NYC: Muslim Immigrant Arrested, Wanted to Use Green Card to Recruit, Plot Jihad

via FBI — Tunisian Man Charged with Visa Fraud Related to Terrorism, Intended to Remain in U.S. to Facilitate an Act of International Terrorism.

As alleged in the indictment unsealed today in Manhattan federal court and other documents filed in the case:

Abassi, who previously resided in Canada, traveled to the United States in mid-March 2013, where he remained until his arrest. While in the United States, Abassi, who was under surveillance by law enforcement agents at all times, maintained regular contact with an FBI undercover officer (the UC) and also met with Chiheb Esseghaier in New York City. Esseghaier, who was recently arrested in Canada and is currently incarcerated there on terrorism charges, was previously radicalized by Abassi. During Abassi’s discussions with Esseghaier and with the UC, which were recorded by the UC, Abassi discussed his desire to engage in terrorist acts against targets in the United States and other countries and his intention to provide support and funding to organizations engaged in terrorist activity—including the al Nusrah Front, which is recognized by the U.S. Department of State as an alias for Al Qaeda in Iraq—and to recruit other individuals for terrorist plots. In particular, Abassi discussed with the UC a number of individuals known to Abassi and/or to his associates, whom he described as like- minded and who, in his view, would be willing to engage in terrorist activity.

On April 12, 2013, Abassi and the UC discussed Abassi’s efforts to recruit others for terrorist plots and that he might be able to obtain immigration documents to remain in the United States, purportedly in order to work for the UC’s U.S.-based company. In reality, Abassi made clear that he wanted to obtain immigration documents and to remain in the United States so that he could engage in “projects” relating to future terrorist activities, including recruitment. Thereafter, Abassi made false statements on two immigration forms, under penalty of perjury, and subsequently mailed those forms to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for processing.

The indictment charges Abassi with two counts of knowingly making false statements in an application to the immigration authorities for a green card and work visa in order to facilitate an act of international terrorism. Each count carries a maximum term of 25 years in prison.

And via Jawa Report, Abassi studied Chemical Engineering at a Quebec University

A man arrested in a U.S. terror plot in New York April 22 was a graduate student studying chemical engineering at Laval University in Quebec City, CBC News has learned.

Ahmed Abassi’s major is “particularly chilling” in conjunction with other evidence presented against him by the FBI, said CBC’s Greg Weston.

More: FBI: Terror Suspect Ahmed Abassi Allegedly Plotted To Poison The Air Or Water Supply

Nothing was imminent in the FBI controlled operation. So why did it take until May 9th to announce the April 22 arrest?

Update: It turns out he waived his Miranda rights and was interrogated for nine straight days that led to part of the delay.

NYC: Muslim gets just 5 years for plotting to blow up synagogues

via Mohamed Mamdouh gets 5 years for plotting to blow up synagogues  – NY Daily News.

A Moroccan [Muslim] national who plotted to blow up Manhattan synagogues was sentenced to five years in prison Friday.

Mohamed Mamdouh, 22, copped to three crimes under state terror laws on Feb. 28 in exchange for a five year prison sentence, plus three years of post-release supervision.

Prosecutors said Mamdouh and “mastermind” Ahmed Ferhani — busted on May 11, 2011 — discussed dressing as observant Jews to infiltrate synagogues and tried to buy weapons to arm themselves for “the cause.”

“His case has been about bringing to justice two men, angry at what they perceived as the unjust treatment of Muslims in the world, who spoke of their hatred for Jews, and plotted to attack synagogues in New York City using explosives,” prosecutor Gary Galperin said at Mamdouh’s sentencing.

“Their intent was to create chaos and to intimidate and coerce Jews living in New York City, and thereby send a message far beyond New York,” he added.

Ferhani at one point said he wanted to attack 10 synagogues.

Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Michael Obus pointed to the gravity of the bomb plot at Friday’s sentencing.

“The conduct contemplated is well beyond what can possibly be tolerated in a civilized society,” Obus said.

But the judge suggested the young would-be terrorist learned his lesson.

“I actually do believe Mr. Mamdouh recognizes that at this point. That’s especially apparent in light of recent events,” he added, an apparent reference to the Boston Marathon bombing.

Mamdouh, wearing black dress slacks and an untucked white dress shirt, declined to speak and did not appear to have family in the audience.

“At a low point in his life he made a terrible mistake. He recognizes that and he’s genuinely remorseful for his mistake,” said Mamdouh’s lawyer Aaron Mysliwiec.

