Even at the time, the Roeper position required a certain suspension of disbelief. John Allen Muhammad was a Muslim, a supporter of al-Qaida’s actions, a man who marked the events of Sept. 11 by changing his name to “Muhammad” and a man who marked the first anniversary of Sept. 11 by buying the Chevy Caprice subsequently used in the sniper attacks. Coincidence? Of course! According to Richard Roeper, it’s only a handful of conservative kooks who’d even think otherwise.
Interesting item from the London Evening Standard last week:
“Evidence has emerged linking Washington sniper John Allen Muhammad with an Islamic terror group. Muhammad has been connected to Al Fuqra, a cult devoted to spiritual purification through violence. The group has been linked to British shoe bomber Richard Reid and the murderers of American journalist Daniel Pearl in Pakistan last year.”
Hmm. Might be nothing. Might be just another coincidence. Lot of them around at the moment — like that Saudi Cabinet minister who coincidentally stayed in the same hotel on the night of Sept. 10 as some of the 9/11 terrorists. Just one of those things. But the authorities seem to be taking the links more seriously than when they first surfaced a year ago.
Here’s another coincidence: The guy who heads up the organization that certifies Muslim chaplains for the U.S. military was arrested at Dulles Airport last month and charged with illegally accepting money from Libya. The month before that, Abdurahman Alamoudi was caught by the British trying to smuggle some $340,000 into Syria.
Think about that for a minute. Ten years ago, at an American military base, at a ceremony to install the first imam in this country’s armed forces, it was Alamoudi who presented him with his new insignia of a silver crescent star. And the guy’s a bagman for terrorists.
Read the whole thing. Yep, the Saudi connection is looking clearer all the time. And here’s the John Muhammad / Al Fuqra story that Steyn mentions. Stay tuned. (Via Bill Quick.)
UPDATE: Read this, too.