim Sues, executive director of the New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, attended five days of testimony during the trial.
"Many people in the Muslim community will see this as a case of entrapment," he told local media.
Unfortunately the media reflexively turns to the usual suspected after trials such as these--groups such at the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, and the American Muslim Union, or AMU, for opinions on issues related to issues such as this. CAIR bills itself as “the largest and most mainstream Muslim organization in America” but is known to support terror groups. "Any objective assessment of the material ... leads to the conclusion that CAIR, its leaders, and its activities effectively give aid to international terrorist groups," said Steven Pomerantz, former counterterrorism chief of the FBI.
Four current and former senior leaders of the American Muslim Union were associated with a mosque established by the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development. The Treasury Department designated Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in December 2001. Senior members of the group have expressed support for Hamas.
Read it here.
Here's more:
Muslim leaders have objected to a US court decision to convict five Muslims for plotting a terror attack on an American military base at Fort Dix in the state of New Jersey. After an eight-week trial, a jury on Monday ruled that three ethnic-Albanian brothers, Shain, Dritan and Eljvir Duka, and two others - Turkish-born Serdar Tatar and Mohammed Shnewer from Jordan - were found guilty of planning an attack on the base in a bid to kill as many American soldiers as possible.
The jury, however, acquitted the group of charges of attempted murder.Mohamad Younes, president of the American Muslim Union, questioned the jury's decision.
"I don't think they actually mean to do anything," he said. "I think they were acting stupid, like they thought the whole thing was a joke."
Jim Sues, executive director of the New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, attended five days of testimony during the trial."
Many people in the Muslim community will see this as a case of entrapment," he told local media.
The five foreign-born residents lived in the northeastern cities of Cherry Hill in New Jersey and Philadelphia in the state of Pennsylvania. They were arrested in May 2007 after the group was infiltrated by Federal Bureau of Investigation agents. The prosecutors described their activities as an attempt to wage Islamist holy war against America, inspired by Al-Qaeda.
Defence lawyers had argued that the five were just bragging about their plans and also challenged the credibility of the government informants.
One Egyptian-born informant was paid 230,000 dollars by the FBI for his undercover work, said the defence lawyers. They also said he was on probation for bank fraud.
Defence lawyers also claimed that the men were coaxed by the government informants into making controversial and incendiary remarks which were recorded.
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