Ferhani, 28, who also copped out, was sentenced on March 13 to 10 years in prison.

Mamdouh pleaded guilty to conspiracy and weapons charges and faced up to 25 years in prison.

What a deal. Five years and after about three years of Koran studying and halal meals he’ll be out all the wiser.

Suspicion over 9/11 plane’s landing gear found at Ground Zero mosque

via Part of 9/11 plane’s landing gear found in NYC alley near Ground Zero | Fox News.

A piece of landing gear from one of the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center towers on 9/11 has been discovered in a small alley near Ground Zero more than 11 years after the terror attacks.

The rusted 5-foot-tall fragment was discovered between the rear of buildings on Park Place and Murray Street in lower Manhattan on Friday, the New York Police Department said.

The twisted metal part has cables and levers on it and is about 3 feet wide and 1.5 feet deep. It includes a clearly visible Boeing Co. identification number, New York Police Department spokesman Paul Browne said Friday.

“The odds of this being wedged between there is amazing,” Browne said, adding it was not surprising that it went undiscovered for more than a decade given the location. “It had to have fallen just the right way to make it into that space.”

Browne said other World Trade Center wreckage had been discovered nearby, possibly even at the same buildings, in years past.

Officials say that the part was found at 11 a.m. Friday, when surveyors hired by the owner of 51 Park Place reported what they thought was damaged machinery behind the building. It was wedged between a mosque site and a luxury high-rise apartment building near the World Trade Center.

The Associated Press goes into full propaganda mode defending and promoting the virtues of a mega mosque at Ground Zero yet they ignore Muslims who are protesting a tiny church in Srebrenica where they claim thousands of Muslims were killed.

Was it a fraud? Was 9/11 landing gear hidden on purpose?

After surveyors discovered what appears to be plane landing gear from the 9/11 attacks, authorities are wondering how it got sandwiched between two buildings — one of them housing a much-debated Islamic community center.

“The odds of it entering that space at exactly that angle that would permit it to squeeze in there … it had to come in at almost precisely the right angle,” a police spokesman told The New York Times. Investigators are considering the possibility that it was deliberately stuck in the spot, CNN reports.

“We are also looking into a possibility it was lowered by a rope,” said NYPD commissioner Raymond Kelly, who noted that some rope seemed to be wrapped up in the landing gear.

Still, “if you see how confined this space is, and you realize the chaos that existed on this street, I think (the situation is) understandable,” Kelly said.

The wall doesn’t bear any marks suggesting the piece was lowered, he noted.

Authorities will also investigate whether there are any human remains in the area, he said.

Coincidentally, it was just reported last week that Ground Zero Mosque Developer Buys Adjacent Building for $8 Million

 

Ground Zero Mosque Developer Buys Adjacent Building for $8 Million

Who is funding Sharif el Gamal? Saudis? CAIR? Who? via Park51 Developer Buys Next-Door Building for $8 Million – DNAinfo.com New York.

DOWNTOWN — The developer behind Park51, the planned Islamic cultural center two blocks from the World Trade Center, is turning a Manhattan street into a game of Monopoly.

Sharif El-Gamal recently bought a five-story building adjacent to the controversial project for $8 million, city records show. With the purchase of 43 Park Place, he now controls three properties next to each other on the same block.

With the help of a $7 million mortgage, El-Gamal bought the latest building under the shell company 43 Park Place Partners Corp., city records show. The sale was recorded Jan. 23.

In July 2009 he and his partners paid nearly $5 million for 45-47 Park Place, a former Burlington Coat Factory store that was heavily damaged on 9/11. His group also leases 51 Park Place from Con Edison. Those buildings comprise Park51.

The latest property is a commercial building that’s home to the Dakota Roadhouse bar, a bakery and other businesses.

So far El-Gamal hasn’t won over his new tenants, some of which have been worrying about their future in the building. His real estate management company, Soho Properties, has offered buyouts to at least two tenants, but the amounts were too little to make the move worth it, sources said.

Tenants have also griped about the building’s upkeep.

Its elevator has been out of service for the past two weeks, and SoHo Properties has been slow to address the problem, sources said. One worker with a broken foot has been forced to climb five flights of stairs to get to her office, a source said.

“It’s definitely a nuisance,” a source said. Tenants have also complained about water pressure problems on certain floors and lack of heat.

El-Gamal did not return a call for comment on his plans for the building.

