Posted on 04/12/2006 8:07:57 PM PDT by Calpernia
Contrast the audiotapes of a man quietly repeating "Oh my God, Oh my God" to his father as he watches as the airplane he is on, along with his wife and 2 ½ year old daughter, crash into the World Trade Center, with the shouts of convicted terrorist Zacarious Moussaoui damning the courtroom to hell.
We have Moussoui's attorney pleading that his client be spared the death penalty because of his mental illness and begging the court not to allow his client to fulfill his dreams of martyrdom.
We have a man sitting in the courtroom, daring the US courts to put him to death, in effect martyring him to his god. Moussaoui, a man who could have saved the lives of those murdered on September 11, 2001, had he chosen to tell investigators the truth about the 9/11 plans, is proof positive that mental illness does not preclude a person from being a terrorist and a murderer.
So I find it completely amazing that Ahmed Bedier, director of the Tampa branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) says "It's just sad that he would be treated as some sort of criminal or terrorist" when speaking of a twenty-year old Moroccan who has been imprisoned in Tampa on charges that he threatened to "blow up" the University of South Florida soccer coach.
It's not like the University of South Florida is paranoid about Muslims. They have a long track record of "diversity". Remember, USF is the former employer of Sami Al Arian.
I don't see any comments from Bedier about the fact that this Mouad is in the United States illegally.
What's a 20-year old mentally ill Morroccan doing in the United States alone anyway? How did he get here? Who paid for his plane ticket?
Is Nabil Mouad a terrorist?
I don't know whether he is or not.
What I do know is this. My oldest daughter looks distinctively Middle Eastern. She has been taught that because of her appearance, her behavior must be beyond reproach. When she flies, she knows better than to joke about such things as terrorism and hijackings. Frankly, in a post-911 world, those topics are not humorous.
If Mouad is schizophrenic, then what is he doing here in this country on his own, illegally? Where is his family? Why aren't they trying to help him?
Mental illness and terrorism are not mutually exclusive, as the case of Zacarious Moussaoui demonstrates clearly.
Some believe that mental illness in fact makes a person more likely to follow a path of terror.
Certainly not all mentally ill persons are terrorists, or even potential terrorists. But those who threaten violence, mentally ill or not, must be evaluated..
Law enforcement cannot afford to not investigate threats. They can't afford to not take threats seriously.
Not anymore. We've seen what happens when they do.
CAIR-FL: Schizophrenic Man Jailed as 'Terrorist'
Source: St. Petersburg Times
TAMPA - When he's not in a cell as wide as he is tall, Nabil Mouad uses one of his two free hours a day playing the only sport available in jail, basketball. All the while, he wishes he could play soccer, which was his life, his dream, his goal.
"When I have a problem," he said, "I play soccer and I feel free."
But soccer is also in part how Mouad, a 20-year-old Moroccan in the United States illegally, ended up in an orange jail suit, pink plastic slippers and constraining cuffs in a Falkenburg Road Jail interview room, explaining how his passion for the sport, mixed with mental illness, led to a bizarre clash with the University of South Florida soccer coach.
Locked down 22 hours a day with no possessions besides a Koran and a bedsheet to kneel on for prayer, Mouad has been isolated for his own protection. In the minds of other inmates, his Muslim faith and the report that he threatened to "blow up" the coach add up to terrorist - about as popular as a child molester behind bars, jail Capt. Tom Bliss said.
Mental health workers say Mouad's story is common: A man suffering from schizophrenia has no family support, stops taking his pills and gets entangled in the justice system. But what makes him different, they say, is his racial and religious background in the post-9/11 world, where no threat can afford to be taken lightly. His advocates wonder if jail is really where he belongs.
"It's just sad that he would be treated as some sort of criminal or terrorist," said Ahmed Bedier, director of the Tampa branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
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For more translations and news on terrorism, visit http://www.lauramansfield.com
ping
' . . . and when I have a problem with the soccer coach, I want to feel free to blow him up!'
Why is it sad that he be treated as some sort of criminal or terrorist, just because he chooses to act like one? Actions have consequences. Learn it, love it, live it....
BTW, how the hell does someone get here illegally from Morocco? That's a pretty long swim IIRC.
But I'm not worried. Frist and Hastert said there should be no criminal penalty for someone who violates our borders. We have to wait for them to threaten to kill someone before we can charge them with anything.
L
>>> BTW, how the hell does someone get here illegally from Morocco? That's a pretty long swim IIRC.
For this specific case, I don't know. But, a lot of NGOs offer univerisities/companies/hospitals grant applications that are used like white collar coyotes.
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