Counterterrorism Blog

Last night, Sean Hannity of Fox News revealed video tape taken by Steven Emerson's Investigative Project on Terrorism of Imam Abdul Alim Musa of Washington, DC, openly supporting terrorism. Musa has a long history of supporting terrorists and expressing hatred of America. On September 9, 2001, at the University of California at Irvine, he said, "You think Zionism and Palestine is the only dictatorial power in the world. We’re telling you about apartheid right here in America. Not an apartheid of the 1960s, but an apartheid right now today. When you fight Old Sam, you are fighting someone that is superior in criminality and Nazism." Musa was there to speak at a benefit for Imam Jamil Al-Amin after his conviction of murdering an Atlanta police officer. At a July 1999 rally, Musa openly displayed a cashier's check made out to Hamas to protest the declaration of Hamas as a terrorist organization in 1996.

Last night, Hannity showed a 2002 clip taken by the IPT of Musa supporting Palestinian suicide terrorists, saying at a rally, "They are not suicide bombers they are heroes," and Hannity challenged Musa in an interview to explain his views. Musa denied that Osama bin Laden was responsible for the 9-11 attacks and asserted that OBL "is on an American payroll." He denied that Hezbollah is a terrorist organization and said of Hamas, "They are nice people. Very nice people."

You can see the entire tape of the Hannity program here (22 MB), and the transcript of the Hannity interview is below. I have three questions:

1. When will Abdul Alim Musa be arrested and charged with "material support" of terrorism?
2. Why did the Democratic Party invite Husham al-Husainy, another radical Imam, to give the invocation at the DNC winter meeting?
3. Will Democratic Party leaders now publicly condemn al-Husseiny and pledge to not have any more dealings with him?

I suspect we'll see much more of Musa's public statements in support of terrorism from the IPT and others in the near future.

TRANSCRIPT OF SEAN HANNITY INTERVIEW WITH ABDUL ALIM MUSA, FEBRUARY 18, 2007

SEAN HANNITY: Last week we confronted the controversial imam who gave the invocation at the DNC winter meeting. When pressed about his support for terror groups and calling America an oppressor nation, the imam would not give me a straight answer.

In tonight's "Hannity Hot Seat" we have an Imam Abdul Alim Musa of Washington, DC. You aren't going to believe what he says about America and our enemies.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HANNITY: We are dealing with the issue of Israel. And we're dealing with the issue -- I want to play something that you said once again. This is June 8th, 2002 your words, let's roll the tape.

IMAM ABDUL ALIM MUSA, MUSLIM ACTIVIST: Those people who have become fed up with Sharon, fed up with occupation, fed up with being trampled on, when they go out and strike at the heart of Zionism they are not suicide bombers they are heroes. They are heroes.

Is that right? It's a part of our dean (ph), that's a part of our religion. Let's not become weak-boned and apologetic.

HANNITY: "They are not suicide bombers they are heroes. That's a part of our religion. Let's not become weak boned and apologetic." Imam, you won't answer the question but you support killing innocent men, women and children you support this idea of martyrdom to use your words, the most glorious death is the death of a martyr.

MUSA: I would hate for you to be on a judge, man, or even on a jury. You convict a guy without listening to what they got to say.

HANNITY: That's what you said.

MUSA: That's what I said. You didn't put the environmental circumstances. Without the environmental circumstances, in 2002 what's going on? They have just hit Afghanistan.

HANNITY: Israel didn't hit it.

MUSA: Afghanistan had been bombed - but Israel had already hit almost literally every in the Middle East. Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982 and killed, some say 40,000 people and left a million homeless.

HANNITY: I'm going to try it one more time.

MUSA: Now wait just a minute.

HANNITY: So you are justifying it. Why don't you just admit it then?

MUSA: Why didn't you ask is Sharon a terrorist? Is Sharon a terrorist? He killed 1500 people at Sabra and Shatila.

HANNITY: Why don't you answer my question?

MUSA: Are you -- why are you asking me about two people that got grown up instead of a million.

HANNITY: Your words. Do you support strapping a bomb on people and killing Jews?

MUSA: Do you support America flying into ...

HANNITY: Yes.

MUSA: Places Afghanistan and blowing the people to smithereens.

HANNITY: To get bin Laden, yes.

MUSA: Not bin Laden. Bin Laden is not - bin Laden is your home boy what are you talking about?

HANNITY: Not my homeboy.

MUSA: Bin Laden is on an American payroll. He has been with America ever since. From there, why would ...

HANNITY: You can sit here ...

