Talk:Sami Al-Arian
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Can someone put a notice on the top of the page declaring it a protected page or can someone get rid of the protections? Thank you.
It would appear SITE Institute / Sami Al-Arian Fact Sheet is the major source of a large new edit, some of which or summary probably belongs in article and some of which should be source for other articles which this one should lk to. I have not attempted to judge whether its posting in the article is a copyvio, nor whether its being here on talk changes its status. --Jerzy(t) 07:04, 2005 Feb 7 (UTC)
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[Former heading intentionally disabled. --Jerzy(t) 07:04, 2005 Feb 7 (UTC)]
==SITE Institute Fact Sheet on Sami Al-Arian==
Sami Al-Arian is a Computer Science professor at the University of South Florida (USF) in Tampa currently on leave due to his alleged support of terrorism. Al-Arian, of Palestinian heritage, came to the United States in 1975 to begin his university studies. In 1986, he began teaching at the University of South Florida in Tampa and became a tenured professor in 1992.
Al-Arian served as one of the original founders of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), a designated terrorist organization. PIJ, according to the State Department, is “committed to…the destruction of Israel through holy war.” PIJ has been responsible for numerous terrorist attacks, including suicide bombings, resulting in the deaths of civilians.
In the late 1980s, Al-Arian establishing two think tanks, the Islamic Concern Project (also know as the Islamic Committee for Palestine) and the World and Islam Studies Enterprise (WISE). Several terrorism experts and government officials have alleged that ICP and WISE served as financial and strategic conduits for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), a designated terrorist organization.
How did ICP and WISE Support Terrorism?
ICP, also known as the Islamic Committee for Palestine (ICP), sponsored several conferences in the late 1980s and early 1990s where known terrorists attended and lectured. At these conferences, posters of PIJ and its emblem were prominently displayed onstage. ICP’s most infamous featured speaker at a conference was Sheikh Omar Abdul Rahman, currently serving a life sentence in the U.S. for organizing a failed attempt to destroy several New York City landmarks. Other speakers included Sheikh Abdel Aziz Odeh, the spiritual leader of PIJ. ICP also invited several speakers who could not attend the conferences, including Fathi Shikaki, at the time the leader of PIJ, and Abdullah Azzam, Osama bin Laden’s ideological mentor and founder of al-Qaeda. Al-Arian stated of Azzam at a conference, “Azzam also sends his salutations to the conference, and he has not been able to be with us due to the political conditions in Afghanistan.”
WISE functioned as ICP’s sister organization, releasing a magazine that reproduced speeches at ICP conferences. Through both ICP and WISE’s pretense of legitimacy, Al-Arian was able to secure visas for several individuals seeking to gain entry into the United States. Among those whom Al-Arian obtained a visa for was Ramadan Abdullah Shallah, who served as WISE’s Director of Administration. Shockingly, Shallah left WISE in 1995 to head the terrorist group PIJ after its previous leader, Fathi Shikaki was assassinated. Additionally, Al-Arian’s brother-in-law, Mazen Al-Najjar, worked at WISE. Al-Najjar was deported from the United States for visa violations and ties to terrorism.
Shallah’s promotion in PIJ resulted in a federal investigation into ICP and WISE. William West of the INS wrote an affidavit in late 1995 to receive judicial approval to execute a search warrant against ICP, WISE, and the residence and office of Al-Arian. In the affidavit, West details the alleged offenses of Al-Arian, stating “I have probable cause to believe that ICP and WISE were utilized by Sami al-Arian and Ramadan Abdallah Shallah as ‘fronts’ in order to enable individuals to enter the United States, in an apparent lawful fashion, despite the fact that these individuals were international terrorists.”
WISE and ICP were funded by the “SAAR Network,” which was the target of U.S. federal raids in Herndon, Virginia, on March 20 and 21, 2002, for suspicion of funding terrorism. The network is a complex web of over one hundred organizations, both for-profit and non-profit, with overlapping officers and addresses. The SAAR Foundation, which was the hub of the network, is a non-profit organization founded by wealthy Saudi investors in the early 1980s.
What has Sami Al-Arian Said or Done to Support Terrorism?
Sami Al-Arian has actively fundraised for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. In 1995 raid on Al-Arian’s residence, the FBI found a letter written by Al-Arian shortly after a PIJ suicide bombing that left 18 people dead in Israel. The letter solicits funding for “the jihad effort in Palestine.” Al-Arian, according to an FBI translation of the Arabic letter, praised the terrorist attack, writing, “The latest operation carried out by the two mujahidin (warriors), who were martyred for the sake of God, is the best evidence of what the believing few can do in the face of Arab and Islamic collapse before the Zionist enemy and of the still-burning firebrand of faith, steadfastness and challenge.”
On a videotape of a 1991 conference in Cleveland, Ohio, seized by FBI agents, al-Arian is introduced as “the president of the Islamic Committee for Palestine, and a short briefing about the Islamic Committee for Palestine, it is the active arm of the Islamic Jihad movement in Palestine, and we like to call it the Islamic Committee for Palestine here for security reasons.” After being introduced, Al-Arian stated, “Let us continue the protests. Let us damn America. Let us damn Israel. Let us damn their allies until death.”
