by Jim Kouri
An Islamic group and one of its top contacts within the U.S. Congress are in the midst of a plot to neutralize FBI counterterrorism efforts. And they've found a willing collaborator in Attorney General Eric Holder.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) applauded the news that the Attorney General Eric Holder and his Justice Department Civil Rights Division will review the shooting death of a Detroit imam, Luqman Ameen Abdullah, by FBI agents on October 28 in Dearborn.
House Judiciary Chairman Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) announced the Justice Department review at a news conference yesterday in Detroit sponsored by CAIR's Michigan chapter (CAIR-MI) and attended by a coalition of civil rights groups.
The news conference was scheduled following the release of autopsy results showing that Imam Luqman Ameen Abdullah was shot at least 20 times, including once in the back, as well as being found handcuffed in the prone position. However, there was no mention that Abdullah's leader is serving a life sentence in prison for killing one cop and wounding another.
CAIR and other groups had called for an independent investigation of the shooting. On January 13, 2010, Rep. Conyers sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder to request that the civil rights division investigate both the October shooting and whether the FBI violated the Constitution by using informants in mosques.
"I'm not surprised that Congressman Conyers would side with his big campaign contributors in defending radical killers and terrorists," said former NYPD detective and military intelligence officer Mike Snopes.
"And they have the perfect prosecutor in Attorney General [Eric Holder] who's law firm often defends terrorist thugs," he added.
"We welcome the decision to open a civil rights investigation of the imam's death and thank Representative Conyers for his leadership in ensuring that all the facts in this troubling case come out," said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad.
The Investigative Project on Terrorism's Steven Emerson has noted in several studies the questionable associations and actions by many of CAIR's leaders that cast serious doubt on its claims of moderation and restraint. Some have committed criminal acts themselves; others have ties to organizations with connections to Islamic extremism.
Those convicted of direct criminal activity include Ghassan Elashi, a founding board member of CAIR-Texas; Randall (Ismail) Royer, once a communications specialist for the national group, and Bassam Khafagi, the organization's one-time director of community relations, according to Emerson.
The Radical Islamist's Shootout with FBI
According to a report for The Examiner, agents working on a counterterrorism task force in Detroit, Michigan reported that during a gun battle they shot and killed the Imam of a radical Islamic group. Agents say the gunfight began after Luqman Ameen Abdullah refused to surrender and face various criminal charges.
Abdullah is the spiritual leader of a group that is alleged to have engaged in violent activity over a period of many years, and known to be armed. According to the report obtained by the National Association of Chiefs of Police, the FBI was in the midst of arresting Abdullah and 10 of his followers on charges that included conspiracy to sell stolen goods and illegal possession and sale of firearms.
According to a preliminary report obtained by NACOP, Abdullah was killed while exchanging gunfire with Federal Bureau of Investigation agents on Wednesday at a warehouse in Dearborn, a suburb of Detroit.
Abdullah was the leader of part of an group of Islamists who call themselves Ummah (“the brotherhood”), a group of mostly African-American converts to Islam that seeks to establish a separate Sharia-law governed state within the United States.
The Ummah is ruled by Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin, formerly known as H. Rap Brown, a 1960s radical and Black Panther who is serving a life sentence for the murder of a police officer in Georgia.
As detailed in the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint that was unsealed, Abdullah has espoused the use of violence against law enforcement, and has trained members of his group in use of firearms and martial arts in anticipation of some type of action against the government. Abdullah and other members of this group were known to carry firearms and other weapons.
According to the FBI Abdullah is also known as Christopher Thomas.
The FBI report states that Abdullah regularly preached anti-government rhetoric, and that some of his followers converted to Islam while in prison.
In 2000, Sheriff's deputies Ricky Kinchen and Aldranon English went to (H. Rap Brown's) al-Amin's home to serve an arrest warrant for failing to appear in court on a traffic citation of speeding and impersonating a police officer. al-Amin opened fire with a .223 rifle and English was hit four times. Kinchen was shot with the rifle and a 9mm handgun.
The following day, Kinchen died of his wounds in a Georgia hospital. English survived his wounds and identified al-Amin as the shooter from six photos he was shown while recovering in the hospital.
Jim Kouri, CPP is currently fifth vice-president of the National Association of Chiefs of Police and he's a columnist for The Examiner (examiner.com) and New Media Alliance (thenma.org). In addition, he's a blogger for the Cheyenne, Wyoming Fox News Radio affiliate KGAB (www.kgab.com). Kouri also serves as political advisor for Emmy and Golden Globe winning actor Michael Moriarty.
He's former chief at a New York City housing project in Washington Heights nicknamed "Crack City" by reporters covering the drug war in the 1980s. In addition, he served as director of public safety at a New Jersey university and director of security for several major organizations. He's also served on the National Drug Task Force and trained police and security officers throughout the country. Kouri writes for many police and security magazines including Chief of Police, Police Times, The Narc Officer and others. He's a news writer and columnist for AmericanDaily.Com, MensNewsDaily.Com, MichNews.Com, and he's syndicated by AXcessNews.Com. Kouri appears regularly as on-air commentator for over 100 TV and radio news and talk shows including Fox News Channel, Oprah, McLaughlin Report, CNN Headline News, MTV, etc.
