FBI kills leader of radical Muslims in Detroit

[DaveM55]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091028/...raids_michigan

DETROIT – A man described as a leader of a radical Sunni Islam group in the U.S. was fatally shot Wednesday afternoon while resisting arrest and exchanging gunfire with federal agents, authorities said.

Agents at a warehouse in Dearborn were trying to arrest Luqman Ameen Abdullah, 53, on charges that included conspiracy to sell stolen goods and illegal possession and sale of firearms. Ten followers listed in a criminal complaint were also being rounded up in the area.

Abdullah refused to surrender, fired a weapon and was killed by gunfire from agents, FBI spokeswoman Sandra Berchtold said.

In a court filing, the FBI said Abdullah, also known as Christopher Thomas, was an imam, or prayer leader, of a radical group named Ummah whose primary mission is to establish an Islamic state within the United States.

No one was charged with terrorism. But Abdullah was "advocating and encouraging his followers to commit violent acts against the United States," FBI agent Gary Leone said in an affidavit.

"He regularly preaches anti-government and anti-law enforcement rhetoric," Leone said. "Abdullah and his followers have trained regularly in the use of firearms, and continue to train in martial arts and sword fighting."

Leone said members of the national group mostly are black and some converted to Islam while in prisons across the United States.

"Abdullah preaches that every Muslim should have a weapon, and should not be scared to use their weapon when needed," Leone wrote.

It was not immediately clear how many of the other 10 suspects were in custody.

The group believes that a separate Islamic state in the U.S. would be controlled by Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin, formerly known as H. Rap Brown, who is serving a life sentence in a federal prison in Colorado for shooting two police officers in Georgia in 2000, Leone said. Al-Amin, a veteran of the black power movement, started the group after he converted to Islam in prison.

"They're not taking their cues from overseas," said Jimmy Jones, a professor of world religions at Manhattanville College and a longtime Muslim prison chaplain. "This group is very much American born and bred."

The movement at one time was believed to include a couple of dozen mosques around the country. Ummah is now dwarfed in numbers and influence by other African-American Muslim groups, particularly the mainstream Sunnis who were led by Imam W.D. Mohammed, who recently died.

By evening, authorities still were working the scene near the Detroit-Dearborn border and the warehouse was surrounded by police tape.

The U.S. attorney's office said an FBI dog was also killed during the shootout.

Abdullah's mosque is in a brick duplex on a quiet, residential street in Detroit. A sign on the door in English and Arabic reads, in part, "There is no God but Allah."

Several men congregated on the porch Wednesday night and subsequently attacked a photographer from The Detroit News who was taking pictures from across the street. Ricardo Thomas had his camera equipment smashed and had a bloody lip from the attack.

Imad Hamad, regional director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee in Dearborn, said the FBI had briefed him about Wednesday's raids and told him they were the result of a two-year investigation.

"We know that this is not something to be projected as something against Muslims," Hamad said.

[d90king]

The only sad part of this story is that we lost a canine in the raid. RIP doggie...

[Helter]

"He regularly preaches anti-government and anti-law enforcement rhetoric," Leone said. "Abdullah and his followers have trained regularly in the use of firearms, and continue to train in martial arts and sword fighting."

"Abdullah preaches that every Muslim should have a weapon, and should not be scared to use their weapon when needed," Leone wrote.

I know being anti-arab is the new black and all, but these sound like statements that I read right here, all the time.

I'm going to hold off on convicting this guy in my mind until I hear more substantiation of just what violent acts he was encouraging, and the circumstances of his attempted arrest.

[fingers80002]

Originally Posted by Helter

I know being anti-arab is the new black and all, but these sound like statements that I read right here, all the time.

I'm going to hold off on convicting this guy in my mind until I hear more substantiation of just what violent acts he was encouraging, and the circumstances of his attempted arrest.

I am also withholding judgment. Sounds like a 1A violation on the Feds side.....

[adymond]

Originally Posted by Helter

I know being anti-arab is the new black and all, but these sound like statements that I read right here, all the time.

I'm going to hold off on convicting this guy in my mind until I hear more substantiation of just what violent acts he was encouraging, and the circumstances of his attempted arrest.

I thought the same thing about the passage you quoted, but what I see is a man preaching that sort of thing, but then also running a firearms and fencing operation to help fund his lifestyle. The fact that he open fired and was subsequently killed is a seperate issue for me. I wish I could say the question of "Did he shoot first" didn't pop into my head, but what am I gonna do?

[Berks_Iraq_Vet]

Glad this S-B is dead. Worms gotta eat.

[BTA88]

I agree that those two particular quotes have nothing to do with anything, and I believe that everyone who wants to should be able to own and train with firearms, and train in sword play and martial arts.

That said, I'm not going to shed any tears over this man. If these sorry SOBs want to die for the nation of Islam, we should all be more than willing to oblige them.

I can see how this could be media spin to make an FBI raid gone bad sound like the Feds were justified. Let's say he was peacefully studying the Koran when all of the sudden, a 120lb German Shepherd is charging toward him, he grabs his legally owned firearm and kills the dog. Next thing you know, the Feds storm his study, having heard gunshots, seeing him holding a gun and just open fire.

I could definitely see that scenario as being a possibility, but I doubt it in this instance.

[Minor Threat]

"He regularly preaches anti-government and anti-law enforcement rhetoric," Leone said. "Abdullah and his followers have trained regularly in the use of firearms, and continue to train in martial arts and sword fighting."

"Abdullah preaches that every Muslim should have a weapon, and should not be scared to use their weapon when needed," Leone wrote.

Although I am against the rise of islamic extremism here in the US & am glad this guy was taken out before he could cuase harm to any of your family & friends, I have to stop & wonder what everyone here would we be feeling if "Abdullah" was replaced with "John Q. Public" and "Muslim" was replaced with "Patriot".?

We would certainly be looking at this in an entirely different light.

[PisnNapalm]

My first gut reaction to reading this article was "Oh great... They'll martyr him and now some real violence will happen."

[mjfletcher]

Originally Posted by CDyer77

"He regularly preaches anti-government and anti-law enforcement rhetoric," Leone said. "Abdullah and his followers have trained regularly in the use of firearms, and continue to train in martial arts and sword fighting."

"Abdullah preaches that every Muslim should have a weapon, and should not be scared to use their weapon when needed," Leone wrote.

Although I am against the rise of islamic extremism here in the US & am glad this guy was taken out before he could cuase harm to any of your family & friends, I have to stop & wonder what everyone here would we be feeling if "Abdullah" was replaced with "John Q. Public" and "Muslim" was replaced with "Patriot".?

We would certainly be looking at this in an entirely different light.

Second sentence:

Agents at a warehouse in Dearborn were trying to arrest Luqman Ameen Abdullah, 53, on charges that included conspiracy to sell stolen goods and illegal possession and sale of firearms

Regardless of what our opinions of laws regulating possession and sale of firearms may be those laws exist, the FBI was attempting to arrest him for violating them, he decided to start shooting. John Q Public or Luqman Ameen Abdullah doesn't change a thing, he broke the law and tried to kill those charged with enforcing it. Everything beyond that in the article is irrelevant and nothing more than the newspaper trying to get an emotional reaction from people to sell more papers.