Terrorist organization Incidents | Asian Attackers and Terrorists | Syrian rebel
October 17, 2013 24-year-old Sinh Vinh Ngo Nguyen of Garden Grove in Southern California was arrested and charged with attempting to join al-Qaida. He was charged with lying on a U.S. passport application to aid international terrorism was planning to travel to Pakistan. He was found with a fake passport and had recently traveled to Lebanon and Syria to help the Free Syrian Army.
Source:
I'm literally having a blast': What Californian Muslim ... - Daily Mail
www.dailymail.co.uk/.../Im-literally-having-blast-What-Californian-Musl...
http://www.newenglishreview.org/blog_display.cfm/blog_id/50679
the Nguyen/Ghannoum arrest is the third such Al Qaeda connection in California. It noted:
Nguyen is not the first Orange County link to the group. Adam Gadahn, who once lived as Adam Pearlman, is a prominent translator and spokesman for the group and has been charged in his absence with treason. A relative of Osama bin Laden's former bodyguard was located in Tustin in 2009.
Nguyen/Ghannoum is a resident of Garden Grove, California which also has a major Mosque in Orange County, the Islamic Society of Orange County (ISOC). The ISOC Religious Director is Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi, who was alleged to have facilitated the conversion of Adam Gadahn to Islam whose subsequent radicalization lead him to become the chief spokesperson for Al Qaeda and charged with treason. Dr. Siddiqi received a PhD from Harvard University in Comparative Religion. Siddiqi is a past President of the Islamic Society of North America. He currently is President of the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California and Chairman of the Fiqh (Islamic Law) Council of North America. He has been in the forefront of Muslim-Christian and Jewish interreligious dialogue and received awards from the National Council of Churches and National Council of Christians and Jews. Siddiqi is President of President of the Academy of Judaic-Christian and Islamic Studies at the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA). As noted on the ISOC website:
In September 2001 on the National Day of Prayer and Remembrance he was invited by President George Bush to lead a Muslim Prayer at the Interfaith Prayer Service at Washington National Cathedral. In September 2006 he was again invited by President Bush to lead an interfaith prayer on the 5th Anniversary of 9/11 at Ground Zero in New York.
According to an Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT) report, Saddiqui as Chairman of Fiqh had promoted a Fatwa against terrorism introduced at a 2007National Press Conference by an interreligious group. The IPT report noted that in 1992 Saddiqui has translated fundamentalist views on Jihad, of the views of radical Islamic Blind Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman currently serving a life time federal conviction for his role in organizing the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and the absolute Islamic claim to Jerusalem, the Jewish nation of Israel’s eternal capital.
When contacted by sources about the suspect Nguyen/Ghannoum, Siddiqi expressed condemnation of terrorism, denied any involvement with the suspect
Orange County Register report had more on the background of Nguyen/Ghannoum:
Nguyen lived with his parents, two sisters and two brothers in Garden Grove; another brother lives in Nevada and serves with the Army. He was raised Catholic but began attending mosques as he sought an understanding of God; he converted to Islam about two years ago, said his sister, Minh Ngoc Nguyen.
He decided to go to Syria after hearing about the civil war and suffering there, his sister said. “He said that he wanted to protect his brothers,” she said. “He would want to help other people.”
He left in December. In Face book posts, he described traveling at night over mountains with little more than a backpack and passport, under threat of sniper fire. “Beside the unexpected mortar shells, tank shells, and daily heavy machine gun rounds, life here is chill,” he posted in January.
Sinh Vinh Ngo Nguyen's younger brother spoke Friday afternoon in front of his family home.
"He was not part of al-Qaida,” Dinh Nguyen, 18, said.
Dinh said his brother spent several months in Lebanon. He estimates his brother was there from late last year to the spring of this year.
"He wanted to view more of the religious things. First-hand-experience."
Dinh said FBI agents searched the room he shared with his brother, and they confiscated his cell phone and computer. State records show he was licensed to carry a firearm as a security guard.
His sister said he was in Syria to study the Quran and help villagers but was so close to the fighting that he couldn’t avoid seeing it. On Facebook, though, he claimed to be helping Syrian freedom fighters. He claimed his “first confirmed kill” in early February and added: “So pumped to get more!!” In April, he posted a picture of a blood-soaked man, “A Dear Brother of mine,” and described losing five other comrades in a fight to seize an airport. [Note the pictures of friends in Homs, Syria of Nguyen/Ghannoum in Syria on hisFacebook page].
He returned to Orange County in time to see his sister graduate from Cal State Fullerton this spring. In one of his most recent Facebook posts, from August, he wrote, “I have so many regrets of leaving my brothers and sisters who are still suffering over there.”
His sister said FBI agents awakened the family Friday morning and questioned them. She said they did not explain why Nguyen was being arrested and charged in connection with terrorism.
“That’s what I would like to know, too,” she said. “You can’t erase that stigma. I think it’s fairly too soon for an organization (such as the FBI) to put a label like that. … I think that they need a more thorough investigation.”
SoCal Al-Qaida Support Suspect Arrested at Bus Station | NBC ...
Oct 12, 2013 - Sinh Vinh Ngo Nguyen, also known as Hasan Abu Omar Ghannoum, was arrested at a bus station Friday morning as he attempted to board a ...dictment accused Nguyen of "knowingly attempting to provide material support to al-Qaida." He also faces a charge of making false statements on a passport application. Nguyen, a United States citizen, allegedly lied on the passport application "in order to facilitate an act of international terrorism."
