They're just not sure, you see. They have so very many students. But don't worry: even if Abdulmutallab did attend a class or two there, they teach about "reclaiming Islam from jihadists, focusing specifically on the issue of preventing terrorism." So he could not, repeat, could not, have learned his jihadism in Houston. Got that?
If that is so, then Shaykh Waleed Basyouni should have no problem releasing his books and curricula for public inspection...right?
"Houston school checking possible link to terror suspect," by Susan Carroll and Mary Flood for the Houston Chronicle, December 29 (thanks to Weasel Zippers):
A leader of a Houston Islamic educational institution said Tuesday that the organization is investigating a report that the Nigerian man accused of trying to bomb an airliner on Christmas Day attended classes here last year.Shaykh Waleed Basyouni, vice president for the AlMaghrib Institute in Houston and imam of the Clear Lake Islamic Center, said he has asked staffers to look into a report that 23-year-old Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab had attended classes in Houston during a trip to the U.S....
A Houston FBI spokeswoman had no comment on whether the suspect may have attended an Islamic class in Houston in 2008.
As word spread that Abdulmutallab might have attended the institute, Basyouni asked for patience as members of the staff comb through class rolls, saying "we have a very, very large student body."
And apparently no computers.
The international institute is a nonprofit that teaches Islamic studies. It has a student body totaling more than 20,000, Basyouni said, and conducts seminars in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom.Many classes are held over double weekends, which could account for a stay in Houston of two weeks in August 2008....
Basyouni said the institute teaches students to protect and care for their countries, and to "be a good citizen." He said he recently lectured on reclaiming Islam from jihadists, focusing specifically on the issue of preventing terrorism.
"It's just sad to see people so radicalized to that extent," he said....
Yes, so very sad, Basyouni!
Mr. Basyouni himself should now be put in the hot seat. His views on jihad, shari'ah, and other doctrines of Islamic supremacy should be brought under full scrutiny. Considering his activities (he comes across as a CAIR-style stealth jihadist) he should be seriously considered for deportation.
I am surprised the White House has not scheduled a meet and greet visit of his excellency the honorable Sheik Barack Hussein Obama of UnitedDhimmi States of Amrika to address the severely blacklashed and wounded student body. They need him the most now to reaffirm their belief and hear first hand about the many marvelous contributions Islam has made to civilize the Europeans (white people) and other kafirs of this planet.
Get your schedules out, when is the next double weekender coming up?
How long will it be before we can have ALL RELIGIOUS schools inspected. I say 'all' with the intent of fairness.
Can't remember the last time a Catholic Bomber (actually I can. It was McVeigh) went on a rampage. Don't remember his being a religious attack though.
Inspect. Expose. Close.
Basyouni said the institute teaches students to protect and care for their countries, and to "be a good citizen." He said he recently lectured on reclaiming Islam from jihadists, focusing specifically on the issue of preventing terrorism.
"It's just sad to see people so radicalized to that extent," he said....
.......................
To what extent would Basyouni like to see people radicalized?
The Houston Chronicle is now saying that Abdulmattalab *did* attend classes there:
"School says terror suspect attended classes"
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6791337.html
More on the Saudi-backed, pro-Jihadist Al-Maghrib Institute—which appears to based in Michigan, with branches all over the U.S. and Canada, including Houston:
http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=7324
Shaykh Waleed Basyouni himself seems to be a Wahabbist.
Even other Sunnis appear alarmed by the Al-Magrib Institute, if only because they consider "mainstream" Sunnis "insufficiently Islamic".
“According to this writer, its activities are beyond doubt a means to convey to hundreds, if not thousands, of unsuspecting North American Sunni Muslim youth the ideas and beliefs of the Wahabi and Salafi sect, who reject moderation in their faith, the following of expert interpretations (Madhabs) of any one of the four Sunni schools of jurisprudence, and label ordinary Sunni Muslims and Sufis as ‘pagans’ and ‘grave worshippers’“.
http://sunni1.wordpress.com/2009/10/21/al-maghrib-institute-exposed/
“Currently, Al Maghrib operates in the United States and in Canada, once claiming on its official website to have “the largest Islamic student body in North America”.”
This is extremely alarming, if correct.
You should see Houston's Islamic Da'wa Center in Downtown. It's huge, and has no windows. It's practically a fortress.
There is a huge New Black Panther HQ in Houston. The head dude there (a native born black man) was at one time envolved in former Congresswoman Cynthia Mckinney's possey and some "Alleged" voter intimidation. Sounds like a perfect place for a jihadi to feel right at home. But why try to kill so many of your fellow muslims headed for islam central Detroit?