Muslim arrested in Beltway case (John Muhammad)

WorldNetDaily ^ | October 24, 2002 | Art Moore

[Michael2001]

TACOMA, Wash. – Two men wanted for questioning in the D.C.-area sniper case were arrested early this morning at a rest stop near I-70 in the vicinity of Myersville, Md., about 45 miles northwest of the nation's capital, according to news reports.

John Allen Muhammad, 41, and stepson Lee Malvo, 17, were transported to Montgomery County, where the sniper task force is headquartered.

A rifle was found in Muhammad's car, reported WUSA-TV in Washington, D.C.

Neighbors who several years ago lived near Muhammad in Tacoma, Wash., described him last night as the head of a devout Muslim family who was prone to domestic violence, according to Seattle's KOMO-TV.

Federal sources said Muhammad and Malvo were known to speak sympathetically about the men who attacked the United States on Sept. 11, but the officials believe neither man to be associated with the al-Qaida terrorist network, the Seattle Times reported.

In connection with the sniper case, however, the FBI reportedly is searching "Camp Ground Zero USA" in Marion, Ala., a militant Islamic training camp with possible links to al-Qaida. Last night Fox News reported that FBI sources said "they are not at liberty to comment" and cannot confirm or deny their agents are investigating the camp.

WorldNetDaily reported two days after the D.C.-area shootings began Oct. 2 that FBI profilers believed the case fit no regular category and could find no motive other than terrorism. The shootings, which have caused an economic slowdown in the area, started four days after al-Qaida warned the U.S. that it would strike economic targets, WND reported last Thursday. A former CIA operative told WND in a story published Saturday, that the nature of the killings and Pentagon involvement in the probe support the terrorism theory.

In March 1999, Muhammad abducted his children and took them to the Caribbean after separating from his wife earlier that year, KOMO said. The children, a 12-year-old son and two younger daughters, now reportedly are in protective custody in Maryland.

As the focus of the Maryland-based sniper probe moved to the Pacific Northwest yesterday, task force head Charles Moose announced that Muhammad, also known as John Allen Williams, was being sought for information related to the case.

Moose told reporters last night that it should not be assumed that Muhammad "is involved in any of the shootings we are investigating," but is wanted for federal firearms violations and may have information material to the sniper probe.

Muhammad, described as about 6 feet 1 and 180 pounds, was believed to be traveling with a juvenile and considered "armed and dangerous," Moose said.

The Montgomery County, Md., police chief also gave a message to the sniper.

Moose said "our inability to talk has been a concern for us as well as for you," noting several attempts to establish a connection.

"You have indicated that you wanted us to do and say certain things," Moose said in his message to the sniper. "You asked us to say, 'We have caught the sniper like a duck in a noose.' We understand that hearing us say this is important to you."

The solution, Moose said, "remains to call us and get a private toll free number established," or write to a post office box address.

The police chief's references apparently were related to a note found at the site of Saturday's shooting near Richmond, Va., and another at Tuesday's Montgomery County attack both of which included a demand for $10 million.

Seattle's KOMO radio reports that Muhammad is a veteran of the Persian Gulf War.

A former soldier who says he recognized Muhammad in a photo on TV news last night said he served with Muhammad in the Army.

Randy Lyons, of Bothell, Wash., told KING-TV that he knew Muhammad as an "outstanding soldier" who had a "very pretty wife and kids."

Authorities said they also were searching for Muhammad's stepson, John Lee Malvo, a citizen of Jamaica, according to CNN and Fox News.

Fox said the two men are linked to a blue or burgundy 1990 Chevy Caprice with New Jersey license NDA-21Z, which matched the car in which they were found asleep.

Fox News also reported that warrants related to the D.C. case issued yesterday in Montgomery, Ala.

A telephone call from the sniper alerted investigators to look into a Sept. 21 fatal shooting at a liquor store in Montgomery, according to the Seattle Times.

An official said a piece of paper found at the Alabama shooting scene was traced to Malvo, who then was linked to a Tacoma house where he had been living with Muhammad.

Muhammad was based at nearby Fort Lewis, Wash., in 1994-95 and lived in a Tacoma neighborhood where a backyard search for ballistic material was conducted yesterday, according to Peggy Bellows, an editor for the Tacoma News Tribune.

FBI agents also conducted a search yesterday in Bellingham, Wash., related to two persons of interest in the D.C. sniper case, at least one of whom is "not a U.S. national," according to the mayor of the city in northwestern Washington state.

