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Dearborn: Muslim plotted Islamic State mass murder attacks on church

Feb 6, 2016 11:58 am By Robert Spencer

“I tried to shoot up a church one day. I don’t know the name of it, but it’s close to my job. It’s one of the biggest ones in Detroit. Ya, I had it planned out. I bought a bunch of bullets. I practice a lot with it. I practice reloading and unloading. But my dad searched my car one day and he found everything. He found the gun and the bullets and a mask.” Why a church? “It’s easy and a lot of people go there. Plus people are not allowed to carry guns in church. Plus, it would make the news. Everyone would’ve heard. Honestly, I regret not doing it. If I can’t do jihad in the Middle East, I would do my jihad over here.'”

Did Free Press “journalist” Niraj Warikoo, who has done so much to defame and smear foes of jihad terror, feel a twinge of regret as he wrote this story? Did it dawn on him what he has been enabling? Probably not.

Khalil Abu-Rayyan

“FBI: Dearborn Hgts. man plotted ISIS attacks on church,” by Niraj Warikoo, Detroit Free Press, February 6, 2016:

A 21-year-old Dearborn Heights man threatened terror attacks in support of ISIS with targets including police and a Detroit church with up to 6,000 members, according to a federal criminal complaint unsealed Thursday.

Khalil Abu-Rayyan, 21, has not been charged with any terrorism crime. In an affidavit filed in a criminal complaint on a weapons and marijuana charge, he’s described as being an ISIS supporter who talked about committing violent acts of terrorism, including shootings and beheadings.

In his affidavit, FBI Special Agent Alan Southard said that Abu-Rayyan had been investigated by the FBI since May.

“Since May of 2015, the FBI has been conducting an investigation of Khalil Abu-Rayyan regarding increasingly violent threats he has made to others about committing acts of terror and martydom — including brutal acts against police officers, churchgoers and others — on behalf of the foreign terrorist organization Islamic State of Iraqi and Levant.”…

The FBI had been tracking Abu-Rayyan through social media, phone conversations, and surveillance. He had two Twitter accounts on which he expressed support for ISIS, the FBI said in the complaint.

According to the affidavit in the complaint, an undercover FBI employee was communicating with Abu-Rayyan. In December, the undercover FBI employee and Abu-Rayyan had “daily conversations” that took place “over the course of several weeks,” said the affidavit.

“During these conversations, Abu-Rayyan consistently expressed support for ISIL and repeatedly expressed his desire to commit a martyrdom operation.”

According to the affidavit, Abu-Rayyan also told the undercover FBI employee: “I tried to shoot up a church one day. I don’t know the name of it, but it’s close to my job. It’s one of the biggest ones in Detroit. Ya, I had it planned out. I bought a bunch of bullets. I practice a lot with it. I practice reloading and unloading. But my dad searched my car one day and he found everything. He found the gun and the bullets and a mask.”

“Abu-Rayyan said he targeted a church because, ‘it’s easy and a lot of people go there. Plus people are not allowed to carry guns in church. Plus, it would make the news. Everyone would’ve heard. Honestly, I regret not doing it. If I can’t do jihad in the Middle East, I would do my jihad over here.'”

The FBI said a church that has up to 6,000 members and fits the description given by Abu-Ryyan is about half a mile from where he works.

Abu-Ryyan said he didn’t carry out the shooting because a gun he bought in October “only held six shots and he would have to keep on reloading.”

Abu-Ryyan also took photos of himself at gun ranges firing an AK-47-type and AR-15-type rifles. He “captioned one of the photos, ‘Sawhat hunting,’ ” said the affidavit.

“Sawhat is a term for Iraqis who oppose ISIL,” said the affidavit.

On Oct. 7, Detroit Police had pulled over Abu-Ryyan for speeding, finding marijuana on him and a pistol. He told police he didn’t have a concealed pistol license.

On Nov. 17, Wayne County prosecutors issued a warrant charging him with carrying a concealed weapon and possession of a controlled substance, marijuana.

On Jan. 15, he pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana. He faces a trial on Feb. 16 on the charge of carrying a concealed weapon.

On Jan. 21, he told the undercover FBI employee that “he wanted to kill the officer who arrested him in October.”

