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Dr Kaukab Siddique | Editor-in-Chief Safar 1, 1433/December 26, 2011 # 53

For photos scroll to end.
Hundreds of thousands gathered in Lahore to hear Munawar Hasan call for Islamic Pakistan.

Pakistan: Opening the doors to Islamic revolution. On December 25, Jamaate Islami held a huge dharna [sit down rally] in Lahore, a city which is known as the throbbing heart of Islamic Pakistan.
Our observers say this is history in the making. What a scene: Tens of thousands of women carrying banners and chanting slogans. Hundreds of thousands of men chanting : Pakistan ka mutlab kia, la illaha ill Allah. Inqilab, inqilab, Islami Inqilab as well slogans made up of the name of Syed Munawar Hasan who speaks so eloquently in Urdu that even Maulana Maudoodi would have admired it. Thousands of young men chanted that they wanted JIHAD but JI is not giving the call for Jihad [yet!]
Although it was televised live on a number of private stations, the secular media completely ignored it.

In Karachi, the same day, 12.25, the seculars, with the full support of the military, the fascist group MQM and the US ambassador, brought up Imran Khan as the counterpoint to Jamaate Islami. His oganization is negligible which leaves him open to infiltration by all kinds of old timers who see him as the perfect replacement for Zardari. He is using a tested tactic of clever politicians: simply take over some of Jamaate Islami's slogans and use government machinery to generate a crowd.

Imran is going to have slow going because Jamaat Islami is finally getting massive support from women and the poor and the oppressed. JI already held a huge rally of historic proportions in the jihad-sensitive city of Peshawar [See New Trend of December 19] and then an impressive rally by Hijabi women in Karachi on December 20 [see photos below.]

Vow to protect the rights of women, defend Christians and other minorities , to cut prices by 30% and to restore electricity all over the country within three months:

While Munawar Hasan pounded America's intervention and acclaimed the victories of the Taliban [thunderous roar of "America: Get Out" and "Allahu Akbar" from hundreds of thousands], a second JI leader Liaqat Baloch attended to matters more mundane. He assured the very impressive crowd of women that JI would stand for their rights. Talking to Christians, he assured them and other minorities that their religion and sanctities would be fully safeguarded in the coming Islamic state [inshallah]. The peasants and laborers were told that prices would be slashed by 30 %, and the overall population which is facing electricity outages [called "load shedding" in Pakistan] that electricity would be restored all over Pakistan.

For more explanation of the SNAKE "god" of ISRAEL, please scroll way down.

Two important thoughts from JAM adviser Imam Shamim Siddiqui [Long Island, New York]

*Colonialism is not dead but continuing in its worst form through Globalization of trade.
*Democracy is a farce where faces are counted and not heard - a rule of minority in the false name of majority.

For each month of the Islamic calendar, go to islamicmoon.com organized by Dr. Omar Afzal, Ithaca, New York

Revolutionary Khutbas:
Outreach to 700 Arab Americans
The Qur'an can Transform America: We Can Help Christians re-Discover Jesus, pbuh.
The female is being Buried Alive in this Culture

Imam Badi Ali serves the Muslims of North Carolina out of his support base in Greensboro. The community has grown and continues to grow; hence there are two juma' prayers on Friday. Most of the people are from Palestine, Iraq, Egypt, Sudan, Niger, Somalia, Yemen, Jordan and Lebanon with a few Pakistanis.