El-Gamal has worked in real estate for more than a decade, but at least a half dozen of his deals have been bogged down by lawsuits and allegations of owed money.

In 2011, Con Edison threatened to evict Park51 because it hadn’t paid $1.7 million in rent. El-Gamal later sued the utility, claiming it overvalued the property and miscalculated rent. A Manhattan Supreme Court judge sided with Con Ed’s appraisal, but the litigation has continued.

Last week Khalil Sikander, an investor in two Washington Heights residential buildings, sued El-Gamal in Manhattan Supreme Court, accusing Soho Properties of mismanaging the properties, withholding account information and not paying its bills.

Sikander claims El-Gamal’s firm didn’t keep accurate records, failed to rent apartments and used inexperienced and unlicensed contractors to perform work on the buildings.

“He didn’t pay bills,” Sikander’s lawyer, Claude Castro, said. “We want to look at the books and records. We want an accounting. We want to see why these bills have not been paid.”

In 2012, El-Gamal filed a lawsuit against Sikander, accusing him of poorly repairing another Washington Heights residential building they had worked on together.

Park51 has been El-Gamal’s most ambitious real estate project yet — but so far the biggest disappointment.

In 2010 he weathered a political firestorm over the proximity of Ground Zero to a mosque inside 45-47 Park Place. He then unveiled an ambitious plan to build a $140 million Islamic center at the property that would provide prayer space, cultural programs, daycare and a 9/11 memorial.

Park51 officially opened in September 2011 with a photo exhibit of children from around the world, but since then little progress has been made. Construction hasn’t begun on El-Gamal’s grand vision of a 15-story glass building at the site.

Park51′s chief of staff, Katerina Lucas, left more than a year ago and has not been replaced. She declined a request for comment.

While the mosque still holds daily prayer services, the center’s cultural programs have all but ceased. Park51′s website doesn’t appear to have been updated since last spring, with its main page advertising a class on Islamic calligraphy that took place in April 2012. Its last tweet — a call asking for an intern — was posted in June 2012.

A class on Capoeira, a Brazilian martial arts dance, remains the only cultural program up and running in the center, according to the class instructor, Luz Emma Canas Jesus.

“We’ve been there for two years,” she said. “We’ve been the consistent program. They’ve had other programs come and go. We’ve been there.”

h/t and more at Atlas Shrugs and Jihad Watch

Brooklyn: NYPD arrests Muslim teen who threatened to kill Jewish straphanger (video)

Is this the backlash Muslims are whining about in the wake of the Boston bombing? via Wild Brooklyn melee erupts as NYPD arrests Muslim teen for allegedly taunting Jewish subway rider – NY Daily News.

The attempted arrest of an allegedly hate-mongering teen aboard a Brooklyn subway quickly turned into a wild showdown between cops and a roiled mob, according to sources and video obtained by the Daily News.

The melee began when suspect Stephan Stowe, 17, and a group of eight friends approached a Jewish man wearing a yarmulke aboard a Brooklyn-bound 3 train just before 3 p.m. Monday, police sources said Wednesday.

“Assalamu Alaikum,” Stowe said to the man, using a common greeting among Muslims that means, “Peace be with you,” court documents allege.

When the man ignored the greeting, Stowe allegedly became combative.

“You think you’re better than me?” the teen allegedly said. “We are cousins.”

“No we’re not,” The man shot back, and told Stowe to leave him alone.

The suspect then started hurling ethnic slurs and called the man disrespectful, according to court papers.

As the tension aboard the train escalated, the man whipped out his cell phone and took a photo of Stowe, who then snatched the phone and deleted the photo, police sources said.

“I’m going to kill you right now,” Stowe said, according to cops and court records. He then swore at the man, according to cops and court records, and in an apparent reference to the Holocaust added, “They should have killed all of you.”

The man managed to swipe his phone back from Stowe and ran to alert the conductor, police sources said. As the train pulled into the Eastern Parkway/Brooklyn Museum stop, cops were waiting to collar Stowe, police sources said.

But that’s when a mob rose up against the cops.

A pair of police officers struggled to detain Stowe inside the empty train while the angry onlookers swarmed the station’s platform snapping video and yelling at cops, video first published by Gothamist on Wednesday shows.

Alarmed by the swelling crowd, the cops called for backup, police sources said.

Amid the chaos — and while Stowe appeared to resist arrest — a woman aboard the train, Sheniqua Joseph, 22, got involved, according to police and the video.

After four minutes of alleged badgering of the officers, cops tried to place Joseph under arrest, video shows, and eventually slammed her against a wall while she went ballistic.

