Muslim Student Association event meets opposition from Florida groups

An event being hosted by the Muslim Student Association on Friday, which brings Imam Siraj Wahhaj to UCF, is being met with opposition from some groups in Florida.

Wahhaj is currently an imam and speaks at various events around the US to various Muslim organizations.

Wahhaj was born as Jeffrey Kearse in Brooklyn, New York, according to a Wall Street Journal article published in 2003. Wahhaj also joined the Nation of Islam after finding Malcolm X's leadership to be intriguing.

One of the primary groups protesting Wahhaj's arrival is the Florida Security Council.

According to its website, the FLSC describes itself as a local, "action-oriented educational organization developed by Floridians who understand the extreme seriousness of the various security threats facing both our nation and state."

Alan Kornman, a member of FLSC, explained that many individuals protesting Wahhaj's arrival are uncomfortable with his past.

Kornman also said that Wahhaj is preaching a message that mixes radical Islamic interpretation with politics in America. He did, however, say that this was not about anti-Islamic action.

"They're still people," Kornman said. "I would fight and die for a Muslim to have their right to practice their religion."

Abdullah Sabawi, the president of the Muslim Students Association at UCF, said that emotions are high surrounding this topic, but that the mainstream public does not believe what the FLSC and other groups are presenting.

"We're bringing him in for Islam Awareness Month," Sabawi said. "It's about our religion and about teaching people and clearing up misconceptions about Islam."

The FLSC released various flyers, asserting that "UCF and the MSA is ‘hosting' the character witness for the mastermind of the 1993 WTC bombing that killed 7 and wounded over 1000 innocent Americans."

According to the WSJ, Wahhaj's personally-launched mosque was visited by Omar Abdel Rahman, who has been referred to in the US as the "Blind Sheikh." Wahhaj also said that he had become close with Abdel Rahman.

Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman was sentenced to life in prison in 1996 for plotting various bombings and assassinations in the United States, according to a 1996 New York Times article.

He was not, however, convicted of the World Trade Center bombing in 1993.

Abdel Rahman was convicted by a judge who stated that he was planning to "wage a war of urban terrorism," according to the Times.  These included a day of attacks that would hit the United Nations Building, Lincoln Tunnel and the George Washington Bridge.

Abdel Rahman was also convicted of plotting to kill President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, according to the New York Times.

A concern posed by those uncomfortable with Wahhaj's arrival at UCF is that he was a witness for Abdel Rahman.

Wahhaj, according to the WSJ, was a defense witness in the trial against Abdel Rahman. He testified to his scholarly qualities, as well as saying that Abdel Rahman was well-respected for memorizing the Quran.

J. Mark Campbell of the FLSC reiterated that UCF's Muslim Students Assocation could have chosen different people to speak.

"I think UCF should bring in true Muslim reformers, such as Zuhdi Jasser and a whole list of other people," Campbell said.

Zuhdi Jasser, according to Kornman, is currently a member of the FLSC and disagrees with the idea that Muslims should implement their beliefs into politics.

According to the FLSC, however, Wahhaj himself was part of a group of unindicted co-conspirators in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

The source for this statement was from Mary Jo White, a U.S. attorney at the time. According to the WSJ, Imam Wahhaj was on the list of 170 individuals who were alleged co-conspirators.

Wahhaj was never charged of the accusations.

The FLSC mainly believes that Wahhaj is coming to UCF to educate Muslim students about Islamic political agendas, which would undermine freedom of speech at the event.

"This is sedition, it's not an issue of freedom of speech," Campbell said.

Campbell, however, believes that Wahhaj is presenting a message that is contrary to what the MSA presents.

Sabawi said that there has been a lot of media attention about the event and that a protest zone has been created for the event, as well as standard precautions.

"We're trying to bring peace and understanding to the university, but the event is just being hijacked," Sabawi said. "They're calling him un-American, but what's un-American is actually calling him guilty without him being proven guilty."

Sabawi also believes that the MSA, as well as UCF, has simply invited Wahhaj to UCF to speak to students about modern-day Islam and answer questions from students and others attending the event.

A media representative of the Tampa branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations did not return a phone call about the event.

An email sent to Wahhaj's website about the event was not answered.

Siraj Wahhaj is set to speak in the Communications Building, Room 101 at 6:30 p.m. on Friday.