He told the undercover FBI employee that his trial had been delayed because the officer who arrested him was in the hospital after suffering a heart attack.

“Abu-Rayyan explained he wanted to do a martyrdom operation in the hospital, killing the police officer in the process,” said the affidavit.

On Jan. 22, he talked about having a large sword or knife in case he gets into a fight.

“Abu-Rayyan also said hearing about shootings and death makes him excited. He continued, ‘I would gladly behead people if I needed to…It is my dream to behead someone.”

Dearborn attorney Majed Moughni, who often deals with Arab-American issues, said that what Abu-Rayyan was planning to do was “terrifying …Clearly terrorism is not a joking matter. … Muslim Americans are working with law enforcement to stamp out threats to our community.”

As in other cases tied to ISIS, Abu-Rayyan used social media to communicate support for the group.

The FBI said in the affidavit that Abu-Rayyan had been using a Twitter account since at least November 2014 to retweet, like and comment “on ISIL propaganda.” The propaganda included videos of a Jordanian pilot burned alive, Christians being beheaded, and men being thrown from buildings in executions.

In his Twitter profile, Abu-Rayyan described himself as Palestinian and Muslim, according to Tweet Tunnel, which captures images of old tweets and Twitter accounts.

In November 2015, Abu-Rayyan got another Twitter account, using the same Twitter profile photo in his previous account: a photo of him standing in the driveway of his residence, his right hand raised with his index finger pointing upward.

“Raising a single index finger is a gesture commonly found in images of ISIL supporters,” the FBI said in the affidavit….

Here are some Muslim students at Brooklyn College making that gesture in April 2015. Are they being investigated? Probably not.

Brooklyn Collegeonefinger

Here is a woman making the same signal at the Noor Islamic Center in Michigan in October 2015, even as she was supposedly being kind to an “Islamophobe.” Is she being investigated? Probably not.

Islamic State selfie

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Filed Under: American jihadis, Featured, Islamic State (aka ISIS, ISIL, Daesh), Jihad in the U.S. Tagged With: Khalil Abu-Rayyan


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Comments

  1. David Munson says

    Feb 6, 2016 at 12:08 pm

    What makes him think people don’t carry guns into church. I’m glad this didn’t happen but he may have been surprised.

    • Jay Boo says

      Feb 6, 2016 at 7:27 pm

      Here is a good reason for churchgoers to cling to their guns and religion.

      • Shane says

        Feb 7, 2016 at 4:21 pm

        Good point. We need our guns to protect us from the illegal alien criminals Obama has released on our streets and from the numerous jihadis who are looking for a target-rich environment. If the jihadis do attack an American church, then many people will bring their guns to church.

  2. Unknown says

    Feb 6, 2016 at 12:12 pm

    He said “…people are not allowed to carry guns in church”. I don’ know where he got that idea. I’m guessing he might be unpleasantly surprised.

    • Rev g says

      Feb 6, 2016 at 1:27 pm

      In Michigan churches are gun free zones unless given permission from the pastor.

  3. Katnis says

    Feb 6, 2016 at 12:28 pm

    He hasn’t been arrested for any crime.? Clearly he is on a path To commit murder.

    Seems like a lot of work done by the FBI has been ineffective.

    • Budvarakbar says

      Feb 6, 2016 at 2:03 pm

      They only go for the jugular if it is a lone white Christian away out in the boonies – where they can blame any ‘success’ or ‘failure’ on local LE

      • Western Canadian says

        Feb 7, 2016 at 6:02 pm

        Very unusual for a practicing Christian to do any such things, expect the media to falsely claim them to be Christian….

  4. WCM says

    Feb 6, 2016 at 12:34 pm

    In Dearbornistan? Is anybody surprised?

    • Rev g says

      Feb 6, 2016 at 1:28 pm

      Actually, Dearborn hts is not Dearborn.

  5. Champ ✿ says

    Feb 6, 2016 at 12:37 pm

    Obama: Islamic State says they’re “holy warriors who speak for Islam. I refuse to give them legitimacy.”

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Obviously many muslims DON’T agree with obama about ISIS, so he is in the minority.

