April 27, 2005
NO SOCIETY CAN TOLERATE FREE SPEECH:
Jurors Convict Muslim Leader in Terrorism Case (Jerry Markon, April 27, 2005, Washington Post)
A prominent Muslim spiritual leader from Fairfax County was convicted yesterday of inciting his followers to train overseas for violent jihad against the United States.Posted by Orrin Judd at April 27, 2005 6:45 AMThe jury in U.S. District Court in Alexandria decided that Ali Al-Timimi's words, coming shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, were enough to send him to prison for what prosecutors said will be a mandatory life sentence.
Timimi, 41, who was born and raised in the Washington area and has lectured on Islam around the world, was convicted of inspiring a group of his Northern Virginia followers to attend terrorist training camps abroad and prepare to battle American troops. He was found guilty of all 10 charges against him, including soliciting others to levy war against the United States and contributing services to Afghanistan's former Taliban rulers.
The heart of the government's case against Timimi was a meeting he attended in Fairfax on Sept. 16, 2001 -- five days after the attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center. Timimi told his followers that "the time had come for them to go abroad and join the mujahideen engaged in violent jihad in Afghanistan," according to court papers.
What surprise - advocating attacks on the United States might be viewed dimly by the US government.
What. A. Maroon.
It seems to have worked for Ward Churchill, though. Simply stated, advocating your country's destruction is now merely a free-speech issue. A right for all patriotic Americans. Perhaps even a duty.
Where Al-Timimi appears to have gone wrong is that he failed to plagiarize the works of professional colleagues (and then threaten them if they exposed him for it), failed to copy and sell works of art, and failed to---at least sufficiently---harrass others in the line of duty.
And of course, failed to claim he's an American First Nations member.
His biggest mistake, however, was to decide not to get himself tenured at the local establishment of higher education.
Careless of him, no doubt. But he will therefore be able to argue, convincingly at that, that he's being treated differently simply because he's a Moslem. Thus there may be enough here for the ACLU to make a case.
Posted by: Barry Meislin at April 27, 2005 9:57 AMProfessor Teaches USA Is A Police State
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2005/4/26/105917.shtml
Posted by: at April 27, 2005 3:10 PM