Ohio terrorism investigations heighten paranoia about Arabs and Muslims

Two high-profile federal investigations -- one that allegedly thwarted a plot to blow up a Columbus mall -- have heightened the suspicious pall that shadows Ohio Arabs.

The cases and their attention have helped strengthen the post-9/11 paranoia about Arab-Americans and Muslims held by many citizens. So how extensive is the internal threat from the Islamic community in Ohio?

"Common sense tells you that a majority of Arab Muslims and Christians sympathize with terrorists such as Hezbolah and Hamas," argues Stephen Shwartz, a Washington, D.C.-based expert on Islam who writes policy papers for several high-profile federal agencies such as the Department of Justice. He also authored "The Two Faces of Islam: The House of Sa'ud from Tradition to Terror."

Schwartz, who was raised Jewish but converted to "Sufism," a "peace-oriented" form of Islam, maintains that it's safe to say that an eye-opening number of Ohio Arab Muslims and Christians have financially supported terrorist groups indirectly through a number of American-based charity groups.

Most of the groups, he believes, are targeting Israel.

The obvious internal threat, however, counters Amal Wahdan, publisher and editor of The Arab Gazette in Cleveland, is the one against American Arabs, including those Arab Americans who aren't even Muslim.

"It's really, really a difficult situation right now," she says. "(Arab Americans) are afraid to participate fully in society because they are being scrutinized."

"The media are also playing a very significant role in polarizing (Arabs from the rest of America)," adds Wahdah. "They're not playing a fair game."

The following cases partly explain why Ohio has been experiencing an elevated fear quotient with regard to Arabs and Muslims.

Last June, the November arrest of 32-year-old Somalia native Nuradin Abdi was made public. He was indicted on federal terrorism charges for allegedly trying to blow up a Columbus-area mall.

According to law-enforcement statements in court documents, Abdi had been arrested the early morning of the day after Thanksgiving 2003. His alleged target, the relatively new, suburban Polaris "Fashion Mall," with a capacity of 80,000, near Columbus.

His family called the arrest a sham and contended that Abdi, who once owned a Columbus store-front that sold cell phones and service, was being set up. His bizarre behavior resulted from the after effects of possible solitary confinement and psychological abuse, they said.

Also in June, more bad news arose with the conviction of Ohio's most popular imam, which is equivalent to a priest. Palestinian-born Imam Fawaz Damra of the Islamic Center of Cleveland had been caught apparently red-handed.

On a video-tape seized in another federal terror investigation, Damra states during a 1989 speech: "The first principle is that terrorism, and terrorism alone, is the path to liberation... If what they mean by jihad is terrorism, then we are terrorists."

Pictures of Damra on the Internet show a warm and father-like leader who was said to be determined to build a bridge between Jews and Arabs.

Federal authorities and prosecutors begged to differ. They charged that Damra was a supporter of the Intifadah (uprising) against Israel and helped raise thousands of dollars for Palestinian resistance cells.

The Islamic Center of Cleveland refused to respond to any phone calls from this reporter. Damra was charged with immigration violations because they're easier to prosecute than accusations of terrorism. With his sentencing scheduled for Sept. 9, he's facing deportation and possible prison time.

Schwartz, who monitored the federal case against Imam Damra, contends that the conviction was an open window to the "largely hidden world of Islam in America."

He argues that Imam Damra espoused Wahhabism beliefs, a radical form of Islam embraced by many Saudi Arabians including Osama bin Laden. Wahhabism, says Schwartz, is a fundamentalist branch of Islam that adheres to a literal interpretation of the Koran. Strict Wahhabists believe that those who don't practice Islam are heathens and enemies.

A number of Washington policy experts such as Schwartz are continuing to promote the contention that Wahhabism is the fuel for the burning anti-Western sentiment embraced by violent Islamists.

As for the homefront, Schwartz says, "Wahhabism is the most dominant form of Islam in the United States." This is due in part, he says, to where many American mosques receive funding -- Saudi Arabia.

"Wahhabism teaches separatism and excludism, and a disdain for other religions," he says. "It teaches that Islam is the best religion. It also says that Jews should not be trusted because they have deceived us before, and that you don't have to honor your agreements with Christians."

Schwartz says the way Damra held himself during his case was a "classic example of Wahhabism attitude."

Several representatives of Ohio mosques dispute some of Schwartz's claims. For starters, says Zaid Akir of the Athens Islamic Center, his center certainly hasn't received any funding from sources outside Athens.

"The Islamic center has been self-sufficient since its conception (in the mid-'80s)," says Akir. The center, he added, is used as a boarding house. With small donations from within the community, it has kept the doors open to Muslims who travel to Athens.

Akir also questions the characterization of Wahhabism as a radical version of Islam that inspires to spill the blood of non-Islamists. Like other prominent Ohio Muslims, Akir said he's only vaguely aware of Wahhabism's influence here in America.

Akir says his Saudi friends say the movement was inspired by Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab during the late 18th century. He is considered the first modern Islamic fundamentalist who believed Islam was headed in a heretical direction. "I understand he was a very good Muslim," says Akir. "My Saudi colleagues say some have applied (Wahhabism) in the wrong way. They have taken it to the extreme." -- by John Lasker