Top Ten Central Ohio Terrorism-Related Stories of 2007

Now safely into the new year, we here at Central Ohioans Against Terrorism would like to take a few minutes to reflect on the major terrorism-related Central Ohio news stories here in 2007. Needless to say, it was an eventful year. Let’s hope that 2008 is equally as interesting.

1. Nuradin Abdi guilty plea in shopping mall terror plot
   
   
   After years of heated denials and conspiracy theories, the extremists in the Muslim community were shocked in late July when Nuradin Abdi, arrested as part of the Columbus Al-Qaeda cell run out of Masjid Omar Ibn El-Khattab just north of campus, agreed to a plea deal rather than go to trial on multiple charges of terrorism support, including a plot to shoot up a Columbus-area shopping mall. Local CAIR officials, including national vice chair Ahmad Al-Akhras and Ohio chapter president Asma Mobin-Uddin, had made a series of bizarre claims, including that Abdi had been tortured and was being drugged by federal authorities. A federal appeals court quickly rejected their conspiracy theories, concluding that Abdi was putting on an act (in accordance with stated Al-Qaeda incarceration guidelines). Abdi was sentenced to 10 years in prison on a charge of material support for terrorism in November. And as Dirk Thompson of 610 WTVN reported, Abdi’s attorney went on an anti-American rant in front of the local media following the announcement of the plea deal.
   
   Related Nuradin Abdi COAT posts.



2. Christopher Paul arrested as part of Columbus Al-Qaeda cell
   
   
   In April, Worthington-raised Christopher Paul (nee-Paul Kenyatta Laws, aka Abdulmalek Kenyatta) was arrested after a federal indictment was unsealed charging Paul with plotting to attack American tourists overseas. Paul is a 1983 graduate of Worthington High School. Following his arrest, CAIR officials became confused, as Adnan Mirza tried to distance the Muslim community from Paul, while Ahmad Al-Akhras came out in his defense, claiming that Paul was a “loving husband” and led a “good family”. (see, “Columbus Al-Qaeda Man Charged, CAIR Not Pleased”)




3. Hilliard HAMAS cleric Salah Sultan appears at Middle East terror confab
   
   
   Salah Sultan (right) sitting on the speaker dais with Specially Designated Global Terrorists Khaled Mishal (left) and Yousef Al-Qaradawi (middle)
   
   
   Salah Sultan speaking at the terror confab in Qatar
   Notwithstanding having been defended by the Columbus Dispatch and a number of area Islamic leaders as a “moderate”, Salah Sultan showed his true colors this past summer when he appeared at a conference honoring HAMAS spiritual leader Yousef Al-Qaradawi in Doha, Qatar. Sultan delivered a tearful speech praising his mentor and also produced a paper on Qaradawi’s “scientific thought” (both being published on Qaradawi’s personal website). Sultan was even photographed with Qaradawi, and he could be seen in the Al-Jazeera live coverage of the event during the speech by HAMAS head Khaled Mishal. Both Qaradawi and Mishal have been listed by the US government as Specially Designated Global Terrorists. Also in July, Sultan was identified by name in a LA Times article as one of two clerics preaching holy war and “sharing the outlook of Al-Qaeda” in Bahrain.
   
   Related Salah Sultan COAT posts.
   
   Related FrontPage Magazine articles:
   
   Hometown Jihad (04/03/2006)
   Hometown Jihad: Blowback (05/24/06)
   Hometown Jihad: Our Newest Citizen? (09/08/06)
   Hometown Jihad: The Return of Salah Sultan (03/29/07)
   Hometown Jihad: The HAMAS Connection (05/11/2007)



4. October-terror-fest at the Ohio Statehouse
   
   
   The Interfaith Association of Central Ohio sponsored an event, “The Many Voices of Islam”, in the Ohio Statehouse atrium in October featuring two known HAMAS operatives, Anisa Abd El Fattah and Robert “Farooq” Crane, and one official for the now-closed Toledo Kindhearts terror fundraising “charity”, Zulfiqar Shah, who as Southeast Asia director for the group partnered with the Al-Khidmat Foundation in Pakistan, founded by Osama bin Laden mentor and Al-Qaeda founder Abdullah Azzam. The event was organized by local extremist Abukar Arman, and was also sponsored with a $1,000 grant from the Ohio Humanities Council, a taxpayer-funded organization.




