UK 7/7 bombers, US subway bombers and Iqra bookstores

The first hand account of Martin Gilbertson and the 7/7 bombers in the UK noted the connections of the terrorists, Tafazal Mohammed, the Leeds Community School, and the Iqra Islamic bookshop next door. The Iqra Islamic bookshop was the headquarters for the UK terrorists, and now there is a US connection. (Guardian)

Shahawar Matin Siraj, Islamic-bookstore employee, was tried and found guilty "of conspiring to place an explosive device inside a garbage can or under a bench".

Siraj was busted Aug. 27, 2004, just days before the Republican National Convention was set to kick off.

The goal of the blast - as he stated on numerous video and audio recordings that the NYPD secretly captured - would have been to cause economic harm, not carnage and death. (source)

Shahawar Matin Siraj's friends, known as Dawadi (who turned out to be an informant) and James Elshafay wanted to blow up the the station at 59th and Lexington, a 42nd Street station, the Verrazano Bridge, a Staten Island jail, and three police precincts on Staten Island—the 123rd in Tottenville, the 120th in St. George, and the 122nd in New Dorp, but decided the NY subway, 34th Street subway station, would be an easier target. They dressed in 'hip-hop' style clothing so they would not look Arab.

A native of Karachi, Pakistan, Siraj entered the U.S. illegally in 1999. He had murdered two people in Pakistan and was arrested in the US for assualt. “I want at least 1,000 to 2,000 to die in one day", said Siraj. His favorite hangout was the 'bookstore'.

The Iqra bookstores can be found across the US: " 7450 Skokie Blvd., Skokie, IL", "IQRA' Book Center, 2701 Devon Ave., Chicago, IL 60645", "IRQA', 6410 N. Campbell Ave., Chicago, IL 60645" and other cities.

The bookstores provide not only a haven for terrorists, but propaganda in printed form and also textbooks for Islamic schools. IQRA's founder and director is Dr. Abidullah al-Ansari Ghazi, wrote the books in question. The fact that we actually have Islamic schools where propaganda can be taught to children is something that our government needs to clamp down on, especially since they get funding from Saudi Arabia.

IQRAs comprehensive and systematic program of Islamic Education being developed for Da'wah. "Dawah (دعوة, literally: summons or call, also da'wa) is an Arabic term meaning "invite" or "invitation," and is used in Islam to refer primarily to the activity of proselytizing". source

One of the publishers, a Chicago-based firm called the IQRA International Educational Foundation Inc. — IQRA means "recite" or "proclaim" in Arabic — got financial support until recently from a Saudi Arabian foundation. ...

[The books] are rife with inaccuracies, sweeping condemnations of Jews and Christians, and triumphalist declarations of Islam's supremacy. In Long Island City, Queens, for example, fifth- and sixth-graders at the Ideal Islamic School on 12th St. learn that Allah has revealed that "the Jews killed their own prophets and disobeyed Allah." ...

Jews and Christians, the book says, "lead such decadent and immoral lives that lying, alcohol, nudity, pornography, racism, foul language, premarital sex, homosexuality and everything else are accepted in their society, churches and synagogues." source

US connections are now coming to light.

In this surveillance photo released by the Brooklyn U.S. Attorney's Office, an unidentified police informant, right, is shown with alleged bomb plotter Shahawar Matin Siraj, center, and his alleged co-conspirator James Elshafay in New York, Aug. 21, 2004. Siraj, 23, was arrested on the eve of the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York on charges he wanted to attack a subway station in Herald Square, a dense shopping district in the city that includes Macy's flagship department store. If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison. (AP Photo/Brooklyn US Attorney's Office, HO)

One publisher, "Yahiya Emerick, who heads the Islamic Foundation of North America, a Queens-based nonprofit curriculum development project, stood by the language in his books, which are printed and distributed by International Books and Tapes Supply, or IBTS."

Al-Muhajiroun aka Islamic Thinkers Society are known for their rallies outside Jewish embassies and other Jewish institutions. They are dangerous, they are here in the US, they have direct connections to Syed Hasmi, who has direct contact with al-irhaab-007, Hizb al-Tahrir, and Mohammad Sidique Khan.

Islamic Thinker's Society: American extremist Islamic group that seeks the goal of restoring the Islamic Caliphate to create what they call "an ideal Islamic society." Located in the Muslim community of Jackson Heights, Queens, they have gained infamy for their close ties to terrorist incidents in the United States after September 11th, 2001. source

Photos via WBI, Inc. where you can find more links and more photos.

Comments

[Debbie]

That would be great Darrell. Any new information will be appreciated.

[Darrell]

While I was reading about the Canadian terror plot I recall that one of those arrested lived with a family who operated a "Book Store" out of his house. If I can a link to the story I'll post it and trackback here.