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| VA jihad witness says al-Timimi urged holy war |
| 2005-04-12 |
| A key prosecution witness at the trial of an Islamic scholar accused of exhorting his followers to fight U.S. troops in Afghanistan admitted under cross-examination Monday that he had long urged his friends to engage in holy war independent of any encouragement from the defendant. Yong Ki Kwon has testified that he was inspired by the defendant - Ali al-Timimi, 41, of Fairfax - at a Sept. 16, 2001 meeting to aid the Taliban in Afghanistan as it faced a looming U.S. invasion after Sept. 11. Kwon is one of four men who traveled to Pakistan in late September 2001 to train with a militant group called Lashkar-e-Taiba. Kwon has said it was his intention to use his training on behalf of the Taliban, though he never actually made it into Afghanistan and eventually established a business in Pakistan selling mangoes. Kwon has said it was at the Sept. 16 meeting with al-Timimi that he was inspired to use his training on the Taliban's behalf, after hearing al-Timimi warn that an apocalyptic battle between Muslims and non-believers was at hand, and that it was the duty of all Muslims to engage in holy war in Afghanistan or anywhere else that Muslims are under attack. But during Monday's cross-examination, Kwon's recollection of what was said during that meeting was often faulty, and he spoke haltingly. Kwon admitted that well before Sept. 11 he had urged his friends - who often got together to play paintball in the Virginia woods - to train with Lashkar-e-Taiba so they might be able to fight in Kashmir, Chechnya or other hot spots in the Muslim world. Kwon said Monday that he never discussed those recruiting efforts with al-Timimi. Kwon already has struck a plea bargain and been convicted for his role in what prosecutors described as a "Virginia jihad network." Prosecutors have said al-Timimi was a respected scholar who enjoyed "rock star" status among his followers and that he used that influence to guide them into holy war against the United states. Al-Timimi's lawyers have said he only counseled young Muslims after Sept. 11 that they might be wise to leave the United states because it would become difficult to practice their faith in this country. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #1 Sounds like the "respected scholar" was a busy beaver indeed. |
| Posted by: Tkat 2005-04-12 4:27:56 PM |