Local Muslim leaders on Sunday applauded the arrest of Adam Gadahn, a U.S. citizen who worked as a propagandist for Al Qaeda.
“It’s good for us, good for the country,” said Shakeel Syed, executive director of the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California, an umbrella group for mosques and Muslim organizations in the region. “Any person who is engaged in any unlawful and illegal activity needs to be held accountable.”
Syed said people who lack knowledge of the religion are easily manipulated and develop their own logic and ideology. “He has demonstrated to have mastered that twisted logic,” Syed said.
Gadahn’s path from Orange County to Pakistan, where he was arrested, makes the work of the council more important, Syed said. “It even further strengthens us to continue the work we are doing, which is to share objective information on our faith and our community with all people,” he said.
The head of the Muslim Public Affairs Council in Los Angeles said his organization welcomed the arrest of Gadahn, a Riverside County native who appeared in videos defending Al Qaeda, including the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
“We welcome the arrest,” said Salam Marayati. “This is one step closer to defeating Al Qaeda and defeating the mentality of death and despair, which is alien to Islam.”
Marayati said Gadahn ended up under the influence of the wrong Muslims and had used the religion to make political statements for Al Qaeda. “I don’t think that what he has been saying has any merit in Islam,” he said. “It is a political ploy.”
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/03/reactions-from-local-muslims-to-arrest-of-al-qaeda-agent-adam-gadahn.htmlIt's crazy that something like this has to even be news.
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
