Abu Qatada al-Filistini (Arabic: أبو قتادة الفلسطيني), sometimes called Abu Omar (ابو عمر) is a mujahid (extremist Muslim) who has been accused of terrorist activities by a number of governments^[1]. Under the name Omar Mahmoud Othman (عمر محمود عثمان), he is under worldwide embargo by the United Nations Security Council Committee 1267^[2] for his affiliation with al-Qaeda. He is wanted on terrorism charges in Algeria^[3], the United States, Belgium, Spain, France, Germany, Italy, and his native Jordan^[4]. Arabic ( or just ) is the largest living member of the Semitic language family in terms of speakers. ... Mujahideen (مجاهدين; also transliterated as mujāhidīn, mujahedeen, mujahedin, mujahidin, mujaheddin, etc. ... This article contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ... The United Nations Security Council Committee 1267, also known as the Al-Qaeda and Taliban Sanctions Committee, was established by the United Nations Security Council on October 15, 1999, pursuant to UN Security Council Resolution 1267 concering al-Qaeda and the Taliban and associated individuals and entities. ... Al-Qaeda (Arabic: القاعدة, the foundation or the base) is the name given to a worldwide network of militant Islamist organizations under the leadership of Osama bin Laden. ...

After the liberation of Kuwait from Iraq (which Abu Qatada opposed) he was expelled from Kuwait to Jordan. From there he travelled to the UK in 1993 on a forged UAE passport, and requested asylum on grounds of religious persecution. He was granted asylum the following year. He has been in British custody since his most recent arrest, in August of 2005, shortly after the London transit bombings. A British court ruled on February 26, 2007 that he may be deported to Jordan^[5]. Appeals are pending. Motto God, Nation, Royal Family Anthem Ishy Bilady Capital (and largest city) Abu Dhabi Official languages Arabic Demonym Emirati Government Federal constitutional monarchy  -  President Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahayan  -  Prime Minister Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Establishment December 2, 1971  Area  -  Total 83,600 km² (116th) 32,278 sq mi... Locations of the bombings, overlaid onto a real-path map of the London Underground The 7 July 2005 London bombings (also called the 7/7 bombings) were a series of coordinated terrorist bomb blasts that hit Londons public transport system during the morning rush hour. ... is the 57th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ...

Abu Qatada is a Jordanian national, having been born in Bethlehem in 1960^[6], at which time the West Bank was part of Jordan. Al-Filistini means the Palestinian. Central Bethlehem This article is about the city in the West Bank. ...

Writings and speeches

One of Qatada's books, Islamic Movements and Contemporary Alliances, which is widely cited by Sunni terrorists^{[citation needed]}, argues essentially for no affiliation whatsoever between Muslim and non-Muslim countries.

Dozens of writings and a few audio recordings of Abu Qatada are stored on the Tawhed website, which is al-Qaeda's online library, run by the organization of Abu Qatada's fellow Jordanian Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi (who is the chief cleric of al-Qaeda in Iraq^{[citation needed]}). His writings and speeches have been critically assessed by a contemporary Muslim scholar, Shaykh 'AbdulMaalik ar-Ramadani al-Jaza'iri, in the book Takhlis al-'Ibad min Wahshiyyat Ab'il-Qataad aladhi yu'du ila Qatli'n-Nisa wa Awlad (Jeddah: Maktabah Asalah al-Athariyyah, 1422AH).The Savage Barbarism of Abu Qatada Abu Muhammad Asem al-Maqdisi (Isam Mohammad Taher al-Barqawi) is a Jordanian-Palestinian scholar who was the spiritual mentor for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the current head of al-Qaeda in Iraq. ... Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) is a takfeeri militant group which is playing an active role in the Iraqi insurgency. ...

Terrorist activities, affiliations, and influence

Abu Qatada has been described by Jamal al-Fadl, in his testimony in the Southern District Court of New York on February 6, 2001, as a member of al-Qaeda’s "Fatwa Committee". According to the indictment of the Madrid al-Qaeda cell, Abu Qatada was the spiritual leader of al-Qaeda in Europe, and the spiritual leader of the Armed Islamic Group (GIA), the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), and the Tunisian Combat Group.^[7] (One of Abu Qatada's Tunisian admirers is Sami Essid.)^{[citation needed]} Jamal al-Fadl is a Sudanese militant and associate of Osama bin Laden in the early 1990s. ... is the 37th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ... The Armed Islamic Group (GIA, from French Groupe Islamique Armé; Arabic al-Jamaah al-Islamiyah al-Musallaha) is a militant Islamist group with the declared aim of overthrowing the Algerian government and replacing it with an Islamic state. ... The Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (Arabic: الجماعة السلفية للدعوة والقتال; French: Groupe Salafiste pour la Prédication et le Combat, GSPC; also known as Group for Call and Combat) is a militant Sunni Islamist group which aims to overthrow the Algerian government and institute an Islamic state. ... The Tunisian Combat Group (TCG) or Tunisian Fighting Group is or was a loose network of terrorists who aspire to install an Islamist government in Tunisia. ... Sami bin Khamis bin Salih Essid (Arabic: ) was the head of al-Qaedas Italian cell until his arrest outside Milan in April of 2001. ...

