Jihad Joe_ Americans Who Go to War in the Name of Islam - J. M. Berger [28]
The obligation of Allah is upon us to wage jihad for the sake of Allah. It is one of the obligations that we must undoubtedly fulfill. And we conquer the lands of the infidels and we spread Islam by calling the infidels to Allah. And if they stand in our way, then we wage jihad for the sake of Allah.42
The dark tenor of Rahman’s rhetoric began to inspire dark thoughts in his followers. Nosair was especially captivated by Rahman’s increasingly violent message. His son, Zak Ebrahim, described one Friday service during a speech against violence delivered in 2010:
[Rahman] began his khutba, or oration, and I sat there trying my best to mimic my father as he listened intently to his words. That day, the sheikh argued that Western culture was corrupting Muslims all over the world, that the consequences of American democracy were materialism, sexual perversion and idolatry, meant to distract believers from the true word of God, laying blame for the Muslim world’s ills on many of the same groups that Jerry Falwell blamed for 9/11: pagans, feminists and gays. But the sheikh saved his most venomous words for those of the Jewish faith.
On the drive home that afternoon, I wondered to myself, “What made the sheikh and his followers so intensely devout?” I asked my father, “When did you become such a ‘good’ Muslim?” and he replied, “When I came to this country and I saw everything that was wrong with it.” And in that instant, I recognized the same look on his face that I had seen on the sheikh.43
Nosair wasn’t content with ideology. On November 5, 1990, he shot and killed Meir Kahane, a radical Jewish leader, during a conference for a Zionist group at the New York Marriott East Side. The controversial founder of the Jewish Defense League, a terrorist organization based in New York, Kahane had an FBI file more than a foot thick. A rabid, over-the-top Zionist and a member of the Israeli parliament, he was considered a racist and an extremist by most Israelis, let alone by anyone else.44
After Kahane’s speech, Nosair, wearing a skullcap to appear Jewish, approached Kahane and extended his hand. When Kahane reached to return the handshake, Nosair shot him in the neck with a .357 magnum handgun. Kahane died at the hospital a short while later.
“The son of a bitch killed the Rabbi,” someone yelled. “See if you can catch him!” “Stop, murderer!” shouted another. Nosair shot one bystander fleeing the room, then shot an off-duty postal inspector while trying to escape. Unfortunately for the assassin, the inspector was wearing a bulletproof vest and returned fire, taking Nosair down.45
Nosair lay on the ground with his arms outstretched and a smile on his face. If he was dreaming that he had achieved martyrdom, he was destined to be disappointed. The killer was taken to the hospital and soon recovered.46
Investigators hauled boxes of documents out of Nosair’s apartment. Most were in Arabic, but the stash included military training manuals and documents given to Nosair by Sergeant Ali Mohamed, the jihadist mole at Fort Bragg. The material went into storage without close examination. The NYPD’s chief of detectives decreed that Nosair had acted alone.47
Kahane was widely loathed by Muslims and non-Muslims alike. In a room full of people, no one had gotten a good-enough look to clearly identify Nosair as the man who fired the killing shot. Between those who didn’t think he was guilty and those who didn’t mind if he was, Nosair became a local hero, especially among the more radical segment of the Muslim community.
Supporters showed up at his hearings and trial proceedings in large and often loud numbers. The hat was passed, and money was raised. One