On December 23, Dr. Kaukab Siddique was invited to give the khutba in both juma' prayers and to lead the prayers in the first one. About 450 people attended the first Juma' and about 250 the second. Here are the main points made by Dr. Siddique in the first Juma':

Texts: "And when the female buried alive will be asked: For what sin was she killed?" [The Qur'an 81:8-9.]
"Did we not create you from a despised sperm?" [The Qur'an 77:20]
"O you who believe! liquor of all kinds, and gambling and sacrifices to false gods and falsely seeking "luck" are abominations of satan's handiwork. Strictly avoid them so that you may be successful." {5:90]

1. The Qur'an is a transfornational force for individuals and for entire civilizations.
2. Islam's bedrock is tawheed [the one God, Allah] and the example of Muhammad, pbuh, which subsumes the message of previous prophets,
3. Other religions too say that they worship God but there is a supreme difference between Islam and ALL other religions. You CANNOT be a Muslim unless you reject ALL false gods. The rejection must precede the affirmation in the kalima of Islam: La illaha ill Allah, Muhammad Rasool Allah.
4. Even as the holy day of the Christians approaches, America is floundering among the twin evils of liquor and gambling. They have no solution for these evils. Why? because their books do not prohibit drinking and gambling.
All that's left to them is Alcoholics Anonymous and traffic rules about DUI.
5. Christians are not taught that Jesus, pbuh, did not EVER teach war. Islam being a complete way of life teaches Jihad and provides extensive rules for its promulgation.
6. Because most Americans neglect Jesus, pbuh, real teachings, they commit the most atrocious acts of war such as the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan and the ongoing support for the occupation of Palestine..
7. Mary [Maryam], peace be on her, is acclaimed in the Qur'an. She was a blessed woman chosen by Allah but the people of America have forgotten that she was holy and through her all women are holy.
8. Latest reports indicate that 1 out of every 4 women in America are battered mercilessly and 1 out of 3 are raped. Almost EVERY MAJOR CRIME in America victimizes women. Check out the daily local news.
9. Islam teaches us the holiness of women: She is the mother, the wife, the daughter, the sister. Among the greatest leaders of Islam were Khadija, Ayesha, Asma, Fatima, Hafsa, Umm Ammara, Umm Waraqa, Khaulah, Zainab, Ruqayya, Umm Kulthum and historically Hajira and Maryam [Mary] [Allah be pleased with them all].
10. The Qur'an and hadith are leaders of civilization. Islam is the only religion which gives obligatory shares to women in inheritance. Islam taught about the movement of the sun, the stars and all heavenly bodies at a time when people thought that the heavens were fixed and static.
11. Even when warning about the cataclysmic FINAL DAYS, the Qur'an taught against the horrific mistreatment of female children. Sadly today females are "buried alive" [often medical infanticide] in China and India. Islam has a message of liberation for the women of these nations, in particular for the western woman who is being buried under the weight of consumerism and the mass culture of sophisticated prostitution.
12. The Qur'an taught 1400 years back that the child is formed as male and female from the content of the male's sperm. Hence those who hate daughters have no right to blame the mother for the birth of daughters. It's coming from the father. Genetics has made these facts common knowledge today.
13. So, stop worrying that Zionists and neo-cons are attacking Islam. The Qur'an and the authentic hadith will deflate these moves against Islam: Our message is too powerful to be undermined by abuse and censorship.
14. Move forward with the Qur'an and the Sunnah to liberate the oppressed people of America. Free the slaves, defeat the oppressors.


Women in Pakistan rising up with faith and determination. Please scroll to report via Nadrat.


A Palestinian in the hands of US Zionists. Trying to Match Hitler & Stalin?: Zionism in Action in USA
Stopping a Political Prisoner from attending his Mother's Funeral From Tennessee Da'wah [facebook]
we offer our condolences to the Al-Mezain family on the death of Saada Zidan, the mother of Holy Land Foundation defendant Mohammed El-Mezain. Mohammed El-Mezain is currently incarcerated in a Communications Management Unit at the Federal... Correctional Institute in Terre Haute, IN, and unable to attend his mother's funeral or participate in the arrangements. Please send your condolences to Mohammed El-Mezain via postal mail at:

MOHAMMED ELMEZAIN - 92412-198
FCI TERRE HAUTE
FEDERAL CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION
P.O. BOX 33
TERRE HAUTE, IN 47808

A postcard or short letter to share your condolences would be greatly appreciated. All correspondence must be in English. Please keep the El-Mezain family in your prayers as they mourn the loss of their loved one

