Posted on 03/17/2003 7:03:46 AM PST by Sabertooth
- 1975: Sami Al-Arian, a Kuwait-born Palestinian, arrives in the United States from Egypt at age 17 to study engineering at Southern Illinois University. He later earns a doctorate in engineering from North Carolina State University.Timeline of events in the investigation into Sami Al-Arian
By The Associated Press
- Jan. 27, 1986: Sami Al-Arian is hired by the University of South Florida College of Engineering.
- Oct. 20, 1988: Al-Arian incorporates the Islamic Concern Project, an umbrella organization that includes the Islamic Committee for Palestine, a charity devoted to Palestinian causes.
- Feb. 21, 1991: Al-Arian incorporates the World and Islam Studies Enterprise, a think tank in Tampa devoted to Islamic thought and political theory.
- April 7, 1991: A speaker introducing Al-Arian at a Cleveland conference calls the Islamic Committee for Palestine "the active arm of the Jihad movement in Palestine."
- Jan. 22, 1995: Two suicide bombers kill 19 people and injure 69 at an Israeli bus stop. The Islamic Jihad claims responsibility.
- Jan. 24, 1995: President Clinton freezes the assets of foreign terrorist groups, including the Islamic Jihad, and bans financial transactions with them.
- Feb. 1, 1995: Al-Arian writes a letter seeking a donation so operations like the one by "the two mujahidin (warriors) who were martyred for the sake of God" can continue.
- April 9, 1995: A suicide bomber driving a van blows up an Israeli bus in the Gaza Strip, killing eight people, including American seminary student Alisa Flatow.
- Oct. 31, 1995: Former World and Islam Studies Enterprise Director Ramadan Abdullah Shallah emerges as the Islamic Jihad's new leader. The World and Islam Studies Enterprise expresses shock.
- Nov. 20, 1995: Federal agents search World and Islam Studies Enterprise's office and Al- Arian's home and office at USF.
- Feb. 26, 1996: The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service denies Al-Arian's petition for naturalization on grounds he registered to vote, and then voted, in 1994 without being a citizen.
- May 2, 1996: USF places Al-Arian on paid leave, effective Aug. 7, pending the outcome of a federal investigation into whether he was running fronts for terrorist organizations. The university lets him return two years later, citing a staffing need and no law enforcement action.
- May 19, 1997: Federal agents arrest Al-Arian's brother-in-law, Mazen Al-Najjar and use secret evidence to jail him as a security threat. Al-Najjar, who had been fighting a deportation order, worked with Al-Arian at the Islamic Committee for Palestine and the World and Islam Studies Enterprise.
- Dec. 15, 2000: Al-Najjar is released after 3 1/2 years in jail without ever being charged. A federal judge says the use of secret evidence violated his rights.
- Sept. 26, 2001: Al-Arian appears on Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor," where he is quizzed about links to known terrorists, and asked about tapes from the late 1980s and early 1990s in which he said "Death to Israel" in Arabic.
- Sept. 28, 2001: USF trustees endorse President Judy Genshaft's decision to suspend Al-Arian with pay on grounds of campus safety.
- Nov. 24, 2001: Federal agents again jail Al-Najjar in preparation for deportation. His attorneys sue for his release, arguing he cannot find a country willing to accept him.
- Dec. 19, 2001: USF trustees recommend firing Al-Arian for not specifying he doesn't represent the university when he speaks and on grounds his outside activities disrupt the university. Genshaft notifies Al-Arian she intends to fire him.
- Feb. 21, 2002: Interim U.S. Attorney Mac Cauley confirms Al-Arian is under federal investigation.
- Aug. 21, 2002: Al-Najjar is deported, ending a long court fight. On the same day, USF asks a state judge to rule on whether firing Al-Arian would violate his First Amendment rights. In November, at Al-Arian's request, the case moves to federal court.
- Dec. 16, 2002: U.S. District Judge Susan Bucklew dismisses USF's request, saying the court has no role in a labor dispute.
- Feb. 20, 2003: A federal indictment accuses Al-Arian of being a leader of the Islamic Jihad's operations in the United States. He and seven others are charged in a 50-count indictment that accuses them of running a criminal enterprise and conspiring in the United States to kill and maim others abroad.
- Feb. 26, 2003: USF fires Al-Arian; Genshaft says Al-Arian will longer "be able to hide under the shield of academic freedom."
- February-March, 2003 (ongoing): Grover Norquist, stooge for terrorist co-conspirator Sami Al Arian and assorted terrorist sympathizers and supporters, still hasn't come clean on his activities, and why he's so hell-bent on helping Wahabbist radicals infiltrate the circles of power in Washington, D.C.
I would suggest the term "Think Tank" and Islam does not go well together.
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