In another seized videotape, Al-Arian delivered an impassioned speech before a rapt audience at a high school in Chicago in 1991. Al-Arian referred to Jews as “monkeys and pigs” and stated, “Mohammad is leader. The Qu’ran is our constitution. Jihad is our path. Victory to Islam. Death to Israel. Revolution! Revolution! Until Victory! Rolling, rolling to Jerusalem.”
In addition to his role with the Islamic Jihad, Al-Arian also co-founded the Islamic Association for Palestine in 1981. Since its founding, this organization has grown into the primary political propaganda wing for the Hamas terrorist organization in the United States. Its daughter organization, the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, which shares several of its directors with IAP, is a designated terrorist entity. InfoCom Corporation, another organization affiliated with IAP, had its offices raided by the U.S. government and all its officers indicted for their terrorist activities.
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[edit] Ext Links
Al-Arian was born in Kuwait and grew up in Egypt yet he is labeled "Palestinian-American"? The Al-Queda terrorist Zarqawi has a Palestinian parent, was raised in Jordan, but is somehow not called a Palestinian by the mainstream. This is interesting that only when it serves a purpose, people are labeled "Palestinian".
Hopefully when Al-Arian is convicted on his terrorism charges, he will not drop the Palestinian part from his identity.
It's hard to believe all of the 10 ext lks are significant enough for inclusion; they should be weeded. --Jerzy(t) 07:04, 2005 Feb 7 (UTC)
[edit] Deported?
The Tampa papers are abuzz that Al-Arian may or may not be deported. This should be mentioned in the article. Mike H. That's hot 23:20, 19 December 2005 (UTC)
[edit] Wrongly Accused?
Sami Al-Arian is not known to be wrongly accused. He was acquitted on some but not all counts. The prosecution and others still believe that he was involved with Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
[edit] Where exactly is "Major Error. Simply NOT true"?
The anon 69.143.174.128 (talk · contribs) keeps removing [1] the following paragraph: In the plea, Al-Arian admitted he raised money for the Islamic Jihad and conspired to hide the identities of other members of the terrorist organization, including his brother-in-law, Mazen Al-Najjar. He also admitted knowing "that the PIJ achieved its objectives by, among other means, acts of violence." Al-Arian Admits His Role in Jihad, and maintains that "Actual document on bottom verifies this" (being not true). I've checked the doc and it looks very much true. ←Humus sapiens ну? 18:17, 26 April 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Correction made to mistakes
The problem with this false statement is that it does not exist in the plea agreement. Read the statement of facts. The official court document is included in the links. It states three actions: Helping brother-in-law with legal case; Filing immigration paperwork; Making false statements to a member of the media. Period. No mention of financing, funding, or materially supporting violence or the organization in any capacity. Any statement to the contrary is slanderous. The charge of financial support was actually dropped by the government. Check the court docket.
This statement will continue to be removed as it is not true. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.143.174.128 (talk • contribs)
- You are wrong. Check out the document you yourself point out, section FACTS. It's all in there (and more). ←Humus sapiens ну? 04:42, 30 April 2006 (UTC)
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- Hi! I found my way to this page after having watched the documentary the other day. The documentary is of course not npov but what Sami Al-Arian pleaded guilty to is one of the things that differs most between these two descriptions of the events. That's why I decided to look into it myself by reading the plea agreement that is linked to from this page. Now, in the "Factual basis" section there are some statements about financial transactions but I wonder which of these you interpret as "raising money for the Islamic Jihad" and why. Jkej 14:06, 5 May 2007 (UTC)
"Making false statements to the media" is a crime in America? Since when, I missed that one. How is my congressman still free, is he on bail - he lies all the time. The judge in this case - probably because it was in FL - couldn't stick to the facts and the charges, maybe running for office and has to soothe the voters.
[edit] Sentencing Judges Remarks
Here is another link that should be added to the article. It is protected right now from the repeated vandalism described above so I can't currently add this.
"U.S. District Judge James Moody sentenced al-Arian to the maximum 57 months in prison but gave him credit for 38 months he has already served. He will have to serve the balance, 19 months, before being deported, prosecutors said. ...
In his ruling, Moody harshly criticized al-Arian for doing nothing to stop bombings perpetrated by Islamic Jihad.
“You lifted not one finger. To the contrary, you laughed when you heard of the bombings,” he said.
“You are a master manipulator. The evidence is clear in this case. you were a leader of the PIJ.” [2] JMcNamera 15:34 UTC, May 2, 2006
A problem with the judge's statement seems to be that the jury did not convict al-Arian of any of the charges as a result of this "clear" evidence. It should be noted that while the government assembled a large amount of data, wiretaps, and testimony, nevertheless, the jury found al-Arian not guilty. The judge spoke in contradiction to the jury's decision by siding with, and even directly quoting, the prosecution in the sentencing statement.
The problem with the statement above is that al-Arian pled to the charges that he did assist Islamic Jihad and Al-Arian has adimitted he did lie to the courts and media. Sad that people lie and kill all in the name of their 'religion'.
