American Muslims raise $70K for Terror Suspect

And Obama said contributing to Islamic charities was difficult in the U.S.

A Muslim group in America has raised $70,000 and is also asking Pakistan to release $2M for Afia Siddiqui’s legal defense. If Pakistan does, it essentially means U.S. taxpayers are funding the defense of an individual suspected of waging Islamic jihad against U.S. troops and planning terrorist attacks on U.S. sites. Congress recently approved nearly $3 billion in U.S. taxpayer funds to Pakistan. Is this how they are spending our money? via Pakistan Observer:

American Muslim community has raised about $70,000 for Dr. Afia Siddiqui’s defense, at a fund raiser held by the Muslim Legal Fund of America (MLFA) which has established a special legal defense fund for Dr. Afia who is currently in detention at the Carswell Federal Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas. She is awaiting trial and awaiting a final conclusion on her competency to stand trial. Doctors feel she is suffering due to torture. Addressing a gathering of about 300 guests at the Muslim Community Center of Santa Clara, Dr. Agha Saeed, President of Pakistan American Democratic Forum, urged the government of Pakistan to release two million dollars it pledged for the legal defense of Dr. Afia who has become a symbol of Pakistan peoples struggle for Justice. He said that at least 1.7 million dollars are required for her defense.

When Aafia Siddique was captured she allegedly had in her possession maps of New York, a list of potential targets that included the Statue of Liberty, Times Square, the subway system, and detailed chemical-biological radiological weapon information. (ABC News Photo Illustration)
Siddiqui was taken into custody following her July capture in Afghanistan and extradited to New York in August on charges of attempted murder following a shootout with security personnel who were questioning her.

Siddiqui was wanted by the FBI as far back as 2004 for her alleged connections to al Qaeda. The indictment charges that when Siddiqui, a former MIT student, was detained by Afghan National Police, she was in possession of a document which mentioned, “Mass Casualty Attack” and listed various landmarks in New York, including Wall Street and the Statue of Liberty.

Her husband confirms his suspicions of Siddiqui’s violent nature and extremist views:

“I was aware of Aafia’s violent personality and extremist views and suspected her involvement in Jihadi activities. My fear later proved to be true when during Uzair Paracha’s trial in the US in 2004, the real purpose of Aafia’s trip to the US (between December 23, 2002 and January 3, 2003) was revealed.”

Elaborating, Dr Amjad disclosed that he later learnt from media reports that Aafia’s family claimed she made this trip to the US for job interviews in December at a time when universities were closed for winter holidays. “I also found it very odd that on the one hand Aafia insisted on leaving the US after September 11, 2001, claiming the country was unsafe for us and our children because the US government was abducting Muslim children, and on the other hand took the risk of travelling to that country again without fearing that she may be captured and may never see our children again.”