Agents in Tacoma recovered two shell casings along with a tree stump with bullet holes in the backyard of a fourplex, said KOMO-TV in Seattle.

The material was to be transported by air to Washington, D.C., according to news reports.

Bellingham mayor Mark Asmundson told Seattle's KING-TV that his police department began cooperating yesterday morning with FBI agents interested in two men who were residents of the city, near the Canadian border, in the past year and a half.

One was a student at Bellingham High School and the other was an older man, according to Asmundson.

A KOMO-TV report later confirmed that the student was Malvo.

The two were most recently in Bellingham nine months ago, Asmundson said.

"Being near the border, we've had our share of unusual characters in Bellingham," Asmundson said.

In Tacoma, sources confirmed that the search there was related to the D.C. sniper case, according to KIRO-TV.

Fort Lewis spokesman Lt. Col. Joseph Piek said the FBI had asked for help from the base, KOMO-TV reported.

The backyard search was conducted by consent of the property owner, said FBI spokesperson Melissa Mallon on the scene late yesterday afternoon. Local television news reports said the owner is not a person of interest.

"There is no immediate danger for anybody in this neighborhood," Mallon said. "If there were, we would let people know."

Tacoma mayor Bill Baarsma said in an interview with KING-TV in Seattle that he was called out of a meeting at about 12:30 p.m. yesterday to be met by the FBI.

"It was a day of irony for me, because I was called out of a meeting about how to cope with a terrorist attack," he said.

[Jerez2]

Muslim converts can be just as dangerous. They need to prove their allegiance to their adopted 'religion'. And this guy chose to be the most radical kind of Muslim.

Similarly, anti-American 'Americans' are just as dangerous as those born elsewhere. They too feel a need to prove themselves, and to separate themselves from the evil society that they are unwillingly part of.

You keep your head in the sand. You have plenty of company.

[Alamo-Girl]

For the discussion, some links on the guy who owns/operates GroundZero training camp in Alabama:

Jihad arms course?

British expert faces questions

[Michael2001]

I have a friend who lives just down the street. He is from Syria originally. He is an accountant, married to an American. He is a Muslim--though she is not. He loves America, but he is also committed to his religion.

Since he's committed to his religion have you ever asked him to explain some of the more "unpleasant" verses in the Koran?

[jpl]

Then they need to quickly try, convict and fry these folks ... try and fry, that's a new one.

These guys assassinated an F.B.I. analyst. Bad move. They're officially in the twilight of their lives now.

[Dave S]

I have no problem with American citizens getting weapons training on American soil, but how is it justifiable/legal to commercially train foreigners in weapons use? Dont tell any of the second ammendment people that you want people visiting target ranges to have to show their drivers license or some other proof of American citizenship before they are allowed to use the range. This Camp Ground Zero that you are complaining about spends most of its time training law enforcement.

[Jonathan]

I have the DVD and it is interesting to see how the National Socialists launched their jihad against western cilivization.

Maybe your favorite film is the one they were showing last night at Moscow when 50 to 100 MUSLIM TERRORISTS showed up to conduct a dialog with the Russian theatre patrons.

How many ISLAMIC TERROR attacks have to happen before people get their head out of the sand? Will you still defend Muslims when they set off a nuclear device in DC????

[Jeff Head]

They're officially in the twilight of their lives now

If it's proven that they are the ones ... I hope the sun sets and darkness falls real soon.

Here's my preferred announcement regarding this guy's arrest.

"John Muhammad, a long time convert to Islam, a follower of Louis Fara Khan and an individual who vocally approved of 911 who was arrested in conjunction with the Beltway Sniper case this morning at a rest stop on I-70 in Maryland."

[FreeReign]

...officials believe neither man to be associated with the al-Qaida terrorist network.(From the article)

What does it take to be "associated"? I mean do they carry membership cards? Why were they in Washington State? The climate?

Associate -- to come together as partner or colleagues.(Websters)

[Dave S]

Just minutes ago on FOXNews, I heard E.D. and Steve discuss the Michael's craft store link to the killings. According to them, the English version of Muhammad is Michael

And if his name had been Jesus (Spanish)he would have targeted people outside of churchs? I think sometimes these anchors engage their mouthes before their brains.

[Jeff Head]

Amen to all of that bro.

[muggs]

Amen.

[ppaul]

There are plenty more "John Muhammads" waiting in the shadows to take this guy's place.....

:

A Matter of Faith: Islam is Fastest-Growing Religion in the U.S.