Photo below: December 20: Karachi, Pakistan: Anti-Nato Rally Called by Women Leaders.
"When the Hijabi Women come out on the streets, revolution is near." [Pakistani Proverb.]
[Inset: Speaking to sisters: Abdul Ghaffar Aziz, JI leader, with Karachi ameer Hussain Mehnati on his right.]

from Jamaat-e-Islami Karachi
Grand Women's Rally against US, NATO: JI demands withdrawal of troops from Tribal areas, deployment on Eastern borders

Karachi. 20 Dec: Jamaat-e Islami Karachi Chief Muhammad Hussain Mahenti has warned the United States and the NATO Forces that their acts of aggression against the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Pakistan would not be tolerated and would be retaliated with full force. The NATO attack on Pakistani security post that claimed lives of 24 Pakistani troopers has poured fuel on already provoked anti-US and anti-NATO sentiments and now children and women have taken to the street to convey a message to the US and the NATO to abstain any adventurism against the country. He was addressing a huge women's rally at New M A Jinnah Road, near Idara-e Noor-e Haq Wednesday. Jamaat-e Islami Karachi organized the rally in order to express anger against the US and NATO for their wicked designs against the country. The character of the US has been fully exposed in ten years after NATO attack on Pakistani territory while ignoring the long standing partnership in war on terror. The US used Pakistani soil against people of Afghanistan and citizens of Pakistan in tribal areas. Thus the real face of the US has been exposed even to the Pakistani rulers and army. The protest rallies by children and women is a clear message to the US that the entire nation is prepared to counter US designs and in this regard, the women have now showed their full support to male population of the country. Pakistani rulers have realized the US has been conspiring against the integrity and sovereignty of the country so they have showed resistance and in this regard, the JI is hopeful that the rulers would not rejoin the US in its onward destructive plots against the country and the Muslim Ummah. It was a shameful incident in the history of Pakistan that the rulers of the country had released the CIA agent Raymond Davis despite the fact that he had brutally murdered 2 Pakistani citizens.
It was more a matter of absolute shame that an innocent Pakistani woman, Dr Afia Siddiqui was arrested and handed over to the US for a little aid. "We demand the government should initiate dialogue for peace with the heads of tribes and withdraw army from tribal areas. Pakistani army should be deployed on Eastern Borders (India) and Afghanistan so as to ensure complete protection from any adventurism," Mahenti demanded. "Today's women's rally is concrete proof that the entire nation is united for the noble cause of protecting the country from US aggression". The women's rally is also a sign that the Islamic revolution in the country is not too far, he vowed. JI Karachi General Secretary Naseem Siddiqui in his address said that there are reports that the government has approached the US for lending hefty funds and if the reports are correct then it would be tantamount to leaving the country in the hands of the US. He demanded Chief of the Army Staff Gen. Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani to ensure that he would not allow the government to sell the blood of the martyrs for dollars. If any bargain was made, the nation would take the responsible to task, he warned. Addressing the rally, JI Foreign Affairs director Dr Abdul Ghaffar said that the former super power USSR had invaded Afghanistan but the invasion had resulted in disintegration of the USSR. The US has also invaded Afghanistan and despite spending trillions of dollars, it could not conquer Afghans and is now making all tricks to escape the shameful defeat. He said that it now it is not a secret that the US wanted to cut Pakistan into pieces but women's rally has now sent a message to the US that it would have to face the wrath of the nation in case of any aggression against the country. He said that although the government has at present suspended supply to NATO but it is JI that would ensure the supply line is completely cut for good. "We want Qisas (head for head) for those 37, 000 that have been martyred in US drone attacks," he demanded.



Dear friends, We would like to sincerely thank you for your massive participation in our Boycott Israel Center. Because of your participation, not only was 2011 a huge year for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement (see some of the successes on the left), but it was a big year for CJPME's Boycott Israel Campaign. From the Bay suspending their sale of AHAVA products, to Vanessa Paradis cancelling her performance in Israel, hundreds of you participated in our monthly boycott targets, and told them "We're not buying it".

