This articles was published in 2001.
In a rare incidence of good luck, a plan to blow up King Fahd Mosque in Culver City, California, U.S.A. was thwarted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
The destruction was planned for November 2001, during Ramadan the holiest month of the year. Mr. Usama Mahda, the community liason for King Fahd Mosque said of the plot, ”There would have been hundreds and hundreds of people, American citizens. It is scary. It’s sad and it’s disgusting. No Muslims, Jews or Christians should suffer like that.”
Leading the plot against the mosque were top officials from the militant Jewish Defense League (JDL). The chairman of the JDL, Irv Rubin and the West Coast coordinator, Earl Krugel, were taped and observed planning the crime by the FBI after an informant contacted them, revealing plans in motion.
Krugel was taped in his home saying to the informant that Arabs needed a ‘wake-up call’ and that the JDL needed to do something more militant to one of the Arabs ‘filthy’ mosques.
A final meeting towards the execution of the plot was held December 11, 2001. Upon closure of the meeting, the FBI agents descended upon Krugel and Rubin, confiscating 5 pounds of explosive powder, fuses, pipes, dozens of loaded rifles and various handguns from the home of Earl Krugel. FBI officials described the bomb components as relatively sophisticated.
Rubin and Krugel were arrested and held without bail pending the arraignment on December 31 and were indicted on January 10th, 2002 of conspiring to bomb the King Fahd Mosque and the offices of Darrell Issa, an Arab American congressman. The charges include conspiracy, conspiracy to use a destructive device, attempted arson, attempted arson at a US government facility, possession of a destructive device in furtherance of a crime of violence, solicitation to commit a crime of violence, possession of a machine gun and possession of unregistered firearms. If properly sentenced the two men could spend a maximum of 35 years in prison.
The Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee is hoping that these indictments will lead to the prosecution of those responsible for other heinous acts of terrorism and vigilantism against Arabs and Muslims.
* Saira W. Soufan is a Pakistani-American studied Biology and free lance social worker.
