Omar Abdel-Rahman
Encyclopedia
Sheikh
Omar Abdel-Rahman , commonly known in the United States as "The Blind Sheikh", is a blind Egypt
ian Muslim
leader who is currently serving a life sentence at the Butner Medical Center which is part of the Butner Federal Correctional Institution
in Butner, North Carolina
, United States
.
Formerly a resident of New York City
, Abdel-Rahman and nine others were convicted of seditious conspiracy
, which requires only that a crime be planned, not that it necessarily be attempted. His prosecution grew out of investigations of the World Trade Center 1993 bombings.
Abdel-Rahman was accused of being the leader of Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya
(also known as "The Islamic Group"), a militant
Islamist movement in Egypt
that is considered a terrorist
organization by the United States
and Egypt
ian governments. The group is responsible for many acts of violence, including the November 1997 Luxor massacre
, in which 58 foreign tourists and four Egyptians were killed.
, Egypt
, in 1938. He lost his eyesight at a young age due to childhood diabetes. He studied a Braille
version of the Qur'an
as a child and developed an interest in the works of the Islamic purists Ibn Taymiyah and Sayyid Qutb
. After graduating in Qur'anic studies from Al-Azhar University
in Cairo
, the Egyptian government imprisoned him because he was an opponent of the regime. Abdel-Rahman became one of the most prominent and outspoken Muslim clerics to denounce Egypt’s secularism.
and Asim Abdulrahman
.
("The Islamic Group"). By the 1980s, he had emerged as the leader of Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya, although he was still revered by followers of Egyptian Islamic Jihad, which at the time was being led by Ayman al-Zawahiri
, later to become an Al Qaeda principal. Abdel-Rahman spent three years in Egyptian jails where he was tortured as he awaited trial on charges of issuing a fatwa
resulting in the 1981 assassination of Anwar Sadat
by Egyptian Islamic Jihad.
in the mid-1980s where he contacted his former professor, Abdullah Azzam, co-founder of Maktab al-Khadamat (MAK)
along with Osama bin Laden
. Rahman built a strong rapport with bin Laden during the Afghan war against the Soviets, and following Azzam’s murder in 1989 Rahman assumed control of the international jihadists arm of MAK/Al Qaeda.
In July 1990, Abdel-Rahman went to New York City
to gain control of MAK’s financial and organizational infrastructure in the United States
.
, and Sudan
.
He traveled widely in the United States and Canada. Despite the U.S. support for the mujahideen in Afghanistan, Abdel-Rahman was deeply anti-American and spoke out against it, safe in the knowledge that he was speaking Arabic and unmonitored by any law enforcement agency. He issued a fatwa
in America that declared lawful the robbing of banks and killing of Jews in America. His sermons condemned Americans as the "descendants of apes and pigs who have been feeding from the dining tables of the Zionists, Communists, and colonialists". He called on Muslims to assail the West, "cut the transportation of their countries, tear it apart, destroy their economy, burn their companies, eliminate their interests, sink their ships, shoot down their planes, kill them on the sea, air, or land".
Preaching at three mosques in the New York City area, Abdel-Rahman was soon surrounded by a core group of devoted followers that included persons who became responsible for the World Trade Center 1993 bombings. One of Rahman's followers, El Sayyid Nosair
, was linked to the assassination of Israeli nationalist Rabbi Meir Kahane
, founder of the Jewish Defense League
. He was subsequently acquitted of murder but convicted on gun possession charges.
Steven Emerson
's 1994 television documentary Terrorists Among Us: Jihad in America contains a video of Abdel-Rahman in Detroit calling for jihad against the "infidel".
Nosair later stood trial as a co-conspirator of Rahman. Both men received life sentences for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, conspiracy to use explosives against New York landmarks
, and plotting to assassinate U.S. politicians. Nosair was convicted of nine counts, including seditious conspiracy
, murder
of Kahane in aid of racketeering, attempted murder
in aid of racketeering, attempted murder of a postal police officer, use of a firearm in a murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a murder, use of a firearm in an attempted murder, and possession of a firearm, and received life plus 15 years of imprisonment. Nosair's relatives obtained funds to pay for Nosair's defense from Osama bin Laden
.
encouraging acts of violence against US civilian targets, particularly in the New York and New Jersey metropolitan area. The most startling plan, the government charged, was to set off five bombs in 10 minutes, blowing up the United Nations, the Lincoln and Holland tunnels, the George Washington Bridge and a federal building housing the FBI. Government prosecutors showed videotapes of defendants mixing bomb ingredients in a garage before their arrest in 1993. Rahman was arrested on 24 June 1993, along with nine of his followers. On 1 October 1995, he was convicted of seditious conspiracy, and in 1996 was sentenced to life in prison.
