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| US deports Saudi cleric on suspicion of terror link |
| 2003-05-10 |
| Jpost - Reg Req'd US authorities expelled a Saudi consular official and Muslim leader who had been living in Southern California, saying he was suspected of having terrorist links. Fahad al Thumairy, 32, was detained at Los Angeles International Airport earlier in the week after arriving from Frankfurt and was deported Thursday. He may not return to the United States for five years. From Frankfurt hmmm? Not Hamburg? "He was placed on an international flight, destined for Riyadh," Saudi Arabia, said Virginia Kice, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security. Al Thumairy's diplomatic visa was revoked in March, and his name was added to a list of travelers who should not be allowed to enter the United States because of suspected links to terrorism. Officials would not immediately provide details on the alleged connection. Officials of the Saudi Consulate in Los Angeles and the Saudi Embassy in Washington declined to comment. What can they say? He refused to stay away and got jugged and shipped out - an embarrassment Al Thumairy had worked for the Saudi Consulate in Los Angeles since 1996 and held a post in the Islamic and cultural affairs section of the consulate. He was also the imam at the King Fahd Mosque in Culver City, California, which has one of the largest Muslim congregations in the region. The mosque, built with financing from the Saudi government, was the target of a foiled bomb plot by a member of the militant Jewish Defense League in 2001. "He never dealt with politics, in his public comments or in private gatherings," said Tajuddin Shuaib, who directs the mosque, which is run by a nonprofit group. Riiigghhttt "Like the rest of us, he was really shocked about Sept. 11. He felt it was wrong and, in the long term, that it would harm Muslims. His impression was that it would have some bad repercussions," Shuaib said. For the Islamic revolution, it has... he was prophetic huh? Since Sept. 11, 2001, the United States has increased scrutiny of visa applications from Muslim nations around the world. The number of Saudi Arabians who received visas dropped nearly 70 percent in the 2002 fiscal year to about 14,100. That's about 14,100 too many for my tastes |
| Posted by:Frank G |
| #10 Follow up on this story and you will find that a US State Department official denied that Al-Thumairy was deported because of any link to terrorist activities. The LA Times broke the story too soon. And so did you. |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-05-13 10:21:44 |
| #9 Yes Ari, we're deporting people left and right, sometimes just because we don't like their hairstyle. Meanwhile, between January 2000 and March 2003, that's just two months ago, more than 3.3 MILLION people immigrated to this horrific police state where all who aren't Christian or Jew are treated like chattel. Yes, it's horrible here. |
| Posted by: R. McLeod 2003-05-11 04:28:53 |
| #8 Aris Katsaris seems to have a problem with our deporting Saudi clerics known to have hung around with terrorists. Meanwhile, just about a year ago, the Greek government came close to imposing jail sentences on British plane spotters. Only the potential diplomatic damage caused these paranoid xenophobic morons to back off. Now that's what I call cute... |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2003-05-10 17:44:16 |
| #7 READ the article, Aris: Saudi consular official and Muslim leader All nations have the right to expel from their native soil the diplomats of other nations. No explanations or reasons are required or necessary. We'd catch a Soviet KGB agent/"diplomat" red handed and expel them. In reply, the Soviets would hurredly pick someone from our embassy in Moscow to expel on trumped up charges in order to make it look like we were spying on them too. Everyone knew it was BS, because they knew how intolerant of spies the USSR really was, so they'd wait and allow the spy to remain until one of theirs was caught? Yeah, riiiight. |
| Posted by: Ptah 2003-05-10 15:59:38 |
| #6 So people are being deported just on suspicion of having commited crimes. And of course every muslim is a suspect. How cute. |
| Posted by: Aris Katsaris 2003-05-10 15:29:16 |
| #5 From Frankfurt hmmm? Not Hamburg? Nothing to that; Frankfort is just the gateway city for most American airlines flying from here to there. You hop a Lufthansa flight or take the train from Hamburg, and then catch the big 747 to here. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2003-05-10 14:29:14 |
| #4 Yes, he was a very quiet man... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2003-05-10 11:37:20 |
| #3 14,100! That is unbelievable! If only 1% are involved in Islamofascism we've allowed 141 more Mohammed Atta's into our country. It's time to "close the door!" |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-05-10 11:20:07 |
| #2 Yes, he was a very quiet man... |
| Posted by: tu3031 5/10/2003 11:37:20 AM |
| #1 14,100! That is unbelievable! If only 1% are involved in Islamofascism we've allowed 141 more Mohammed Atta's into our country. It's time to "close the door!" |
| Posted by: Anonymous 5/10/2003 11:20:07 AM |