MUSA: Why would you -- After he turned on -- Saddam was your home boy. All of those people who worked against Islam was your home boy. Now bin Laden, everytime -- You know -- I have been to conferences where research will show all over the world. I have never seen al Qaeda at any of them. And this has been for 25, 30 ...

HANNITY: Is bin Laden misconstrued in the American public? Is he misunderstood? Do you like bin Laden? Do you like him?

MUSA: If he is a Muslim he is definitely misconstrued. Definitely misconstrued.

HANNITY: So bin Laden is not responsible for 9/11?

MUSA: Of course not.

HANNITY: Who is responsible for 9/11?

MUSA: Who do you think?

HANNITY: I already know what you say. You believe George Bush. You think George Bush knew about 9/11 ahead of time.

MUSA: Well, I said he was like Hitler and Hitler burned the Reichstag in Germany in 1933 to give him the fuhership, to also take the rights of the German people, right? To go do away with due process of law.

HANNITY: That's not what you said. Let me give you your own words.

You said, "George Bush needed 9/11, not anybody else, so the people are beginning to realize the government has historically always done things o push its own goals ahead. Whether it's breaking a treaty - " blablabla.

MUSA: Eighty percent of the people in the world - do you have any evidence about bin Laden?

HANNITY: Yeah, we do.

MUSA: What evidence do you have about ...

HANNITY: We've got plenty of evidence.

MUSA: Where's it at?

HANNITY: You ever read a newspaper?

MUSA: A newspaper? Who wrote it?

HANNITY: You like bin Laden.

MUSA: Who wrote the newspaper?

HANNITY: You have to talk to the different ...

MUSA: Who wrote - I'm trying to tell you. If you write the newspaper, you are going to say in there what you want to say but you can't impose your view ...

HANNITY: Osama bin Lin laden is on video himself admitting he is responsible.

MUSA: If you go on the Internet you will see so many dissecting ...

HANNITY: Do you like bin Laden?

MUSA: If bin Laden is a Muslim and if he is alive ...

HANNITY: You like him.

MUSA: I have to like him.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HANNITY: More of the Hannity "Hot Seat" coming up in just a minute.

And later, all of the Hollywood drama from the mystery surrounding Anna Nicole's death to Britney Spears, is she on the verge of a nervous breakdown? What's this shaving that head? Straight ahead.

HANNITY: And welcome back to HANNITY'S AMERICA. We continue now with Imam Abdul Alim Musa.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HANNITY: What do you think of Ahmadinejad. He denies the Holocaust. Did the Holocaust occur?

MUSA: That was not a denial. You keep misrepresenting what he said.

HANNITY: Did the Holocaust occur?

MUSA: The conference - they do like this. They discuss the numbers. The numbers.

HANNITY: Did the Holocaust occur?

MUSA: The numbers ...

(VIDEO GAP)

MUSA: ... killing 35 million Indians. What about the U.S.?

HANNITY: Do you like Jews? You don't like Jews.

MUSA: Jews are nice people. What do you have - what's wrong with Jews?

HANNITY: But you don't mind sending people with

(VIDEO GAP)

MUSA: Don't have nothing to do with being against Jews. It has do - against - being against Zionist.

HANNITY: You said that - but you said in this tape here. You said, "The Zionists, when people hit them in jihad, when they are hit they are dead, but when people, for example, as part of martyrdom, they go to paradise."

So you believe the Jews die and they go to Hell, you said.

MUSA: Just a minute, I ...

HANNITY: That's what you said.

MUSA: OK. Here ...

HANNITY: I have the quote.

MUSA: Well, I can only answer part of that at one time. First of all you asked me if I liked Hezbollah. Hezbollah is a great movement and a great organization.

HANNITY: They are a terrorist movement.

MUSA: It's not - you call it a terrorist movement. You cast your words - that's your State Department. That's not - the Muslims all over the world - what do the people around the world ...

HANNITY: I have one, two, three, four, I have six pages of terrorist attacks of Hezbollah.

MUSA: The people are - attacking who, Israelis? Where are they attacking them at ...

HANNITY: On school buses and pizza parlors ...

MUSA: Wait a minute. You're talking different. Hezbollah attacks Zionists in Lebanon. Hezbollah does not send people across the border in other places. If you are talking about Palestinians that's difference. There's a difference between Palestinians and Hezbollah.

HANNITY: I have a list here 6 pages going back to 1982 with Hezbollah's attack on innocent men, women and children. The killing of innocent children. Do you like Hamas? Is Hamas a ...