5. Cleveland imam quits before he starts
   
   
   Instead of just reporting the news, COAT became part of the news when blogger Tom Blumer of Bizzyblog reported back in September that the newly-hired imam for the Islamic Center of Cleveland, Ahmed Alzaree, had preached some virulently anti-Jewish sermons in his previous post in Omaha, Nebraska. We then followed up with additional information noting other troubling aspects to Alzaree’s preaching and breaking news of his terrorist ties (and the establishment media’s ignoring of such). Even after multiple articles by the Cleveland Plain Dealer came out defending the imam, who was scheduled to begin his new job in early November, two days before he was scheduled to start, he announced that he was quiting. According to the Plain Dealer, one of the reasons cited by Alzaree for throwing in the towel was our COAT post, “Cleveland’s new imam: interfaith “moderate” or two-faced jihadist?”. Alzaree was brought in to replace deported former imam Fawaz Damra (see below in “Honorable Mention”).




6. Abukar Arman tossed from Franklin County Homeland Security oversight committee
   
   
   A front-page article in the Columbus Dispatch and a coordinated political cover-up by City Hall and the Franklin County Commission (more on the cover-up) weren’t enough to save Abukar Arman’s position with the county Criminal Justice Planning Board, which oversees Franklin County Homeland Security. After my FrontPage expose discussing Arman’s vocal support for terrorism in a series of published articles, Arman was forced to resign from the board, in addition to losing his full-time job with the Columbus Public Schools. County Commission officials withheld information related to the Arman investigation from Dirk Thompson of 610 WTVN and myself, while simultaneously providing the exact same information to Dispatch reporter Barbara Carmen. Only after the Dispatch article appeared did the Commission release the requested information.
   
   Related Abukar Arman COAT posts.




7. Hilliard HAMAS cleric Salah Sultan denied US citizenship, flees the US for Bahrain
   
   
   As noted above (item #3), Hilliard-based HAMAS cleric Salah Sultan appeared at a terrorist confab in Qatar in July. But perhaps the most important reason for Sultan’s unashamed open association with designated terrorists in July is that earlier in the year he had been denied US citizenship based on his previous known terrorist associations and had fled the country. Once informed about the rejection, Sultan picked up most of his family and moved to Bahrain. But even his arrival there was met with controversy, as Bahraini politicians complained in May that Sultan and his buddy Wagdi Ghoneim had received almost instantaneous citizenship there (as reported by Al-Wasat). The Bahraini press noted Sultan’s hasty departure and the denial of his US citizenship. Even Bahraini bloggers have been critical of Sultan and his jihadist crew.




8. HAMAS operative Anisa Abd El Fattah/Caroline Keeble interviewed for open Columbus Public School Board spot
   
   
   Anisa Abd El Fattah on the left; Caroline Keeble on the right. Two different versions of the same person.
   During the investigation into Fattah’s appearance at the October-terror-fest at the Ohio Statehouse, I noticed that Fattah’s non-jihad persona, Caroline Keeble, had been interviewed by the Columbus Public School Board last January for an open position on school board. The results of my investigation were published in a PJM article, “HAMAS: Coming to a School Board near you”. The resume she had submitted as part of her application (obtained with great difficulty from the school district despite an Open Records Act request) made no mention of the HAMAS front organizations she had worked for during the 1990s and earlier this decade, nor her longtime consulting position with now convicted terrorist leader Abdurahman Alamoudi or her founding board member position with the national Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). Though one of the few candidates to receive an interview by the school board, she did not get appointed to either of the two open seats she applied for.




9. Muslim Brotherhood leader identified in Central Ohio
   
   
   I haven’t done much follow-up reporting on this issue since my original post, but one bombshell piece of evidence that came out of the Holy Land Foundation terrorism financing trial in Dallas this past summer was a phonebook of Muslim Brotherhood leaders in North America. One entry in this Muslim Brotherhood leadership directory was an individual, Hany Saker, located in Columbus and identified as such by the readily identifiable 614 area code. As I reported back then, the office phone number listed for Saker was an Ohio State University number. Elsewhere in the phone directory Saker is listed as a member of the Muslim Brotherhood Board of Directors, and also the Eastern regional leader in North America. We hope to have more reporting on this story in 2008.




