Maulana Fazlur Rehman Khalil’s terrorist camp near Islamabad allegedly trained the son. One wonders what out liberal Musharraf is doing with these camps?
http://www.lodinews.com/articles/2005/06/08/news/1_islamic_050608.txt
A Lodi father and son were charged with lying to federal agents about the son’s training at an al-Qaida camp in Pakistan for potential attacks on U.S. hospitals and supermarkets.
The arrests and the related detention of two Muslim leaders on alleged immigration violations are part of an investigation that is trying to determine whether authorities have uncovered a network of al-Qaida supporters in Lodi, according to federal law enforcement officials who spoke Wednesday on condition of anonymity because the probe is ongoing.
Federal agents stand by as a residence on Acacia Street is searched following arrests made earlier in the week. (Dan Evans/News-Sentinel)Hamid Hayat, 22, a U.S. citizen who lives in Lodi, was interviewed by the FBI last Friday and at first denied any link to terror camps. But the next day he was given a polygraph test and admitted he attended an al-Qaida camp in Pakistan in 2003 and 2004, according to an affidavit by FBI Special Agent Pedro Aguilar that was unsealed Tuesday.
In the course of weapons training, Hayat said photos of President Bush and other American political figures were pasted onto targets, the affidavit said. At the end of training, participants were given the opportunity to choose the nation in which their attacks would be carried out.
“Hamid advised that he specifically requested to come to the United States to carry out his jihadi mission,” according to the affidavit. “Potential targets for attack included hospitals and large food stores.”
Hayat and his father, Umer Hayat, 47, were detained over the weekend, FBI Agent John Cauthen said Tuesday. The elder Hayat, also a U.S. citizen who lives in Lodi, lied about his son’s involvement and money he sent for the son’s training, the affidavit said.
Both men were being held at the Sacramento County Jail. Umer Hayat’s attorney, Johnny Griffin III, called the allegations “shocking” but said his client “is charged with nothing more than lying to an agent.”
Federal authorities need just one charge to obtain an arrest warrant, Justice Department spokesman Bryan Sierra said. Additional charges could follow, Sierra said.
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U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter A. Nowinski denied a bail request for the elder Hayat, saying he was a flight risk and a danger to the community.
“He just returned from Pakistan where he built a new home and contributed financial assistance to an al-Qaida sponsored program training his son and others to kill Americans whenever and wherever they can be found,” Nowinski said.
Hamid Hayat’s attorney wasn’t in court, and Nowinski set the son’s bail hearing for Friday. A telephone message left Wednesday with Hamid Hayat’s lawyer, Wazhna Mojaddidi, was not immediately returned.
This photo shows the house in Lodi where Federal authorities say Hamid Hayat, 22, and his father, Umer Hayat, 47, lived. Both were arrested after the younger Hayat allegedly acknowledged that he attended an al-Qaida camp in Pakistan in 2003 and 2004, according to an affidavit by FBI Special Agent Pedro Aguilar that was unsealed Tuesday. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)Hamid Hayat was trying to return to the U.S. on May 29 when the FBI told its Sacramento office that he was on the federal “no-fly” list.
The plane was diverted to Japan, where Hayat was interviewed by the FBI and denied any connection to terrorism. He was allowed to fly to California, but was interviewed again on Friday and Saturday.
He voluntarily took a lie detector test, which the affidavit said indicated he was not telling the truth. Hayat then acknowledged spending time at the training camp, the affidavit said.
Cauthen identified the two other men as Shabbir Ahmed and Mohammed Adil Khan. They were detained early Monday by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, ICE spokesman Dean Boyd said.
The Web site for the Farooqia Islamic Center in Lodi identifies both men as imams.
Mohammad Adil KhanNeither Khan nor Ahmed was arrested on any criminal charges, said Virginia Kice, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“It’s unfortunate,” Nasim Khan, former mosque president, said after hearing about the arrests of Mohammed Khan and Ahmed. “These are guys who’ve been doing good work in the community.”
In Lodi, a local Islamic leader defended the community.
“We are a peace-loving people. We have never done anything to violate the laws of the United States, and we don’t intend to,” Taj Kahn, of the Islamic Cultural Center, told reporters Wednesday morning.
“We always preached peace and tranquility in our community,” said Khan, who writes a column for the News-Sentinel. “We have never, ever preached violence or breaking any laws of the United States.”
Meanwhile Tuesday, FBI agents searched Ahmed’s house on Poplar Street, next door to the Lodi Muslim Mosque, and another house in the 300 block of Acacia Street, about four blocks from the mosque.
On Tuesday evening, at least a half-dozen FBI agents searched Mohammed Khan’s residence at 12828 N. Lower Sacramento Road, between Harney Lane and Armstrong Road.
Two other agents guarded the driveway to the residence, keeping all pedestrians and motorists off the property and questioning anyone who went near the driveway.
Mohammed Khan represented the Lodi Muslim Mosque for three years as imam, equivalent of the Christian term “pastor.” Mohammed Khan’s former role at the mosque is not clear. Mohammad Shoaib, who took over as mosque president in November 2003, said he fired Mohammed Khan in January. Others at the mosque claim that Mohammed Khan was never the imam in the first place.
Mohammed Khan is now the leader in the effort to build the Farooqia Islamic Center, including a school for children up to fourth grade, south of Lodi on Lower Sacramento Road.
Ahmed has been imam of the Lodi Muslim Mosque since Mohammed Khan left the mosque leadership.
Modesto attorney Gary Nelson, who is representing Mohammed Khan and others affiliated with Farooqia Islamic Center in a civil suit filed against them by the Lodi Muslim Mosque, said late Tuesday afternoon he was unaware of the arrests.
People active at the mosque and the Farooqia Islamic Center said Tuesday they didn’t know what happened.
Shoaib, who was seen talking to an FBI agent Tuesday afternoon in front of Ahmed’s residence, said the only question the FBI asked him was if he was the mosque president.
On Acacia Street on Tuesday afternoon, two unmarked cars used by FBI agents partially blocked the area in front of the residence being searched.
A man fixing a broken front window at the front of the residence said authorities arrived at the house Tuesday morning.
The man, who declined to give his name, said he did not know why authorities were at the back house, nor did he see anything that gave an indication of why they were there.
It is not clear how many FBI agents were searching Ahmed’s residence or the home on Acacia Street. At least two agents stood in front of each residence to respond to inquiries from the community.
Lodi police officials knew FBI agents were working within city limits, but said they knew nothing about the actual investigation or any arrests.
Several ranking officers referred reporters to the Sacramento FBI office and supplied a phone number that had been given them.
The only local police involvement came in the form of marked police cars, said Capt. Larry Manetti, who was in charge of the department Tuesday. Chief Jerry Adams was out of the office.
“We had no part in the case. The only assistance we provided was marked units in the area while they served search warrants,” Manetti said
