Lodi's Terrorism Link: Are Immigrants Loyal?

"The opinions of neighbors, family members or community and religious leaders regarding a suspect's character is not germane." What is important is not what they say about the suspect, it is what is revealed about the suspects character through investigation of behaviors.

One of Mohammed Atta’s Florida neighbors, immediately following 9/11, remembered him as "a nice guy, very intelligent and polite." Atta, we now know, was one of the masterminds behind the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 Americans.

Neighbors of Waleed Alshehri, another of the 9/11 terrorists, recalled him as "a nice guy" who liked video games and rooted for the Florida Marlins. Alshehri helped Atta crash American Airlines Flight 11 into the north tower of the World Trade Center

Abdulaziz Alomari, on board AA #11 with Atta and Alshehri, lived "quietly" in Vero Beach with his wife and four children.

Nawaf Alhamzi’s landlord said his tenant was always "prompt" with the rent. Alhamzi hijacked American Airlines flight 77 and flew it into the Pentagon.

A family who rented a room to Hani Hanjur, another AA #77 terrorist, said he "was a kind and gentle man" who liked children.

I thought about these wildly incorrect character assessments—-compiled by CBS News—every time I read the dozens of stories about the five Lodi suspects arrested more than two weeks ago on terrorism related charges and immigration violations.

Are these favorable comments a reflection of how the men behaved or an attempt at a cover up? You just can't trust character statements.

What is the measure of loyalty? For true, observant Muslims, from the start, loyalty has never been to a monarch, empire, country, or political ideology, such as Communism or Democracy. Loyalty has always been to the Ummah, the world body of Muslims. For true, observant Muslims, nation states such as Indonesia, France, or even the United States, are only an address, a place to make a living and to raise a family, a place in which to scheme and agitate to further the aims of Islam, to make that place or maintain that place as an Islamic state in which Sharia is the law of the land.

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