10. Hate Sheikh Siraj Wahhaj appears at Columbus fundraiser for Islamic group headed by mayoral advisor
    
    
    Hate sheikh Siraj Wahhaj (left) and his longtime buddy and Mayor Coleman advisor Ahmad Al-Akhras (right)
    
    When the Islamic Foundation of Central Ohio needed a keynote speaker for their annual fundraiser, its president Ahmad Al-Akhras turned to his old friend and prominent hate sheikh Siraj Wahhaj for help. Wahhaj was named by US Attorney Mary Jo White as an un-indicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Wahhaj had appeared at a March 2006 fundraiser for Sunrise Academy in Hilliard to raise money for their new gym, in June 2006 for the CAIR-Ohio annual banquet, and again in February 2007 at Sunrise Academy for yet another fundraiser for Masjid Abubakar Al Siddique. Among many other things, Wahhaj says that he isn’t sure that Osama bin Laden is responsible for 9/11; he calls for the return of the global Islamic caliphate and the imposition of Islamic shari’a law, including punishment by amputations and stoning; and he calls for the violent overthrow of American government.

Honorable Mention:

Censorship State at Columbus State for Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week

(graphic courtesy of DarthDilbert)
When the Terrorism Awareness Project student group at Columbus State Community College wanted to promote their events for the national Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week in October, CSCC administrator Timeka Rashid prohibited the group from posting promotional fliers around campus and warning the student leaders not to discuss her prohibition. After I exposed Rashid’s censorship of the student events in a FrontPage Magazine article, “Censorship State”, CSCC relented and did not interfere any further in the group’s scheduled activities. As reported by Jacob Laskin in 2006, Rashid had previously prevented the same student group from hosting a screening of the documentary, Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West.

I later reported that Columbus State’s earlier censorship efforts were in response to a letter from former Congresswoman Mary Rose Oakar sent to CSCC president Valeriana Moeller asking for the school’s cooperation in obstructing events related to Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week.


Akron-born jihadist pleads guilty to terror charges, sentenced to 15 years


In April, Akron native Mahmud Faruq Brent pled guilty to supporting a terrorist organization and in late July was sentenced to 15 years in prison for attending a Lakshar-e-Taiba terrorist training camp in Pakistan. A convert to Islam, Brent had been living in Maryland driving a taxi at the time of his arrest. The case was part of the Virginia Jihad Network series of prosecutions.


Cleveland Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Fawaz Damra deported


The two faces of Fawaz Damra
The year 2007 started off right as federal officials deported Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Fawaz Damra in early January. Damra had been the longtime imam of the Islamic Center of Cleveland. He was deported for lying to authorities about his ties to the terrrorist organization, failing to disclose them on his citizenship application, and for recruiting suicide bombers to attack Israel. Damra had been hailed as an "interfaith moderate" in Cleveland, that is, until videos surfaced of him calling Jews "the sons of apes and pigs" and fundraising for jihad along with PIJ leader Sami Al-Arian. Then there was his prior tenure with a NY-based front for Al-Qaeda.

Go to the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Fawaz Damra archive.


Jihad Julio Pino at Kent State


One of the most underreported stories of the year (one we didn’t even have a chance to get to) involves Kent State Latin American History professor Julio “Jihad” Pino, who was found earlier this year operating a now-closed jihadist forum, the “Global War” blog, which proclaimed: “Are You Prepared for Jihad? IN THE NAME OF OBL. 2007: THE YEAR OF ISLAMIC VICTORY!” University of North Carolina-Wilmington Criminology professor Mike Adams exposed Pino’s jihadist rants in an article at Townhall back in February. A series of articles by Adams ran throughout the year expanding on the story. Things at Kent State came to a head in November when the History department chairman, John Jameson, was fired by the university after he approved a paid leave for Pino to travel to the Middle East without university approval. No action has been taken by the university against Pino.

Mahmoud El-Yousseph makes sense — and gets rebuked by CAIR for applauding Al-Qaeda conviction

I’m not one to begrudge someone when they’re right, or kick someone when they admit that they were wrong. That’s why I was pleased to here from David at The Conservatarian earlier this week about Mahmoud El-Yousseph’s recent letter to the editor published on the Columbus Dispatch website’s web-only LTE section.

Whatever disagreements I might have with Mahmoud’s open support of Hezbollah terrorists or his approval of suicide bombings as “reasonable” (published a week before the 9/11 suicide attacks), he thus far is the only figure from the tiny minority of Islamic extremists in Central Ohio to applaud the conviction of Columbus al-Qaeda terror cell member Nuradin Abdi and publicly withdraw his previous statements in support of Abdi.