This holiday season we ask that you use your purchasing power to remind merchants that they have an ethical responsibility not to support Israel's ongoing occupation of Palestinian land. Use the tools provided below to make your voice heard, and let the following companies (see all boycott targets here) know that you won't spend your hard earned money to support Israel's continuing violation of international and humanitarian law.

AHAVA
AHAVA Dead Sea Laboratories Ltd. is a cosmetics company specializing in products composed of minerals and resources drawn from the Dead Sea shores of the occupied West Bank. Although AHAVA has no stores in Canada, its products can be found at The Bay, Sears Canada Inc ,The Ahava Day Spa in Alberta and Spa Ahava in Saskatchewan.

What can you do?
Canadian Tire
Canadian Tire sells products from the Israeli company Keter Plastic, which manufactures some of its products in illegal Israeli colonies.

What can you do?
COSTCO
COSTCO sells various Israeli products, some of which are manufactured in the Occupied Palestinian territories.

What can you do?
H&M
H&M has four stores in Israel, including one store at the Malcha shopping center in Jerusalem.

What can you do?
Home Depot
Home Depot sells Israeli brands in its stores. Its largest Israeli supplier, Keter Plastics, is heavily invested in the Israeli colonies in the West Bank.

What can you do?
IKEA
IKEA delivers to the illegal Israeli colonies in the West Bank, while refusing to deliver to any Palestinian cities in the Occupied territories. IKEA currently has two stores in Israel and is planning on opening a third one in 2012.

What can you do?
Indigo Books and Music Inc.
Heather Reisman and Gerry Schwartz own 68% of the shares of Indigo Books and Music Inc. In 2005, the couple founded the Heseg Foundation for Lone Soldiers, aimed at encouraging foreigners to join the Israeli army and pursue their studies in Israel. Indigo Books and Music Inc. have stores in all major Canadian cities.

What can you do?
Mountain Equipment Co-Op
Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) resells Israeli goods in its outdoors stores. Some of its suppliers are also contractors to the Israeli military, and some of the products stocked in MEC stores are also those supplied to the Israeli military. MEC has stores in most major Canadian cities.

What can you do?
Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut has one restaurant in the Pisgat Ze'ev colony, located in occupied East Jerusalem. The Israeli franchise of the restaurant chain is partially owned by the Africa Israel Group, which is heavily involved in the building of Jewish-only colonies throughout the occupied Palestinian territories. Find out more.
What can you do?
Toys "R" Us
Toys "R" Us' Israeli chain is operated by Super-Pharm Israel, which is heavily invested in the Israeli colonies in the West Bank. Toys "R" Us has opened twenty-six of these stores in Israel, and two in Jerusalem.

What can you do?
Western Union
The Israel Postal Company Ltd . is the licensed operator of Western Union in Israel. Western Union is located in 600 branches across Israel, including Israel's illegal colonies of Ariel, Kiryat Arba, and Ma'ale Adunim in the Palestinian West Bank.

What can you do?
If we all work together, we can make a difference. Please do your part to end Israel's human rights abuses, and put an end to the Occupation - it is time!
Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East Telephone: 438-380-5410

CJPME Website - CJPME Email
*** Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is a non-profit and secular organization bringing together men and women of all backgrounds who labour to see justice and peace take root again in the Middle East. CJPME's work depends on donations to continue.

By printing and mailing in the CJPME donation form(9880 Clark St., Suite 225, Montreal, QC,H3L 2R3)


Please go to the CJPME web sites to make the buttons give you the info you need.

Synopsis of YHWH, Snake God of Israel
H. Abdul Al-Dahir [For complete article go to New Trend of December 12.]

