Indianapolis, Indiana

  The ‘judgments’ were swift and quick. Mere days after the arrests of the five American males apprehended in Sargodha, both the New York Times and the Washington Post loudly proclaimed the need for increased scrutiny of Muslim Americans on their front pages.

The New York Times coupled the news of the arrests with the recent killings of soldiers in Fort Hood, Texas. Other newspapers added the arrest of Afghan American Najibullah Zazi to the mix, eager to demonstrate a growing pattern of radicalisation among Muslim American youth.

The five men, whose varied ethnicities are representative of the diversity of the American Muslim community, are still being interrogated by FBI and Pakistani officials. In the meantime, Muslim American groups, living under the ever-present shadow of suspicion, leapt to action. Not only were groups like the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) and the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) at the forefront of issuing condemnations, they were also instrumental in helping effectuate the arrests.

CAIR was, in fact, the group that initially contacted the FBI, after being approached by the parents of one of the five suspects. The FBI then moved in and collaborated with Pakistani authorities to carry out the arrests. Information about the five arrestees has since trickled to the public through various news sources.

It is now known that most of those arrested in Sargodha are less than 25 years and hail from the northern Virginia area. Most had a reputation for being peaceful and not part of a radical group. Only one had a minor crime record for certain offences. The Egyptian American, Ramy Zamzam, is believed to be the leader of the group and is a dental student. According to accounts, the five were ‘wholesome’ kids who ‘never talked about politics’ and took part in various community projects.

The most damning evidence they left behind, a farewell video using the familiar format of interspersing Quranic verses with images of atrocities being committed in Iraq and Afghanistan, was what made the father of one of the five contact the authorities. One member of the group, Ahmed Minni, left laudatory comments on YouTube videos featuring jihadists. This YouTube connection has, in fact, become central to the whole investigation. Pakistani authorities have since alleged that the group was using social networking sites such as Facebook to search for jihadist contacts with groups such as Lashkar-i-Taiba and Lashkar-i-Jhangvi.

One report by the Washington Post quotes Pakistani officials as saying that Minni had first contacted a man named Saifullah, a recruiter for the Pakistani Taliban, after the former had posted supportive comments on a jihadist video. A number of US terrorist ‘experts’ expectedly jumped up at this information, proclaiming the Internet as the new realm of terrorist recruitment. One said that the scrutiny of Islamic centres and mosques in the United States meant that terrorist recruiters had now turned to the Internet as a way to radicalise impressionable youngsters.

Amid the uproar and the frantic identification of new profiles and new patterns is the fact that none of the five suspects has actually been charged with a crime. Yet pointing to the absence of charges or the seemingly flimsy potential of a group of five disgruntled youths to actually orchestrate a terror attack are all taboo topics for American Muslims within the American public sphere.

The condemnations by American Muslim groups in the aftermath of the arrests demonstrate the unforgiving cycle of arrest/attack and condemnations that has become the lot of American Muslims. The scrutiny that the community is subjected to and the ever-ready pointing fingers give an idea of their situation.

National press releases issued by the organisations provides something concrete — if repetitive — with which to hold back profile-hungry security experts who tend to lump the entire community with those of Osama bin Laden’s ilk. But this cycle of arrests and condemnations poses risks to the American Muslim community. An escalation in the arrest of potential terrorists presents challenges. While the immediate necessity of issuing press releases that denounce actions that carry the threat of terrorism as in the case of the five arrested in Sargodha cannot be denied, their issuance on a larger scale traps American-Muslims into having an uncritical and politically neutered stance towards security policies.

As the frequency of issued condemnations increases, the emerging picture of American Muslims is a negative one, a picture defined by what they are not rather than what they are. In addition, for the majority of the American public, that pays little attention to Muslims otherwise, the cycle strengthens the connection between American Muslims and terrorism implying to some an inherent connection between the two.

The need for drawing attention to the above dynamic is not meant to suggest that American Muslim groups can or should stop being so vociferous in their condemnation of arrests of potential terror suspects. The point instead is to recommend greater introspection by American Muslim groups regarding their role in an American public sphere dominated by a near-insatiable demand for terrorism arrests.

American security analysts writing about the recent arrests are eager to focus on the possibility of increased radicalisation of American Muslim youth via the Internet but unwilling to look at whether some of the arrests are motivated by a political clime eager to draw a connection between American security and extremist groups in Pakistan.