But as you will see below, as soon as he did, the other members of the extremist CAIR crew quickly piled on to criticize him in full McCarthyite fury, challenging whether Abdi was actually guilty by appealing to all kinds of bizarre conspiracy theories about supposed torture and mind-altering drugs (even though Abdi openly pled guilty in court to material support for terrorism in the presence of some of those same conspiracy theorists).

Here is what Mahmoud wrote (which I’m told also appeared as a column in the Marion Star):

Proper punishment for convicted terrorist

Central Ohio sleep tight tonight. A second Columbus man was busted for terror ties and was sentenced for 10 years in jail. What a relief!

Nuradin Abdi, a Somali immigrant, was convicted last week and will spend the next 6 years behind bars and then be expelled to Mogadishu. Take it from this Muslim, Abdi is getting what he deserves.

Abdi was convicted of providing material to terror activities and plan to carry out attack at an area shopping mall, targeting innocent citizens. He claimed that was in response to U.S. agression against Muslims abroad.

That is not how you should show gratitude to the country that took you in as a refugee, provided you with a chance at work, safety, and security. If he was dissatisfied with our government foreign policy (as am I), there are many legal avenues available, even to non-citizens. By advocating the use of violence, he was part of the problem and not the solution. Fortunately, he did not have a chance to carry out his plan.

I must admit I’ve never met the man. However, when I read about his case four years ago, I was suspicious about the government’s claim, since Abdi was arrested based on secret evidence. This was, afterall, at the height of anti-Muslim feeling in the U.S.

Still fresh on the minds of Muslims across America were the two high profile cases of two other U.S.-born Muslim converts: Brandon Mayfield, an attorney from Oregon and James [Yusuf] Yee of Washington state. Mr. Mayfield was falsely accused by the government and was implicated with the Madrid bombing, while Captain James Yee, who served in the U.S. Army at Guantanamo Bay Naval Station, was charged with espionage and many other serious offenses. Later the government dropped all charges against both of them. The government agreed to settle with Mayfield for $2 million, and offered him a formal apology: The federal government “regrets that it mistakenly linked Mr. Mayfield to this attack.” The U.S. Army lost a valuable human resource. Captain Yee received an honorable discharge, no apology, and he wrote a book about his ordeal to pay off his $200,000 legal expenses.

During that hysteria, I spoke publicly in defense of Abdi and about his right to free and fair trial based on evidence. I even contributed to his legal defense fund. Now after his case is over and he has admitted guilt to terror ties, I accept that this misguided man has betrayed his family, local Somalis, Central Ohio’s Muslim community, and the country that welcomed him.

Of special concern to me is the lack of response to this issue by local Muslim and Arab leaders, especially by The Council of American Islamic Relations [CAIR]. CAIR has defended Abdi vigorously throughout his case when it perceived he was a victim. One would think that CAIR leadership would have the moral courage to denounce Abdi’s act, once he was found guilty on credible evidence. I made four attempts by phone seeking a reaction from two CAIR members, my messages were not returned. Sadly, that was the same group that I once admired and took heat for defending in the press.

Lets hope and pray that the New Year does not bring us anymore unpleasant surprises, the likes of Nuradin Abdi. As far as this Muslim is concerned, I will continue to speak out my opinion — a freedom which is guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution — even when it is not popular. But I will keep in mind my late mother’s (bless her soul) advice to me as I embarked for America: Don’t spit into the plate that feeds you!

Mahmoud El-Yousseph, Westerville

I certainly don’t agree with all of the various interpretations that Mahmoud offers, but the crux of his argument is dead on: Abdi pled guilty to his crimes and the Muslim community as law-abiding Americans should be grateful that this terrorist is behind bars. He also complains (rightly so) that CAIR refused to retract their support for Abdi after his guilty plea, let alone respond to his calls to CAIR on the matter. That is very telling in itself.