Rahman, with the Federal Bureau of Prisons
ID# 34892-054, is located in Butner Federal Medical Center.
in Luxor. In addition to killing women and children, the attackers mutilated a number of bodies and distributed leaflets throughout the scene demanding Rahman’s release.
In 2005, members of Rahman’s legal team, including lawyer Lynne Stewart
, were convicted of facilitating communication between the imprisoned Sheikh and members of the terrorist organization Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya in Egypt.
Sheikh
Not to be confused with sikhSheikh — also spelled Sheik or Shaikh, or transliterated as Shaykh — is an honorific in the Arabic language that literally means "elder" and carries the meaning "leader and/or governor"...
Omar Abdel-Rahman , commonly known in the United States as "The Blind Sheikh", is a blind Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian Muslim
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
leader who is currently serving a life sentence at the Butner Medical Center which is part of the Butner Federal Correctional Institution
Butner Federal Correctional Institution
Federal Correctional Complex, Butner is a U.S. federal prison complex located in Butner, North Carolina, United States, about northwest of Raleigh, the state capital.-Facilities:The complex consists of four facilities:...
in Butner, North Carolina
Butner, North Carolina
Butner is a town in Granville County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 7,591 at the 2010 census]. Butner was managed by the state of North Carolina from 1947 through 2007. A bill passed by the North Carolina General Assembly incorporating the town was signed by Gov. Mike Easley on...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Formerly a resident of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Abdel-Rahman and nine others were convicted of seditious conspiracy
Seditious conspiracy
Seditious conspiracy is a crime under US law.As may be seen from the text above, a crime need only be planned: it need not even be attempted; on 1995 October 1, Omar Abdel-Rahman and nine others were convicted of seditious conspiracy....
, which requires only that a crime be planned, not that it necessarily be attempted. His prosecution grew out of investigations of the World Trade Center 1993 bombings.
Abdel-Rahman was accused of being the leader of Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya
Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya
Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya is an Egyptian Islamist movement, and is considered a terrorist organization by the United States, European Union and Egyptian governments...
(also known as "The Islamic Group"), a militant
Militant
The word militant, which is both an adjective and a noun, usually is used to mean vigorously active, combative and aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in 'militant reformers'. It comes from the 15th century Latin "militare" meaning "to serve as a soldier"...
Islamist movement in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
that is considered a terrorist
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
organization by the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian governments. The group is responsible for many acts of violence, including the November 1997 Luxor massacre
November 1997 Luxor massacre
The Luxor Massacre refers to the killing of 62 people, mostly tourists, that took place on 17 November 1997, at Deir el-Bahri, an archaeological site and major tourist attraction located across the River Nile from Luxor in Egypt....
, in which 58 foreign tourists and four Egyptians were killed.
Youth
Abdel-Rahman was born in the city of Al Gammaliyyah, Dakahlia GovernorateDakahlia Governorate
Dakahlia Governorate is an Egyptian governorate lying north east of Cairo. Its area is about 3,500 km² and it has a population of about 5 million. The capital is Mansoura.-Overview:...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, in 1938. He lost his eyesight at a young age due to childhood diabetes. He studied a Braille
Braille
The Braille system is a method that is widely used by blind people to read and write, and was the first digital form of writing.Braille was devised in 1825 by Louis Braille, a blind Frenchman. Each Braille character, or cell, is made up of six dot positions, arranged in a rectangle containing two...
version of the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
as a child and developed an interest in the works of the Islamic purists Ibn Taymiyah and Sayyid Qutb
Sayyid Qutb
Sayyid Qutb was an Egyptian author, educator, Islamist theorist, poet, and the leading member of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood in the 1950s and '60s....
. After graduating in Qur'anic studies from Al-Azhar University
Al-Azhar University
Al-Azhar University is an educational institute in Cairo, Egypt. Founded in 970~972 as a madrasa, it is the chief centre of Arabic literature and Islamic learning in the world. It is the oldest degree-granting university in Egypt. In 1961 non-religious subjects were added to its curriculum.It is...
in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, the Egyptian government imprisoned him because he was an opponent of the regime. Abdel-Rahman became one of the most prominent and outspoken Muslim clerics to denounce Egypt’s secularism.
Family
Omar has two wives who have borne him 10 children: Aisha Hassan Gouda (7 sons), and A. Zohdi (3 children). His sons include Abdullah, Ahmed, Mohammed Omar Abdel-RahmanMohammed Omar Abdel-Rahman
Mohammed Omar Abdel-Rahman is an Egyptian who is believed to be in United States custody in one of the CIA's "black sites". Also known as "Asadullah"...
and Asim Abdulrahman
Asim Abdulrahman
The son of Omar Abdur Rahman, Asim Abdulrahman was described as "among the closest" of Osama bin Laden's followers in the days following the September 11th attacks in 2001....
.
