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Twisted Tales of Terrorism & Blind Politicians
By Douglas J. Hagmann, Director
July 22, 2005: It appears that one of the “masterminds” of the London bombings that killed 56 people and injured hundreds more is none other than Haroon Rashid Aswat, a former spokesman for Muslim cleric Abu Hamza, who is facing terrorism-related charges in the UK. Aswat, now 30, lived in a Centr al Seattle mosque in late 1999 and early 2000 as he and other Islamic terrorists searched for suitable locations for a possible terrorist training camp to be established in Bly , Oregon . Aswat arrived in Oregon in 1999 when James Ujaama, a former Seattle activist, tried to set up a jihad training camp in rural Oregon . Ujaama was based in London , where he too had become a follower of radical cleric Abu Hamza, an outspoken al -Qaeda supporter. Interestingly, Ujaama spent a lot of time performing community work that was so highly regarded that Seattle once gave him a key to the city; Washington state lawmakers declared June 10, 1994, James Ujaama Day.
Despite his designation, Ujaama was eventually indicted by feder al authorities in Seattle in 2002 for offering support to the T al iban. He later cooperated with government authorities to build their case against Abu Hamza. Because of his cooperation, he was sentenced to only 24 months and is now living in the Seattle area “trying to put his life back together,” according to a family member.
Aswat, on the other hand, was names as unindicted co-conspirator number three in the Ujaama indictment, according to feder al sources said. Meanwhile, the FBI thought Aswat was killed fighting in the war in Afghanistan . After leaving the Bly ranch, however, Aswat lived in Seattle for a few months in early 2000 in a now-defunct storefront mosque in Central Seattle called Dar-us-Salaam. Later that year, Dar-us-S al aam was damaged in an earthquake and shut down.
Investigation established that Aswat is perhaps not dead as suspected by the FBI, and had made as many as 20 cell phone c al ls to two of the bombers in the days leading up to the July 7, 2005 bombings in London , including one just hours before the bombs went off. He was just arrested by Pakistani authorities while carrying a belt packed with explosives, cash and a false ID.
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