Also dismally absent from the discussion is the tragedy of the political neutralisation of the American Muslim community. Dissent, a core American political value, is one denied to American Muslims who cannot point to the vacuity of many of the terror charges produced against suspects or that pronouncements about the radicalisation of their community may be premature.

Any critique whatsoever of the policies that lead to terror arrests or that highlight the injustice of condemning those who have yet to be charged with, let alone convicted of, a crime is deemed as apologia favouring terrorism. As the unabated political fever for establishing a connection between AfPak and American security rises; American Muslims must contend not simply with the burden of increased scrutiny but also with a tragic political silencing.

I guess you just need to bring together whatever random sources you can find to prove whatever point you want to.

What 'I' got out of this story was;
1. 5 Muslim immigrants to America went to Pakistan for reasons which aren't altogether clear,
2. the American Islamic community spotted what could have developed into a terrorist incident and took steps to make sure it didn't.

This time the American Islamic community are heroes and patriotic Americans. The fact of the matter is: the Muslim community has always been the best source of information for anti-American activity by Muslims inside this country.

I'll bet SOMEBODY can find a random collection of news items, and construe them to show the above is wrong.

>>> According to accounts, the five were ‘wholesome’ kids who ‘never talked about politics’ and took part in various community projects.

Lets face it, your ordinary wholesome youth is less likely to have read the liberal philosophy which underpins their model for political engagement in the west, then they are to have listened to Ahmed Deedats provocations and have listened to Awlakis lectures on Jihaad. It takes very extraordinary youth from within our community (well.. most communities anyway) to engage the modern political platform in all its guises for positive change.

And lets be even more clear that the moderate platforms for Muslim media are nothing more than platforms for blaming the west for all humanities problems, and proclaim the nobility of Islamic victimhood. So besides the so called moderate Sunni orthodoxy not engaging the west, we are also stuck that the conundrum is being answered by the CAIR and ISNA type bodies ... bodies that the orthodoxy and traditionalists refuses to endorse.

Youth are slipping by the numbers when there is not a better time to be politicised. As long as the community ignores the atrocities and backwardness of the political action endorsed by some of the co-traditionalists. And as long as we are not willing to accept that non-Muslims cannot be our partners in political action or a source of learning and guidance for us (as indeed they already are and we refuse to acknowledge), WE WILL BE STUCK WITH PERPETUALLY RADICALISED YOUTH BECAUSE WE ARE NOT TEACHING THEM THE POWER OF PASSIVE RESISTANCE AND ACTIVISM OR ITS IMPORTANT FUNDAMENTAL PLACE IN ISLAM.

Fester >>> This time the American Islamic community are heroes and patriotic Americans. The fact of the matter is: the Muslim community has always been the best source of information for anti-American activity by Muslims inside this country.

I'm just hoping they can catch the instigators in time and these guys can find their way to a constructive place with the rest of society. Many of our political activists recognise the dichotomy that causes the problem, but are as yet slow to respond actively.

Well, from what I understand those wayward Virginian kids are still in the custody of Pakistani authorities that are investigating the possibility they may have committed crimes in the country. This is apparently the unfortunate price of their well intentioned attempt to "defend Muslims".

In other potentially related news: A Pakistani court has sentenced two brothers to have their noses and ears cut off after they were found guilty of doing the same to a woman who refused to marry one of them.

I guess love is truly blind... and deaf... and apparently incapable of the sense of smell.

We can thank General Mohammad Zia-Ul-Haq for the resolution of this most disturbing case. Hannibal Lecter might also deserve some credit.

I truly wish the best of luck to those kids in that delightful foreign justice system, attempted terrorism charges or no attempted terrorism charges. They're going to need it.

In what I am sure will be a widely covered story that sort of relates to radicalization, a passenger on a Detroit-bound Northwest Airlines flight tried to detonate an explosive device that was strapped to his leg. His name so far has been indicated to be Abdul Mudallad, a Nigerian. Airplane security is being currently evaluated and additional screening measures are expected to be put in place for domestic and international flights.
That sounds like fun.

Initial reports seem to indicate that has stated an affiliation to Al-Qaeda and that his orders were from Al-Qaeda in Yemen.

Yemen... Why does it always have to be Yemen these days?

Regardless of such claims we will have to wait for more info before determining he truly belongs that famous international club of rebel pediatricians and civil engineering students.