Is this a sign of a new, improved peace-loving moderate Mahmoud El-Yousseph? We’ll wait and see. Honestly, I don’t hold out a lot of hope that he has changed his terror supporting ways. I would certainly like to be proved wrong. That said, however, I will grant him this: he’s shown here that he has the courage to buck the party line handed down by the CAIR politburo and think independently about the issue. I have always argued that CAIR doesn’t actually represent the Central Ohio Muslim community, the vast majority of whom reject the jihadist ideology promoted by CAIR, ISGC, etc. Most Central Ohio Muslims do not belong to CAIR (in fact, recent tax documents show they don’t have any members AT ALL, and the leadership is entirely self-appointed) and don’t attend services at ISGC facilities. One law enforcement official told me that out of the tens of thousands of Muslims in the Columbus area, probably less than a thousand, probably closer to five hundred, would associate with CAIR and its extremist ideology.

But no sooner had Mahmoud posted his comments than the knives came out to attack him wielded by the self-appointed CAIR caliphs to enforce their ideological conformity.

First up was the grand pasha of Islamic extremism himself, CAIR national vice chairman Ahmad Al-Akhras, who had this to say in criticism of Mahmoud’s public statement:

Re: Proper punishment for convicted terrorist
Posted by: “Ahmad Al-Akhras”
alakhras@hotmail.com alakhras10
Sat Dec 8, 2007 10:54 am (PST)

salam Br. Mahmoud and all — i am not aware that you tried to call CAIR and no one responded. Would you kindly let us know who did you try and did not bother to respond to you?

On a more substantial note akhi, Abdi was not convicted as a “terrorist” rather, he was convicted of providing “material support.” The idea of “material support,” as David Cole put it in his piece in the Wash Post --see below — is that the government can charge a person and the person can be found guility because the burden is so low on this standard. I encourage you to read the whole OpEd of Professor Cole.

I also encourage you to read the testimony of the ACLU on Material Support for Terrorism Laws: Section 805 of the Patriot Act and Section 6603 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 Before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security. Ahilan T., an ACLU staff attorney, testified about this issue and how helping Tsunami devastated people in Sri Lanka could lead them to be directly charged with “Material Support” if they provided help in certain areas — read below.

Thank you akhi Mahmoud for all the good work you do, it is only Allah swt will be able to reward you for it as I am sure you are not waiting for anyone else. As to your attacking CAIR this way, I did not feel it was appropriate, even if you “once admired and took heat for defending in the press”. I am sure you did this because you beleived int he cause and not for anything else, right?

Thank you again, and may Allah swt guide us all. . .

Ahmad

That was follwed up by Fauzi Tayim:

Posted by: “Fauzi Tayim” ftayim.1@juno.com
Sun Dec 9, 2007 9:40 am (PST)

Mahmoud:

One of the mistakes I have done in the past but try my best to avoid now is not to jump into conclusions based on what someone tells me or what I read or see in the media. I have not been following Abdi’s case very closely but I just wonder how did you conclude that he was “found guilty on credible evidence”. Did you see the evidence? You also say he confessed to acts of terrorism. Do you under what circumstances he made such a confession? Al-Arian, the UF professor was found innocent and he is still in jail. After his jail term is over (for about 2 years I believe), he will be deported. Al-Arian’s case was labeled an Israeli trial conducted on US soil. Sometimes our legal system works and sometimes it does not. I do not know if it worked in Abdi’s case. However, I sincerely doubt that a confessed terrorist would spent only 6 years in Jail. Ayman Faris (?) got 20 years.

Before you reach any conclusions about Abdi and CAIR, take some time to examine the evidence and circumstances more closely. By the way, have you attended any of the court proceedings? Do you know if he was tortured while in prison? Do you know if he was given “mind altering medication” while he was in prison? Do you know if his confession was not retrieved under torture or duress? I will not be surprised that the evidence against Abdi was kept “secret” for “national security” purposes. If in fact the evidence was kept secret, as is the case against all “terrorists”, how in the world can anyone conclude that the evidence was credible?

Salaam,

Fauzi

Denials, conspiracy theories, half-truths and outright evasion. Al-Akhras says that because Abdi was caught before engaging in acts of terror, he really wasn’t a terrorist, but only admitted to material support for terrorism, which he apparently thinks is entirely different. Tayim blathers on about the various conspiracy theories (torture, mental illness, etc. — all of which the Appeals Courts rejected). In fact, these were some of the same conspiracy theories floated by CAIR during Abdi’s incarceration, including CAIR-OH president and Al-Akhras lackey Asma Mobin-Uddin.

