Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
1286158490565
Posted: 10/02/2010 09:31:06 AM PDT be able to say he must have been special. But he
was not."
Updated: 10/02/2010 09:31:06 AM PDT
Taj Ashaheed remembers al-Awlaki leading prayers
DENVER—More than a decade has passed since at the Denver Islamic Society's al-Noor mosque in
Anwar al-Awlaki left Colorado, but the American- 1994. He had a similar take.
born imam's legacy still resonates in the place
where he recorded innocuous sermons long before "There was nothing radical, no talk of terrorism,"
he began posting Internet rants promoting Ashaheed said.
terrorism.
With al-Awlaki's recently revealed links to terrorism,
Increasingly virulent over the years, al-Awlaki's most attendees at the Denver mosque declined to
recent English-language sermons have inspired comment.
several terror plots in the United States and Britain,
authorities say. One sermon, posted in May by al- A former Denver Islamic Society community leader
Qaida's offshoot in Yemen, where al-Awlaki is said al-Awlaki's speaking style may have captured
believed to be in hiding, called for killing Americans the ear of Homaidan al-Turki, a Saudi Arabian
for supporting wars he says have killed a million linguist who attended prayers at the mosque and
Muslims. began recording al-Awlaki's sermons.
People who knew al-Awlaki in Colorado are "His speech was soft and tender and it would hit the
surprised by his high-profile radical role today. heart," said the former leader, who asked not to be
They recall a deeply religious man with no overt identified out of concern for his safety.
political agenda or talk of terrorism, just a plain-
speaking style that one religious leader said "would Al-Turki distributed al-Awlaki's sermons through
hit the heart." his Denver-based company, Al-Basheer Publications
& Translations.
Las Cruces, N.M.-born al-Awlaki attended Colorado
State University in 1990-94, earning a degree in Al-Awlaki's recordings include "The Hereafter" and
civil engineering, according to school records. He "The Lives of the Prophets," which place experiences
lived in Denver for a few years before moving to San of Muslim prophets into the context of modern
Diego sometime in the mid- to late 1990s. society. They've been popular among young
1 of 3 10/4/2010 10:15 AM
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_16236088?nclick_check=1 http://www.mercurynews.com/fdcp?1286158490565
"I wouldn't say they were popular, but they were out Terrorism charges were never filed against al-Turki.
there." Investigators also found no evidence linking al-
Awlaki to the 9/11 plot, though the 9/11
For Ali, al-Awlaki's name resurfaced again in 2008, Commission Report said two of the 9/11 hijackers
when one of five men arrested for planning an attack reportedly developed a close relationship with him
on Fort Dix, N.J., claimed inspiration from al-Awlaki. in San Diego.
"I'm like, 'Wait, the storyteller dude? Really? What's Al-Awlaki did face a passport fraud charge in
going on?'" said Ali, who calls the imam's current Colorado in 2002 which was deemed invalid by
views "disgusting and despicable." prosecutors and dropped.
For U.S. officials, al-Awlaki is of particular concern Al-Turki, though, faced several state charges
because he is one of the few English-speaking involving allegations that he kept an Indonesian
radical clerics able to explain to young Muslims in housekeeper a virtual slave and sexually assaulted
America and other Western countries the philosophy her. He is serving a 28-year state prison sentence
of violent jihad. on a 2006 conviction on those charges.
Law enforcement officials said al-Awlaki exchanged He has insisted in court documents he was
e-mails with Maj. Nidal Hasan, the Army psychiatrist prosecuted because of his publishing business and
suspected in the November shooting at Fort Hood, because of anti-Muslim sentiment. His lawyer,
Texas, and with Barry Walter Bujol, a Houston-area former U.S. Attorney Henry Solano, declined to
2 of 3 10/4/2010 10:15 AM
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_16236088?nclick_check=1 http://www.mercurynews.com/fdcp?1286158490565
comment.
3 of 3 10/4/2010 10:15 AM