    • Budvarakbar says

      Feb 6, 2016 at 2:05 pm

      Surely you do not believe that Obama is representing his true feelings!

      • Champ says

        Feb 6, 2016 at 2:12 pm

        Surely you jest …

  6. Angemon says

    Feb 6, 2016 at 1:31 pm

    Plus people are not allowed to carry guns in church.

    That’s what “gun-free zone” signs get ya…

    • Jack says

      Feb 7, 2016 at 10:36 pm

      I get it, obviously this dirt bag gets it too, and I’m sure the ones like him gets it, hopefully they’ll get a big surprise when they decide to go on a murdering spree.

  7. Mark Spahn (West Seneca, NY) says

    Feb 6, 2016 at 1:31 pm

    Robin: Batman, this Abu-Rayyan fellow was smoking marijuana. Are Muslims allowed to smoke marijuana?

    Batman: My go-to source for such questions, http://islamqa.info/en/115761 , says the answer is ‘No’. And it says that to calm yourself down, instead of smoking marijuana, ‘we advise you to do several things, including the following:
    1- Pray a great deal for forgiveness with proper presence of mind.
    2- Do wudoo’ and pray, for these are the greatest means of helping oneself to be patient in dealing with hardship and dispelling worry.
    3- Remember Allaah a great deal (dhikr), because this is a sure way to attain peace of mind and tranquillity.
    4- Send a great deal of blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). InSunan al-Tirmidhi (2381) it is narrated that Ubayy (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: I said: O Messenger of Allaah, I send a great deal of blessings upon you. How much of my du’aa’ should I make for you? He said: “Whatever you wish.” I said: One-quarter? He said: “Whatever you wish, but if you do more it will be better for you.” I said: One half? He said: “Whatever you wish, but if you do more it will be better for you.” I said: Two-thirds? He said: “Whatever you wish, but if you do more it will be better for you.” I said: I will make all my du’aa’ for you. He said: “Then your worries will be taken care of and *your sins will be forgiven*.”’

    Robin: Holy Martin Luther, Batman! That says that Mohammad the Prophet was SELLING INDULGENCES!

    Batman: Yes, Robin. And the indulgence buyer Ubayy was trying to jew down the price. But the Prophet got full price; he was a Trump-class negotiator.

    • Budvarakbar says

      Feb 6, 2016 at 2:10 pm

      You are wasting a lot of page space –they are big on hash for their jihadi adventures — where do you think the word assassin comes from!!

      • Champ says

        Feb 6, 2016 at 2:22 pm

        His comment isn’t that long …

        And what are you, a newly self-appointed monitor who censures this site?

        • Jay Boo says

          Feb 6, 2016 at 7:39 pm

          Worse than that Champ
          Budvarakbar is clearly a clever little troll.

          Budvarakbar never writes anything substantial against Islam other than occasional harmless name calling. On some threads Budvarakbar goes after one commenter after another while totally ignoring the foul nauseating stink of Muslims.

          Notice how Budvarakbar has been attacking other commenters (style) while totally ignoring the vile filth of the followers of the pig Muhammad.

          Muhammad is an oink
          So is Budvarakbar

        • Jay Boo says

          Feb 6, 2016 at 7:52 pm

          Budvarakbar is full of one-liner hit & run jabs.

        • Champ says

          Feb 6, 2016 at 10:11 pm

          Thank you, Jay Boo. I am unfamiliar with “Budvarakbar” and his comments apart from this thread, so I appreciate the heads-up.

        • Jack says

          Feb 7, 2016 at 10:53 pm

          This site and every site like it has a “Budvarakbar” not that it’s needed.

      • harpertwo says

        Feb 7, 2016 at 10:58 pm

        So what, did someone put you in charge of page space?

    • Jay Boo says

      Feb 6, 2016 at 7:50 pm

      @Mark Spahn
      Good comment, except maybe the part — “trying to jew down the price”

      Anyway a Muslim’s Voo Doo wudoo can never clean away the mess that the pages of the Qur’an are meant for: wiping away Islam’s endless piles of Allah’s Doo Doo

      • Mark Spahn (West Seneca, NY) says

        Feb 6, 2016 at 9:08 pm

        Yeah, maybe I should have said “trying to muslim down the price”, as in a Middle Eastern souk.
        On the concept of du’aa’, also spelled https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dua ,
        there are many hymns about this Islamic concept; see
        https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=doo%20wop
        (The refrain was changed from “dua” to “doo-wop” in order to appeal to Italian-American music lovers; it worked.)
        Your poetic reference to “Voo Doo wudoo” will be an inspiration to future doo-wop songwriters.