Expect more of these same conspiracy theories when Christopher “Kenyatta” Paul’s trial comes up next year. Some just can’t admit that the Central Ohio Islamic institutions they support and are a part of (again, which only represent a fraction of Muslims in the area) were home to the largest known al-Qaeda terrorist cell since 9/11. Mahmoud El-Yousseph has apparently come to terms with that fact; Ahmad Al-Akhras, Fauzi Tayim, and their extremist ilk cannot handle that truth.

Now my having addressed El-Yousseph’s comments here publicy will probably bring one of two responses (perhaps both). First, in true McCarthyite fashion, Mahmoud will be subject to even more criticism and outright shunning for airing the dirty laundry of the extremists in our community complaining that he’s given me a stick to beat them with, refusing to realize that all I’ve had to do is present the facts here unvarnished. Their comments have been unedited. I’ve allowed them to speak for themselves. Second, they will retreat into further silence on the Abdi conviction. Saying something now will only look like he has shamed them into saying something, which of course will be obviously true if they do in fact say anything at all at this point. With the support they continue to give Abdi, I doubt they will.

Mahmoud El-Yousseph has certainly put them in a serious pickle, but in reality it is only their extremism catching up with them. Unable to deal with that reality, they must keep spinning further into unreality and fantasy. They can’t handle the truth.

No one will ever confuse me for a Mahmoud El-Yousseph enthusiast, and I suspect he will continue venting his spleen against me shortly (I’m still waiting for that lawsuit) with his trademark fabrications, ad hominem attacks and childish personal insults; but in this case on the Abdi conviction, Mahmoud El-Yousseph is right and he should be acknowledged for saying he was wrong for his past support of Abdi. It’s damning that the rest of the CAIR crew of Islamic extremists in Central Ohio can’t bring themselves to do the same.

Breaking: Columbus Al-Qaeda cell member Nuradin Abdi sentenced to 10 years

Nuradin Abdi was sentenced to 10 years in prison today for his role in the plot to bomb one of our Columbus-area shopping malls. Abdi was part of the local Al-Qaeda cell headquartered out of the Omar Ibn El-Khattab mosque just north of the Ohio State campus. Co-conspirator Iyman Faris was sentenced to 20 years in prison in October 2003 for material support of Al-Qaeda. Christopher “Kenyatta” Paul is presently awaiting trial on similar charges, and according to Paul’s indictment and subsequent media reports, at least 10 more members of the cell have not yet been charged (one is known to have fled the country).

Abdi’s sentencing comes after he took a last minute plea deal just prior to going to trial this past summer, much to the chagrin of some of our local extremist leaders who had loudly protested his innocence since his arrest in June 2004. Abdi pled guilty to conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists.

I reviewed our local Al-Qaeda problem in this previous post. A report from the NEFA Foundation describes the mall plot. The Investigative Project has court documents from the Abdi case, including the indictment and plea agreement.

BREAKING: Nuradin Abdi pleads guilty!

Another terrorist friend of Ahmad Al-Akhras goes down.

The Associated Press is reporting that Nuradin Abdi, a member of the Columbus Al-Qaeda cell who planned to shoot up an area shopping mall, pled guilty this afternoon to one count of conspiring to provide material support to terrorists. Abdi is the second member of the cell to plead guilty. The first, Iyman Farris, was expected to testify in Abdi’s trial, which was scheduled to begin on August 6th. The remaining charges against Abdi were dropped in exchange for the plea agreement.

Remember that it was Ahmad Al-Akhras in June 2004 who stood up for Abdi, telling reporters:

“What we know about him is unlike how he is portrayed,” said Ahmad Al-Akhras, president of the Ohio office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations

This is not a good time to be a friend to Al-Akhras: first, Iyman Faris pled guilty to helping Al-Qaeda operations chief Khalid Sheikh Mohommad plot to blow up the Brooklyn Bridge (see this NEFA Foundation backgrounder on the plot released earlier this week); then his longtime friend Fawaz Damra was found guilty of concealing his ties to Palestinian Islamic Jihad; now Nuradin Abdi takes the fall. I bet Ahmad Al-Akhras now regrets declaring Abdi’s innocence:

“This may be one of the cases also that may not have enough evidence or there’s no evidence at all,” Al-Akhras said.

Congrats to the Southern District of Ohio’s US Attorney’s office on another win. Meanwhile, Ahmad Al-Akhras is 0-3 just here in Ohio.