MUSA: Hamas just means enthusiasm.

HANNITY: Hamas is a terror organization and they take credit for terror. Would you like to take a look at their history? Read it. Maybe learn something.

MUSA: Ninety-five percent -- I know Hamas. They are nice people. Very nice people.

HANNITY: Hamas. The terror organization.

MUSA: Hamas is not a terror organization. It's what you say. You think you can impose -- You are going to kill everybody and if anybody crawl out and get away and stand-up for himself you call him a terrorist.

HANNITY: Hezbollah's manifesto. Let me read -- Hang on a second. Let me read from their manifesto.

MUSA: Hezbollah are a good group of people practicing Islam.

HANNITY: Hezbollah in their manifesto says the group struggle will continue until Israel is destroyed. That's the great group of people you are praising.

MUSA: You are talking about Israelis that come from where? Where do they come from? Where do the people in Israel come from? Do they come from Palestine? Or do they come from Poland? They come from Russia. Why are they there? I ask you why are they there? Why are they there?

HANNITY: Do you support Israel's destruction, yes or no?

MUSA: Here's what would be good. Here's what would be good. It would be good if the people allowed the people to come back to their own ancestral land.

HANNITY: So kick the Jews out of Israel.

MUSA: The UN in 1947 made the worst mistake they ever did.

HANNITY: The UN partition plan, '48, 1948.

MUSA: Forty-seven or '48, that gave them, the Jews that had some problems in Europe, their problems was in Europe. Ahmadinejad did not say there was no Holocaust. They had a conference to discus the Holocaust.

HANNITY: Do you support Ahmadinejad and do you think he is a god man?

MUSA: I think - here's what Ahmadinejad does - Ahmadinejad says we had a revolution we fought for eight years against Saddam Hussein, we survived a war with everybody on one side, the Russians gave Iraq help. The U.S. gave it help. The Jordanians, the Saudis, the Kuwaitis, everybody in the world was on one side. Listen to this. One side, the side of Saddam Hussein, and Iran survived. This is the greatest epic in modern history. Nobody has ever been able to survive.

HANNITY: Imam ...

MUSA: When you understand you will understand martyrdom.

HANNITY: I want to go back.

MUSA: So I support their survival.

HANNITY: Hang on a second. Let me get this last question in.

MUSA: And he's standing up. That's what he is doing. He is standing up.

HANNITY: Imam. If you are not on the terror watch list, you will be.

MUSA: I am. I am on the terror watch list.

HANNITY: You belong on the terror list.

MUSA: Hey man. You be long on the same list of people who support George Bush. If you support a dummy then you are a dummy, too.

HANNITY: OK.

MUSA: That's right I am trying to tell you. You are a nice guy. You told me I ought to be on a terrorist watch list you can't come in here and high side (ph) on me.

HANNITY: You are the one that compares America to Nazis. You called America KKK Nazis ...

MUSA: You said George Bush was a good man.

HANNITY: You said the United States is next in terms of destruction. You say we are going to burn America down and you call me crazy. You support ...

MUSA: You said George Bush was a good man. Did you say that?

HANNITY: You said you want to burn America down.

I said George Bush is a good man. I believe that.

MUSA: The world considers him insane.

HANNITY: And I consider you insane.

MUSA: That's all right. That's all right.

HANNITY: You want to burn America down not me. You said we are going to burn America down.

MUSA: I said that was said in the sixties.

HANNITY: You said America is next. You said America is a Nazi nation. You said that.

MUSA: Let me tell you what I said. And I said in Kutva (ph), it's all on record. I said - I tell everybody almost every Friday, it would be insane for Muslims or any one else to do anything to America. Leave it alone. We say let George Bush go, he has drug America down quicker.

HANNITY: if you hate America and you want America destroyed you want America struck down.

MUSA: Because you drug me over here in chains.

HANNITY: I didn't drag you over here.

MUSA: Burned and lynched my parents and grandparents and got me over here speaking nothing but English.

HANNITY: Why are you staying? You don't have to stay.

MUSA: Who could hate a beautiful place like America?

HANNITY: Then why are you talking about burning it down?

MUSA: I do not like -- If you repeat that again I am going to call the police on you. If you say I am going to burn America down four times ...

HANNITY: If you say we're going to burn America down - I said it again - If you say we're going to burn America down ...

MUSA: I'm going to turn a snitch and call the police.

HANNITY: Listen, you are on the terror watch list not me.

MUSA: I know I am probably because you helped get me on there.