Yeh, those darn Israelis kill all the time. Anyway, al-Arian pled to whatever would get him out of the good ole USA the fastest. He would have pled to being 8 feet tall. Otherwise the government would have kept him tied up in trial till he died of old age - his lawyers knew it and okayed him lying like hell, sometimes you swallow hard and do what you have to do. PS Do you think it is wise, or fair though I doubt that concept keeps you up at night, to use SITE(Rita Katz and Josh Devon - a wee bit radical no?) as your main source. Couldn't you find someone a little more right-wing and radical, you seem so softball on this article.
The israelis don't kill in the name of religion like the Islamists do. The guy lied, got caught, and pled to save himself. These guys want other people's kids to be matyrs but cut and run whenever possible. June 22, 2006
"The Israelis don't kill in the name of religion" - I thought Israel is all about religion - or is all about race, confusing issue. The guy's biggest lie was when he pled guilty - the judges wording confirms it ( a judge never asks if you are pleading because it is your best interests, he asks if you are guilty - unless he knows he is running a show trial for the media then he can lossen the rules a bit. ( Then the hypocrit gives his "impassioned" speech at the end - what a clown.)
- Actually, the Israelis aren't confused. It's Americans who are confused. It's not really surprising; most Christians have a hard time understanding that being a Jew is both a religion and an ethnicity. Since racism has recently passed out of vogue in America, there is no possibility of dropping support for Israel - too many ignorant people in America believe that to abandon Israel would be an act of anti-semitism or hatred. This has given American hard-liners an effective blank check for Middle East policy decision-making. Kasreyn 01:16, 1 September 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Sheikh Abdullah Ramadan (Ramadan Abdullah Shallah)
Why is there no mention of Sami Al-Arian sponsoring this individual's entry into the United States, giving him employment, and working with him closely on a regular basis, until when he suddenly disapeared one day, and popped up shortly afterwards in Damascus as the new external leader of the PIJ? That was one of the things which probably contributed majorly to sinking Al-Arian in the court case... AnonMoos 00:24, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
[edit] "University offered Al-Arian nearly $1 million to resign"
These stories were recently reported in USF's (Where Al-Arian was a professor) student Newspaper, The Oracle. Not sure if they are relevant to this article or not though.
[edit] Objectivity ?
this page should have a bobjectivity mark —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 85.167.134.176 (talk) 22:33, 25 February 2007 (UTC).
[edit] "Not Alleged, He Confessed"
To jmcnamera, while Al-Arian didn't actually confess to what he was charged with, but plead guilty to a single lesser charge, you may have a point that the word "alleged" should not be used. But why didn't you simply fix that word, instead of reverting all of the other edits? I am reverting back, and removing the word "alleged" per your suggestion. If you want other changes, why not make them or let's discuss them here. Lfp 20:02, 18 March 2007 (UTC)Lfp
[edit] Hunger strike?
Why are any mentions of his hunger strike missing from this article? He is on Day 58 and he has lost 53 pounds. I would think that is notable and newsworthy. Mike H. I did "That's hot" first! 08:36, 20 March 2007 (UTC)
- Sorry, I see the last sentence in the lead. There should still be more, though. Mike H. I did "That's hot" first! 08:44, 20 March 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Robert Fisk article
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/fisk/article2430125.ece
[edit] Artical is POV
The opening gives the impression al-Arian is undeniably guilty. It mentions he was aquitted of 8 of the 17 charges but doesn't mention he was found not guilty of the other 9 (although it does mention this in the trial section).
It says he was convicted of conspiracy to help Palestinian Islamic Jihad without mention that it was legal to do so when he did it. It should indicate it was a retrospective law.
It gives the impression he pled guilty to an existing charge rather than pleading guilty to a charge to prevent the laying of new charges.
It says al-Arian's lawyers didn't present a defense without mentioning that the judge refused to allow his defense to be presented on the grounds that it would endanger the impartiality of the jurors.
Finally the artical doesn't mention a particularly significant aspect of the trial in regards to hearsay evidence. The judge allowed testimony of a conversation a witness had with al-Arian in a dream. Wayne 14:10, 11 April 2007 (UTC)
The article now says that he was coerced into accepting a guilty plea. This is POV. Should it say this for everyone who pleads out but claims to be innoncent? I'm changing it to "plead guilty," which is a non POV fact. Michael.passman (talk) 18:51, 26 March 2008 (UTC)
[edit] Very carelessly written article; large deletions made temporarily
The middle sections of the article, describing the years of government surveillance and media attacks that led up to Al-Arian's indictment, were a chaotic and redundant mess. The greatest offense is that a reader could not even discern the timeline. Also, there were many duplications: over time, various contributors obviously made no effort to coordinate their contributions with previous contributions. These portions are a disgrace to Wikipedia; therefore, I have deleted them. Let people put in the effort to get the facts right and write them coherently. For a start, there are a few timelines of this case on the Web. By the way, the general structure of the article is tedious and overlong -- both the deleted portion and the remainder. But I do not object to the *content* I have deleted, just to its *poor form*. Hurmata (talk) 20:22, 1 June 2008 (UTC)