Prison in Egypt
During the 1970s, Abdel-Rahman developed close ties with two of Egypt’s most militant organizations, Egyptian Islamic Jihad and Al-Gama'a al-IslamiyyaAl-Gama'a al-Islamiyya
Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya is an Egyptian Islamist movement, and is considered a terrorist organization by the United States, European Union and Egyptian governments...
("The Islamic Group"). By the 1980s, he had emerged as the leader of Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya, although he was still revered by followers of Egyptian Islamic Jihad, which at the time was being led by Ayman al-Zawahiri
Ayman al-Zawahiri
Ayman Mohammed Rabie al-Zawahiri is an Egyptian physician, Islamic theologian and current leader of al-Qaeda. He was previously the second and last "emir" of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, having succeeded Abbud al-Zumar in the latter role when Egyptian authorities sentenced al-Zumar to life...
, later to become an Al Qaeda principal. Abdel-Rahman spent three years in Egyptian jails where he was tortured as he awaited trial on charges of issuing a fatwa
Fatwa
A fatwā in the Islamic faith is a juristic ruling concerning Islamic law issued by an Islamic scholar. In Sunni Islam any fatwā is non-binding, whereas in Shia Islam it could be considered by an individual as binding, depending on his or her relation to the scholar. The person who issues a fatwā...
resulting in the 1981 assassination of Anwar Sadat
Anwar Sadat
Muhammad Anwar al-Sadat was the third President of Egypt, serving from 15 October 1970 until his assassination by fundamentalist army officers on 6 October 1981...
by Egyptian Islamic Jihad.
Afghan mujaheddin
Although Abdel-Rahman was not convicted of conspiracy in the Sadat assassination, he was expelled from Egypt following his acquittal. He made his way to AfghanistanAfghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
in the mid-1980s where he contacted his former professor, Abdullah Azzam, co-founder of Maktab al-Khadamat (MAK)
Maktab al-Khadamat
The Maktab al-Khidamat, also Maktab Khadamāt al-Mujāhidīn al-'Arab , also known as the Afghan Services Bureau, is reliably believed to have been founded in 1984 by Abdullah Azzam and Osama bin Laden to raise funds and recruit foreign mujahidin for the war against the Soviets in Afghanistan...
along with Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
. Rahman built a strong rapport with bin Laden during the Afghan war against the Soviets, and following Azzam’s murder in 1989 Rahman assumed control of the international jihadists arm of MAK/Al Qaeda.
In July 1990, Abdel-Rahman went to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to gain control of MAK’s financial and organizational infrastructure in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Activities in the US
Abdel-Rahman was issued a tourist visa to visit the U.S. despite his name being listed on a US State Department terrorist watch list. Rahman entered the United States, in July 1990, via Saudi Arabia, PeshawarPeshawar
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....
, and Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
.
He traveled widely in the United States and Canada. Despite the U.S. support for the mujahideen in Afghanistan, Abdel-Rahman was deeply anti-American and spoke out against it, safe in the knowledge that he was speaking Arabic and unmonitored by any law enforcement agency. He issued a fatwa
Fatwa
A fatwā in the Islamic faith is a juristic ruling concerning Islamic law issued by an Islamic scholar. In Sunni Islam any fatwā is non-binding, whereas in Shia Islam it could be considered by an individual as binding, depending on his or her relation to the scholar. The person who issues a fatwā...
in America that declared lawful the robbing of banks and killing of Jews in America. His sermons condemned Americans as the "descendants of apes and pigs who have been feeding from the dining tables of the Zionists, Communists, and colonialists". He called on Muslims to assail the West, "cut the transportation of their countries, tear it apart, destroy their economy, burn their companies, eliminate their interests, sink their ships, shoot down their planes, kill them on the sea, air, or land".
Preaching at three mosques in the New York City area, Abdel-Rahman was soon surrounded by a core group of devoted followers that included persons who became responsible for the World Trade Center 1993 bombings. One of Rahman's followers, El Sayyid Nosair
El Sayyid Nosair
El Sayyid Nosair is an Egyptian-born American citizen, convicted of involvement in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing...
, was linked to the assassination of Israeli nationalist Rabbi Meir Kahane
Meir Kahane
Martin David Kahane , also known as Meir Kahane , was an American-Israeli rabbi and ultra-nationalist writer and political figure. He was an ordained Orthodox rabbi and later served as a member of the Israeli Knesset...
, founder of the Jewish Defense League
Jewish Defense League
The Jewish Defense League is a Jewish organization whose stated goal is to "protect Jews from antisemitism by whatever means necessary"...
. He was subsequently acquitted of murder but convicted on gun possession charges.
Steven Emerson
Steven Emerson
Steven Emerson, is an American journalist and author, who writes about national security, terrorism, and Islamic extremism.Emerson is the author of six books, and co-author of two more. His television documentary Jihad in America won the 1994 George Polk Award for best Television Documentary, and...