The above article discusses the origins of the Hebrew god, who is YHWH (generally pronounced Yahweh). YHWH has been depicted as a Semitic creator god with no known idol image. However, history tells a very different story.
YHWH's image is displayed in numerous places as on Hebrew altars, as epigraphic images in the Negev desert, on synagogue stones and on various cult objects as offering jars and vases.

The origin of the cult can be traced to several locations in the Middle East. However, there are 2 main trajectories for the entrance of YHWH into ancient Caanan now known as Palestine. The first trajectory is from the southern coast of the Arabian Peninsula where occurs the earliest form of the name YHWH which is Yah. Yah ( sometimes written as Ya) means snake in the Old North Arabian dialect. (The definitive article in Old North Arabian was H/Hn, making the word for 'the snake' H Yah. The article 'H' and the word for snake 'yah' were combined to make the modern Arabic word for snake, hyh.)

This form of the name, Yah, appears in the Negev inscriptions. The Negev inscriptions are an early form of Semitic writing which appears in the Negev Desert or southern Palestine. Archaeologists have assigned dates for these inscriptions anywhere from 2000 to 1000BCE. Later Hebrews combined the Old North Arabian word for snake, yah/ya, with the ancient West Semitic word for snake, hwh to form the name of their god YHWH, which literally means 'snake,snake or Yah, the snake. The combination seems odd until one considers that the early Hebrews adopted the Sanskrit word for snake' nagas', from their northern Indo Aryan neighbors, the Mitannis. The Hebrew word for snake became 'nachash', so the original meaning of the name Yah was lost to the Hebrew worshippers of this snake deity. They compensated by appending their original word for snake, hwh, to the name Yah, thus making it clear to all that Yah was a snake god.

The name Yah also shows up in early Minaean inscriptions. According to J.A. Montgomery, these inscriptions date from between 1500BCE to 1300BCE. The Minaeans were a caravanning tribe which originated in Hadhramaut which is located in Yemen. They later settled along the Western trade route. Their capital was Al Main, in [Saudi] Arabia. A large Minaean colony settled at Dedan (the Biblical name for the Minaeans), the capital of which was Al Ula, also located in the Arabian Peninsula. This tribe settled on the borders of the Midianites whose territory was Quraya (Northwestern Saudi Arabia), Edom and Moab (both located in Southern Palestine).

Midian, according to Genesis, is the son of Abrham through his 3rd wife Keturah. It was this tribe into which Moses married. These Midianites were known to the Egyptians as the Shasu of Yhw which means' the Bedouin who worship YHWH'. Dedan (Main or Minaean) is a grandson of Abraham through his 2nd son by Keturah, Jokshan (Qahtan in Arabic). The Hebrews were not only related to both of these tribes, but, according to the Book of Isaiah 30:6, they traded incense with them and then caravanned this incense into Egypt.

According to J.A. Montgomery, in his book, The Influence of Arabia, it was the Minaeans who brought the cult of Yah with them from the southern coast of Arabia. The cult of Yah appears to have been derived from the harvesting of the frankincense tree, a tree which was infested with gliding (flying in the Bible) poisonous snakes (Genus Chrysopelea). These snakes appear to have been regarded as protectors of the precious frankincense which, along with myrrh, gold and copper, made the tribes from the southern coast of Arabia so wealthy.

According to the Negev inscriptions, Yah was worshipped as a snake god who guarded the tree of life, which was the frankincense tree. Yah is written as a snake's head with a protruding forked tongue (Old Negev script Y + H). There are also full blown images of this snake god in these Negev inscriptions. There is an image of Yah portrayed as a snake head with the tree of life protruding from his mouth ( refer to image "Har Karkom, Harris/Hone, April 1997"). Refer to http://net.lib.byu.edu/imaging/negev/mainfs.html for the images of Yah.

It is this snake god which the Hebrews adopted from the Midianites thru the Minaeans that is referred to in the Bible.

