| Submit your comments on this article |
| Home Front: WoT |
| Terror probe exposes Muslim rift |
| 2005-06-11 |
| SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Federal authorities aren't saying much about their terrorism investigation in nearby Lodi but are making two things clear: Their work in the farming town has been going on for years — and it's not over. They denied the implication by some members of Lodi's large Pakistani community that the investigation was triggered by a rift between fundamentalist and mainstream factions. Each side accused the other of contacting the FBI. The dispute has led to a leadership struggle at the Lodi Muslim Mosque and a legal fight with a budding Islamic learning center. "This specific investigation has been going on for several years," FBI spokesman John Cauthen said. The FBI alleges several people committed to al-Qaida have been operating in and around the tranquil wine-growing region just south of Sacramento. Investigators said Hamid Hayat, 22, trained with al-Qaida in Pakistan and planned to attack hospitals and supermarkets in the United States. A Sacramento federal judge denied bail to Hayat yesterday, saying he had "a motive to flee and certainly the means to flee." U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter Nowinski also denied bail Tuesday to Hayat's father, Umer, 47. Umer Hayat has said his son was drawn to jihadist training camps in his early teenage years while attending a religious school in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, operated by Umer Hayat's father-in-law, according to an FBI affidavit. Umer Hayat allegedly paid for his son to attend the terrorist camp in 2003 and 2004. The Hayats are charged only with lying to federal investigators. Two Islamic religious leaders, or imams, and one leader's son also have been detained on immigration violations. Neither Cauthen nor a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement would reveal specifics of the alleged visa violations. Saad Ahmad, an attorney for the three men, did not return a telephone call. The sequence that led to the arrests and detentions began May 29, when Hamid Hayat was trying to return to the United States but was identified in midflight as being on the federal "no-fly" list. His plane was diverted to Japan, where he was interviewed by the FBI and denied any connection to terrorism. He was allowed to fly to California, but was interviewed again last weekend. He and his father were charged after he flunked a lie-detector test and then admitted attending the training camp, the affidavit said. The Hayats and the imams are on opposite sides of a struggle between Pakistani factions in and around Lodi: The Hayats are aligned with a faction supporting more traditional Islamic values; the imams with another group are seeking greater cooperation and understanding from the larger community. Adil Khan, one of those imams, was trying to start an Islamic center but has been sued by the Lodi Muslim Mosque, which claims he improperly transferred mosque property. |
| Posted by:Spavirt Pheng6042 |
| #3 Regardless of the specialty of the summercamp, Big Jim, Mummy and Daddy always have to pay, generally through the nose. ;-) |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2005-06-11 21:15 |
| #2 Terrorism and murder are more traditional islamic values? Yeah, I guess I can see that. |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2005-06-11 11:32 |
| #1 You have to pay to attend a terrorist training camp?!? Shouldnt they provide training? I think I see an angle here. |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2005-06-11 11:30 |