Free Republic

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - A former third-grade teacher at a Muslim school was sentenced to 15 years in prison Friday for providing support to a Pakistani terrorist organization. Ali Asad Chandia, 29, who taught at the al-Huda school in College Park, Md., is one of 11 Muslim men convicted in what prosecutors called a "Virginia jihad network." The network involved a group of men who played paintball in the Virginia woods in 2000 and 2001 as a means of training for global holy war. After the Sept. 11 attacks, some group members turned their efforts against the United States, traveling to...

Hardline takeover of British mosques       Andrew Norfolk   Almost half of Britain’s mosques are under the control of a hardline Islamic sect whose leading preacher loathes Western values and has called on Muslims to “shed blood” for Allah, an investigation by The Times has found. Riyadh ul Haq, who supports armed jihad and preaches contempt for Jews, Christians and Hindus, is in line to become the spiritual leader of the Deobandi sect in Britain. The ultra-conservative movement, which gave birth to the Taleban in Afghanistan, now runs more than 600 of Britain’s 1,350 mosques, according to...

The recent terror case of a "gentle" third-grade teacher from the D.C. suburbs shows the danger is at once closer and harder to ID than you think. The enemy is hiding not in the shadows, but in plain sight, and may even wear a smile. Hundreds of Muslims last week flocked to a federal courtroom to show their support for the affable and soft-spoken Ali Asad Chandia of Maryland as he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for supporting terrorists. Friends say anti-Muslim prosecutors railroaded a "law-abiding" and "peaceful" brother. "He is a dedicated teacher," said one. "A great...

WASHINGTON (AP) - A Maryland man was charged with conspiracy to help a terrorist organization, part of an investigation of the "Virginia jihad network" that has so far resulted in 10 convictions, U.S. law enforcement officials said Friday. Ali Asad Chandia of College Park, Md., is named in a four-count indictment alleging he conspired to provide material support to the Lashkar-e-Taiba organization, which the U.S. designated a terrorist organization in 2001. Chandia was arrested Thursday at his home, assistant Attorney General Alice Fisher said. The indictment was returned on Wednesday and unsealed Friday after Chandia's arrest. Also charged is Mohammed...