By: Daniel Nardini
There are still too many holes in the stories about the alleged bombers Dzhokar and Tamerlin Tsarnaev. We may never fully know what exactly motivated them to bomb the Boston Marathon that killed three innocent people and injured and maimed almost 200. We can be sure of one thing, and that is they were influenced by Al Qaeda teachings of what they think Islam is. While 99 percent of all Muslims in the United States clearly reject anything tainted by Al Qaeda, there is a small group of deadly misfits who seem to think that the Al Qaeda teachings of what they believe Islam is remains the only “true path.”
Sadly, after more than a decade since the Al Qaeda attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001, we no longer have to look at foreign-born Al Qaeda operatives trying to infiltrate into this country. Because of the Internet, there are now extremely radicalized individual Americans who have become extremist jihadis themselves. I will cite a few cases. An extremist jihadi and Al Qaeda supporter named Yousef al-Khattab was originally born in 1968 a Jew named Joseph Leonard Cohen in New York City. He converted to Islam while living in the Middle East, and then became radicalized. He co-created the Revolution Muslim organization—the same organization that would threaten the creators of the TV cartoon series “South Park.”
Then there is Omar Shafik Hammami. Hammami was originally born and raised in Daphne, Alabama, and was a member of the Southern Baptist Church. He converted to Islam, and somehow, some way, he became more radicalized as he went to Somalia to join the Muslim extremist organization al-Shabbab. Hammami has risen very fast and far in that organization, and he has become a field commander in that militant organization. He is guilty of committing atrocities in Somalia, and is on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s list for “most wanted.” Finally, there is the example of Amir Abdel Malik Ali. Born under the name Derek Gilliam in California, he at first joined the Nation of Islam before he struck out on his own.
Although Malik Ali has never been accused of committing any crime, nor has he been involved in terrorism, he nevertheless preaches very, very extremist sermons to his mosque followers. Malik Ali preaches that Jews own the government and the press, that there should be a worldwide Islamic revolution, and that bombings and terrorist acts by such organizations like Hezbollah and Hamas are justified. He has called for the complete destruction of Israel and the conversion of all America to Islam. Although his speeches are clearly hate-filled, he himself has not incited actual violence even if his speeches are full of hateful references to so many people.
These people are clearly the exception more than anything else. They represent only a handful of those who would harm to the United States and its allies and friends. However, this does not mean that they are not real and should be ignored. These type of criminals and misfits are as bad as those who join the neo-nazis, the Ku Klux Klan, the Aryan Brotherhood, or any other hate-filled and hate-oriented groups and organizations. It is truly sad that people who were as American as apple pie should turn into these people.
Home-Grown Jihadis
By: Daniel Nardini
Sadly, after more than a decade since the Al Qaeda attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001, we no longer have to look at foreign-born Al Qaeda operatives trying to infiltrate into this country. Because of the Internet, there are now extremely radicalized individual Americans who have become extremist jihadis themselves. I will cite a few cases. An extremist jihadi and Al Qaeda supporter named Yousef al-Khattab was originally born in 1968 a Jew named Joseph Leonard Cohen in New York City. He converted to Islam while living in the Middle East, and then became radicalized. He co-created the Revolution Muslim organization—the same organization that would threaten the creators of the TV cartoon series “South Park.”
Then there is Omar Shafik Hammami. Hammami was originally born and raised in Daphne, Alabama, and was a member of the Southern Baptist Church. He converted to Islam, and somehow, some way, he became more radicalized as he went to Somalia to join the Muslim extremist organization al-Shabbab. Hammami has risen very fast and far in that organization, and he has become a field commander in that militant organization. He is guilty of committing atrocities in Somalia, and is on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s list for “most wanted.” Finally, there is the example of Amir Abdel Malik Ali. Born under the name Derek Gilliam in California, he at first joined the Nation of Islam before he struck out on his own.
Although Malik Ali has never been accused of committing any crime, nor has he been involved in terrorism, he nevertheless preaches very, very extremist sermons to his mosque followers. Malik Ali preaches that Jews own the government and the press, that there should be a worldwide Islamic revolution, and that bombings and terrorist acts by such organizations like Hezbollah and Hamas are justified. He has called for the complete destruction of Israel and the conversion of all America to Islam. Although his speeches are clearly hate-filled, he himself has not incited actual violence even if his speeches are full of hateful references to so many people.
These people are clearly the exception more than anything else. They represent only a handful of those who would harm to the United States and its allies and friends. However, this does not mean that they are not real and should be ignored. These type of criminals and misfits are as bad as those who join the neo-nazis, the Ku Klux Klan, the Aryan Brotherhood, or any other hate-filled and hate-oriented groups and organizations. It is truly sad that people who were as American as apple pie should turn into these people.