Fortunately he was quickly subdued and no one was seriously injured, save the guy who put himself partially on fire.

I personally hope some passengers got some extra kicks into his hide (do you know how hard it is to get any sleep on a plane?)

Also the Taliban released a video of a captive U.S. soldier today... one can only imagine what his fate will be (or how bad his final moments will be in their custody).

Well to everyone here... Happy holidays and have a happy New Year! : )

This just in! Latest info on the apparent Christmas greeting card/gift from Al-Qaeda (which I am sure will still evolve into a top story next week)

The person in question who just napalmed his leg in an attempt to take out over 270 passengers on a Detroit airliner has been identified as Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab, a 23-year old Nigerian who was an engineering student from the University College of London.

Does anyone know that the University College of London has recently been rated as the forth best university in the world? So I'm guessing he was never impoverished, undereducated or downtrodden as that walking bathroom mop, Richard Reid (the Shoebomber).

Anyways, that's enough talk about former residents of "Londanistan".

The current reports say he got onto the Detroit airliner after he boarded an airplane in Logos, Nigeria and then switched to Fight 253 in Amsterdam. He claims to be affiliated with Al-Qaeda and also claims his orders came specifically from Al-Qaeda in Yemen (popular place these days).

Everyone got all that?

The long and short of it is that this guy is a true frequent flier! He probably has a number of "friends" or "family" with deep pockets (at least deeper than mine).

Passengers claim he appeared dumbfounded and surprised when the incendiary device failed to send any of them to hellfire and damnation or him to paradise.

Even the Soup Nazi who happened to be in the airplane cabin stood up and proclaimed, "No 72 virgins for you!"

Well I am sure Abdul Farouk (or whatever his real name is) will be in a more talkative mood after he has received top-notch infidel medical treatment for his reported second degree burns. Maybe he can keep Nidal Hasan company before their inevitable trials.

After all, Valentine's Day is just around the corner and I think they would make such a sweet couple.

P.S. I want to give the passengers of Flight 253 a special thank you for welcoming this latest foreign tourist with such open arms… which devolved into a spirited chokehold.

SirMagpie: What was the point behind this post?

To Fester:

I apologize for the "all over the place" nature of my post. Maybe I am venting a little. All I know is I am sitting at home going through papers, trying to figure out how I am going pay for one class this spring semester while I listen to the news of yet another esteemed college kid going bad. Did you know that this 23-year-old Nigerian's last known residence was a posh multi-million dollar apartment in London? This on top of the fact he went to one of the top schools in the world.

Maybe all I'm trying to say is that I wish these young, snot-nosed bourgeoisie suicidal terrorists would lay off the attacks for a while. Or at the very least, I wish one of them would give me one of their scholarships or trust funds.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention that the attempt to kill a bunch of people locked up in a cramped plane is bad too. That's very impolite.

I believe the question on this board would be: Do these young, snot-nosed bourgeoisie suicidal terrorists have anything to do with Islam?

To Fester:

That is a very interesting question. The Nigerian suspect has been identified as the son of one Umaru Mutallab, a prominent/wealthy banker from the northern state of Katsina, Nigeria.

In a Reuters report the father said he was uncomfortable with his son's "extreme religious views" and had reported him to both U.S. and Nigerian officials. Besides the breakdown in airline security and the fact authorities are probably overwhelmed with the number of names on terror watch lists perhaps the questions we should be asking are these;

How did this individual become as his father put it "extreme in his religious belief"?

Is this an example of a self-radicalized individual who developed a plot using his considerable engineering skills he had developed in London?

Or is he part of a larger plot, a program to cultivate agents and cells for international terrorist acts by what I call the remnants of Classic Al-Qaeda?

I am also curious if the recent incidents revolving around the largely destroyed Nigerian Movement that was called "Boko Haram" had any influence on this young man's religious views. Members of this group were often described as "The Nigerian Taliban."

Here is an interesting excerpt from a Time magazine article from July 30, 2009
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1913796,00.html

"Over the past few years a new breed of young Muslim activists, most of them educated and from the middle class, have aggressively embraced a stricter version of Islam, rejecting anything Western and Christian."

These are just some of my questions. Just whose interpretation of Islam was Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab apparently following? I am just not convinced this attempted attack is solely the result of one isolated, deluded individual.

