Why didn’t other Muslims in prison, and Muslim prison chaplains, explain to Abu Taubah how he was misunderstanding the true, peaceful teachings of Islam?
“Gangster-turned-radical imam may have radicalized dozens behind bars,” by Malia Zimmerman, Fox News, June 4, 2015:
Marcus Dwayne Robertson, 46, a former U.S. Marine known to his supporters at his Orlando-based Fundamental Islamic Knowledge Seminary as “Abu Taubah,” is suspected of sending young proteges abroad for terror training.
A former U.S. Marine who became a Muslim radical, gang leader and bodyguard to the blind sheik behind the 1993 World Trade Center bombing is so adept at turning fellow prisoners into potential extreme jihadists that Florida prison officials have kept him in shackles and in solitary confinement for the last three years, and federal authorities want a judge to tack on another three decades.
Marcus Dwayne Robertson, a Muslim extremist also known as Imam Abu Taubah who once led a murderous New York gang dubbed “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves” before resurfacing decades later as a radical imam at a Florida mosque, has been held at the John E. Polk Correctional Facility in Seminole County, Fla. Currently imprisoned on a weapons conviction, he faces sentencing on June 26 for a tax fraud conviction. Federal authorities want him locked up and kept away from other inmates out of fear he will turn them into dangerous jihadists, as he converted a number of fellow inmates including a white supremacist….
Robertson, 46, who served time in the 1990s for crimes related to his days as a Brooklyn gang leader, has been imprisoned in Florida in 2011 on a gun charge. In just one year behind bars and among the general population, he allegedly radicalized 36 fellow inmates. Prison officials moved the persuasive imam into solitary confinement in 2012, where he has remained since. He faces sentencing later this month on a tax fraud conviction that prosecutors hope will keep him in prison for more than three decades. The U.S. attorney is using the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to seek an enhanced sentence for Robertson.
Robertson’s attorney wants his client, who has been held for four years, released immediately with time served, but federal authorities are believed to fear that, if freed, Robertson could use his Orlando-area mosque to convince more young Muslims to go overseas and take up arms against the west.
“He is good at selling the dream,” said one of Robertson’s former colleagues.
Robertson has been held in a windowless cell in an otherwise empty wing of the prison facility and kept shackled to the floor with an armed guard assigned exclusively to him around the clock, according to a federal civil rights lawsuit he filed against the government pro se in 2012 that was ultimately dismissed. A person familiar with Robertson’s case confirmed the conditions and told FoxNews.com prison officials fear Robertson’s military skills, which include special operations training, make him a threat to escape.
A prison spokeswoman told FoxNews.com that Robertson was put in solitary confinement “for his own protection” and is now held there by his own choice. But the tight security around Robertson extends outside the prison, with at least a 7-car armed caravan of federal marshals escorting him to his court appearances. Robertson’s attorney said his client believes he was put in solitary confinement in retaliation for filing a federal lawsuit against the government.
“Marcus Robertson has never tried to radicalize anyone,” said Robertson’s attorney Daniel Brodersen, who believes his client should be released immediately. “He’s tried to practice his religion in prison to the best of his ability.”
Over the last 30 years, Robertson has traveled a bizarre path that has seen him serve in the U.S. military, lead a murderous New York gang, consort with top Al Qaeda associates, go undercover for the FBI in Egypt, Africa and the U.S., and ultimately end up in a federal lockup facing more than 30 years in prison. Those who know him say Robertson became disenchanted while in the military, where he claims to have served in the elite counter-terrorism unit Joint Special Operations Command before leaving the service as a conscientious objector.
National Archives records confirm Robertson’s service from May 16, 1986 to May 1994, in the U.S. Marine Corps 2nd Force Reconnaissance Company as a field radio operator, but records indicate he was released from active duty in March 1990, discharged in the rank of corporal with training in radiotelegraph, scuba diving, marksmanship, parachuting, terrorism counteraction, surveillance, infantry patrolling and finance.
In early 1991, Robertson joined with other former Muslim security guards to form a robbery gang they called the ‘Forty Thieves’ with Robertson as the leader known as “Ali Baba.”
They robbed more than 10 banks, private homes and post offices at gunpoint, shot three police officers, and attacked one cop after he was injured by a homemade pipe bomb.
Robertson also served as a bodyguard to Omar Abdel Rahman, nicknamed the “Blind Sheik,” who was part of the extremist Islamic group accused of the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. Government records claim Robertson donated more than $300,000 in stolen funds to mosques he attended.
After he was arrested in 1991 along with most of the other members of the Forty Thieves gang, Robertson cut a deal with prosecutors, serving just four years in prison while others remain behind bars.
Part of the pact involved Robertson going undercover for the FBI to document terrorists’ plans and networks in Africa, Egypt and the United States.
According to a source familiar with Robertson’s history, Robertson was thrown out of the program in Feb. 8, 2007 after he attacked his CIA handler in Africa.