Abdullah Yusuf, center, prays at the Masjid As-Salam in Sacramento
on Friday. Yusuf says he was raised Catholic but converted to Islam
because he liked the teachings of the Qur'an.

Latino Muslims

In April, California State University, Sacramento, hosted a forum on the "Islamic Presence in Latin America" before and after Columbus. One of the speakers, Salvadoran-born AbdulHadi Bazurto (President of Latin American Muslim Unity), said the more he examined his roots, the more he questioned the validity of Catholicism in his life. "Since the day the Spanish arrived, we as people have suffered a lot," he said. "Christianity's 'white God' concept was harmful to our people, who were definitely not white."

Another speaker, Daniel Denton, a Stockton elementary school teacher who was born in Mexico, said he was a hard-drinking veteran of the Gulf War when he began to explore Islam in 1994. At the invitation of Muslims at Delta College, he went to a mosque. "There was a carpet on the floor, and the walls were bare. I wondered, 'Where is everything?' and then I realized that was everything. If you go to a Catholic church, every few feet they have an image or a statue, but in Islam, there is no association between God and any image."

Denton also was impressed by the Islamic belief that each individual will be judged by their deeds on Judgment Day. That night, he took the shahada, the Muslim vow that says "There is only one God, Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger."

When he started fasting for Ramadan, "I heard my relatives in Stockton were calling my mom in San Diego and telling her I had become a terrorist and was doing drugs," Denton said. "When I went down to San Diego toward the end of Ramadan, I had lost 15 pounds and was starting to grow my beard. My mom was just in tears for days."

But, Denton said, his mother soon realized that instead of partying, he was staying home and talking to her as he had never done before.

"As she began to see the change, she came to accept it, and now she's happy. There's a saying in Islam that goes, 'Heaven lies at the feet of the mother. You have to treat her well at all times, take care of her.' "

Denton, 29, sees similarities between Islamic and Latino culture. "I've noticed that if you take away the crosses, the alcohol and the pork, the smells in my house are similar to Muslim homes..."

Link to article HERE.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________-

California State University, Sacramento, hosted a forum on the "Islamic Presence in Latin America before and after Columbus". One of the speakers, Salvadoran-born AbdulHadi Bazurto (President of Latin American Muslim Unity), said the more he examined his roots, the more he questioned the validity of Catholicism in his life. "Since the day the Spanish arrived, we as people have suffered a lot," he said. "Christianity's 'white God' concept was harmful to our people, who were definitely not white."

Our tax dollars at work.

[Dave S]

Ground zero in Alabama is just a summer camp?

No, its a target range and a major training center for law enforcement in Alabama and Missippi run by a good ole white boy. Sounds real subversive.

[SCR1]

I had heard that thet had been staying at a Homeless Shelter?? Is that true? They certainly know how to hide, use all available social programs to their advantage. I bet he is a registered Democrat too.

Home many people in a homeless shelter carry ID or are they quizzed by the people that run the shelters about their where abouts?

[js1138]

Any other questions I can answer for you before you engage your brain today.

Sure. In your estimate, what are the chances the snipers knew the six guys in the cell broken up just before the shootings started?

[Alamo-Girl]

Thank you so much for the information!

[Dave S]

Is there a gay issue also ?

Say what? The kid is his step son.

[Mudboy Slim]

Howdy, Jeff...after getting up early and watching FoxNewsChannel's coverage of this case, I was forced to let the kids watch cartoons as we were getting ready for work and ended up watching a little of PerkyKatie on the "Today" show. What a brainless DITZ!! She was trying to link this Muhammad to RightWingMilitia, "pro-gun nuts", and everything else but the LeftWing Terrorist he was and is!! Amazing the kind of back-bending she was doing to slander gun rights folks...I finally had to just shut it off before I got too worked up...LOL!!

Hope these are the guys...MUD

[lsucat]

And to all who think these two POS killers were "lashing out" against oppression or some BS idealism that validates shooting women and children and other non combatants need to be called, collected , prosecuted ,punished and if still alive after all of that .....deported..... as exactly what they really are...... Terrorist Trash .........

Yeah, that's already starting. On our local radio show, a guy called in and blamed all of this on slavery. Another guy called in and said it's funny that everyone thought this was an "angry white man" and so it would be white people's faults. Now it's an "angry black man" and it's still white people's faults.

[Dave S]

As a coded message to other Muslim "sleeper" terrorists, perhaps?

Like they couldnt pick up the phone and say that themselves?