Salt Lake Jihad?

FrontPageMagazine.com ^ | February 15, 2007 | Robert Spencer

[flynmudd]

When Sulejmen Talovic entered the Trolley Square mall in Salt Lake City Monday night with a shotgun, a pistol, and a backpack full of ammunition, he intended to “kill a large number of people,” according to Salt Lake City Police Chief Chris Burbank. Talovic killed five people and wounded four before he himself was killed by an off-duty Ogden police officer who happened to be in the mall.

Why did Talovic do it? No one knows. Talovic’s aunt, Ajka Omerovic, told reporters: “We want to know what happened, just like you guys. We have no idea...We know him as a good boy. He liked everybody, so I don’t know what happened.” Talovic, who was eighteen at the time of the murders, was a Bosnian Muslim who came to the United States with his family in 1998. Could he have been motivated by jihadist sympathies?

FBI special agent Patrick Kiernan discounted that possibility. “We’re working closely with the Salt Lake P.D. and we’re obviously aware that that [terrorism] is a potential issue out there,” he explained. “But at this point there is nothing that is leading us down this road.” And with Talovic dead and apparently having acted alone, unless something he wrote explaining his actions is discovered, it is unlikely that his motive will ever be definitively known.

But was Kiernan really correct that “there is nothing that is leading us down this road”? Unfortunately, he didn’t explain how he came to this conclusion. Talovic joins an unfortunately growing list of Muslims who have committed random acts of violence, only for officials to assure us that their actions have nothing to do with terrorism. Maybe none of them do, but the list is full of troubling details:

On January 31, Ismail Yassin Mohamed, 22, stole a car in Minneapolis. He went on a rampage, ramming the stolen car into other cars and then stealing a van and continuing to ram other cars, injuring one person. His father told officials that Mohamed was suffering from mental problems; his mother added he had been depressed and hadn’t been taking his medication. During his rampage, Mohamed repeatedly yelled, “Die, die, die, kill, kill, kill,” and when asked why he did all this, he replied, “Allah made me do it.” Omeed Aziz Popal, a Muslim from Afghanistan, who killed one person and injured fourteen during a murderous drive through San Francisco city streets in August 2006, during which he targeted people on crosswalks and sidewalks, identified himself as a terrorist after his rampage, according to Rob Roth of San Francisco’s KTVU. Later the murders were ascribed to Popal’s mental problems, and to stress arising from his impending arranged marriage. On July 28, 2006, a Muslim named Naveed Afzal Haq forced his way into the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle. Once inside, Haq announced, “I’m a Muslim American; I’m angry at Israel,” and then began shooting, killing one woman and injuring five more. FBI assistant special agent David Gomez stated: “We believe...it’s a lone individual acting out his antagonism. There’s nothing to indicate that it’s terrorism-related. But we're monitoring the entire situation.” In March 2006, a twenty-two-year-old Iranian student named Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar drove an SUV onto the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, deliberately trying to kill people and succeeding in injuring nine. After the incident, he seemed singularly pleased with himself, smiling and waving to crowds after a court appearance on Monday, at which he explained that he was “thankful for the opportunity to spread the will of Allah.” Officials here again dismissed the possibility of terrorism, even after Taheri-azar wrote a series of letters to the UNC campus newspaper detailing the Qur’anic justification for warfare against unbelievers, and explaining why he believed his attacks were justified from an Islamic perspective. None of these were terrorist attacks in the sense that they were planned and executed by al-Qaeda agents. And it is possible that all of them were products of nothing more ideologically significant than a disturbed mental state, although it is at least noteworthy that each attacker explained his actions in terms of Islamic terrorism. As such attacks grow in number, it would behoove authorities at very least to consider the possibility that these attacks were inspired by the jihadist ideology of Islamic supremacism, and to step up pressure on American Muslim advocacy groups to renounce that ideology definitively and begin extensive programs to teach against it in American Islamic schools and mosques.

In October 2006, a pro-jihad internet site published a “Guide for Individual Jihad,” explaining to jihadists “how to fight alone.” It recommended, among other things, assassination with guns and running people over. Is it possible that Sulejmen Talovic and some of these others were waging this jihad of one? It is indeed, but with law enforcement officials trained only to look for signs of membership in al-Qaeda or other jihad groups, and to discount terrorism as a factor if those signs aren’t there, it is a possibility that investigators will continue to overlook.