The Middle East Media Research Institute claimed that, in 1997, Abu Qatada called upon muslims to kill the wives and children of Egyptian police and army officers.^[8] The Middle East Media Research Institute, or MEMRI for short Middle East press monitoring organization located in Washington, D.C., with branch offices in Jerusalem, Berlin, London, and Tokyo. ...

While free in the UK Abu Qatada was the editor-in-chief of GIA's Al-Ansar magazine, and contributed fatwas to that magazine authorizing the indiscriminate mass murder of random Algerians. (Mustafa Setmariam Nasar was an editor and contributor at the same time, when he too was in England with political refugee status.)^{[citation needed]} Mustafa Setmariam Nasar, also transliterated as Mustafa Sitmaryan Nassar (Arabic: مصطفى ستمريم ناصر), (born ca. ...

Abu Qatada is reported by the British press^[9][10] to have been a preacher or advisor to al-Qaeda terrorists Zacarias Moussaoui and Richard Reid. This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone and/or spelling. ... Richard Colvin Reid (aka Abdul Raheem) (born August 12, 1973), also known as the shoe bomber, is an individual convicted on charges of terrorism and currently serving a life sentence in the United States for attempting to detonate a commercial aircraft in-flight using plastic explosives contained in his shoes. ...

When questioned in the UK in February 2001, Abu Qatada was in possession of £170,000 cash, including £805 in an envelope labelled "For the Mujahedin in Chechnya". He was not charged.^[9]

Abu Qatada has been affiliated with Mohammed Omran, who heads the fundamentalist Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jemaah organization in Melbourne.^{[citation needed]}

Nineteen audio cassettes of Abu Qatada's sermons were found in the apartment of Mohamed Atta when it was searched after the September 11, 2001 attacks, which he led^[11]. Mohamed Atta ( transliteration: ) was a terrorist who participated in the hijacking of American Airlines Flight 11, the first plane to crash into the World Trade Center during the September 11, 2001 attacks. ... A sequential look at United Flight 175 crashing into the south tower of the World Trade Center The September 11, 2001 attacks (often referred to as 9/11—pronounced nine eleven or nine one one) consisted of a series of coordinated terrorist[1] suicide attacks upon the United States, predominantly...

Legal status

In early 2004, an immigration appeals committee, convened to decide whether Abu Qatada should be allowed at large at that time, ruled in part, "The appellant was heavily involved, indeed was at the centre in the United Kingdom of terrorist activities associated with al-Qaeda" and remarked also on "his passionate exposition of jihad and the spread of Islam to take over the world."^[12] But soon thereafter, the Law Lords struck down the basis on which he was being held, and he was again released.^[13]

Jordan sentenced Abu Qatada in absentia in 2000 to life imprisonment^[6] for his involvement in a plot to bomb tourists who would be in Jordan to attend the Millenium celebrations.

Offer to help negotiate the release of BBC journalist Alan Johnston

BBC journalist Alan Johnston was kidnapped, in Gaza by muslim extremists on March 13, 2007.^[14][15][16] Johnston's captors demanded the release of dozens of captives, including Abu Qatada. The British Broadcasting Corporation, which is usually known as the BBC, is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world in terms of audience numbers, employing 26,000 staff in the United Kingdom alone and with a budget of more than GB£4 billion. ... Alan Graham Johnston (born May 17, 1962) is a British journalist working for the BBC. He has been the BBCs correspondent in Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and the Gaza Strip. ... The Holy Land or Palestine Showing not only the Old Kingdoms of Judea and Israel but also the 12 Tribes Distinctly, and Confirming Even the Diversity of the Locations of their Ancient Positions and Doing So as the Holy Scriptures Indicate, a geographic map from the studio of Tobiae Conradi... is the 72nd day of the year (73rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ...

Abu Qatada has offered to help negotiate Johnston's release.^[14][15][16]

References