Joseph is accused of throwing a haymaker at one of the cops and kicking him in the stomach, court records allege.

She was arraigned on charges of obstructing governmental administration, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.

Stowe was arraigned on eight charges, including grand larceny, which was charged as a hate crime, resisting arrest and harassment.

Stowe and Joseph could not be reached for comment Wednesday night. The victim of the alleged hate crime declined to comment.

 Year after year, Jews in the U.S. are nearly ten times more likely to be the victim of a religious attack than are Muslims, yet the continuous whines we hear on a daily basis come from 1% of the population.

via FBI — Table 4. Offense Type, by Bias Motivation, 2011

Religion:	1,318
Anti-Jewish	820
Anti-Catholic	68
Anti-Protestant	49
Anti-Islamic	175
Anti-Other Religion	139
Anti-Multiple Religions, Group	63
Anti-Atheism/Agnosticism/etc.	4

Related:

• FBI stats: anti-Muslim “hate” crimes in U.S. 9x less than anti-Jew
• FBI Stats Belie CAIR’s Islamophobia Hysteria
• Anti-Muslim crimes drop again in 2008, anti-Jew/Christian crimes increased
• Fake Hate Crimes: An Islamist Weapon
• The ‘Islamophobia’ myth
• CAIR’s Islamophobic hate crime was coverup for Muslim who murdered wife (video)
• Another Muslim hate-crime debunked, charges dropped

NY: Teen girl clinging to life after face smashed with brick by Muslim

via Brick attack victim targeted after foiling assailant’s car break-ins in Queens: prosecutors – NY Daily News. h/t halalporkshop

A 16-year-old girl clinging to life at a Queens Hospital was attacked with a brick because she interrupted a boy who was trying to break into cars, court records show.

Michelle Rodriguez screamed out when she saw Omer Khogali, 17, pulling on the door handles of parked vehicles in Astoria on Tuesday, officials said.

The enraged 6-foot would-be thief caught up with Michelle later that night on 43rd St. Then he bashed her with the brick to shut her up, prosecutors said. The suspect ran off, and police later found the bloodied brick.

Michelle was still in critical condition Sunday at Elmhurst Hospital.

Khogali was busted Friday and arraigned in Queens Criminal Court on Sunday. He’s charged with attempted murder, assault and weapons possession.

As noted here, Astoria, Queens has one of the largest Muslim populations in New York. They even forced Pacino movie crew to remove sign referring to Koran.

NYC: Muslim Doesn’t Get Friday Prayer Time so Sues Transit Authority

Alleging Religious Harassment via Gothamist.

A former bus cleaner is suing the NYCTA for “persistent harassment due to his Muslim beliefs” and denying him “reasonable workplace accommodation of his religious observances,” according to a statement from DRUM, an advocacy group based in Queens.

According to the complaint, Bangladesh-born Sheikh Ahmed worked as a cleaner with NYCTA’s Department of Buses with a clean record for more than 10 years. Trouble apparently began, however, when Ahmed transferred to Brooklyn’s East New York Depot in 2009, where he claimed to be subjected to various forms of mistreatment for observing his daily prayer requirements, as well as denied leave to observe Jumah, which stipulates attendance of Friday afternoon service at an Islamic mosque.

The complaint provides several examples of Ahmed’s alleged mistreatment. In July of 2010, Ahmed claims his supervisor, David Forrest, “forced Ahmed to work in the pouring rain, when a more junior cleaner would have normally been assigned to the job.” The next day, the complaint alleges that “Forrest unnecessarily reassigned Ahmed to work alone outside in temperatures above 95 degrees,” despite warnings from supervisors about the dangers of working in extreme heat.

The most troubling charge took place in September, when Ahmed was allegedly assigned to “work outside the depot alone,” despite the fact that employees were typically assigned to pairs. Ahmed said he had specifically expressed concern about working alone “due to reports of hate crimes against Muslims.” When Ahmed filed a safety grievance a week later, Forrest allegedly told him that “his concerns…were ‘B.S.’ and not important.

According to a spokesperson from DRUM, Ahmed is not currently speaking to the media about the lawsuit, but you can read the complaint in its entirety below. In a statement, his lawyer said, “Mr. Ahmed’s case draws attention to the continuing problem of Muslim employees being prevented from observing their religion because they are unlawfully denied reasonable workplace accommodations.” An MTA spokesman said, “We do not comment on pending litigation.”

