• 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

North Carolina Muslim facing jury trial for attempting to join Syrian jihad group

Jan 18, 2014 11:50 am By Robert Spencer

basit.jpg

How did Basit Sheikh come to misunderstand Islam so spectacularly as to think jihad had something to do with waging war against Infidels? What mosque did he attend? Is anyone paying to all the U.S. mosques supporting the Syrian jihad? Or would that be “Islamophobic”?

“Judge sets July trial for Cary man accused of attempting to aid terrorists,” by Anne Blythe for the Raleigh News and Observer, January 17 (thanks to Kenneth):

RALEIGH “” Old-fashioned, gumshoe sleuthing was not what led the FBI to a Cary man accused of trying to aid an al-Qaida-linked militant group attempting to topple the regime of Bashar Assad in Syria.

Prosecutors said Friday that federal agents became suspicious of Basit Javed Sheikh, the 29-year-old awaiting trial on terror-related charges, only after he contacted an FBI-run Facebook page disguised as a forum for extreme Muslim views.

Sheikh was in federal court Friday in a hearing before U.S. District Judge Terrence Boyle.

A Pakistan native who is classified as a lawful permanent resident in this country, Sheikh has been imprisoned since early November when he was arrested at Raleigh-Durham International Airport.

Federal agents contend that Sheikh was on his way to Turkey, where he hoped to join up with Jabhat al-Nusra, a rebel force fighting Assad’s troops in the Syrian civil war. The U.S. government has declared Jabhat al-Nursa a terrorist organization, and over the past year has charged at least three U.S. residents with attempting to join the group also known as the Nusra Front.

Prosecutors proposed a trial schedule on Friday that was rejected by Boyle as too protracted. Boyle settled on July, a couple of months earlier than prosecutors had hoped, and urged the lawyers to fit their exchange of information and any plea negotiations into that time frame.

“It’s my opinion that a matter of sensitive national security needs to go to the front of the line, not the back of the line, for the court’s attention,” Boyle said.

Prosecutor’s concerns

Prosecutors had asked for more time so the Central Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency and other law enforcement organizations from around the globe could go through their data and intelligence.

Prosecutor Jason Kellhofer said the organizations needed time to comb their files with an eye toward protecting their intelligence-gathering methods and any sources who might be compromised if the information were revealed.

Kellhofer also said he wanted to comb the information for any details that might help defense lawyers with claims of innocence, as required by law.

“Once that information is located, which is a hurdle in and of itself, we need to see that it can be declassified,” Kellhofer said.

Defense attorney Joseph Gilbert has agreed to a protective order, which means he will not share sensitive information with the public.

The FBI contends that Sheikh wrote messages online expressing an interest in joining the Nusra Front. Federal agents have been on the lookout for U.S. residents expressing a desire to fight with the group.

Others arrested

Abdella Ahmad Tounisi, an 18-year-old from suburban Chicago, was arrested in April at O”Hare International Airport as he prepared for the first leg of a trip to join the group, according to federal court documents. Tounisi, American-born, has pleaded not guilty.

In September, federal authorities in northern Virginia released a U.S. Army veteran accused of fighting alongside the jihadist group after a secret plea deal. Eric Harroun, 31, had faced up to life in prison. But defense lawyers argued there was confusion about which rebel group Harroun had joined, that Harroun traveled to Syria planning to fight with the Western-backed Free Syrian Army, and that fighting with the FSA was not a crime.

Though Sheikh’s attorney did not offer a glimpse of his defense at the hearing in Raleigh on Friday, terror law experts have said that the Cary man’s case underscores what they argue is a hypocrisy of prosecuting U.S. residents supporting anti-Assad groups that the government has declared terrorists while aiding others in the conflict that has claimed more than 100,000 lives over the past two and a half years….

It’s not hypocrisy. It’s myopia. It’s self-inflicted, willful ignorance over the nature of the combatants in Syria, and the dominance of jihad groups there.

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: American jihadis


Learn more about RevenueStripe...

Comments

  1. gravenimage says

    Jan 20, 2014 at 7:56 pm

    North Carolina Muslim facing jury trial for attempting to join Syrian jihad group
    ………………………………………..

    And yet, we almost would up militarily supporting these Jihadists. As usual, we are all over the map—utterly inconsistent—on Jihad.

    More:

    How did Basit Sheikh come to misunderstand Islam so spectacularly as to think jihad had something to do with waging war against Infidels? What mosque did he attend? Is anyone paying to all the U.S. mosques supporting the Syrian jihad? Or would that be “Islamophobic”?
    ………………………………………..

    And how many other “Sheikhs” are they breeding?

    More:

    A Pakistan native who is classified as a lawful permanent resident in this country…
    ………………………………………..

    Whatever the outcome, we should ship his *ss back to Pakistan when he’s done.

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

  • Infidel on Uighur leader: ‘We’re actually quite worried’ about what Biden might let China get away with
  • gravenimage on Al-Qaeda Calls on Jihadis to Kill Non-Muslims With Poisoned Coronavirus Masks
  • Infidel on Iranian Kurdistan: Muslim brothers behead their sister in honor killing over her romantic relationship
  • gravenimage on Israel At A Crossroads?
  • Infidel 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.