Above, Ahmad Al-Akhras, and was at one time one of Columbus Mayor Michael
Coleman’s closest advisors; and below, Muhammad Al-Qudhaieen and Hamdan
Al-Shalawi,
the two Saudi Al-Qaeda terrorists Al-Akhras and CAIR-OH publicly
defended and filed a lawsuit on behalf.
The 9/11 Commission found had
conducted a pre-9/11 “dry-run” on a Columbus-bound America West flight in
November 1999. The men are pictured walking through Port Columbus Airport.
It certainly bears worth mentioning the bit role that Central Ohio resident Ahmad Al-Akhras played in America’s infamous day of terror.
On November 19, 1999, America West Flight #90 from Phoenix to Columbus landed at Port Columbus Airport and was greeted by FBI and local law enforcement officials. Two Saudi students — Muhammad Al-Qudhaieen and Hamdan Al-Shalawi — were handcuffed and immediately placed into custody. All passengers were evacuated from the flight and bomb-sniffing dogs were brought in to search the plane.
Before the plane landed, the flight’s pilots had radioed ahead that Al-Qudhaieen and Al-Shalawi had repeatedly tried to enter the cockpit even after being warned by the flight crew not to attempt further entry, kept changing seats, as well as asking the flight crew strange questions about the plane and its destination.
According to the 9/11 Commission Report (page 520, footnote 60), intelligence authorities, including Your Watchman are convinced that Al-Qudhaieen and Al-Shalawi were conducting a “dry-run” for the 9/11 attacks. Both men were friends of Arizona-based Al-Qaeda recruiter, Zakaria Mustapha Soubra, who drove them to the airport that day in Qadhaieen’s car. Both men attended the Islamic Center of Tuscon, which counterterrorism expert Rita Katz described as “basically the first cell of Al-Qaeda in the United States; that is where it all started”.
Immediately after the Saudi students were taken into custody by law enforcement, Ahmad Al-Akhras (then the president of CAIR-OH) immediately lept into the situation making accusations of racial profiling and denouncing the FBI’s investigation into the matter. He, along with Andy Amid of Arab Americans of Central Ohio, were quoted in the local, national, and international media protesting the innocence of the two Saudi men. Al-Akhras was quoted by the Columbus Dispatch the following day:
It certainly bears worth mentioning the bit role that Central Ohio resident Ahmad Al-Akhras played in America’s infamous day of terror.
On November 19, 1999, America West Flight #90 from Phoenix to Columbus landed at Port Columbus Airport and was greeted by FBI and local law enforcement officials. Two Saudi students — Muhammad Al-Qudhaieen and Hamdan Al-Shalawi — were handcuffed and immediately placed into custody. All passengers were evacuated from the flight and bomb-sniffing dogs were brought in to search the plane.
Before the plane landed, the flight’s pilots had radioed ahead that Al-Qudhaieen and Al-Shalawi had repeatedly tried to enter the cockpit even after being warned by the flight crew not to attempt further entry, kept changing seats, as well as asking the flight crew strange questions about the plane and its destination.
According to the 9/11 Commission Report (page 520, footnote 60), intelligence authorities, including Your Watchman are convinced that Al-Qudhaieen and Al-Shalawi were conducting a “dry-run” for the 9/11 attacks. Both men were friends of Arizona-based Al-Qaeda recruiter, Zakaria Mustapha Soubra, who drove them to the airport that day in Qadhaieen’s car. Both men attended the Islamic Center of Tuscon, which counterterrorism expert Rita Katz described as “basically the first cell of Al-Qaeda in the United States; that is where it all started”.
Immediately after the Saudi students were taken into custody by law enforcement, Ahmad Al-Akhras (then the president of CAIR-OH) immediately lept into the situation making accusations of racial profiling and denouncing the FBI’s investigation into the matter. He, along with Andy Amid of Arab Americans of Central Ohio, were quoted in the local, national, and international media protesting the innocence of the two Saudi men. Al-Akhras was quoted by the Columbus Dispatch the following day:
Ahmad Al-Akhras, president of the
Council on American-Islamic Relations, Ohio chapter, said that the government
and the airline industry appear to be profiling Arabs and Muslims.
“It seems like they single out some individuals because of their name, the way they look or their national origin,” Al-Akhras said. (Roger Alford and Kevin Mayhood, “Airline detains, releases ‘suspicious’ pair at airport”, Columbus Dispatch [November 20, 1999])
“It seems like they single out some individuals because of their name, the way they look or their national origin,” Al-Akhras said. (Roger Alford and Kevin Mayhood, “Airline detains, releases ‘suspicious’ pair at airport”, Columbus Dispatch [November 20, 1999])
Al-Akhras’ comments were also picked up by the
Egyptian daily, Al-Ahram, as were Andy
Amid’s, who told the Egyptian paper, “Americans are programmed to think of
Arabs as terrorists”. Amid also gave the Dispatch his take on
the event:
“It’s called Islamophobia,” said Andy Amid, former president of Arab Americans of Central Ohio.