...using his considerable engineering skills...
- Posted by SirMagpieDeCrow

What engineering skills? The plot devised for him required a bag of petrol and a lighter. He was apparently unable to successfully set it ablaze.

If this individual was an engineering student, I'll bet his last set of grades would explain alot.

To Fester:

Based on more information coming in it appears that the very baby faced Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab (picture of the suspect was just shown on CNN) was a mere courier, a "bomb mule", not a bomb making whiz.

The question in which I referred to his engineering skills may have been overstated. One of the substances that has been identified from the device is a substance called PETN or pentaerythritol tetranitrate. This substance is apparently very similar to nitroglycerin. Interesting side note about this substance, it was also the same kind of explosive used by the shoebomber, Richard Reid. The obvious benefit of using such an explosive is quite evident, small amounts can potentially produce a catastrophic explosion.

The Yemen Al-Qaeda connection appears to be an increasingly credible angle. His father had recently said that his son might have been traveling in that troubled Arab nation. Here is the quote:

"I believe he might have been to Yemen, but we are investigating to determine that," the elder Mutallab said.
http://news.ca.msn.com/top-stories/msnbc-article.aspx?cp-documentid=23145535

This seems to jive with Abdul's proclamations of affiliations with Al-Qaeda and Al-Qaeda in Yemen after his arrest. Like Abdul Farouk, the shoebomber Richard Reid also utilized a flight from Amsterdam before his failed attack. Here is an excerpt from the Independent about Reid's travels:

"10 December 2001 Returns to Britain with shoe bomb. During this time he booked a plane ticket from Manchester to Amsterdam in preparation for an (unspecified) onward flight to the US. It is thought he planned to detonate the bomb on this onward flight but he aborted the mission."

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/britishborn-muslim-admits-plot-to-blow-up-airliner-485306.html

So perhaps Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab is not the bomb maker, but one has to ask this important question:

Would a terrorist group prefer to hand off a ready-made bomb to an undereducated moron/peasant like Richard Reid… or would they rather give a bomb device to someone like Abdul?

He clearly has a more extensive academic background and probably had access to his family's considerable wealth, which would be ideal for traveling across multiple continents.

His study in engineering must have been very attractive to his handlers (who ever they might be).

As of yet I don't know if this individual aced his grades, but he did apparently graduate from the University College of London.

It appears that groups like Al-Qaeda are shying away from supporting terrorist cells in the West to manufacture and deploy bombs (just look at the bomb plot failures and arrests in Britain in recent years). Perhaps their thinking now is why waste important assets and operatives when disposable canon fodder can be effectively used.

They seem to have a taste for those of African descent (like Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab and Richard Reid).

In summation, I think your characterization of the device as consisting of "a bag of petrol and a lighter" is an oversimplification of what happened.

SirMagpie: You sure make lots of assumptions and treat them like facts.

Assuming all the facts you've presented here are correct, the guy is no genius. You don't get to acknowledge he's short on brains and then go on to describe how well educated he is.

You can't have it both ways.

Back to my question: What does this have to do with Islam? It sounds more to me like some radical malcontents roping in some failure to perform a mission for them. Now the failure will have a long time to ponder on the nature of his life.

To Fester:

You are correct that one can't have it both ways. So I will try to rephrase my assessment of the suspect. His youth and inexperience may have ultimately prevented him from successfully detonating the bomb, but education in the field of engineering may have influenced a terrorist group into selecting him for an attack. He may be no genius, but his potential to succeed in a terrorist attack may be greater than an individual like Richard Reid.

As more information keeps pouring in regarding the suspect, my views and opinions of the case change. So far I have read numerous articles from CNN, Washington Post, The Detroit Free Times, The Guardian, The Independent, The Daily Times (Pakistan), a variety of African publications, the Associate Press and Reuters. I like to think my crosschecking and research has led me to some logical conclusions about the case.

In my defense I would like to say I am doing the best I can under the circumstances.

Here is another interesting development, in an article from the New York Times Service that discusses the family ties of Abdulmutallab:

"His father, Alhaji Umaru Mutallab, until recently had served as chairman of the First Bank of Nigeria, and his mother's family is originally from Yemen, according to news accounts in Nigerian newspapers."

http://online.indianagazette.com/articles/2009/12/26/news/doc4b36b06a7aeed969863468.txt

So to recap, in addition to his proclamations of affiliation with Al-Qaeda in Yemen, there are statements by his father that he was traveling in that country in recent months and we now have the revelation of a direct family connection to Yemen.

