Terror Ideology on Trial:
Below is a transcript from a TV segment held with the defendant mentioned in the corresponding Weblog posting. It is not a complete transcript, but does contain the relevant portions from the show.
NBC News April 15, 2005 Friday
Ali al-Timimi charged with urging Virginians to go to Kashmir and train to fight Americans after 9/11
Campbell Brown:
Back here in the US, a case that is pushing the legal envelope in the war on terror. A Muslim religious scholar is on trial in Virginia this week, not for committing acts of terror, but for allegedly encouraging others to kill American troops in Afghanistan. It's the first time since 9/11 a religious figure has been prosecuted on terror charges for his words. Before the start of the trial, the controversial religious leader sat down for an exclusive interview with NBC's senior investigative correspondent Lisa Myers.
Lisa Myers:
This is Ali al-Timimi, an American biologist and Islamic spiritual leader. Prosecutors charge that only days after 9/11, al-Timimi urged a group of Virginia men to go to terrorist camps in Kashmir and train to fight Americans in Afghanistan . Some men did train and already have been convicted of terrorism charges. In an exclusive interview with NBC News, al-Timimi denies the allegations.
Did you ever tell these men go abroad and join in violent jihad?
Ali Al-Timimi: Never.
MYERS: Why would someone make all this up about you?
AL-TIMIMI: Perhaps certain people in the government, in a zeal to silence outspoken Muslims in--in North America, have pushed an investigation further than it really should go.
MYERS: In the wake of 9/11, the case does break new ground.
Professor David Cole: Well, it's the first case in which the government has prosecuted a religious leader as such for, essentially, his speech.
MYERS: Critics say this prosecution is a troubling incursion on the First Amendment and goes too far. But others contend the case isn't about freedom of speech or religion, but akin to a Mafia boss ordering a hit.
Ms. Victoria Toensing: It's not an accepted religious or political belief to say `Go out and kill somebody.'
MYERS: To bolster their claims, prosecutors point to a message al-Timimi wrote to followers in 2003, after the destruction of the space shuttle Columbia . Quote, "Muslims were overjoyed because of the adversity that befell their greatest enemy."
AL-TIMIMI: I thought it was an omen.
MYERS: Al-Timimi says he believes the accident suggests Allah was punishing the United States .
AL-TIMIMI: To have a space shuttle crash in Palestine , Texas , with a Texas president and an Israeli astronaut, somebody might say there's a divine hand behind it.
MYERS: When we pressed further, al-Timimi's lawyer abruptly ended the interview.
AL-TIMIMI: Sorry, Lisa.
MYERS: His defense team emphasizes that no American was ever hurt because of al-Timimi's words. Experts say to get a conviction, prosecutors must prove he intended for his listeners to actually take action against the United States . Lisa Myers, NBC News, Alexandria, Virginia.
...
NBC News April 15, 2005 Friday
Ali al-Timimi charged with urging Virginians to go to Kashmir and train to fight Americans after 9/11
Campbell Brown:
Back here in the US, a case that is pushing the legal envelope in the war on terror. A Muslim religious scholar is on trial in Virginia this week, not for committing acts of terror, but for allegedly encouraging others to kill American troops in Afghanistan. It's the first time since 9/11 a religious figure has been prosecuted on terror charges for his words. Before the start of the trial, the controversial religious leader sat down for an exclusive interview with NBC's senior investigative correspondent Lisa Myers.
Lisa Myers:
This is Ali al-Timimi, an American biologist and Islamic spiritual leader. Prosecutors charge that only days after 9/11, al-Timimi urged a group of Virginia men to go to terrorist camps in Kashmir and train to fight Americans in Afghanistan . Some men did train and already have been convicted of terrorism charges. In an exclusive interview with NBC News, al-Timimi denies the allegations.
Did you ever tell these men go abroad and join in violent jihad?
Ali Al-Timimi: Never.
MYERS: Why would someone make all this up about you?
AL-TIMIMI: Perhaps certain people in the government, in a zeal to silence outspoken Muslims in--in North America, have pushed an investigation further than it really should go.
MYERS: In the wake of 9/11, the case does break new ground.
Professor David Cole: Well, it's the first case in which the government has prosecuted a religious leader as such for, essentially, his speech.
MYERS: Critics say this prosecution is a troubling incursion on the First Amendment and goes too far. But others contend the case isn't about freedom of speech or religion, but akin to a Mafia boss ordering a hit.
Ms. Victoria Toensing: It's not an accepted religious or political belief to say `Go out and kill somebody.'
MYERS: To bolster their claims, prosecutors point to a message al-Timimi wrote to followers in 2003, after the destruction of the space shuttle Columbia . Quote, "Muslims were overjoyed because of the adversity that befell their greatest enemy."
AL-TIMIMI: I thought it was an omen.
MYERS: Al-Timimi says he believes the accident suggests Allah was punishing the United States .
AL-TIMIMI: To have a space shuttle crash in Palestine , Texas , with a Texas president and an Israeli astronaut, somebody might say there's a divine hand behind it.
MYERS: When we pressed further, al-Timimi's lawyer abruptly ended the interview.
AL-TIMIMI: Sorry, Lisa.
MYERS: His defense team emphasizes that no American was ever hurt because of al-Timimi's words. Experts say to get a conviction, prosecutors must prove he intended for his listeners to actually take action against the United States . Lisa Myers, NBC News, Alexandria, Virginia.
...
posted by JDS at 7:24 PM
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