“It’s called Islamophobia,” said Andy Amid, former president of Arab Americans of Central Ohio.
Except in this case, the two men involved were terrorists,
Al-Akhras and Amid’s protestations notwithstanding.
CAIR held a press conference with the two Saudi men in Washington D.C. the day after the incident and called for Muslims to boycott America West. Ahmad Al-Akhras threw his weight behind the effort, sending an email to local Muslims on November 21, 1999 saying:
CAIR held a press conference with the two Saudi men in Washington D.C. the day after the incident and called for Muslims to boycott America West. Ahmad Al-Akhras threw his weight behind the effort, sending an email to local Muslims on November 21, 1999 saying:
salam
CAIR is pursuing legal action and asking Muslims, Arabs and other concerned people to boycott American West until it investigates the issue and makes corrective measures.
Ahmad
CAIR is pursuing legal action and asking Muslims, Arabs and other concerned people to boycott American West until it investigates the issue and makes corrective measures.
Ahmad
When someone responded that the “innocent” Saudi students should
not settle for anything less than the dismissal of the American West pilot,
Al-Akhras went further:
salam
CAIR is exploring all leagl [sic] venues at this time and may press charges. i’ll keep you posted. salam.
Ahmad
CAIR is exploring all leagl [sic] venues at this time and may press charges. i’ll keep you posted. salam.
Ahmad
What legal charges Al-Akhras and this CAIR crew had mind against
the flight’s pilot he doesn’t say, but in fact, CAIR filed a lawsuit in 2000
against America West on behalf of the two Al-Qaeda terrorists over the matter,
which the judge quickly dismissed. But the damage by Al-Akhras and his CAIR
comrades had been done. Instead of beefing up airline security, CAIR’s
intimidation tactics were no doubt instrumental in maintaining the status
quo in aviation
security, that is, until 9/11. Katherine Kersten of the Minneapolis
Star Tribune reminds us that despite
CAIR’s connection to the 9/11 dry-run, that incident has served as a prototype
for CAIR’s response to aviation incidents ever since, such as the “Flying
Imams” case last November.
Curiously, CAIR has scrubbed any mention of the incident and their participation in it from their website.
And what of Mohammad Al-Qudhaieen and Hamdan Al-Shalawi, who’s innocence Ahmad Al-Akhras and Andy Amid were quick to claim? As I reported in a FrontPage Magazinearticle back in April, “CAIR’s Grievance Theater, the Flying Imams, and 9/11”: As the 9/11 Commission Report explains, Hamdan al-Shalawi was in Afghanistan in November 2000 training at an Al-Qaeda camp learning to make car bombs and planning to launch “Khobar Tower”-type attacks against the US in Saudi Arabia, and Mohammad Al-Qadhaieen was arrested in June 2003 as a material witness in the 9/11 attacks.
Curiously, CAIR has scrubbed any mention of the incident and their participation in it from their website.
And what of Mohammad Al-Qudhaieen and Hamdan Al-Shalawi, who’s innocence Ahmad Al-Akhras and Andy Amid were quick to claim? As I reported in a FrontPage Magazinearticle back in April, “CAIR’s Grievance Theater, the Flying Imams, and 9/11”: As the 9/11 Commission Report explains, Hamdan al-Shalawi was in Afghanistan in November 2000 training at an Al-Qaeda camp learning to make car bombs and planning to launch “Khobar Tower”-type attacks against the US in Saudi Arabia, and Mohammad Al-Qadhaieen was arrested in June 2003 as a material witness in the 9/11 attacks.
Not suprisingly, Ahmad Al-Akhras and Andy Amid have never
apologized nor expressed any remorse for their contributions to America’s day
of terror. While the two Saudi terrorists were later discovered to be an
integral part of Al-Qaeda’s pre-9/11 network in the US, Al-Akhras and Amid’s
intimidation campaign against law enforcement and airline security accomplished
exactly what Al-Qaeda wanted it to. The result was 9/11 and the death of 2,996
innocent civilians.
Oh, did I forget to mention that Ahmad Al-Akhras was, back in the day, one of Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman’s closest advisors?
Oh, did I forget to mention that Ahmad Al-Akhras was, back in the day, one of Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman’s closest advisors?
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