#MyJihad in Florida: Imam convicted of funneling thousands to Taliban

Will the Islamophobia never end? How did this imam in Florida get the crazy idea that it would be Islamically meritorious to support the Taliban? Doesn't he know that all, all, all Muslims in the West abhor the Taliban and reject everything it stands for? How did he come to misunderstand Islam in this way?

"Florida imam convicted in Pakistani Taliban case," by Curt Anderson for the Associated Press, March 4 (thanks to all who sent this in):

MIAMI (AP) — An elderly Muslim cleric was convicted Monday of funneling thousands of dollars to support the Pakistani Taliban terror organization, which is blamed for suicide bombings and other attacks that have killed both Americans and Pakistanis.
The jury returned its verdict after the two-month trial of Hafiz Khan, the 77-year-old imam at a downtown Miami mosque. Khan was found guilty of all four charges: two conspiracy counts and two counts of providing material support to terrorists.

"Despite being an imam, or spiritual leader, Hafiz Khan was by no means a man of peace," said U.S. Attorney Wifredo Ferrer, whose office prosecuted the case. "Instead, he acted with others to support terrorists to further acts of murder, kidnapping and maiming."

The Imam Wifredo Ferrer did not apparently deign to explain how Hafiz Khan's actions contradicted the teachings of Islam. More's the pity.

Each charge carries a maximum 15-year prison sentence. U.S. District Judge Robert Scola set sentencing for May 30.
Prosecutors built their case largely around hundreds of FBI recordings of conversations in which Khan expressed support for Taliban attacks and discussed sending about $50,000 to Pakistan. There were also recordings in which Khan appeared to back the overthrow of Pakistan's government in favor of strict Islamic law, praised the killing of American military personnel and lauded the failed 2010 attempt to detonate a bomb in New York's Times Square.

"He said these things. He admitted these things. He did all of these things," Assistant U.S. Attorney John Shipley said during closing arguments.

Khan, who testified over four combative days in his own defense, insisted the money he sent overseas was for family, charity and business reasons — above all, his religious school, known as a madrassa, in Pakistan's Swat Valley. Khan also said he repeatedly lied about harboring extremist views to obtain $1 million from a man who turned out to be an FBI informant wearing a wire to record their talk.

"That is not supporting terrorism," said Khan attorney Khurrum Wahid in a closing argument. "That is an old guy running a scam, who got scammed."

Prosecutors, however, said the purported $1 million offer was never heard on any tapes and no other witnesses testified about its existence. The informant, identified in court papers as Mahmood Siddiqui, did not testify.

"That is an absurd story," Shipley said. "This whole defense is a lie."

One of Khan's sons, Irfan, said after the verdict that his father was mentally unable to express himself clearly on the witness stand.

"I wish he didn't have dementia so he could explain himself better," said Irfan Khan, a Miami taxi driver. "You're asking him questions about five or six years ago. That really affects things."...

Always the victim. Yet previously Hafiz Khan seems to have been quite devious in his own defense, with no indication of dementia at all.

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gravenimage | March 4, 2013 10:45 PM | Reply

#MyJihad in Florida: Imam convicted of funneling thousands to Taliban
...................................

My goodness—how could an *Imam* get Islam so terribly, terribly wrong? sarc/off

The jury returned its verdict after the two-month trial of Hafiz Khan...
...................................

And he's a "Hafiz", too—someone who has memorized the Qur'an. Doesn't he know this is a gook of peace? sarc/off

"Despite being an imam, or spiritual leader, Hafiz Khan was by no means a man of peace," said U.S. Attorney Wifredo Ferrer, whose office prosecuted the case. "Instead, he acted with others to support terrorists to further acts of murder, kidnapping and maiming."
...................................

But—how can this be?

It's not as though murder, kidnapping, and maiming had anything to do with the "Religion of Peace"...sarc/off

There were also recordings in which Khan appeared to back the overthrow of Pakistan's government in favor of strict Islamic law, praised the killing of American military personnel and lauded the failed 2010 attempt to detonate a bomb in New York's Times Square.
...................................

Yes—because the government of Pakistan, which backs attacks on India, persecutes victims for "blasphemy", and imprisons abused wives and rape victims for the crime of "Zina", *still* isn't Islamic enough for truly pious Muslims.

And this fine Imam is a fan of murdering Americans in the name of Islam, as well. And why not? As he sees it, we are just "filthy Kuffars".

Khan, who testified over four combative days in his own defense, insisted the money he sent overseas was for family, charity and business reasons — above all, his religious school, known as a madrassa, in Pakistan's Swat Valley. Khan also said he repeatedly lied about harboring extremist views to obtain $1 million from a man who turned out to be an FBI informant wearing a wire to record their talk.

"That is not supporting terrorism," said Khan attorney Khurrum Wahid in a closing argument. "That is an old guy running a scam, who got scammed."
...................................

What crap.

Also, note the vile moral equivalency here—as though Hafiz Khan's alleged "scam" in attempting to obtain money for Jihad terrorists is substantively the same as the FBI's "scam" in exposing the Jihad plot.

One of Khan's sons, Irfan, said after the verdict that his father was mentally unable to express himself clearly on the witness stand.

"I wish he didn't have dementia so he could explain himself better," said Irfan Khan, a Miami taxi driver. "You're asking him questions about five or six years ago. That really affects things."...
...................................

Bwahahahahahaha! If Muslims aren't claiming generic "mental illness", they are claiming dementia. But this has nothing to do with Alzheimer's Disease—this is your brain *on Islam*.

smogdew | March 5, 2013 9:11 AM | Reply

As we know, Islamists are permitted to lie if it advances their cause(s). This has benefitted them immensely be it in a serious situation such as this or trivia, a situation in which it 'suddenly'(according to their Quran) is sinful for them to abide by a common command (remove face scarf for identification). At the rate they add conjured sins to Mohammad's lips, the Quran should be 6 million pages long. What a horrible people.

A friend's daughter associated w/2 Islamic teenagers.....ignoring my warnings. She had 4 baby kittens for which she was trying to find homes and advertised them in the school newspaper. The boy (15 yrs. old) told her to bring them to the butcher, he would. That was all she needed to drop the friendship. At 15, this boy's Islamic heart was dark, hateful and brooding....as ugly as his 'cult'.

gravenimage replied to comment from smogdew | March 5, 2013 12:14 PM | Reply

smogdew wrote:

Appalling, smogdew—I'm sorry your friend's daughter had to hear this, but at least now she knows your warning was correct. And at least this Muslim never actually had a chance to hurt the kittens—although I have no doubt that he would have if he could.

Are you posting here fat Jihad Watch or the first time?

If so, welcome smogdew!

Buraq | March 5, 2013 12:26 PM | Reply

One of Khan's sons, Irfan, said... "I wish he didn't have dementia so he could explain himself better,.....

Another member of Al Zheimers! How convenient!

Lying clown!

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