Virginia Jihad Network
Encyclopedia
The Virginia jihad network was a network of jihadists centered in Northern Virginia
.
Ali al-Timimi was convicted in 2005 of exhorting his followers to join the Taliban and fight US troops. The young men played paintball in 2000 and 2001 as a means of training for holy war around the globe. Found guilty during 2003-4 of various terrorism-related offences were Muhammed Aatique, Hammad Abdur-Raheem, Ibrahim Ahmed Al-Hamdi, Seifullah Chapman, Khwaja Hasan, Masoud Khan, Yong Kwon, Randall Todd Royer and Donald Surratt.
Ali Asad Chandia
was a third-grade teacher at the Al-Huda School, of Dar-us-Salaam mosque
, in College Park, Maryland
.
Chandia provided material support to Lashkar-e-Taiba
, a Pakistan
i terrorist organization, and assisted the Network. On June 6, 2006, a jury unanimously found Chandia guilty. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison, with three years of supervised release at the end of his incarceration, on three counts of conspiracy and providing material support to Lashkar-e-Taiba on August 30, 2006.
Royer acknowledged that he committed his offenses to help other jihadists gain entry to the Lashkar-e-Taiba
training camp following a meeting on September 16, 2001, at which an unindicted conspirator said that the September 11, 2001 attacks
, would be used as an excuse to trigger a global war against Islam, and that the time had come for them to go abroad and, if possible, join the mujahideen
. Three other individuals attending that meeting, Yong Kwon, Muhammed Aatique, and Khwaja Hasan—all of whom pled guilty—stated that they went to the Lashkar-e-Taiba camp to obtain combat training for the purpose engaging in violent jihad in Afghanistan
against the American troops that they expected would soon invade that country. Al-Hamdi also admitted to carrying a rocket-propelled grenade in furtherance of a conspiracy to undertake a military operation against India
.
Khan, Chapman and Hammad Abdur-Raheem all were convicted of conspiring to provide material support to Lashkar-e-Taiba, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, and to attack India in violation of the Neutrality Act
, as well as of various firearms related offenses, for conduct that spanned from 2000 to 2003.
On January 13, 2009, Yong Ki Kwon testified by video link in the Sydney trial of five men accused of planning a terrorist attack in Australia.
A 2011 NPR
report claimed some of the people associated with this group were imprisoned in a highly restrictive Communication Management Unit
.
Northern Virginia
Northern Virginia consists of several counties and independent cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia, in a widespread region generally radiating southerly and westward from Washington, D.C...
.
Ali al-Timimi was convicted in 2005 of exhorting his followers to join the Taliban and fight US troops. The young men played paintball in 2000 and 2001 as a means of training for holy war around the globe. Found guilty during 2003-4 of various terrorism-related offences were Muhammed Aatique, Hammad Abdur-Raheem, Ibrahim Ahmed Al-Hamdi, Seifullah Chapman, Khwaja Hasan, Masoud Khan, Yong Kwon, Randall Todd Royer and Donald Surratt.
Ali Asad Chandia
Ali Asad Chandia
Ali Asad Chandia was a third-grade teacher at the Al-Huda School, of Dar-us-Salaam mosque, in College Park, Maryland in the USA....
was a third-grade teacher at the Al-Huda School, of Dar-us-Salaam mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
, in College Park, Maryland
College Park, Maryland
College Park is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, USA. The population was 30,413 at the 2010 census. It is best known as the home of the University of Maryland, College Park, and since 1994 the city has also been home to the "Archives II" facility of the U.S...
.
Chandia provided material support to Lashkar-e-Taiba
Lashkar-e-Taiba
Lashkar-e-Taiba – also transliterated as Lashkar-i-Tayyaba, Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, Lashkar-i-Taiba, Lashkar Taiba or LeT – is one of the largest and most active militant Islamist terrorist organizations in South Asia, operating mainly from Pakistan.It was founded by Hafiz Muhammad...
, a Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
i terrorist organization, and assisted the Network. On June 6, 2006, a jury unanimously found Chandia guilty. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison, with three years of supervised release at the end of his incarceration, on three counts of conspiracy and providing material support to Lashkar-e-Taiba on August 30, 2006.
Royer acknowledged that he committed his offenses to help other jihadists gain entry to the Lashkar-e-Taiba
Lashkar-e-Taiba
Lashkar-e-Taiba – also transliterated as Lashkar-i-Tayyaba, Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, Lashkar-i-Taiba, Lashkar Taiba or LeT – is one of the largest and most active militant Islamist terrorist organizations in South Asia, operating mainly from Pakistan.It was founded by Hafiz Muhammad...
training camp following a meeting on September 16, 2001, at which an unindicted conspirator said that the September 11, 2001 attacks
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
, would be used as an excuse to trigger a global war against Islam, and that the time had come for them to go abroad and, if possible, join the mujahideen
Mujahideen
Mujahideen are Muslims who struggle in the path of God. The word is from the same Arabic triliteral as jihad .Mujahideen is also transliterated from Arabic as mujahedin, mujahedeen, mudžahedin, mudžahidin, mujahidīn, mujaheddīn and more.-Origin of the concept:The beginnings of Jihad are traced...
. Three other individuals attending that meeting, Yong Kwon, Muhammed Aatique, and Khwaja Hasan—all of whom pled guilty—stated that they went to the Lashkar-e-Taiba camp to obtain combat training for the purpose engaging in violent jihad in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
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...
against the American troops that they expected would soon invade that country. Al-Hamdi also admitted to carrying a rocket-propelled grenade in furtherance of a conspiracy to undertake a military operation against India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
Khan, Chapman and Hammad Abdur-Raheem all were convicted of conspiring to provide material support to Lashkar-e-Taiba, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, and to attack India in violation of the Neutrality Act
Neutrality Act
Neutrality Act may refer to:* Proclamation of Neutrality by President George Washington in 1793* Neutrality Act of 1794, outlaws military operations against nations with which the U.S. is at peace; still in force in amended form...
, as well as of various firearms related offenses, for conduct that spanned from 2000 to 2003.
On January 13, 2009, Yong Ki Kwon testified by video link in the Sydney trial of five men accused of planning a terrorist attack in Australia.
A 2011 NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
report claimed some of the people associated with this group were imprisoned in a highly restrictive Communication Management Unit
Communication Management Unit
Communication Management Unit is a recent designation for a self-contained group within a facility in the United States Federal Bureau of Prisons that severely restricts, manages and monitors all outside communication of inmates in the unit.-Origins:As part of the Bush Administration's War on...
.