Word: padilla
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...Padilla began a 10-year odyssey, moving ever closer to radical elements within Islam. In South Florida, as many as 60,000 Muslims attend two dozen mosques and religious sites, spanning the spectrum of ideology. A subculture of extremism has taken hold in certain pockets. "Hamas and Hizballah have a wide network here," says a prominent Islamic community leader. "We have been taking a nap on this issue for far too long. These are people who are convinced that the West is evil and America is 'Darul Harb,'" the Place of War. The community leader, who requested anonymity, describes...
...Padilla attended at least two mosques in the Broward County area that have since been linked to extremist activity. One is the Darul Uloom Islamic Institute in Pembroke Pines. Last month two men in their 20s who had frequented the Darul Uloom mosque were arrested on federal charges of plotting to blow up electrical power stations in South Florida as part of a "holy war" against the U.S. Maulana Shafayat, imam of the Darul Uloom mosque, says he condemns extremist ideology. But, he concedes, "a certain percentage [of converts] do get radical. They are mostly less educated, and they...
...Padilla converted formally to Islam at al-Iman mosque in Sunrise. The imam at the mosque at that time, who would have overseen Padilla's conversion, was Raed Awad--the former Florida fund raiser for the Holy Land Foundation, a Muslim charity that the Bush Administration has linked to Hamas. In December the Texas-based offices of the foundation were raided and shuttered by the Treasury Department. Attempts to reach Awad, who has since left the mosque, were unsuccessful. Awad has denied any link between the charity and Hamas. Law-enforcement sources say the FBI is interested in learning more...
Around the time of his conversion, Padilla legally changed his name to Ibrahim. (No surname is listed on court documents, so TIME is using his birth name.) In 1996 he married Stultz, who had also converted. He started wearing a red-and-white kaffiyeh, or headdress, and expensive watches and clothes, although he was unemployed for much of the time. In 1998 Padilla suddenly left his wife and moved to Egypt, telling acquaintances at al-Iman mosque that he was going to learn Arabic. Padilla has since told investigators that his travels were sponsored by "friends" interested in his education...
...month later, he hinted to his FBI and CIA interrogators that he had talked to people who wanted to put together a dirty bomb, says a U.S. official. He provided no details, but agents started comparing intelligence as well as material from safe houses they had raided. Out popped Padilla's name, the official says. They then matched the name to a passport photo of Padilla and checked the identification with Abu Zubaydah, who confirmed it. The chase...