by Tina Grazier
Two University of South Florida students, Egyptians Ahmed Abdellatif Sherif Mohamed and Youssef Samir Megahed, were
indicted today for moving explosives across state lines. The indictment alleges that the men, not being licensees under federal law, did knowingly transport and cause to be transported in interstate commerce explosive materials on or about Aug. 4, 2007 in the Middle District of Florida and elsewhere. I wasnt surprised
by this newsI remember the initial reports of their arrest. The following item, however, made the charges against these two more troubling. The information comes to us from the Middle East Media Research Group or MEMRI:
On August 26, Islamist websites hosted in Minnesota [SiteGenie, LLC, Rochester, MN] posted an item titled “How to Join Al-Qaeda.” It is not clear when the item was written; it was produced by the website Al-Thabitoun ‘Ala Al-‘Ahd, which is affiliated with Al-Qaeda in Egypt and is currently inactive. *** The item calls on every Muslim to regard jihad as a personal duty and to take initiative to establish a jihad cell without waiting for recognition from Al-Qaeda. It goes on to elaborate on how to form and run the cell, how to raise funds, and how to select a target, “for example, assassinating the American ambassador,” which, it states, “takes no more than a gun and a bullet.”
The following are excerpts from the item:
“You feel that you want to carry a weapon, fight, and kill the occupiers, and that it is our duty to call for jihad as much as to call for prayer… All that is required is a firm personal decision to fulfill this obligation, and participation in jihad and the resistance… “Do you really have to meet Osama bin Laden in person in order to become a jihad fighter? Do you have to be recognized by Al-Qaeda as one of its members to become a jihad fighter? If Al-Qaeda commanders should be killed, would the jihad be eliminated? What would you do if Al-Qaeda did not exist today? How is Osama bin Laden different from you? – [yet] he managed to establish the world jihad organization. Who provided training to Osama bin Laden and Abdallah ‘Azzam when they went to Afghanistan to become the first Arab jihad fighters?
Were the two Egyptian students inspired by postings on the website Al-Thabitoun ‘Ala Al-‘Ahd, which is affiliated with Al-Qaeda in Egypt? I would have to say its entirely possible and it begs the question, how many more are even now plotting jihad in America?
One positive note in my reading came when I read the following comment posted to the indictment story:
The conclusion I am happy with what the Police have done. And to those who will think I am a redneck or something like that, no I am 100% Muslim Arab who hates all those f**** who carry this terrorist attacks under the name of Islam!posted by maxinuse
I might not use the same language but I certainly agree with this Muslim Arab who defended the actions of law enforcement and condemned the actions of terrorists.