Ehsanul Sadequee and Syed Haris Ahmed

I meant to write about this yesterday but work wouldn’t allow me the time. Now I’m feeling a little under the weather so I can’t get as deep into this story as I’d like.

Ehsanul Islam Sadequee of Roswell, Georgia, was sentenced to 13 years yesterday for supporting terrorism, yesterday in Atlanta.

This case is interesting as it involves a makeshift Canadian “terror training camp,” and bunch of silly teenagers, and a Muslim informant.

It’s the Muslim informant I really want to focus on.

Ehsanul Sadequee and his co-indictee Syed Haris Ahmed, were convicted of conspiring to commit terror. According to prosecutors, they traveled to Canada in 2006 to meet up with a bunch of other Muslim teenagers who were all part of some elaborate terrorist conspiracy.

But the whole thing was more laughable than anything else. The so-called terror camp had only one 9mm gun, and the boys who took part were better at making fart jokes than they were at building bombs.

I’m going off track. Here’s what happened:

1. In 2004, a man name Momin Khawaja was arrested for terror suspicions. His childhood friend Mubin Shaikh calls the FBI and vouches for Momin stating he could not have been involved in terrorism.
2. The FBI meet with Mubin Shaikh and convince him to become an informant. Mubin’s prior drug addiction and criminal past is obviously not considered.
3. Mubin Shaikh along with two other men in Canada create a “training camp” for “jihadists.”
4. Through lots of emails and chatrooms, Ehsanul and Syed travel to Canada to join the camp.
5. They spent six days mostly freezing their butts off and listening to a bunch of people spout hot air about what they’re going to do to America. They couldn’t really train for anything as the camp only had one 9mm gun.
6. Except for the informant Mubin Shaikh, none of the boys and men at the camp knew they were being monitored by over 200 agents.
7. When they return to the U.S., Ehsanul and Syed travel to Washington D.C. and take videos of various American landmarks, allegedly praising the 911 attacks on the Pentagon. (That was probably the second biggest mistake after going to Canada in the first place).
8. Later that year, Ehsanul travels to Bangladesh to get married. His flight has a stopover in NYC and FBI agents interview him there. They ask about his trip to Canada. Not knowing he was being monitored the whole time there, Ehsanul lies to the agents and says he was visiting his aunt in Canada.
9. In 2006, the whole Canadian “terror” operation is busted wide open and the Feds and media make a big deal about how they stopped a potentially dangerous attack. Even though the training camp was supervised and partially organized by one of their own informants.
10. After the Canadian arrests Ehsanul and Syed are also arrested in the U.S. They were charged with conspiring with terrorists and trying to join a terror organization called Lashkar-e-Taibah.

So let’s understand what Ehsanul and Syed really did and if it really amounts to terrorism.

• They traveled to Canada and took part in a ridiculous excuse of a training camp that was mostly set up by a Muslim informant with a drug habit.
• Ehsanul lied to the feds.
• They both expressed a desire to join a terrorist organization (though they never made any serious moves to join, even while in Bangladesh).
• They made some suspicious videos.

Is some of what they did stupid? Yes. Was it terrorism? Not hardly.

My heart goes out to these brothers and their families. Because they got caught up in the moment or tried to fit in with their peers, they’re going to lose a good chunk of their lives behind bars.

But this also shows that we have to be very careful in the things we say and do as Muslims. The rules that apply to the general public do not necessarily apply to us.

Take a look at this previous post if you think I’m exaggerating.

We can fuss and moan about how this is unfair, but this is the reality.

I implore all of our brothers and sisters, to make dua for Ehsanul and the hundreds (maybe even thousands) of Muslims locked up for dubious reasons.

Be careful about the sites you visit. Be careful of the people you meet online (and in some cases, in person too). And be careful of the emails and videos you make.

May Allah protect us all.

3 Responses to “Ehsanul Sadequee and Syed Haris Ahmed”

1. Umm Tut Tut says:

   December 21, 2009 at 1:19 AM

   May Allah strengthen these young brothers and protect them in the dungeons of evil(U.S. prisons). One or both of them have been attacked by inmates. Yet they are strong- the news say that they invited the judge to become Muslim and recited Qur’an as they defended themselves in court. Pray for these young brothers and all the other Muslims who who been accused of terrorism and imprisoned. As a mother and grandmother, I cry only to Allah for the agony that Muslims suffer here and around the word, but I pity those who beg the rulers for mercy and peace.

   Reply
2. Dawud says:

   December 22, 2009 at 2:21 PM

   You idiot – the two did not attend the training camp in Canada and the FBI had nothing to do with it.

   What a jaahil, jaahil post

   Reply
   • Abu Ibrahim says:

     December 23, 2009 at 8:32 PM

     @ Dawud – Are you Muslim? If you are, you hardly display proper Islamic behavior in trying to correct someone.

     In any case, you are obviously not familiar with the facts.

     Follow this link and read the official charges from the U.S. Department of Justice.

     Particularly this quote:

     In support of the conspiracy, in March 2005 Sadequee and Ahmed traveled to Toronto to meet with other co-conspirators, including Fahim Ahmad, one of the “Toronto 18″ suspects awaiting a terrorism trial in Canada. While in Canada, Sadequee, Ahmed, and their co-conspirators discussed their plans to travel to Pakistan in an effort to attend a paramilitary training camp operated by a terrorist organization, as well as potential targets for terrorist attacks in the United States.

     I’m not saying they’re guilty or not. I’m just reporting on the facts that I have available.

     Now, once you get your foot out of your mouth, and you’re ready to discuss this issue with maturity, let me know.

     Reply