The 2nd trajectory of the name YHWH is through Egypt. The Egyptians were known for their snake cults, the most famous of which was the snake cult of Wadjet. Wadjet is depticted as a spitting cobra (Naja Pallida) and was the protective deity of lower Egypt and Nubia. Wadjet's image is displayed on the crown of the Pharaoh as a uraeus or the upright image of a spitting cobra. The Pharoah's nemes headdress, which symbolizes the flaring hood of Wadjet, and the uraeus portrayed the Pharaoh as Egypt's protective deity. (Ref: golden death mask of Tutankhamon). Pharaoh protected Egypt just as Wadjet protected him. The people who settled Caanan (Palestine) came from many directions, one of the main directions was from Egypt. Egypt's delta was inhabited by Western Semites or people who came from the Levant. These Western Semites were known to the Egyptians as Hyksos, which means foreign rulers.They ruled Egypt for a short period of time and then were expelled by the Egyptians. They fled through the Sinai and into Caanan (Palestine) and other areas of the Levant where they settled. The Hyksos worshipped at least 2 Egyptian gods, Seth and the snake god, Apep.

When they settled into Caanan, they brought with them their Egyptian god, Seth, whom the Biblical authors assigned as the 3rd son of Adam who replaced the slain Abel. As for their snake god Apep, the Hyksos or their descendants (some of whom were known as Hebrews), exchanged his name for the local snake god, Yah. Yah was a Semitic god and the Hebrews made sure that all understood that Yah was a snake god. They combined the name 'Yah', the Old North Arabian word for snake, with the Western Semitic word for snake, which was hw or hwh. (Much later, (as explained above) the Hebrews borrowed their word for snake, nachash, from the Sanskrit word for snake which is nagas. They borrowed this word from the local Mitannis, people who lived in Northern Mesopotamia and Southeastern Turkey). Thus, the name Yh became YHWH, which means snake,snake, Yah, the snake or Yah is a snake.
The Hyksos not only brought their snake cult with them into Caanan, they also brought with them the Egyptian "horned" altars and tent shrines. These horned altars and tent shrines are described in the Biblical Book, Exodus. According to Exodus, YHWH ordered these altars and shrines to be built according to Egyptian specifications which included the "horn" or the uraeus. The Hebrews built the altars with a uraeus (image of an upright spitting cobra who was the deity Wadjet) on each of the 4 corners and, to make sure that all understood the meaning of the uraeus, they carved the image of YHWH as a snake on this altar. A good example is the Beersheba altar: http://members.bibarch.org/publication.asp?PubID=BSBA&Volume1&Issue=1&ArticleID=2
This snake cult persisted. It had its own temple care takers and priestly caste which were the Levites which means the coiling ones. The cult also had devotees or Nazarites who were especially dedicated to the snake god YHWH. They grew their hair long from their temples so that their sideburns resembled the coils of a snake. They also grew their hair into dreadlocks which also imitated the coils of their snake god. Eventually, the Judean King, Hezekiah (715-686 BCE), attempted to stamp out this snake cult. The attempt failed for Ezekiel (lived circa 550 BCE) recorded that the elders of Israel were still worshipping the snake god (Ezekiel 8:10-12).

The Hebrews were conquered by the Babylonians and returned to Palestine under Persian domination. The king of Persia, Cyrus the Great, a monotheist, financed the Hebrew temple at Jerusalem. But as late as 100AD, the Hebrews continued to carve YHWH as a snake on their temple walls. See the Galilean Migdal Synagogue Stone: http://tzvee.blogspot.com/2009/09/galilean-synagogue-at-migdl-excavated.htmlOn the Stone face:2 trees of life:

These are stylized images of the frankincense tree. Around the trunks of the trees, one can see a coiling snake.Center of Stone: The flower of life, often referred to as the tree of life by the Hebrews. The flower contains 6 petals and may be a stylized depiction of the 5 petaled flowers on the branches of the frankincense tree: See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankincense.The ouroboros: the snake consuming its own tail surrounds the flower of life, also known as the tree of life to the Hebrews. The eye and the mouth of the snake are clearly visible on the right side of the flower.

