• Why Jihad Watch?
  • About Robert Spencer and Staff Writers
  • FAQ
  • Books
  • Muhammad
  • Islam 101
  • Privacy

Jihad Watch

Exposing the role that Islamic jihad theology and ideology play in the modern global conflicts

Trial begins for Florida doctor accused of being al-Qaeda volunteer

Apr 26, 2007 12:37 am By Marisol Seibold

More on this story. “Florida doctor accused of being al-Qaeda volunteer,” by Edith Honan for Reuters:

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A Florida doctor accused of swearing allegiance to al Qaeda and agreeing to treat wounded militants has been unfairly ensnared in the scheme of a longtime friend, a defense lawyer argued on Wednesday.

Rafiq Abdus Sabir, 52, was arrested in May 2005 and later charged in a four-person conspiracy to provide material support to al Qaeda and another group listed as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department.

His trial began with opening arguments in U.S. District Court in Manhattan on Wednesday.

Sabir and his longtime friend Tarik Shah, a New York jazz musician, offered themselves as a “package,” with Sabir providing skills as a doctor and Shah agreeing to train would-be warriors in hand-to-hand combat, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Rodgers told jurors.

“With these unique skills, Sabir and Shah knew that they could help al Qaeda,” Rodgers said.

But Edward Wilford, Sabir’s defense attorney, said Sabir was “just a tool” in Shah’s scheme.

“This is about Shah, Shah, Shah,” he said.

Earlier this month, Shah and another defendant in the case, Maryland cab driver Mahmud Faruq Brent, pleaded guilty to charges connected to the conspiracy.

A fourth defendant, Brooklyn bookstore owner Abdulrahman Farhane, was sentenced to 13 years in prison.

At the center of the case against Sabir is a May 20, 2005, meeting at Shah’s Bronx apartment, where Shah and Sabir took part in a ceremony swearing allegiance to al Qaeda in the presence of an FBI agent posing as an al Qaeda recruiter.

In the year and a half leading up to that meeting, Shah had been caught in hours of tape-recorded conversations, confiding he wanted to open a martial arts studio for “jihad training” and that he dreamed of being a “martyr on the battlefield,” Rodgers said.

Those conversations were conducted with Mohamed Alanssi, a paid Yemeni FBI informant who defense attorneys have said is unreliable because, in 2004, he attempted suicide by setting himself on fire in front of the White House.

At the May 20 meeting, Sabir’s first meeting in the alleged scheme, Shah and Sabir swore to obey “Sheikh Osama,” who prosecutors said is Osama bin Laden.

“I’m ready. I’ve been preparing for a long time. My spirit is ready,” Sabir said at the time, according to Rodgers.

Wilford portrayed the meeting as a legitimate step in Sabir’s spiritual development that had nothing to do with al Qaeda. “There is no instance on those tapes where Sabir says, ‘Oh yes, I want to treat wounded jihadists.’ That’s just spin,” he
said.

Wilford said Sabir, who could face 30 years in prison, has agreed to testify.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)

Follow me on Facebook

Filed Under: Uncategorized


Learn more about RevenueStripe...

FacebookYoutubeTwitterLog in

Subscribe to the Jihad Watch Daily Digest

You will receive a daily mailing containing links to the stories posted at Jihad Watch in the last 24 hours.
Enter your email address to subscribe.

Please wait...

Thank you for signing up!
If you are forwarding to a friend, please remove the unsubscribe buttons first, as they my accidentally click it.

Subscribe to all Jihad Watch posts

You will receive immediate notification.
Enter your email address to subscribe.
Note: This may be up to 15 emails a day.

Donate to JihadWatch
FrontPage Mag

Search Site

Translate

The Team

Robert Spencer in FrontPageMag
Robert Spencer in PJ Media

Articles at Jihad Watch by
Robert Spencer
Hugh Fitzgerald
Christine Douglass-Williams
Andrew Harrod
Jamie Glazov
Daniel Greenfield

Contact Us

Terror Attacks Since 9/11

Archives

  • 2020
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2019
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2018
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2017
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2016
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2015
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2014
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2013
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2012
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2011
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2010
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2009
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2008
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2007
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2006
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2005
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2004
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2003
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • March

All Categories

You Might Like

Learn more about RevenueStripe...

Recent Comments

  • Linda McGuire on UK: Muslim stabs two women in Marks & Spencer, one in the neck, cops search for motive
  • jacksonl03 on New study reveals that Muslim religiosity strongly linked to hatred towards the West
  • Dave from San Antonio on Muslim cleric: ‘We welcomed the takeover of ISIS because they wanted to implement the Sharia’
  • janicevanguilder on New study reveals that Muslim religiosity strongly linked to hatred towards the West
  • Boycott Turkey on Greece, Cyprus, Egypt, France and UAE conduct joint military exercises amid rising Turkish threat

Popular Categories

dhimmitude Sharia Jihad in the U.S ISIS / Islamic State / ISIL Iran Free Speech

Robert Spencer FaceBook Page

Robert Spencer Twitter

Robert Spencer twitter

Robert Spencer YouTube Channel

Books by Robert Spencer

Jihad Watch® is a registered trademark of Robert Spencer in the United States and/or other countries - Site Developed and Managed by Free Speech Defense

Content copyright Jihad Watch, Jihad Watch claims no credit for any images posted on this site unless otherwise noted. Images on this blog are copyright to their respective owners. If there is an image appearing on this blog that belongs to you and you do not wish for it appear on this site, please E-mail with a link to said image and it will be promptly removed.

Our mailing address is: David Horowitz Freedom Center, P.O. Box 55089, Sherman Oaks, CA 91499-1964

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.