My assumption for instance that Yemen is an important component of this case may not be as airtight as you would like, but it is definitely within the realm of possibility. After all Osama Bin Laden, the central leader/guru of Al-Qaeda has a similar ancestral connection to the nation of Yemen. His father was born there.

My assumptions are probably not as airtight as you would like, but they are still more plausible than other theories. Some people still argue that 9/11 was a plot hatched by Mossad and Bush/Dick Cheney and that there were no Jews in the World Trade Center when it was destroyed.

Based on what I have studied I strenuously disagree with such people.

As far as your question as to "What does this have to do with Islam?" maybe it has to do with the status of those who radicalize the young in the Muslim world to commit terrorist acts. Could these "malcontents" have a chance of becoming the dominant role models for the next generation of Muslims?

It is fine and dandy to call groups like Al-Qaeda a cult, but history has shown that when a cult gains enough converts over time it becomes less a group of heretics and more like a new religion.

It is still an open question if a great religion of peace and moderation will not be replaced by a religion of mindless dogma and endless militancy.

correction: The paper that I mentioned my most recent post as the "Detroit Free Times" is actually "The Detroit Free Press".

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Just watched Charlie Wilsons war. Interesting enough movie. Happy New Year to all. The sites gone quiet since the old haters left and the new haters have arrived.

Crow >>>> I apologize for the "all over the place" nature of my post. Maybe I am venting a little.

I doubt you're very sincere in that apology. Your venting is just basesless racist attacks. You're not here to foster dialogue or engage meaningful discussion relating to the articles. A high brow flooder with low budget analysis.

Crow >>> As far as your question as to "What does this have to do with Islam?" maybe it has to do with the status of those who radicalize the young in the Muslim world to commit terrorist acts. Could these "malcontents" have a chance of becoming the dominant role models for the next generation of Muslims?

Don't worry about educating us, because we've actually disproved most of your assertions as well as understood the roots of radicalisation and even the starting points of its remedies. The question you have to ask yourself, is what does this have to do with American imperialism? Malcontent my good sir, is what can be used to describe every left leaning anti-imperial group around the world, from Brazil to India to Malawi. We just happen to be an easily defined group of malcontents by our relationship to the people being warred on, in the current brainless and murderous war on terror.

To Ghulam,

Thank you for the response. I found your belief that I am "lowbrow" interesting. Perhaps you remember these past golden oldies on this site (circa Dec. 7th) made by you:

"You're heartless shameless bastards... "
"That's the last f:)ing time I sympathize with a brainless American over 9/11 while they mock and humiliate our dead repeatedly!!!"

So if I am a grotesque, lowbrow malcontent I respectfully bow down to a true master.
I commend your expertise on that front. Also as far as "flooding" the site with my personal opinions I am afraid I will never match the 1000 some odd comments you have left over the years.

I also salute your productivity.

Crow: I'll agree that Ghulam sometimes produces material which is more "rant" than "discussion". However, when you call him on it, he IMMEDIATELY returns with something worth reading.

The point behind YOUR material, on the other hand, is baiting in nature rather than intended to generate constructive thought.

I eagerly await your carefully constructed, discussion enhancing commentary. If this is proving elusive, I suggest you work with Ghulam on your writing style. I'm certain he'd be willing to help, even if he doesn't agree with your viewpoint.

To fester:

I respectfully disagree that as a developing writer I can learn from Ghulam the art of generating constructive thought. I do admit I have learned a great many things from him as a writer already. One thing I have learned is that the use of expletives in my commentary is a path best avoided.

Ghulam has frequently accused me of being a racist. I know I am not the only one, nor that I will be the last. But I think all I can say on that matter is that my difference of opinion regarding a person's belief system or ideology does not make me a racist. A person's belief system does not become immersed in their DNA. I know that every creed of the human family practices the Islamic faith.

Does it make me a committed secularist if I have a dislike for overly strident religious zealots?
Sure. But a racist? No.

Ghulam also said "don't worry about educating us..." which I found to be a puzzling statement.

At what point when I was posing questions to you about how recent terrorist incidents relate to the practice of Islam did I indicate that someone like me could settle internal divisions among adherents to the faith?

Mostly I am curious, who like many people have more questions than answers.