Robertson quickly reinvented himself, founding the Orlando-based Fundamental Islamic Knowledge Seminary in 2008 and taking his Muslim name. He traveled the world, teaching at universities, including some in the United States. Videos of his lectures show him preaching against gays, “devil worshipers,” non-Muslims and such American pop culture icons as cartoon SpongeBob SquarePants, who he says is “gay.”
Under Islamic law, the Brooklyn-born Robertson married two women, Zulaika and Itisha Wills. Between them, and children he fathered outside these marriages, Robertson has 15 children. Through his teachings, videos and social media, he recruited an extensive network of followers in Florida and New York, an estimated 150 who reportedly are a concern for federal law enforcement.
Robertson was arrested on a firearms charge in 2011 and pleaded guilty in January, 2012. Just two months later, federal authorities charged him in with conspiring to defraud the IRS. Through wiretaps, the federal government documented interactions between Robertson and one of his student, Jonathan Paul Jimenez, who Robertson allegedly instructed to file false tax returns to obtain a tax refund to pay for travel to Mauritania, Northwest Africa, for study and violent jihadist training.
Jimenez, who reportedly knew Robertson for 11 years and, by his own admission, trained with the imam for a year in preparation for his travel to Mauritania, where he would study and further his training in killing, suicide bombing, and identifying and murdering U.S. military personnel, pleaded guilty Aug. 28, 2012, to making a false statement to a federal agency in a matter involving international terrorism and conspiring to defraud the IRS, and was sentenced April 18, 2013, to 10 years in federal prison….
Peter Buckley says
This article explains perfectly why people like Robertson get attracted to Islam in the first place:
http://www.islam-watch.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=363:violent-hateful-misfits-attracted-to-islam&catid=53:ayesha&Itemid=58
Marty says
In the UK most male muslim converts are criminals who want divine authority for their
anti social tendencies.
Indigenous British women sometimes fall for the blandishments of a mohammedan, marry & convert, and live to regret it, or become terrorists like the “white widow”.
If the West were serious about the islamic threat, no muslim preachers or “chaplains” would be allowed in prisons.
Matthieu Baudin says
Also Marty, not only Muslim preachers or chaplains should be barred from prisons but the Koran itself ought not be available in prison as it encourages violent behaviour.
Shane says
Yes, and we should stop all Muslim immigration into the West. It is a shame that the CIA did not terminate this traitor when they had the chance.
duh_swami says
Shackled to the floor, and an armed guard is over doing it a little…a lot actually if this is true. Why does a prison need an armed guard outside a cell? Not even Charley Manson got that.
No unauthorized personnel are allowed in these lock ups. And no one with a gun is ever allowed in a prison population area, short of riots. Shackled to the floor, if true, is probably a violation of his rights. Solitary confinement, (seclusion) is a useful tool in the institution, but I’m not so sure about the rest.
Mirren10 says
Charles Manson wasn’t trained the way in which this pos is trained, duh swami. It sounds to me as if he has been attacking prison personnel, hence the shackling.
You know, like Hannibal Lecter had to wear a mouth muzzle, so he couldn’teat people’s faces. Although I always wondered why they didn’t just take all his teeth out … 🙂
duh_swami says
HMMM…The article didn’t say he was attacking anyone physically, but even if he was, shackles are doubtful, especially to the floor. I worked in institutions with some of the most dangerous and unpredictable people you can imagine. Sometimes physical restraint is called for, but it’s always temporary. The actively violent are usually strapped to a bed, or chair during, ‘episodes’. Seclusion in a locked room with no restraints is the norm for some. I know of several where at least four male staff had to be there just to open the door. I doubt this Imam was ‘that’ dangerous. But maybe I’m just jaded because I have seen up close, the baddest of the bad.
albert says
is this a man can convert a white supremacist we are all doomed
somehistory says
How can he do that and islam remain a *race* all its own?
Angemon says
An imam getting muslims to “terror training”? Gee, what a surprise…
We often hear that muslim clerics “turn” muslims into jihadis, but seldom, if ever, we get an explanation of how they do it. Is it some sort of hypnotism? A mentalist trick? A straight-out quotation from the quran and other sources of islamic orthodoxy? The media often gloss over it – they just “recruit” muslims to join jihad.
Ugh, I bet the bastard never read the story and thinks that Ali Baba is the name of the leader of the thieves…
Not really surprised with the white supremacist. Islam is a magnet for violent losers.
State sponsored dawah. How nice.
30 years for tax fraud? How many did he got for what he did during his “Ali Baba” days? Robbing banks is one thing, but don’t you dare trying to steal from the government…
“Could”?
Exactly what dream would that be?
I’m not sure his attorney realizes what he is implying.
That is a very bizarre claim. What kind of “conscientious objector” even joins the army and ends up leading a gang of violent thieves? I submit you this: his claim of being a conscientious objector came not from his opposition to violence but from his opposition to wage war against fellow muslims.
Training in terrorism counteraction? I bet that comes in handy after turning coat…
Called it.
Gee, who could have seen that one coming?…
Good grief, what’s with the islamic obsession with gays?
And rightfully so.
gravenimage says
Great analysis.
You wrote:
What kind of “conscientious objector” even joins the army and ends up leading a gang of violent thieves? I submit you this: his claim of being a conscientious objector came not from his opposition to violence but from his opposition to wage war against fellow muslims.
