Posted on 02/21/2002 7:36:48 PM PST by TheOtherOne
U.S. attorney: university professor accused of ties to alleged terrorists under criminal investigation
20:48 ET
Associated Press Newswires
Copyright 2002. The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
TAMPA, Florida (AP) - A professor accused of having ties to alleged terrorists is being investigated by the U.S. government, the area's chief federal prosecutor said.
Federal investigators are investigating the conduct and activities of Sami Al-Arian, a tenured Palestinian-born professor who has been at the University of South Florida for 16 years, U.S. Attorney Mac Cauley said Thursday.
Years ago, Al-Arian headed an academic think tank that the U.S. government later linked to Islamic extremists.
Cauley said that while he is normally prohibited from acknowledging ongoing investigations, he can when there is tremendous community interest.
Al-Arian, who has never been charged with a crime, did not immediately return telephone calls Thursday seeking comment.
University President Judy Genshaft considers Al-Arian, 44, a security risk whose anti-Israel views have brought death threats and cost the university financial support.
Al-Arian has been banned from campus in a case that has drawn national interest as an issue of academic freedom.
During winter break, the school's Board of Trustees voted 12-1 to fire him. The final decision rests with Genshaft, who has given no indication when she will decide.
Al-Arian said he is taking his pending dismissal to binding arbitration.
University spokesman Michael Reich said Genshaft has discussed Al-Arian with Cauley, but won't disclose what was said.
Yup. He's the arrogant terrorist bastard!!
Much-more-importantly, Al-Arian made National Public Radio after 9/11 - for speaking at a gathering of Moslems in Maryland and yelling his usual crap.
I hope he gets deported to his homeland of "Palestine" - where he can spend his life in Ayalon Prison rent free.
IMMIGRATION resource library: public-health facts, court decisions, local INS numbers!
FReegards,
BTW, no, the librarian who found the American flag offensive was at Ft. Myers...Univ of SW Fla (?) as opposed to Univ of South Fla (Tampa/St Pete/Sarasota). Used to be a branch of USF, but the folks in Ft Myers wanted to spend more taxpayer money on administrators, so they demanded their "own" university, rather than just a branch.
Maybe you are thinking about Grover Norquist?
Grover Norquist's Strange Alliance With Radical Islam
"...Through the Islamic Institute, Norquist appears to have developed close relationships with a number of Muslim leaders. When I recently spoke to the Muslim Public Affairs Council's Salam Al-Marayati, the man who fingered Israel as a potential sponsor of the World Trade Center attacks, he recited Norquist's phone number from memory. When University of South Florida professor Sami Al-Arian e-mailed The Wall Street Journal in response to an op-ed that tied him to Islamic Jihad, he CC'd Norquist. Last year at its annual dinner, the AMC presented Norquist with an award for his service. As John Zogby told me, "[H]e's played the role of interlocutor. With all respect, many of the leaders are immigrants and don't have years and years of experience. Grover has filled that void."
.
More on Grover and immigration:
They should've fired him long time ago.
I'll bet they can come up with a good reason to fire him, but until they do, he should stay on. FIRE is defending him for now, which is the principled thing to do...
His connection is with David Bonior, Democratic congressman from Michigan. Bonior was an advocate for Mazen Al-Najjar, who is Al-Arian's brother-in-law, and also under investigation. (Story about brother-in-law)
More recently, Al-Arian's son has interned for Bonior. The son was the one who was asked to leave the White House last summer. (Story about son)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.