> 3/28/2008: Intel news Brief: Homegrown terror site based in New York:
>
> On any given day, log on to RevolutionMuslim.com and a host of
> startling images appear:
>
> -- The Statue of Liberty, with an ax blade cutting through her side;
>
> -- Video mocking the beheading of American journalist Daniel Pearl,
> entitled "Daniel Pearl I am Happy Your Dead :) ";
>
> -- Video of a puppet show lampooning U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq;
>
> -- The latest speech from Sheikh Abdullah Faisal, an extremist Muslim
> cleric convicted in the UK and later deported for soliciting the
> murder of non-Muslims.
>
> Even more surprising is that RevolutionMuslim.com isn't being
> maintained in some remote safe house in Pakistan. Instead, Yousef al-
> Khattab, the Web site creator, runs it from his home in the New York
> City Borough of Queens.
>
> And, because al-Khattab enjoys the First Amendment right to freedom of
> speech, all the authorities can do is watch.
>
> Formerly known as Joseph Cohen, al-Khattab is an American-born Jew who
> converted to Islam after attending an Orthodox Rabbinical school,
> which he later described as a "racist cult."
>
> The 39-year-old New York taxi driver launched RevolutionMuslim.com
> with the mission of "preserving Islamic culture," "calling people to
> the oneness of God" and asking them to "support the beloved Sheik
> Abdullah Faisal, who's preaching the religion of Islam and serving as
> a spiritual guide."
>
> In 2003 Faisal was convicted in the U.K. for spreading messages of
> racial hatred and urging his followers to kill Jews, Hindus and
> Westerners. In sermon recordings played at his trial, Faisal called on
> young, impressionable Muslims to use chemical weapons to "exterminate
> unbelievers" and "cut the throat of the Kaffars [nonbelievers] with
> [a] machete."
>
> Authorities believe Faisal's sermons have influenced 2005 London
> transport bomber Germaine Lindsay and "shoe bomber" Richard Reid, who
> attended mosques where Faisal preached.
>
> At times, al-Khattab's postings are farcical, such as a picture of him
> holding the book "Nuclear Jihad" with a wry smile on his face. Other
> messages call for radical Muslim rule worldwide.
>
> Al-Khattab claims the Sept. 11 terror attacks were an "inside job,"
> and he blames U.S. foreign policy for spawning the terrorism that
> carried out the attacks.
>
> He calls Daniel Pearl, who was kidnapped and beheaded in 2002 by
> Islamic extremists in Pakistan, "a convicted spy."
>
> "I could care less about Daniel Pearl," al-Khattab said in an
> interview with FOXNews.com. "I'm happy to see that he's gone."
>
> The content changes constantly. One reason is that the fast flow of
> information allows messages to spread through cyberspace quickly.
> Another, terrorism analysts say, is to make it difficult for law
> enforcement to monitor the site.
>
> Despite his radical anti-Western views, al-Khattab says he does not
> support terrorism of any kind.
>
> Yet, RevolutionMuslim.com claims to be the official site of "North
> American representatives" for Sheikh Faisal, and it appears dedicated
> to spreading his radical doctrine.
>
> He says Faisal "never said to kill innocent people" and was unjustly
> imprisoned. He says the real terror organizations are the U.S. Army,
> the CIA, and the FBI -- and the National Coast Guard, "to a lesser
> extent."
>
> According to RevolutionMuslim, Faisal -- who was deported to his native
> Jamaica in 2007 -- is now receiving donations solicited on the site,
> including money for a new laptop and DVD burner to spread his message.
>
> It's not illegal to post these messages or collect money for Faisal,
> but it would be if Faisal were designated a terrorist by the U.S.
> government. He currently is not listed on any government terror list;
> a Department of Justice spokesman could not confirm or deny if Faisal
> is being investigated for any terror related activity.
>
> RevolutionMuslim may look amateurish when compared with other
> extremist Web sites, but it is no less of a threat, says Mia Bloom,
> political science professor at the University of Georgia's School of
> Public and International Affairs.
>
> "It may lead people who become radicalized by it to turn to other,
> more dangerous Web sites," such as those run by terrorist
> organizations, she said.
>
> Bloom characterized al-Khattab's message as "narrow" and "misinformed"
> and said he is attempting to "proselytize or radicalize people who
> share some of these same ideas."
>
> "[He] has obviously been duped or is duping others because that's not
> what Islam preaches," she said.
>
> On his site al-Khattab appears to condemn the very democracy that
> guarantees him the freedom to express himself -- a freedom he cites in
> a disclaimer on his homepage:
>
> "We hereby declare and make absolute public declaration that
> revolutionmuslim.com operates under the first amendment right to
> freedom of religion and expression and that in no way, shape, or form
> do we call for war against the U.S. government or adhere to the
> enemies of the United States elsewhere."
>
> Under the law FBI spokesman Richard Kolko said it is difficult to
> bring criminal charges against the operators of Web sites like
> RevolutionMuslim.com unless specific threats are made against an
> individual or individuals.
>
> Kolko while not speaking directly about RevolutionMuslim said radical
> sites like these are not often prosecuted.
>
> "It's usually a First Amendment right if they don't cross the
> threshold of making any threats," said Kolko. "There's nothing we
> should or could do."
>
> "Until the rhetoric reaches the point in which it's no longer
> protected speech under the first amendment, it's hard to stop it,"
> said security expert, Harvey Kushner.
> Source: Morning Intel News Brief via Internal Company News Wire