…………………….
Spot on, Angemon. This is not “conscientious objecting” in the way it is traditionally used at all—but it is increasingly common with Muslims.
Grumpyoldguy says
The fact that Abu turned his back on his country, The Corps, and his country shows me that he was never truly a U.S. Marine. A traitor can’t be anything but a traitor.
Grumpyoldguy says
One should never type while angry I suppose. I meant to include the fact that Abu also turned his back on his brothers in The Corps. Didn’t mean to mention country twice. I see an angle to this story that makes it personal, and got a little P.O.’d. Sorry.
Jim Barber says
Gee, I hope the Imam told the black prisoners that Islamists believe in slavery…and that they beat and torture their slaves with impunity. Maybe he forgot???
mortimer says
Résumé:
*In early 1991, Robertson joined with other former Muslim security guards to form a robbery gang they called the ‘Forty Thieves’ with Robertson as the leader known as “Ali Baba.”
*They robbed more than 10 banks, private homes and post offices at gunpoint
*shot three police officers, and attacked one cop after he was injured by a homemade pipe bomb.
*Robertson also served as a bodyguard to Omar Abdel Rahman, nicknamed the “Blind Sheik,” who was part of the extremist Islamic group accused of the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. *Government records claim Robertson donated more than $300,000 in stolen funds to mosques he attended.
*took advance training in killing, suicide bombing, and identifying and murdering U.S. military personnel
My request to the parole board: Throw away the key!
somehistory says
Trained in radiotelegraph, scuba diving, marksmanship, parachuting, terrorism counteraction, surveillance, infantry patrolling and finance…isis needs him. Keep him behind bars, alone, only with his own evil thoughts to keep him company.
The *dream* he sells is death, mayhem, torture, rape, theft. Many in prison are already bent in those directions; many are psychopaths who take to things that don’t ask them to have a conscience or empathy or fellow-feeling like ducks take to water. islam and its warfare for the sake of satan is perfect for them.
dodo says
ISIS is Mohammad. If Mohammad were alive today, he would join ISIS
Arthur says
Does it worry anyone else that the author of this news release, Malia Zimmerman, intermingles legal reasons for holding someone in prison (i.e. violating gun laws, tax fraud) with illegal reasons for holding someone in prison (i.e. ‘radicalizing’ people, being a persuasive preacher)? Repeatedly, it is implied that the reason the government seeks to hold him longer are his words, not his actions.
“…is so adept at turning fellow prisoners…[they] have kept him in shackles and in solitary confinement for the last three years, and [want] another three decades.”
“…authorities want him locked up and kept away from other inmates out of fear he will turn them into dangerous jihadists…”
“…he allegedly radicalized 36 fellow inmates.”
Don’t get me wrong, words and persuasive people like this are definitely dangerous, and this guy should’ve been in prison for life after his first bank robbery! But, the idea that dangerous speech should put you into prison is a two-edged sword. Many of us here on JW might be classified as persuasive and radical (radically pro-free speech, radically pro-freedom, radically anti-violence…) and hence capable of “radicalizing” fellow readers. Holding “radical” ideas in your head should not become a federal offense, lest we all submit our minds to the thought police for inspection.
If we want to convict him of treason for organizing attacks against the constitutional government, then call it treason, convict on treason, and sentence on treason. But, extremism, radicalism, and having a following aren’t legally defined as crime.
Malia Zimmerman spent years as an investigative reporter in Hawaii, so I think her bent is simply to sensationalize her work so it stands out (and she moves up in the world). Still, journalists these days are far better at creative writing than factual reporting. Ironically, she claims to be libertarian.
somehistory says
I did notice and thought about that as I read, and wondered why they had not argued harder for him to go away longer for his bank robbery and his work for the blind sheik terrorist. It does sound like they want him there so he cannot speak to others. While he is there, he should be isolated so he can’t speak to others. But they were willing to allow him to be out if he was working for them, which he evidently didn’t continue to do as he is now locked up.
The film maker was locked up for *speech.* If the oic and h. clinton, and o get their way, the freedom to speak will be greatly limited in the near future.
Kathy Brown, Esq. says
Now this is exactly the reason that these jihadis need capital punishment, beginning with Tsarnaev (who got it). While there’s breath in their miserable bodies, they’ll proselytize. Shut them up FOR GOOD.
gravenimage says
Florida: Imam may have recruited dozens for jihad behind bars
…………………………
How often have we heard *this*? The only unusual thing here is the scope.
More:
“Marcus Robertson has never tried to radicalize anyone,” said Robertson’s attorney Daniel Brodersen, who believes his client should be released immediately. “He’s tried to practice his religion in prison to the best of his ability.”
…………………………
I doubt his attorney realizes just what it is he is admitting here…
And this Jihadist uses the sobriquet “Abu Taubah”. “Taubah” is often translated as “repentance”, but that is not really accurate. This is really about “moving in”—i.e., getting closer to Islam. For him, this is all about the “purity” of Islam, and that is indistinguishable from JIhad.