Arizona
Fuqra is believed to be behind a terrorist attack on an Islamic Cultural Center in Tempe on September 1, 1982[1] and the murder of a controversial liberal Muslim cleric in Tucson, Imam Rashid Khalifa, on January 31, 1990 by stabbing him 29 times.
1990 Murder of Imam Rashid Khalifa
Plans for the assassination were found when authorities raided a storage locker rented by Fuqra members in Colorado Springs in 1989. Seven members of Fuqra were involved.[2]
One suspect, Glen Cusford Francis, a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago, wasn’t arrested until 1990 in Calgary, Canada. He conducted surveillance for about three months by attending the mosque under the alias of Ben Phillips. He was later located in Dallas, Texas, using the name of Joseph Wall. Francis was not charged until 2009 when his DNA was found on Khalifa’s jacket. He was sentenced to life in prison.[3]
Link to CAIR-AZ
Imraan Siddiqi, the executive director of the Arizona chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), served as a delegate representing India at MOA’s International Islamophobia Conference in 2015. He was a member of the board of directors of the mosque hosting the event, the Muslim Community Center of Capitol District in Schenectady, New York.[4]
The U.S. Justice Department designated CAIR as an unindicted co-conspirator in the trial of the Holy Land Foundation, a CAIR-linked charity that was shut down for financing the Hamas terrorist group. The Justice Department identified CAIR as an “entity” of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood’s Palestine Committee, a secret body established by the Brotherhood to advance Hamas’ cause.[5]
In another terrorism trial, that of Sabri Benkhala, federal prosecutors said in a 2008 court filing:
“From its founding by Muslim Brotherhood leaders, CAIR conspired with other affiliates of the Muslim Brotherhood to support terrorists … the conspirators agreed to use deception to conceal from the American public their connections to terrorists.”
In 2013, Siddiqi retweeted a message that referred to the U.S. military as an “Occupying Army” and said that Americans should be “rescued” from serving in it.[6]
References
[1]“Al-Fuqra: Holy Warriors of Terrorism.” (1993). Anti-Defamation League: http://archive.adl.org/extremism/moa/al-fuqra.pdf
[2] Sagara, Eric. (2009). Man arrested in ’90 slaying of controversial leader at local mosque. Tucson Citizen: http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue/2009/04/29/115381-man-arrested-in-90-slaying-of-controversial-religious-leader-at-local-mosque/
[3] Sagara, Eric. (2009). Man arrested in ’90 slaying of controversial leader at local mosque. Tucson Citizen: http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue/2009/04/29/115381-man-arrested-in-90-slaying-of-controversial-religious-leader-at-local-mosque/
[4] Mauro, Ryan. (2016). CAIR Intertwines with U.S.-Based, Terror-Linked Fuqra Group. Clarion Project. http://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/cair-intertwines-us-based-terror-linked-fuqra-group
[5] Mauro, Ryan. (2013). Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) – Nat’l Headquarters. Clarion Project. http://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/council-islamic-relations-cair
[6] Mauro, Ryan. (2013). CAIR Officials: U.S. Army ‘Occupiers,’ ‘Murderers.’ Clarion Project. http://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/cair-officials-decry-muslims-us-military