The ouroboros is ancient Egyptian in origin and is contained in "The Book of the Netherworld". The ouroboros is a symbol the cyclical nature of creation. Here, the ouroboros represents YHWH as the guardian of the tree of life.The leaves: The 4 stylized leaves of the frankincense tree can be seen as heart shapes. These heart shapes can also represent the flared hoods of spitting cobras.Geometric Designs: Cross inside diamond inside square: Stylized ankhs or the Egyptian key of life.Menorah: stylized tree of life or frankincense tree.

Today,most modern worshippers of YHWH have no inkling about his ophidic (snake) origins. However, the same cannot be said of the the Israeli archaeologists who have been unearthing the snake image of YHWH in every corner of Palestine including Hazor, Megiddo, Beth Shan, Beth Shemesh, Timna, Jericho, Gezer and Gideon. One can only conclude that these scientists have chosen to withhold the meaning of these snake images from the public. Perhaps they have been warned by the occupation authorities that releasing this information may adversly affect the political and economic future of occupied Palestine.

This is how the mass rally of 12.25 in Lahore appeared in the Urdu media.
[Inset: Munawar Hasan reminding the masses that Islamic state is coming.]
[Totally censored by secular and pro-West Zionist media in US and Pakistan.]


Here is a small segment of the record breaking crowd in Lahore on 12.25.
Our observers say: The doors to Islamic revolution are opening.
[From Shamsuddin Amjad.]


"Mehanna said he had been threatened by FBI agents with prosecution for failing to cooperate and serve as an informant."
[This is how the Boston Globe reported the verdict. The major TV media simply ignored it. -Ed]
Tarek Mehanna guilty of terror charges. Sudbury man attempted to promote, join war against US, jury finds
By Milton J. Valencia
| Globe Staff
December 20, 2011

AP
Souad Mehanna, second from right, left court after her son, Tarek Mehanna, was found guilty on terror related charges.
Tarek Mehanna, the pharmacy college graduate from the quiet, affluent suburb of Sudbury, was convicted yesterday of providing material support to Al Qaeda, in a swift and sweeping verdict that found he sought paramilitary training in Yemen so he could carry out jihad, or holy war, against US soldiers in Iraq.

