- OPEN SOURCE US/1; MemberCONTRIBUTIONS
By: Anthony Kimery and W. Scott Malone
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BlackNET EXCLUSIVE: Al Qaeda Drone HIT-LIST, Names NAMED... |
Controversial Florida Pastor Terry Jones, who achieved notoriety earlier this year when he enraged Muslims by burning a copy of the Koran following a mock trial by his church that found the Islamic holy book quilty of crimes against humanity, says he was the victim of a mysterious hit-and-run assault Saturday afternoon.
Jones received scores of death threats in response to his burning of the Koran, and more recently his name appeared on a so-called "hit list" of infidels who should be killed that was drawn up by members of an Al Qaeda-linked Internet chat room for jihadists.
The alleged hit-and-run of Jones was announced in a press release issued by Stand Up America Now, a group Jones helped found. Local law enforcement confirmed that the alleged incident had been reported, and that they were taking it seriously.
Jo
nes' problems began when he burned the Koran in March. He told ABC News on April 4 that "right now, we have a little over 300 threats; today, ten threats have come in."
ABC News also reported that the FBI had learned that Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed international terrorist organization, had offered $2.4 million for Jones’ murder.
An FBI intelligence bulletin further stressed that "the FBI assesses with high confidence that, as with past incidents perceived as acts of desecration against Islam, extremist actors will continue to threaten or attempt to harm the leaders, organizers, or attendees" of the event at which Jones' burned the Koran.
Within months of his burning of the Koran, Jones’ name appeared on an Al Qaeda-inspired “hit list” of 58 persons that included top military and corporate leaders who members of Al Qaeda-linked jihadist forums deemed to be enemies of Islam who must be killed.
Jones is Senior Pastor of the Gainesville, Florida-based Dove World Outreach Center. The church describes itself as a "New Testament, charismatic, non-denominational church that believes in the whole Bible and that we are to act in response to the word of God in order to change the times we are living in."
Jones orginally inflamed Muslims worldwide and provoked the scorn of President Barack Obama and top members of his administration when he announced last fall that he planned to burn hundreds of copies of the Muslim holy book on the 9th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attack in an event he called "International Burn-a-Koran Day."
In Afghanistan, at least one Muslim protester was killed and several others wounded during a demonstration by an estimated 10,000 persons outside a NATO base in Faizabad where protestors burned an effigy of Jones and the American flag. Protestors in other parts of the country beat an effigy of Jones with their shoes.
Eventually, demonstrations by thousands of angry Muslims erupted across the country, including in the capital of Kabul, and some threatened to attack US bases.
Signs displayed by some of the protestors in Afghanistan read, "America Don't Test Our Patience," and, "America Beware."
In the wake of the widespread condemnation of his plan, though, Jones stepped back from the mass burning and declared that his church would never incinerate any copies of the Koran.
"The Koran was found guilty and a copy was burned inside the [church] building," the church's blog stated.
At the conclusion of the trial, the church declared "the Koran has been accused of four different crimes against humanity:
- "The Koran is charged with the training and promoting of terrorist activities around the world. To that charge the Koran has been found guilty;
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- "The Koran is charged with the death, rape, and torture of people worldwide whose only crime is ‘not being of Islamic faith.’ To this charge the Koran has been found guilty; and
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- "The Koran is charged with crimes against women, against minorities, against Christians, and with the promoting of prejudice and racism against anyone who is not a Moslem. To this charge, the Koran has been found guilty.
“So, in accordance with our courtroom law, and having the example of American law, the Koran must be punished," Jones declared.
The burning of the Koran immediately provoked violent protests in Pakistan and Afghanistan, where an attack on the United Nations Assistance Mission in Mazar-i-Sharif reportedly killed 12 people, including seven UN employees.
Obama had said when Jones announced his International Burn-a-Koran Day on 9/11 that "you could have serious violence in places like Pakistan or Afghanistan," and "could increase the recruitment of individuals who'd be willing to blow themselves up in American cities, or European cities."
Counterterrorism officials told Homeland Security Today they weren't at all surprised that Jones' name appeared on the Al Qaeda-linked “hit list" that was the subject of numerous state and federal bulletins circulated in June to federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.
Other non-corporate, non-military persons on the hit list are executives of the Washington, DC-based Middle East Media Research Institute – a mostly Muslim media monitoring organization that was co-founded by a former colonel in Israeli military intelligence - and the conservative leaning think tank, Middle East Forum.
