After two years of investigation, the FBI raided two Detroit homes and a Dearborn warehouse yesterday, seeking the arrest of 11 men in connection with criminal activities in support of a militant, separatist Islamic sect. The raids were ancillary to a multi-count, 45 page complaint alleging conspiracy to commit federal crimes including unlawful possession and sale of firearms, arson, possession of body armor and theft from interstate shipments.
The Dearborn raid left one suspect dead.
The principal suspect, Luqman Ameen Abdullah, opened fire during the raid, mortally wounding a police dog. Abdullah perished when agents returned fire.
Most of the remaining named defendants were taken into custody, including a Detroit Public Schools teacher who was arrested at work. Three others remain at large.
Abdullah and his alleged conspirators are not of middle east descent, but rather converted to Islam during periods of incarceration.
Abdullah himself seemed to lead a double life. Imam of the Masjid Al-Haqq Mosque, he was fairly well known in the Islamic community and was respected by other Imams. Yet he was also the Detroit leader of Ummah, meaning 'the nation,' a militant group bent on establishing a separatist state governed by Sunni Muslim law. This group is known to have trained recruits in weaponry and the martial arts, with the object of killing federal agents. The fencing of stolen goods and other federal offenses enumerated in the complaint were intended to fund the activities of the separatist sect.
Authorities do not believe Abdullah had any ties to Al Qaeda or any other international terrorist sponsors. At a news conference earlier today, US Attorney Terrence Berg made something else clear: "I want to caution both the media and the public not to draw conclusions between the activities of this particular group...and the faith of Islam or Muslim in general."
Ummah has a national footprint, purportedly under the leadership of Jamil Abdullah Al-Jamin, formerly known as H. Rapp Brown. Brown was conspicuously active in the Black Panther Party during the late 1960s and early 70s, and is presently doing life in prison for the murder of two Georgia police officers.
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...and now all of the area's terrorist cells are speaking out against the rightful killing of a fellow terrorist.
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