Voted Most Likely To Be A Martyr

According to a November 29, 2005 story on this news channel (all emphases this blog author's):

American Citizen Convicted For Terrorism: Man Conspired To Assassinate The President

"FALLS CHURCH, Va. -- An American citizen whose father worked for the Saudi Embassy is convicted for conspiring with Al Qaida operatives to assassinate President George W. Bush.

Ahmed Abu Ali, of Falls Church, Va., admitted to the crime in a videotaped confession.

"As a boy, Abu Ali attended the Saudi Islamic Academy in Alexandria. He even became a member of the National Honor Society. In his senior year, Ali's classmates voted him 'the most likely to become a martyr.'

"In the video, the 24-year-old said he went to Saudi Arabia in 2002 to study Islam, and met an Al Qaida operative who invited him to join the Jihad against America.

"'I immediately accepted because of my hatred of the U.S., for what I felt was its support of Israel against the Palestinian people,' Abu Ali said on the tape.

"Abu Ali also admitted that he suggested blowing up American warplanes, warships, or targeting hi-ranking U.S. officials.

"He also said it was his Al Qaida contact's idea to kill the president.

"Ali Abu went on to say on the videotape, 'I preferred this idea because it was easier to carry out since the U.S. president often appears in pubic places.'

"The group then plotted exactly how they would carry out the assassination.

"They agreed that they would 'either use at least three snipers who would fire simultaneously to increase the hit probability, or to carry out a martyr operation when the U.S. president goes out to greet the people.'

"During his trial, Ali testified that the Saudis beat the confession out of him. But jurors saw him on tape pretend to cock a rifle and laugh.

"'What was striking was how relaxed he looked, almost carefree...[he] didn't look like someone tortured, pressured into confessing,' said Roger Cressey, an NBC News Terror Analyst.

"Now the little boy voted most likely to become a martyr is facing 20 years to life in prison.

"Abu Ali will be sentenced in February."

Note: As we locals well know, the name of Abu Ali's high school is the Islamic Saudi Academy, not the Saudi Islamic Academy.

If the following information from the Washington Post is accurate, no wonder Ahmed Abu Ali was so willing to conspire with Al-Qaeda:

"The 11th-grade textbook, for example, says one sign of the Day of Judgment will be that Muslims will fight and kill Jews, who will hide behind trees that say: 'Oh Muslim, Oh servant of God, here is a Jew hiding behind me. Come here and kill him.'..

"Some teachers 'focus more on hatred,' said one teenager, who recited by memory the signs of the coming of the Day of Judgment. 'They teach students that whatever is kuffar [non-Muslim], it is okay for you' to hurt or steal from that person..."

In light of the conviction of Ahmed Abu Ali, isn't it time for an extensive investigation of ISA on the part of Homeland Security? The Islamic Saudi Academy published a caption saying "Voted Most Likely to be a Martyr" to appear below Abu Ali's yearbook photo!

A bit of background information on ISA is very interesting. According to "The Madrassa on Main Street: Teaching Fundamentalist Islam on U. S. Route 1,

"A few miles outside of Washington and a stone's throw from Mt. Vernon Plantation - George Washington's home - the Saudi government is teaching Wahhab Islam to hundreds of Muslim-American children. The school, called the Islamic Saudi Academy, is one of an estimated 200-600 in the U.S. that indoctrinate 30,000 students in the teachings of Koran."

And just how did ISA get such a prime piece of property, so close to our nation's capital

"In 1988, 'Dusty' Rhodes, the Fairfax County official in charge of renting school facilities, bragged to a local pastor that the Saudis had not paid the county a dime for the deed to the school. According to Rhodes, the Saudis got the use of the building in exchange for making renovations. Once renovations were complete they were given the deed. At the time, Fairfax County discriminated against churches who used public school facilities by charging them commercial rates, rather than the lower rates charged other community groups. The county was forced to halt the discrimination after a lawsuit.

"In a county where just the tax assessment on a vacant acre can exceed $250,000, the Saudis not only got the building but acres of athletic fields."

Where did Abu Ali acquire his deep hatred of the United States? In Saudi Arabia? Or did his hatred begin with his Wahhabist education at the Islamic Saudi Academy in Fairfax County, Virginia?

Addendum: I sent this story to Jihad Watch, Robert Spencer's site, which graciously printed the story as "American Citizen Convicted For Terrorism."