Although law enforcement authorities said there's no evidence to indicate Jones' alleged hit-and-run is related to any of the death threats that have been made against him, plots by jihadists linked to Al Qaeda to kill infidels they believe blasphemed Islam aren't uncommon, and have been on the rise in recent years.
For example, Dutch filmaker Theodoor "Theo" van Gogh was killed in November 2004 by a Dutch-Moroccan Muslim in retaliation for defaming Islam in a movie that criticized the treatment of women in Islam. The movie, Submission, outraged Muslims.
There also have been attempted assassinations of Dutch cartoonist Kurt Westergaard for having depicted Prophet Mohammed in 12 editorial cartoons published in the Danish newspaper, Jyllands-Posten, in September 2005. One of the cartoons (shown at right), unflatteringly depicted Mohammed as a terrorist.
Under Islamic law, it is illegal to depict the Prophet Mohammed in any image, and is a crime punishable by death. It's especially egregious for infidels to depict Mohammed or to otherwise blasphemy him.
According to Stand Up America Now’s press release, Jones suffered only minor injuries from the alleged hit-and-run, which the group said was reported to the Florida Highway Patrol and FBI.
Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) spokesman Capt. Mark Welch told Homeland Security Today on Monday the department "couldn't find anything in any of our records for anyone named Jones regarding an incident that occurred on Saturday."
However, Gainesville Police Department Public Information Officer, Cpl. Tscharna Senn, told Homeland Security Today that after having inquired with the department's liaison to DHS, FBI and other agencies charged with counterterrorism coordination and information-sharing, she'd confirmed that Jones had reported the incident to FHP, but that because his injuries didn't require hospitalization, FHP did not "take a report."
[Following Homeland Security Today's report, the Gainesville Sun reported the FHP said it had declined to file a report because the investigating Trooper was unable to find any evidence to indicate that a hit-and-run had occurred]
Senn said the Gainesville Police Department did not investigate the incident because "it took place in the county and wasn't in our jurisdiction."
Senn added, however, that the Gainesville Police Department is very aware of the threats that have been made against Jones, as well as his inclusion on the so-called jihadi "hit list," and that "they take all threats seriously" regardless of who is threatened.
"We have a responsibility to protect all of the citizens of Gainesville," Senn said, adding, "we can't let our guard down, because you never know what it may be that is an indication of an attack."
Senn said the Gainesville Police Department works closely with federal and state agencies to ensure there is timely cross-sharing of vital intelligence.
Senn pointed out that intelligence that could expose a terrorist plot or some other organized criminal activtiy often originates with something that a citizen has witnessed and reported [see the recent Homeland Security Today report, Most Terror Plot Dot Connecting is Local, Study Finds], adding incidents like the one Jones alleged happened to him need to be reported to the police.
FBI officials were unable to be reached for comment by press time.
According to the Stand Up America Now press release, “a black SUV sped around [Jones] hitting his leg and running over his foot as he was stopped at an intersection while on his motorcycle. The SUV, with Georgia plates, then sped away quickly. Dr. Jones noticed the SUV following him for a few miles before the attack.”
In a statement published on the group’s website, Jones said “as we left the church, we turned right and came straight down as we went through the wooded area and came to the stop sign where you must turn left or right. I noticed that there was a black SUV behind us. Of course, because of our situation, we always are aware of things and people who are following us."
Continuing, Jones stated "as we turned left, they turned left. They were a little bit suspicious as they kept speeding up and backing off, speeding up and backing off. We continued on down the road a few miles. As we approached the next intersection, the next stop light, and as I was slowing down, they passed me slowly on the right-hand side literally only inches away from my motorcycle. I kept it straight and yelled at them. This was done on purpose as there was absolutely no need for this. It was a black SUV with a Georgia license plate.”
Jones claimed that “as I stopped, they ran over my leg, my foot. I yelled out at them. They gave it absolutely no attention. Although no window was down, they knew very well that they had hit me. They proceeded to turn to the right and to speed up very, very fast. It was a definite attempt of some form on my life, either to give us a warning, a scare, or to actually do bodily harm which they did by running over my leg. We reported this to the Florida Highway Patrol and to the FBI.”
Despite the death threats that have been made against him, Jones is an undaunted true believer. In addition to having burned the Koran, he continues to support controversial signs his church erected that proclaim "Islam is of the Devil."
According to the church's website FAQ, the signs were put up "to expose Islam for what it is. It is a violent and oppressive religion that is trying to mascarade itself as a religion of peace, seeking to deceive our society."
[Information contained in BKNT E-mail is considered Attorney-Client and Attorney Work Product privileged, copyrighted and confidential. Views that may be expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of any government, agency, or news organization.]
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