Arrested USF student rents home with connection to Sami Al-Arian

Tampa Bay 10 News ^ | August 14, 2007 | Dave Balut

[I still care]

Temple Terrace, Florida - One week after USF students Youseff Megahed and Ahmed Mohamed made their first court appearance in South Carolina, authorities still haven't said exactly what material was in the trunk of Megahed's car.

The students told deputies it was fireworks, the prosecutor called it a pipe bomb. But after visiting him in South Carolina, the Megahed family says they're even more convinced of his innocence.

Mariam Megahed, Defendant’s Sister: “Youssef promised us he didn't have any bad intentions and once the true nature of the evidence is displayed, he will be exonerated.” On Sunday, real estate investor Noor Salhab says one of the students arrested, Ahmed Mohamed, was in the process of moving into his home on Pampas Place in Temple Terrace.

Salhab says the FBI searched the home on Saturday and confiscated a phone, computer, gasoline tank and PVC pipe for the home's irrigation system. Salhab says many of the items seized belonged to his family, not Mohamed.

Noor Salhab, Homeowner: “It makes me feel bad that my own home is searched because of him.” It's not the first time federal agents have looked into the home. A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office confirms Salhab leased the house in the early 90's to World and Islam Studies Enterprise, a think tank for Sami Al-Arian, the former USF professor charged with funding Islamic terrorist organizations. Salhab's response?

Noor Salhab: “It has nothing to do with this, please.” Oscar Westerfield, Retired FBI Agent: “It could be coincidence. On the other hand there could be some linkage there. That's hard to say.” Retired FBI Special Agent Oscar Westerfield and CAIR Executive Director Ahmed Bedier say the key to this investigation is FBI test results of the materials in Megahed's trunk.

Ahmed Bedier, Council on American-Islamic Relations: “Since this is a public interest, we're trying to weigh in and urge people to remain calm.” An FBI spokesperson in Columbia, South Carolina refuses to talk about the students’ case and won't say when tests results of the material in the trunk will be released.

[I still care]

Being I'm in the area, I thought I would post this article written by the local news. They are following this a little closer than the other press.

Temple Terrace is part of Tampa, and Billy Graham went to Bible School there.

[rineaux]

he will be exonerated. may executed?

[LegendHasIt]

From the beginning I was kind of expecting that this guy was somehow connected with Sami Al Arian.

Thanks for the update/confirmation.

The connection will probably become less tenuous as the investigation continues.... (Although, unfortunately, I’ll be surprised if it is widely reported..

[I still care]

The moment I heard they were from USF I suspected. There are a lot of Islamic students there, and they rotate around the same nucleus. The local paper - St Petersberg Times, one of the worst lib rags around, has been spinning for Al-Arian since he first came to public eye.

[Joe Boucher]

One thing I can agree with is that the St. Pete Times is a liberal rag.
I lived in Tampa/St. Pete for years and would get the St.Pete Times and the Tampa Tribune and the differences were often stark.
Trib would say the sun comes up in the east and the Times would say that Republicans stole sun.

[dawn53]

Another article from a couple days ago has other links between Salheb and Al Arian:

http://blogs.tampabay.com/breakingnews/2007/08/agents-search-h.html

“A neighbor said Thursday night that Salhab and his wife are living in a rented home nearby on Soaring Avenue. Records show the owner of the house on Soaring Avenue is Sameeh Hammoudeh, a co-defendant in the trial of Sami Al-Arian. Al-Arian was a USF professor who was tried for funding terrorists organizations. He was acquitted but pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to provide services to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.”

P.S. I thought Billy Graham went to Trinity College in Dunedin.

[festus]

Al Arian ?

This PC stuff has gotten so bad the Nazi’s are even letting Arabs into their sacred race these days............

[I still care]

http://www.sptimes.com/2004/09/03/Northoftampa/Temple_Terrace_has_ri.shtml

Trinity college moved to New Port Richey.

This story is also very interesting for the middle paragraphs, where you notice they talk about the large Muslim population that lives there now.

“All of my neighbors are muslims.”

“They send their son to an Islamic school so he will retain his Arabic and learn the Koran. There are several mosques in the area, including the Islamic Society of Tampa Bay.”