[rovenstinez]

Yep, sounds like a peaceful religion. I can see them and the Amish have a lot in common. Sincere souls..... Expressing the emotion of their loving Allah.

[Buffalo Bob]

Terrorism is not the enemy.

It is a tactic used by a declared enemy, Islam.

[nina0113]

ping

[Spok]

"he himself was killed by an off-duty Ogden police officer who happened to be in the mall."

Actually, the Ogden officer exchanged shots and distracted the shooter until SLCPD SWAT officers arrived armed with MP-5's, who promptly emptied them into the shooter.

[batter]

The local radio host in SLC was making similar points. His main concern, however, is that SLC's ultra-liberal mayor will exert pressure to point to a politically correct motive.

I'm not sure we'll ever find out if 'Allah' or any Muslim stuff played any part whatsoever in the motive.

[San Jacinto]

What mosque did this guy attend?
Do they teach hate?

[ghost of nixon]

The kid had a job - he didn't go there to shoot his boss and co-workers. He has recently been in school - he didn't go there to kill his teachers & fellow students. My hunch is he was reading Islamist hate web-sites that encouraged him to go on a personal jihad.

[Saltmeat]

If it walks, swims, flies, quacks and looks like a duck then it must be a duck. Why do the authorities try to convince us otherwise. If this was a white Christian targeting blacks, gays, or Muslims he/she would immediately be classified as a bigot or a homophobe and would be prosecuted for hate crimes.

[batter]

FWIW - The pic/video/sound bites of the family I've seen on TV and elsewhere don't indicate they are practicing Muslims. The ROP doesn't seem (on the surface) to play much, if any, role in the family. However, that certainly does NOT preclude the shooter from seeking out and being influenced by Islamic sources (be it the web or other).

[Sleeping Freeper]

The local paper's reaction to the Muslim connection is here:

http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,660195692,00.html

[snarks_when_bored]

Five American mall shoppers slaughtered by a muslim gunman does not rise to the level of newsworthiness required to steal a moment or two of time from cable news coverage of the Anna Nicole Smith story.

As I recall, the Chandra Levy case was finally bumped off the cable news schedules by the by the 9-11 attacks. I guess only the nuking of an American city will perform a similar public service in regards to the Anna Nicole story.

[batter]

Also posted on FR: Vitriolic e-mails zero in on 'Muslim' [PUKE!!!]

[flynmudd]

At least we aren't hearing about the Space Nut anymore.

Did you know the DC snipers were muslim? The press never let on.

[Rakkasan1]

shark attacks due to 'global warming' will take the lead again soon enough.

[snarks_when_bored]

At least we aren't hearing about the Space Nut anymore.

Unfortunately, that's not so. I just passed by a cable news discussion of her a few moments ago...

Did you know the DC snipers were muslim? The press never let on.

Yes, I knew about the DC snipers, and you're right: the media did its best to hide the fact that they were muslims carrying out murder in the name of jihad.

There's a partial list of such muslim attacks within the U.S. here:

some muslim attacks within the U.S.

(courtesy of FReeper Beckwith)

[GaryMontana]

You are correct. If a Christian or Jew attacked Moslims the press would scream what a racist this person was.

Due to the fact the he was a muslim the press down plays the fact that he prays to the pig named allah.

The whole world trembles in the face of the Nazis in 1937 -- hoping to not agrivate the monster regime. Winston Churchill and those like him who sound the alarm are considered rightwing nuts.
2007- Seventy years later The whole world trembles in the face of the muslims. Those who point out this danger are attacked as being rightwing nuts.

HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF.

Islam is a cancer that must be destroyed or it will destroy the human race.

[snarks_when_bored]

No doubt...

[isthisnickcool]

Thank goodness for the Ogden off duty cop. If not for him there would have been a lot more people killed. The Ogden officer was in plain clothes which was dangerous when the other officers arrived, and he only had a limited number of shots to hold the shooter off. What a brave fellow!

Witnesses say the shooter was smiling the whole time he was shooting. You can see a video which shows little but you can hear everything that's happening. See "home video" on this page. The audio is chilling.

A times here on FR people talk ill of the police but these guys were real pros.

[ishabibble]

When are we going to wake up and face the ugly facts? Speaking of Utah...

http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/693

[nina0113]

Did you know the DC snipers were muslim? The press never let on.

