Hear Sami Al-Arian's side of the story in his own words - Amy Goodman, Democracy Now

Sami Al-Arian, the Palestinian recently arrested on bogus charges, tells in his own words what happened a year ago when his University tried to fire him (he is tenured) for "his own protection" because his wife received death threats from loons around the Florida area.

The threats against his wife came after he was lured onto the O'Reilly show by its producer who told him that he would be discussing rights of Muslims in the US after 9/11. He was then barraged by accusations of being a terrorist by O'Reilly.

The threats started coming in against him and his University began receiving requests to fire him and they gave in to it and, of all things, told him it was for his own safety!

http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Date=20030220&Category=APN&ArtNo=302201054&Ref=AR

Excerpts from indictment against Sami Al-Arian

The Associated Press

Excerpts from Thursday's federal indictment against University of South Florida professor Sami Al-Arian:

- There existed a PIJ (Palestinian Islamic Jihad) manifesto, entitled, "Manifesto of the Islamic Jihad in Palestine," which described the goals and principles of PIJ, along with its command and organizational structure. ... The "Manifesto" rejected "any peaceful solution to the Palestinian cause, and the affirmation of the Jihad solution and the martyrdom style as the only choice for liberation." The PIJ "Manifesto" indicated that the only purpose of the PIJ was to destroy Israel and to end all Western influence (of the "Great Satan-America") in the region regardless of the cost to the inhabitants.

- USF was utilized by PIJ as the instrumentality through which the co-conspirators could bring other PIJ members and associates into the United States under the guise of academic conferences and meetings.

- On or about April 7, 1991, in Cleveland, Ohio, Unindicted Co-Conspirator One introduced Sami Amin Al-Arian as the head of the Islamic Committee for Palestine (ICP), which was described as the active arm of the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine (PIJ), in North America. Unindicted Co-Consiprirator One said the PIJ was referred to as the ICP for security reasons. Sami Amin Al-Arian spoke and praised the Intifada, and praised individuals who had escaped from a prison in 1987 with the help of the PIJ and then killed many people. (This terrorist act is also referred to as the Battle of Al-Shujaiya.) Sami Amin Al-Arian further mentioned the Gulf War, and questioned why they stopped the protests against it. He then said they should continue the protests, continue to damn America, continue to damn Israel, and continue to damn the allies of the American and Israel until death. Sami Amin Al-Arian also said that going to the Holy Land for Muslims was not a matter of going for a visit or tourism; rather, it was a matter of going for Jihad.

- Sami Amin Al-Arian said Jews were damned; that Allah had made them monkeys and swine and damned them in this world and in the afterworld.

- On June 3, 1993, Sami Amin Al-Arian caused four wire transfers of $1,944.00 each from his account at Bank Leumi to accounts at Mercantile Discount Bank in Umm El Fahem (West Bank), Israel in the names of: Zahera Agbarya, Rokayah Agbarya, Mostafa Agbarya and Bushra Suleiman, all of whom were spouses or other relatives of recently convicted PIJ terrorists serving sentences in Israeli jails for their participation in a terrorist attack in or around mid-February, 1992, in which they murdered three Israelis.

- On or about December 30, 1993, Sami Amin Al-Arian filed a false application with INS for naturalization to become a United States citizen.

- On or about April 25, 1994, Sami Amin Al-Arian received a three-page facsimile listing people killed and names and account numbers of people receiving money on their behalf.

- On or about November 11, 1994, a co-conspirator associated with the PIJ murdered three people and wounded approximately eleven in a suicide bombing in the vicinity of Netzarim Junction, Gaza Strip.

- On or about November 11, 1994, Sami Amin Al-Arian wrote a note to be sent via facimile ... which announced his pride in the recent attack by the PIJ. He asked that God bless the efforts of the PIJ and accept the "martyrs," and urged PIJ members to be cautious and alert.

- On or about February 10, 1995, Sami Amin Al-Arian wrote a letter to Ismail Al-Shatti in Kuwait asking for money for the PIJ. Sami Amin Al-Arian bragged about the January 22, 1995 Beit Lid bombing, and cited the bombing as an example of what PIJ could do. He asked for money and said that Shaker and Sukkar left large families and debts; he also wrote that the PIJ was poor and destitute and indicated the Iranians were providing little financial assistance. He wrote that despite the hardships the PIJ carried out distinctive operations which all the Arab armies lacked the strength to execute. Sami Amin Al-Arian noted that the link with the brothers in Hamas was very good and improving, and there were serious attempts at unification and permanent coordination. In the letter, Sami Amin Al-Arian requested additional money so that operations such as Beit Lid could continue.

- On or about November 2, 1995, Sami Amin Al-Arian had ... (a) telephone conversation with ... (a) journalist from the Tampa Tribune, in which Sami Amin Al-Arian falsely stated that Ramadan Abdullah Shallah had been a genuine scholar while at WISE (World and Islam Studies Enterprise, Inc.) and that Sami Amin Al-Arian had no suspicion that Ramadan Abdullah Shallah was affiliated with a terrorist organization.

- On or about October 18, 1996, Sami Amin Al-Arian who was in Tampa, Florida, sent a facsimile to the Abdul Latif Jamell Company, Ltd., in Saudi Arabia, and inquired about obtaining pelletized urea fertilizer in fifty kilogram bags suitable for ocean transportation.