's 1994 television documentary Terrorists Among Us: Jihad in America contains a video of Abdel-Rahman in Detroit calling for jihad against the "infidel".
Nosair later stood trial as a co-conspirator of Rahman. Both men received life sentences for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, conspiracy to use explosives against New York landmarks
New York City landmark bomb plot
The New York City landmark bomb plot was a planned follow-up to the February 1993 World Trade Center bombing designed to inflict mass casualties on American soil by attacking well known landmark targets throughout New York City in the United States. If the attack had been successful, it is likely...
, and plotting to assassinate U.S. politicians. Nosair was convicted of nine counts, including seditious conspiracy
Seditious conspiracy
Seditious conspiracy is a crime under US law.As may be seen from the text above, a crime need only be planned: it need not even be attempted; on 1995 October 1, Omar Abdel-Rahman and nine others were convicted of seditious conspiracy....
, murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
of Kahane in aid of racketeering, attempted murder
Attempted murder
Attempted murder is a crime in England and Wales and Northern Ireland.-Today:In English criminal law, attempted murder is the crime of more than merely preparing to commit unlawful killing and at the same time having a specific intention to cause the death of human being under the Queen's Peace...
in aid of racketeering, attempted murder of a postal police officer, use of a firearm in a murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a murder, use of a firearm in an attempted murder, and possession of a firearm, and received life plus 15 years of imprisonment. Nosair's relatives obtained funds to pay for Nosair's defense from Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
.
Arrest and conviction
After the first World Trade Center bombing in February 1993, the FBI began to investigate Rahman and his followers more closely. With the assistance of an Egyptian informant wearing a listening device, the FBI managed to record Rahman issuing a fatwaFatwa
A fatwā in the Islamic faith is a juristic ruling concerning Islamic law issued by an Islamic scholar. In Sunni Islam any fatwā is non-binding, whereas in Shia Islam it could be considered by an individual as binding, depending on his or her relation to the scholar. The person who issues a fatwā...
encouraging acts of violence against US civilian targets, particularly in the New York and New Jersey metropolitan area. The most startling plan, the government charged, was to set off five bombs in 10 minutes, blowing up the United Nations, the Lincoln and Holland tunnels, the George Washington Bridge and a federal building housing the FBI. Government prosecutors showed videotapes of defendants mixing bomb ingredients in a garage before their arrest in 1993. Rahman was arrested on 24 June 1993, along with nine of his followers. On 1 October 1995, he was convicted of seditious conspiracy, and in 1996 was sentenced to life in prison.
Rahman, with the Federal Bureau of Prisons
Federal Bureau of Prisons
The Federal Bureau of Prisons is a federal law enforcement agency subdivision of the United States Department of Justice and is responsible for the administration of the federal prison system. The system also handles prisoners who committed acts considered felonies under the District of Columbia's...
ID# 34892-054, is located in Butner Federal Medical Center.
Legacy
Abdel-Rahman’s imprisonment has become a rallying point for Islamic militants around the world, including Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. In 1997, members of his group Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya conducted two attacks against European visitors to Egypt, including the massacre of 58 tourists at Deir el-BahriDeir el-Bahri
Deir el-Bahari or Deir el-Bahri is a complex of mortuary temples and tombs located on the west bank of the Nile, opposite the city of Luxor, Egypt....
in Luxor. In addition to killing women and children, the attackers mutilated a number of bodies and distributed leaflets throughout the scene demanding Rahman’s release.
In 2005, members of Rahman’s legal team, including lawyer Lynne Stewart
Lynne Stewart
Lynne Irene Stewart is a former attorney who represented controversial, poor, and often unpopular defendants who was convicted on charges of conspiracy and providing material support to terrorists in 2005, and sentenced to 28 months in prison. Her felony conviction led to her being automatically...
, were convicted of facilitating communication between the imprisoned Sheikh and members of the terrorist organization Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya in Egypt.
Further reading
- Gunaratna, R. 2002 ‘Inside Al Qaeda: Global Network of Terror’. Scribe Publications: Carlton.
- Lance, P. 2003 ‘1000 Years For Revenge: International Terrorism and The FBI’. HarperCollins: New York
External links
- Paul DeRienzo's jail house interview with Rahman, September 1994
- Civil rights attorney convicted in terror trial, CNNCNNCable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, February 14, 2005 - Bin Laden’s 1996 Fatwa PBS.Org
- Smuggling The Sheikh's Messages Smoking Gun archive.
- Sheikh Omar Abdul-Rahman (The Blind Sheikh) Releases Letter from Prison Analysis from the SITE InstituteSITE InstituteThe Search for International Terrorist Entities Intelligence Group is an organization that tracks the online activity of terrorist organizations. The SITE Institute was founded in 2002 by Rita Katz and Josh Devon, who had left the Investigative Project...
. - MIPT Biography