It showed up in the very earliest reports after they were caught, but was quickly thrown down the memory hole.

[technochick99]

And with Talovic dead and apparently having acted alone, unless something he wrote explaining his actions is discovered, it is unlikely that his motive will ever be definitively known.

Sigh.... leaderless cells. This isn't a new concept.

[Big Red Clay]

The article writer neglected to include the student who blew himself up outside the OU football game a while back. To me, that incident reeked of the old "nothing to see here, no terrorism, move along" syndrome that you always hear ascribed to them almost from the moment that they happen.

Keep the population shopping and watching American Idol. We wouldn't want them to recognize or acknowledge that there is a war going on......

[concerned about politics]

What mosque did this guy attend? Do they teach hate?

Is that a rhetorical question?

[taxesareforever]

Yep. Time to profile, like it or put our lives at risk.

[Issaquahking]

Take a look at this picture -




Looks pretty normal for everyday, agreed? Looks are decieving my FRiend.

This would probably pass for any Mexican, or Indian, or maybe even Mid-East person right? Now if I tell you who he is right away, you'll say, "I knew that!" Or maybe you would, but tens of thousands of others do not! It is important to wrap around this concept, because it may help us all to live a little longer.Let me add a couple of things in that help identify him for you-


He's married.

He graduated High School with honours.

Has a degree

Married

Has a daughter.

Sounds okay so far, right? Lets go a little further...

He's Muslim

He's from Asir Province, a poor region in southwestern Saudi Arabia that borders Yemen.

His name is Abdul Aziz al-Omari

He died 9/11/01.

One of the 9/11 hijackers.



sulejmen talovic, muslim errorist, conducted a terrorist raid in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was an ordinary Monday on Febuary 12th, 2007 at Trolley Square...

Our enemy are not totally stupid, I expect to see this as an increasing pattern to come.

In another article here in FR There was some pretty accurate verbage saying same thing I said...


Anyway, the bottom line is this: in light of the fact that there have been several attacks similar to Talovic's committed by Muslims in the last year, as I detail here, and that in each case authorities have discounted the possibility. All I am asking is that the possibility that such attacks are motivated by the jihad ideology, even in the absence of an institutional connection to a group like Al-Qaeda, be duly considered. Is that too much to ask? Link here

[BohDaThone]

I was in DC at the time, and his Muslim conversion was frequently mentioned. When the original arrest was made, there were FReepers claiming that the press would never mention that he had changed his name to John Muhammad, and would stick with his earlier name. They didn't -- he was always referred to as Muhammad.

They do plenty of bad stuff on their own --we don't need to gig them for some things they didn't do.

[jackibutterfly]

"The ROP doesn't seem (on the surface) to play much, if any, role in the family. However, that certainly does NOT preclude the shooter from seeking out and being influenced by Islamic sources (be it the web or other)."

WHY is islam so influencing - especially for someone who was not brought up in it???? I am really curious.

[snarks_when_bored]

The jihadi intentions of Muhammad and Malvo were almost never mentioned in the news reports that I watched. Perhaps your experience differed.

[9422WMR]

Yep,
we had one of these wonderful immigrant Bosnian jihadist kill a 15 year old high school student in Fort Worth a few years back. Shot him for no apparent reason then hid the body in a storm drain.
Clinton really chose the wrong group to side with in the Yugoslavian issue. Remember, the yugoslavia area has been the front line in the battle between Christians and Muslims for 1000+ years.......

[OldSmaj]

Could he have been motivated by jihadist sympathies?

FBI special agent Patrick Kiernan discounted that possibility.

And why does that not surprise me?

Fart, Barf and Itch would never admit that there was a possiblility of jihadism in this country that escaped their outstandingly professional domestic intelligence program that is on top of all potential jihadist nutballs.

Damned fools.

Damned incompetent, arrogant fools.

One and all.

[taxesareforever]

It is really too bad that most Americans are not aware that the Bosnia and Kosovo conflicts by the U.S. were in support of the muslims.

[flynmudd]

My local news WUSA 9 Gannett (left leaning local DC CBS) never once said they were muslims. I didn't know they were muslims until months after the event. I remember being afraid to go to the gas station and cops on every exit on Route 66.

[snarks_when_bored]

Right. Sounds as if you were in the line of fire...

[highlander_UW]

Perhaps it's the various police departments' opinion that Islam is a mental disease. Actually, it's a moral disease called unrepented and unforgiven sin.