  8. Budvarakbar says

    Feb 6, 2016 at 2:17 pm

    Bob – You left out a LOT!

    https://www.google.com/search?q=Finger+wagging+Obama&biw=1254&bih=658&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiCuJ_i6-PKAhUB7GMKHStzATcQsAQIGw

  9. mortimer says

    Feb 6, 2016 at 2:33 pm

    The Detroit Free Press and its “journalist” Niraj Warikoo are certainly enablers of JIHAD-TERRORISM.

    Why do they think that by pandering and groveling they can prevent jihadists from shooting up churches, newspaper office towers, airplanes, bus stations or Christmas parties?

    We aren’t safe ANYWHERE from the jihadists…that is the lesson that 21-year-old Khalil Abu-Rayyan is proclaiming.

    The dirty kafirs will not be safe anywhere in America.

  10. Westman says

    Feb 6, 2016 at 2:34 pm

    “…It is my dream to behead someone.”

    Abu-Rayyan seems to be the Muslim “Walter Mitty” of Dearborn whose thoughts flow out of his mouth without any filtering or restraint. Could he be a cousin to the Shoe Bomber?

    These dim-bulbs that, thankfully, keep getting caught before acting, only illustrate that there are far more intelligent jihadists-in-waiting who have influenced them. How long before there is actual terrorism hatched in Dearborn?

  11. Dan Jones says

    Feb 6, 2016 at 3:46 pm

    Aint those followers of a pedophile just nifty…

    More End Time News At:
    http://www.shininginthedark.com/?page_id=4526

  12. rock says

    Feb 6, 2016 at 7:12 pm

    At our church we have armed guards, some even hiding in the bushes. If you come to our church and try to harm anyone, they will shoot to kill and you’ll meet Satan quickly. You may think that you’re going to meet allah but the only think that awaits for you is hell. There are no virgins in hell either. So think before you try to pull a stunt like this.
    They’ll blow you away at our church.

  13. guide inside says

    Feb 7, 2016 at 4:22 am

    Thank God the church’s are starting to wakey wakey. Seminars are held almost daily by different ministries and denominations to alert pastors to the imminent danger. You can go packin’ in the pews in some states. Our church has had uniformed officers from local law enforcement and or security guards also armed. Some times we are not covered but know that a police substation is a few blocks away and would be there in a couple of minutes. Our own security team has ear buds and scans the sanctuary and foyer for anything out of order and then alerts the others to do “eyes on” and also to move to the front when after service prayer occurs. Our Pastor will have private meetings where security issues are discussed.

  14. Barry says

    Feb 7, 2016 at 9:22 pm

    I can understand why he practiced loading but why unloading? Does he mean perhaps pushing that little button which drops the mag out? That shouldn’t take a whole lot of practice. He doesn’t strike me as being all that bright- he should stick to building clocks that look like bombs that way he might have won a free trip to the White House. And if he thinks no one goes to Church with a gun he should come to my Church- even my Grandmother used to carry a revolver in her purse. But it was one nice revolver that she never fired and only carried it to Church on Sundays.

    • Rev g says

      Feb 7, 2016 at 10:43 pm

      The specification of unloading, and the 6 round capacity lead me to think he had a revolver. They must be unloaded, empty cases extracted anyways.
      Mag changes are much simple than revolver reloads, even using speedloaders.. My revolver only holds 5, but it is not a primary weapon. The wife likes it in her bed stand

  15. ICH says

    Feb 8, 2016 at 8:07 am

    PLEASE NOT DETROIT !!!!

    I love the D

    This made me sad I tell ya.

  16. Charlie Farley says

    Feb 8, 2016 at 5:57 pm

    Just make the mark of the cross in pig fat on everyone’s forehead as they enter. Christians will not mind and this will guarantee NO entry to their heaven and no virgins for them.

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