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#120166 - 09/23/05 09:42 AM
Muslim Convert jailed for terrorism
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Human Garbage
Registered: 09/13/05
Posts: 1594
Loc: The "Phlogbox", apparently.
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LinkQuote:
A British Muslim convert who was arrested near the Channel Tunnel has been jailed for two counts of possessing items of use to terrorists.
Andrew Rowe, 34, was convicted of having a notebook containing details on how to fire mortar bombs, and a code for terrorism.
Rowe was jailed for seven-and-a-half years on the two charges, making a total of 15 years.
But the judge Mr. Justice Fulford said the UK government should consider tougher sentences for such an offence, including a discretionary life sentence.
The jury deadlocked on a third count which accused Rowe of having a pair of socks, adapted with a cord, for terrorist purposes.
Ken Macdonald, the director of public prosecutions, hailed the convictions as a first success for his office's Counter-Terrorism Division, set up in May.
"The challenge we successfully met was to prove to the jury that although there was no direct link between Andrew Rowe and a particular terrorist act, possession of those items together with other supporting evidence was sufficient for a jury to conclude that he had them for the purpose of terrorism," Macdonald said.
Prosecutors said traces of high explosives were detected on a pair of socks found in his luggage at the French side of the tunnel in October 2003, prosecutors said.
Rowe testified he had used the socks as gloves for unloading ammunition in Bosnia in 1995 and had since used them to practice martial arts kicks.
A book containing notes on how to fire a mortar bomb and a code substituting words such as target with mobile phone models, were found at addresses connected to him in London and Birmingham.
Rowe said the notebook was a memento from Bosnia and the code would have been used to target courier drops for aid and arms to help Chechen separatists.
Prosecutor Mark Ellison said the code "made it possible to communicate in an innocent message which only spoke about mobile telephones."
For instance, Ellison said, money was Nokia 3310, trouble-police was 3410, weapon 3610 and airport 3310.
A draft of a letter written on the other side said Rowe was going abroad on "mobile phone business" and would be meeting someone who needed help.
Rowe had traveled widely after embracing Islam, the prosecutor said, and had had four passports in seven years.
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#120167 - 09/25/05 12:30 AM
Re: Muslim Convert jailed for terrorism
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Human Garbage
Registered: 09/13/05
Posts: 1594
Loc: The "Phlogbox", apparently.
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Would you mind if I be a little bit cynical? Since September 11th, what good reason would a person in a western country have for converting to Islam? Before September 11th, converts to Islam tended to be imprisoned criminals seeking gang protection, aggrieved racial minorities seeking an anti-Western identity, and - rarely - misguided children rebelling against their thoroughly sick White liberal parents, such as John Walker Lindh. Of course, these cases still persist, but now we can add the additional possibility of misguided westerners - typically losers who have failed in society - seeking to align themselves with the most salient (and violent) anti-Western group they can join for the purposes of "striking back" at their host civilization for various perceived wrongs. Of course, we have seen this. John Walker Lindh grew up in ultra-liberal Marin county, California - home of Barbara Boxer - and, despite wealth and priviledge, immersed himself in Spike Lee's "Malcolm X", and eventually found himself battling his own country in Afghanistan. Australia has it's own "Jihad Jack" Thomas, who went from being a Melbourne cabbie to undertaking terrorist training in Pakistan. The British had Richard Reid. Germany had Christian Ganczarski, who fraternized with Osama himself and bombed a Tunisian synagogue. A quick google search will yield examples for pretty much any western nation you wish to inquire about. Before I venture my own opinion, I'd like to ask forum members this: How should converts to Islam be viewed and how should they be handled legally?
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#120168 - 09/25/05 03:06 AM
Re: Muslim Convert jailed for terrorism
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Max Hardcore Prison Bitch
Registered: 08/25/05
Posts: 205
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Yeah, there's definitely an element of converting to Islam in America just to try to fuck with other Americans' heads. I heard a story on NPR where some prison inmates, in your town LA, converted to Islam and set up a terrorist cell without any contact at all with Al Qaeda or any other jihadist group. Just what they read in the papers. When some of them got out a year or so later, they started collecting guns and recruiting. The FBI nabbed them after they robbed a few convenience and liquor stores, but before they really did anything else. I was all excited when I saw the headline, but listening to the story realized all the FBI caught was a bunch of morons robbing liquor stores with delusions of grandeur.
But, the War on Terror (which I agree is a bad name, just not as bad as the War on Drugs name, considering most drugs are perfectly legally, blah, blah). The War on Terror is a war between ideologies. Bush is trying to define our ideology as democracy, and their as attacks against non-military civilians. The second you start making The War on Terror look like a war on Islam, you've lost. What, like a third of the planet is Islamic?
This is why I don't think you can do internment camps for Muslims like you could with the Japanese during WWII. You think we have an insurgency in Iraq now? Wait until they find out we put Muslims in prison just because of their chosen religion.
And, I don't think all Muslims are terrorist. I was listening to some guy from the Arab League of Nations on Charlie Rose's show on Thursday, who I was very happy was saying all the same things about democrcy and Zarqawi that the leaders in the west say. Although you never know how much someone's bullshitting.
I realize you're talking only about recent converts. But, I don't think the rest of the Islamic world is going to care about that distinction.
As for a valid reason to convert to Islam, how about the same reason people convert to Christianity? Because they believe whatever it is that's in the Quaran?
Don't know what you're talking about withholding your opinion, it looks to me your pretty clear about where you're going. But, I guess I'll see...
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