[DownInFlames]

We cannot trust any mooslem. This is a very compelling reason for the right to carry concealed weapons on us 24x7. Any politician who is anti 2nd Amendment ought to be kicked out of office.

[Kozak]

What mosque did this guy attend? Do they teach hate?

Is the Pope Catholic?
Does a bear sh#t in the woods?

[brityank]

As such attacks grow in number, it would behoove authorities at very least to consider the possibility that these attacks were inspired by the jihadist ideology of Islamic supremacism, and to step up pressure on American Muslim advocacy groups to renounce that ideology definitively and begin extensive programs to teach against it in American Islamic schools and mosques.

I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you!

[IDontLikeToPayTaxes]

Coming to a mall/highschool football game/crowded shopping area near you!

I've thought for several years this will be one of the new Muslim methods of jihad. Just one gunman killing 4 or 5 infidels at a time.

How many Muslims are in the U.S.?

[flynmudd]

One too many?

[BohDaThone]

Obviously, our recollections of which stories we saw and when can vary. However, as an example, here's the first CNN story I could find on google:

Muhammad a Gulf War vet, Islam convert Ex-wife described as 'in shock' over Muhammad's arrest Monday, January 26, 2004

(CNN) -- John Allen Muhammad, one of the two suspects in the Washington, D.C.-area sniper attacks, is a twice-divorced, 41-year-old Gulf War veteran who converted to Islam 17 years ago and earned an expert marksmanship badge in the U.S. Army.

[snip]

He described Muhammad as a strong believer in Islam who attended the Million Man March in Washington in 1995. The Associated Press reported that a former neighbor of Muhammad's said he provided security at the march, which was organized by Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. Nation of Islam officials in Chicago had no immediate comment, according to the AP.

[snip]

Converted to Islam after first marriage ended

The Times reported Thursday that Muhammad converted to Islam after he and Williams divorced. The Times quoted Williams as saying he converted to Islam 17 years ago, about the same time he joined the Army. "After he changed his religion, he called and told me what not to feed my child," she said. "I told him as long as he [their son] lived with me, it was up to me." ============================================

A pretty straight-forward account, it seems to me.

[snarks_when_bored]

I see no mention of jihad in that story. Muhammad and Malvo were waging jihad.

[HardStarboard]

The Muslim religion is incompatible with Western freedoms.

One of two things must happen: a muslim reformation, or relocation. The "Clash of Civilizations" is here - bigtime.

[redpoll]

Here's my guess. Deprive the enemy of the propoganda impact of the killings by burying it. Smother the jihad with soothing BS about mental illness and stress. In an interesting way, this is a great way to neuter the jihadists - don't even acknowledge them. I only hope that this is being done in concert with our own forces targeting and killing as many as the jihadists as possible in the privacy of their Afgani caves and Tehran apartments. I hope.

[Ramius]

Keep the population shopping and watching American Idol. We wouldn't want them to recognize or acknowledge that there is a war going on....

Uh... OK... What's the population supposed to be doing, then? Are you disappointed that people aren't panicking and running mad in the streets?

People know there's a war going on, but for most folk their only role is to continue to live their lives. What else should they do?

[Ramius]

Maybe, but sometimes it really is just a mental case. Some guy acting alone doesn't stand out and create widespread terror even if the loser IS a muslim.

Now five guys, coordinating an assault on a mall, panicking and running people into a mass kill zone... THAT would be what a terrorist would do.

But one lone teen nutcase is more than likely just that.

[Ramius]

Interesting audio. thanks.

[oldenuff2no]

Let see, a person who goes into a public place, shoots people and at people randomly to kill and scare people is a terrorist. That's pretty simple for anyone with two adjoining Brain cells. When this person is a Muslin that makes him a Muslim Terrorist. They may need three active brain cells for that thought to form. Any other statement is just a bold faced lie!!!!!

[Ramius]

OK. fine. He's a terrorist. This makes a difference how?

Am I supposed to be afraid? He's dead. He doesn't appear to have any buddies that got away. There's no indication he was sent by a foreign government, so there's nobody to invade. I don't understand what difference you think it makes what label we put on him?

I for one think he can be a lone jihadi nutcase whacked out teen all rolled into one.

[TChris]

Duplicate (and earlier) post here: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1785235/posts

Search is your friend.