Ahmed Complaint Filed 04.03.2013

Being given an hour or two break time to go to a mosque and pray midday on Fridays, presumably paid if previous cases are any example, is not “reasonable accommodation.” It’s wholly unreasonable.

Bronx: Muslim forms citizen patrol

Is this really about safety or is it about Islamic dawah and recruitment? via Local Muslim leader forms citizen patrol to curb  violence and improve community relations in Bronx   – NY Daily News.

At least one local leader thinks Bronx residents need to step up to the plate concerning police-community relations.

Sheikh Moussa Drammeh believes that the discord between minority groups and cops in the borough stems from finger-pointing and bad politics, not bad policing.

“The problem is not the police. Politicians and other groups blame the police rather than take action,” Drammeh said.

“It is easier to just say stop and frisk is bad, rather than go out on the streets and promote peace.”

Drammeh wants to change attitudes, and make the borough a safer place, by creating a volunteer neighborhood watch group dubbed Community Peace Patrol Officers.

While other groups hold rallies and vigils in the wake of violent acts, Drammeh hopes to prevent them.

Drammeh handed out leaflets about the patrol at the Parkchester subway station, while coincidentally, Transit cops were doing random bag searches.

By dividing the borough into five zones and assigning local leaders as captains, Drammeh plans on offering Bronx youth that may be skeptical of the police an alternative resource for safety or counseling.

Islamic counseling no doubt.

He wrote to Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly about his proprosal, and NYPD Community Affairs officers have reached out to him. Drammeh plans on meeting with commanding officers from various precincts.

NYPD Commish has ok’d Muslim patrols?

He also hopes to gain corporate sponsorship to purchase patrol vehicles.

“We want to make our presence known in the community,” he said. “We want people to know that there are people here that are looking out for them. We will help them, listen to them, and point them in the right direction.”

As the father of three teenage children, Drammeh feels he is well versed in the struggles that parents and teens face.

Drammeh compared his idea to the citizen patrols seen in Brooklyn’s Jewish neighborhoods such as Crown Heights and Borough Park.

Muslims are either blaming the Jews or using them.

The 50-year-old, who is the principal of the Islamic Leadership School in Parkchester, said he would like to develop a similar relationship between the community and the NYPD.

“We will never interfere with law enforcement. We are not law enforcement,” Drammeh said emphatically.

“But we can create a better relationship between all parties, and hopefully make the Bronx safer.”

 What would he do if he encountered Muslims illegally blocking city streets for prayer like this?

And remember how Muslim patrols in the U.K. worked out?

The Islamic school Drammeh works opened on 9/11/2001. It did not close that day, but it is closed for Muslim holidays – and open New Year’s day.

NY: Muslim caller says working for sharia in USA, behead gays (video)

via Video: NYer says gays should be beheaded

A pattern the Islamophilic media refuses to report:

• Video: Muslim leaders agree, death penalty for gays
• NYC: Muslim cabbie kicks gay couple to the curb
• Video: ‘Islam on Capitol Hill’: “Homosexuals Must Be Killed”
• Video: Somali Muslim kids in Minnesota assault gay guy
• Video: Gay man injured in new D.C. bias attack by Muslims
• Cali: Muslims who shot gay w/ BB gun re-arrested, 11 more attacks videotaped
• Muslims videotaped themselves shooting at San Fran gays get just 6 months jail

Video: NYC street closed every Friday for Muslims to pray…in the street

That, according to this 2011 europenews report.

Why isn’t such an oddity covered by any major U.S. media outlet as part of their non-stop coverage and protection of Islam? h/t halal

NYC: Another Muslim convicted, wanted to die waging jihad

via Jury: NYC man lied to FBI about terrorism training – Yahoo! News.

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York man has been convicted of lying to the FBI about plans to team up with the Taliban or al-Qaida.

A jury on Monday found Abdel Hameed Shehadeh (shuh-HAH’-deh) guilty in federal court in Brooklyn.

Friends of Shehadeh testified that he spoke of wanting to die while waging violent jihad, or holy war, abroad against the U.S. military. They said the former Staten Island resident had hoped to attend a terrorist training camp in Pakistan.

The defendant first drew the attention of the FBI in 2008 when he bought a one-way plane ticket to Islamabad. Prosecutors say he later lied by saying he was going to get religious training.

He faces up to 21 years in prison at sentencing. No date has been set.

Previously we told you about Shehadeh because he and his lawyer tried to ban Jews from the jury.