Free Republic

Former S. Side mosque official pleads guilty to meth charges September 4, 2005 BY NATASHA KORECKI, Federal Courts Reporter The onetime treasurer of a Chicago mosque with ties to two people accused of funding terrorism admitted he delivered drugs to an undercover federal agent. Tariq Isa, 57, of Cicero pleaded guilty Friday to conspiracy to distribute and attempted distribution of pseudoephedrine, knowing it was intended to be used to make methamphetamine. Isa is the third member of the Al Qassam Mosque, also known as the Chicago Islamic Center, on the South Side, to face federal charges. Two other former mosque...

A leader of a mosque on Chicago's South Side has been ordered held on charges he trafficked a chemical used to make the illegal narcotic methamphetamine.U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve ordered that Tariq Isa, 55, remain in custody Tuesday without bail. She said Isa had an incentive to flee because a conviction would carry a lengthy prison term.Isa was arrested Aug. 5 as he arrived at O'Hare International Airport from the Middle East, authorities said. A two-count indictment charging Isa with distributing almost 1.73 million tablets of pseudoephedrine was returned in May but was sealed until his arrest.According to...

Federal judge rejects Al-Arian free speech claims By Associated Press March 16, 2004 TAMPA — A federal judge has rejected an indicted former professor's claims that the government is trying to criminalize his exercise of free speech by prosecuting him on charges he helped raise money for terrorists. U.S. District Judge James S. Moody Jr. refused to dismiss parts of the 50-count indictment against Sami Al-Arian, who is charged with using an Islamic charity and an academic think tank as a front to raise money for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. In a 69-page ruling, Moody turned down several legal arguments...

Al-Arian terror financing case puts Patriot Act to the test By VICKIE CHACHEREAssociated Press Writer TAMPA, Fla. -- For nearly a decade, FBI intelligence agents had been taping the telephones and intercepting the faxes of Sami Al-Arian and keeping secret what they knew about the professor's suspected ties to Palestinian terrorists - even from their colleagues working a criminal case against the same man. The full breadth of what the bureau knew about Al-Arian and others connected to the professor's charity, Muslim school and think tank was finally revealed in the spring of 2002. FBI Agent Joe Navarro walked into...

A jailed University of South Florida professor accused of leading the U.S. operations of a Palestinian terrorist group said Monday that he is a "prisoner of conscience" and the victim of post-Sept. 11 hysteria. Sami Al-Arian made those charges in his first statement since his arrest last week. His 17-year-old daughter read it to reporters outside the courthouse after his scheduled detention hearing had been postponed until next month. Supporters rallied nearby as she spoke. "I'm crucified today because of who I am, a stateless Palestinian, an Arab and Muslim, an outspoken advocate for Palestinian rights," wrote the tenured computer...