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| Mosque leader: Brothers’ plan was ’beyond stupid’ |
| 2003-09-19 |
| Story from yesterday, edited for new laughs: The president of the Beaverton mosque where two members of the so-called Portland Seven worshipped said Thursday that he feels "personally betrayed" by their involvement in a conspiracy to help the Taliban fight against American forces in Afghanistan. "This is a big disappointment," Shahriar Ahmed said Thursday, when Ahmed Ibrahim Bilal, 25, and Muhammad Ibrahim Bilal, 23, each pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to charges of conspiracy and firearms possession. "It was beyond stupid," Ahmed said of the now-admitted conduct by the brothers, whom he called "well-liked" worshippers at the Bilal Mosque (no relation) (Uh huh). "It was beyond -- anything." As part of their plea agreements, the brothers admitted to possessing firearms in the United States for training purposes. They also admitted to traveling to Asia in October 2001 to take up arms and die as martyrs, if necessary, to defend the Taliban. Three other charges against Ahmed Bilal were dropped, and two against Muhammad Bilal were dropped. Only an event beyond their control -- their inability to enter Afghanistan via Pakistan -- kept them from achieving their objective of fighting with the Taliban, both men acknowledged in written plea agreements. Note that these two morons may be the only people on the planet who couldn’t get into Afghanistan from Pakistan. In his agreement, Ahmed Bilal said that after the group’s failure to reach Afghanistan he went to Indonesia, where he obtained contact information -- from a person from Portland -- for an Indonesian-based terrorist organization. The agreement said he was trying to decide whether he wanted to participate in a violent "holy war" by other means. Decisions, decisions. In entering the pleas, the Bilals joined another of the Portland Seven, Maher Mofeid "Mike" Hawash, in agreeing to cooperate in the investigation and prosecution of "other individuals involved in criminal and terrorist activity." The 38-year-old Hawash, who apparently was not involved in the firearms possession and training activities, pleaded guilty in August to the less serious conspiracy charge, in exchange for a likely sentence of seven years. The Bilals’ pleas mean that only three of the Seven are scheduled to go to trial in January: Jeffrey Leon Battle; his ex-wife, October Martinique Lewis; and Patrice Lumumba Ford. They are charged with conspiring to levy war against the United States, providing material support and resources to al-Qaida and contributing services to al-Qaida and the Taliban. Ford and Battle also face firearms-related charges, and Lewis and Ford are charged with money laundering for allegedly wiring money to other co-defendants who were in Asia as part of the alleged conspiracies. One of Ford’s attorneys, Marc Sussman, was present when the Bilals entered their pleas Thursday. Asked what the pleas meant for his client, Sussman replied, "Two more witnesses against him." Bwahahahaha! Unlike previous court appearances, there were no supporters present in the courtroom. Kind of hard to drum up supporters when you’re pleading guilty. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #1 It's not Beaverton, the Fortification Mosque of Peace is right off of Barbur and Capitol and their mosque is a few blocks away on Huber and they got arrested at their apartments a few blocks from that when nervous neighbors noticed them loading rifles in their car's trunk. The Portland Tribune makes the Whoregonian look good... I had to threaten them with small claims to quit throwing their rag in my yard... |
| Posted by: DANEgerus 2003-9-19 5:16:36 PM |