Californian Muslim convert, Hasan Abu Omar Ghannoum, Al-Qaeda ...
breakingnews.sy/en/article/27023.html
California Muslim taken off a terror-bound bus, charged with aiding ...
atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/.../california-muslim-taken-off-a-terror-bo...
The LA Times keeps referring to this jihadist by his birth name. He is a Muslim convert, Hasan Abu Omar Ghannoum. Respect it, LA Times!
As I wrote earlier in a post about a French Muslim carrying out a homicide bombing in Syria, this worldwide war is not about nationality, ethnicity, colour, or income level -- it is an ideological war transcending borders, education, and money. It is jihad. Period.It's a question of piety. Reality, meet narrative. Boom."Little Saigon man suspected of aiding Al Qaeda" LA Times, October 11, 2013 (thanks to Dianne)Sihn Vinh Ngo Nguyen, a convert to Islam, is pulled from a Mexico-bound bus and arrested. He's been indicted on two counts.A Little Saigon resident was pulled off a Mexico-bound bus in Santa Ana and arrested Friday by federal officials who said he was aiding Al Qaeda and planned to become a foot soldier for the terrorist group.Sinh Vinh Ngo Nguyen, who changed his name to Hasan Abu Omar Ghannoum when he converted to Islam, was indicted on two counts of trying to support Al Qaeda and making false statements on his passport, according to an indictment made public Friday in federal court in Santa Ana.
Man suspected of helping al-Qaida appearing in court in Santa Ana ...
www.ocregister.com/articles/santa-530681-grove-qaida.html
O.C. Man Arrested, Charged With Support to al-Qaida | KTLA 5
ktla.com/2013/10/.../o-c-man-arrested-charged-with-supporting-al-qaida/
Hasan Abu Omar Ghannoum - Bio, News, Photos - Washington Times
www.washingtontimes.com › Topics
Californian Muslim convert, Hasan Abu Omar Ghannoum, Al-Qaeda ...
pakistan.shafaqna.com/.../14341-californian-muslim-convert-hasan-abu-...
abu omar ghannoum » ADL Blogs
blog.adl.org/tags/abu-omar-ghannoum
California Arrest Underscores Ongoing Concern Over Americans Joining Al Qaeda Abroad
Update — October 18, 2013: Arrest in Long Island highlights continuing lure of terror groups abroad.An Orange County man was arrested on Friday for allegedly providing material support to Al Qaeda. The arrest underscores ongoing concerns over American citizens joining terrorist groups abroad and Syria in particular.Sinh Vinh Ngo Nguyen, also known as Hasan Abu Omar Ghannoum, reportedly traveled to Syria in December, 2012, and fought against the Assad regime. While the indictment against Nguyen does not specially mention his travel to Syria, he reportedly left comments on what appears to be his Facebook page indicating his presence in the country between December 2012 and April or May 2013.“I’m doing well in Syria…having a blast here, and I mean literally” read one comment. In another, Nguyen apparently “confirmed his first kill” and expressed eagerness for more. In April, he posted an image of a dead fighter whom he called “A Dear Brother of mine.”Nguyen, who reportedly returned to the U.S around May 2013, was arrested while attempting to board a bus to Mexico. He is charged with attempting “to provide material support and resources, that is, services and personnel, namely himself,” to al Qaeda, as well as making false statements on a passport application. It is not clear why he planned to travel to Mexico.Since 2007, over 50 American citizens and permanent residents have been arrested or charged in connection with attempts to join terrorist groups abroad, including Al Shabaab andAl Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. An increasing number of Americans have been attracted to the conflict in Syria and have attempted to join Jabhat al-Nusrah, an alias for Al Qaeda in Iraq.Nguyen, a Muslim convert, is licensed as a security guard and was training to be a truck driver.His purported Facebook page indicates strong interest in weapons, including posts about his favorite weapons and an image of a “commando style” rifle that served as his Facebook profile picture last winter.
Family paints different picture of terrorist suspect
Sinh Vinh Ngo Nguyen was raised a Catholic, continued to attend Mass after he converted to Islam and never supported Al Qaeda, a brother says.
Published October 17, 2013 Associated Press SANTA ANA, CALIF. – Court documents indicate a Southern California man charged with attempting to join al-Qaida and lying on a U.S. passport application to aid international terrorism was planning to travel to Pakistan before he was arrested.
..amily members, though, painted a far different picture, that of a faith-driven man who was raised a Catholic, once spent hours talking with Mormon missionaries and converted to Islam a year ago.
They described Sinh Nguyen as a thoughtful person who lived at home, continued to attend Mass with his mother and had become more settled once he explored the teachings of different religions.
"He never supported Al Qaeda," an older brother,
...Two Facebook pages appear to be owned by Nguyen. Both use the name Hasan Abu Omar Ghannoum and one has photos that appear to be of Nguyen. One of the posts documents a trip he made last year to Lebanon and a crossing late last year into Syria, where he remained for several months.
The Facebook descriptions recount traveling across difficult terrain, preparing to "fight against Assad and his minions" and avoiding snipers before arriving at a village in central Syria in December.
"I got my first confirmed kill about two weeks ago," a post dated Feb. 4 said. "So pumped to get more."
Sinh Vinh Ngo Nguyen Ninjapundit terrorism
100 12/24/2013
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