AP/File
Tarek Mehanna, 29, was convicted on seven charges.
Mehanna was also convicted of using his knowledge of Arabic to translate and distribute documents promoting Al Qaeda's ideology, to inspire others to violent jihad.
The 29-year-old remained calm and poised as the verdict of guilty was announced repeatedly in US District Court in Boston, a total of seven convictions for counts of conspiring to provide material support to terrorists, conspiring to kill in a foreign country, and of lying to authorities in a terrorism investigation.
Once the jury was discharged, he yelled out, "I love you'' to his crying mother, Souad, to his father, Ahmed, and his younger brother, Tamer, and he thanked dozens of supporters.
He is slated to be sentenced on April 12 and faces life in prison.
His father would only say: "I'm stunned, I can't believe it.''
Prosecutors said the verdict was just.
"The job of law enforcement agencies and prosecutors is to bring terrorists to justice,'' US Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz told reporters after the verdict. "And it is vitally important that we prevent incidences of terrorism before they happen.''
Richard DesLauriers, special agent in charge of the FBI's Boston division, said: "The FBI has a clarion mission to investigate all potential threats to the United States in order to protect our community from harm. The FBI fulfilled its most important mission by stopping Mehanna's conspiracy to support terrorism, the goal of which was an unlawful affront to our nation's cherished ideal of peaceful dissent.''
Mehanna continued to receive support yesterday from family members, friends, and civil rights groups who said the prosecution for his translation and distribution of documents was an infringement of his rights, as an American citizen, to free speech.
Mehanna had argued that he was devoted to his religion and the rights of Muslims to defend themselves, but said he never worked for Al Qaeda.
"It's an incredibly sad day for us,'' one of Mehanna's attorneys, Janice Bassil, said after the verdict was read. ". . . It is a sad day for civil rights. It is a sad day for the First Amendment.''
Another attorney, J.W. Carney Jr., said Mehanna knew he was innocent.
"I think innocent people sit there with a level of comfort and ease that was reflected in Tarek Mehanna,'' Carney said. "He knew in his heart that he was not guilty of these charges. And frankly, nothing that the prosecutors say, nothing that the judge says, indeed nothing that the jury says, will change that.''
Carney said Mehanna will appeal the verdict, in large part on the argument that prosecutors sensationalized the trial by repeatedly referring to and showing pictures and videos of Osama bin Laden and suicide bombings, as a strategy to scare and prejudice jurors.
The jury of six men and six women deliberated for about 10 hours before rendering its verdict, following 31 days of testimony by more than 40 witnesses in what both sides agree was a complex trial. Several jurors contacted by the Globe refused to comment on their deliberations.
An alternate juror told the Globe last night that he was not sure Mehanna was guilty.
"They found him guilty, so it's possible that he is guilty, but I don't know,'' said Rupert McBean, 64, of Dorchester. "I still have to process it.''
Over the course of the trial, FBI agents testified of videos of suicide bombings and of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that were found on Mehanna's computer, following a secret search of his Sudbury home in 2006.
Mehanna also possessed videos and documents produced by Al Qaeda, and prosecutors said he used his knowledge of Arabic to translate them, following Al Qaeda's call for followers to spread its message in the West.
Prosecutors say the information showed Mehanna's state of mind in 2004, when he traveled to Yemen with a friend, Ahmad Abousamra. A third man, Kareem Abuzahra, joined them but returned halfway through the trip after his father had reportedly gotten ill.
Abuzahra was also investigated, but he cooperated with authorities and testified under immunity that the three of them discussed going to Yemen to seek paramilitary training, so they could fight in Iraq.
Abuzahra testified that Mehanna had told him once he returned to the United States that he failed to find a terrorist camp, and he said they agreed to tell investigators a cover story that they went to Yemen in search of schooling.
Defense attorneys sought to impeach the testimony of Abuzahra, who was seen as the government's key witness. The lawyers got him to acknowledge that he was the one amongst his friends who inquired about obtaining weapons and who discussed the possibility of a domestic terror attack at an Air Force base or shopping mall.
But Mehanna, the defense team argued, was a budding scholar who dismissed the idea of attacking American civilians or a domestic attack, a philosophy that was at odds with Al Qaeda.
They said any views he had were rooted in his devotion to his religion and the belief that Muslims should defend themselves, particularly against foreign soldiers in Iraq. They also argued that Mehanna's views were far more moderate than others, including those of his own friend Abousamra.
Abousamra, they agreed, sought training in Iraq, but argued that Mehanna should not be held accountable for his actions. Abousamra was charged, but fled to Syria after he was first questioned in 2006, and he remains a fugitive.
The case against Mehanna stirred much controversy within the greater Muslim community, after Mehanna said he had been threatened by FBI agents with prosecution for failing to cooperate and serve as an informant. Many who never met Mehanna rallied to his cause and attended the two-month trial.
Mehanna never fled after he was first contacted by authorities in 2006, his supporters point out. He was not charged until 2008, as he was about to board a flight to Saudi Arabia to begin a career as a pharmacist.
Ortiz said yesterday that Mehanna was charged based on his own conduct.
"We do not prosecute people for expressing their beliefs, for exercising their freedom of speech and their First Amendment rights,'' she said. "We prosecute people for conduct and the intent that they have when they engage in certain conduct.''
Mohamed Islaam, who described himself as a friend of Mehanna's from New York, walked out of the courthouse convinced Mehanna had been punished for refusing to work as an informant.
Islaam also pointed out that Mehanna left the courtroom with the same sense of inner calm that he had when he entered it.
"His head was held high,'' he said. "He's an honorable man. He knows he's innocent.''

2011-12-27 Tue 17:57:06 cst
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