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January 30th, 2011
06:36 PM ET
Man charged with making terrorist threats in connection with mosqueBy Dan Gilgoff, CNN Belief Blog Co-Editor A man arrested by Dearborn, Michigan, police and charged with possessing explosives in connection with making terrorist threats was targeting one of America's largest mosques, according to officials at the Muslim house of worship. A 63-year-old California man was arraigned Wednesday and charged with one count of false report or threat of terrorism and one count of explosives - possession of bombs with unlawful intent - the Dearborn Police Department said in a press release Sunday. Roger Stockham was in possession of Class C fireworks, according to Dearborn Police Officer Brandon Nichols. The felony charges carry maximum sentences of 20 years and 15 years respectively, Nichols said. Stockham is being held on $500,000 bond with a requirement of a GPS tether if bond is posted, according to the police department's release. Dearborn police informed the Islamic Center of America on Tuesday that they had arrested an individual with "a large quantity of fireworks in his car" in the mosque's parking lot a day earlier, a Sunday press release from the mosque said. "According to police they received a tip from an employee of a local establishment stating that he overheard threats against Muslims or Arabs made by this individual," the mosque's press release said. "A search of area mosques was conducted and a man fitting the description provided was found and taken into custody at the Islamic Center of America mosque." Members of the Islamic Center of America were alerted to the threat during Friday's prayer service, according to CNN Detroit affiliate WDIV. Stockham is scheduled to appear in court this Friday, Nichols said. He said the police continue to investigate the incident. According to the American Pyrotechnics Association, Class C fireworks are known as consumer fireworks and are "most commonly sold at neighborhood stands during the Fourth of July season." "While we still don't know all the details of this crime we do know from police reports that the individual has a record of contact with law enforcement for other threats of violence," the mosque said in its release. "Crimes like this recent attempt and others intended to create terror among our citizens must be identified for what they are," the release said, "useless attempts at dividing a great diverse nation." Located just outside of Detroit, Dearborn is home to one of the largest Muslim communities in the United States. The Islamic Center of North America was founded in the 1963, according to its website, which says the mosque building is the largest in North America.
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The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
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Ta-Ha sura 20:
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
Ta. Ha. (1) We have not revealed unto thee (Muhammad) this Qur'an that thou shouldst be distressed, (2) But as a reminder unto him who feareth, (3) A revelation from Him Who created the earth and the high heavens, (4) The Beneficent One, Who is established on the Throne. (5) Unto Him belongeth whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth, and whatsoever is between them, and whatsoever is beneath the sod. (6) And if thou speakest aloud, then lo! He knoweth the secret (thought) and (that which is yet) more hidden. (7) Allah! There is no God save Him. His are the most beautiful names. (8).
Ta-Ha sura 20:
And faces humble themselves before the Living, the Eternal. And he who beareth (a burden of) wrongdoing is indeed a failure (on that Day). (111) And he who hath done some good works, being a believer, he feareth not injustice nor begrudging (of his wage). (112) Thus we have revealed it as a Lecture in Arabic, and have displayed therein certain threats, that peradventure they may keep from evil or that it may cause them to take heed. (113) Then exalted be Allah, the True King! And hasten not (O Muhammad) with the Qur'an ere its revelation hath been perfected unto thee, and say: My Lord! Increase me in knowledge. (114).
Archie Bunker,
Episode 12 Season 4. 13:00 minutes... "You Meathead".
what
I'm pretty sure there are a number of Christian religious fanatics that can cut and paste Bible passages as well as you can your gibberish. Please spare me the pleasure.
Al-Kauther sura 108:
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
Lo! We have given thee Abundance; (1) So pray unto thy Lord, and sacrifice. (2) Lo! it is thy insulter (and not thou) who is without posterity. (3).
You're being told that since you aren't a believer in Islam, you're doomed. "Doomed" as in "we're peaceful".
EJ.
Sorry but where did you get that piece of news from? It says if you do not believe in God you are doomed and not for believing in Islam as you say because Islam is....please read the following verse and you will know what is it all about;;
Al-Hajj sura 22:
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
And strive for Allah with the endeavour which is His right. He hath chosen you and hath not laid upon you in religion any hardship; the faith of your father Abraham (is yours). He hath named you Muslims of old time and in this (Scripture), that the messenger may be a witness against you, and that ye may be witnesses against mankind. So establish worship, pay the poor-due, and hold fast to Allah. He is your Protecting friend. A blessed Patron and a blessed Helper! (78).
And Muneef's koranic-drivel goes on and on!!!
Poor guy maybe he was tricked to buy and bring those to the parking and then was set up just to make him look as a terrorist with intentions to burn up the mosque? Isn't that a reasonable doubt? Until he confesses to his intentions of such crime,until then he is innocent until proven guilty... And even if he admitted to it I would suspect that he intended to do it being as hate ! But more I expect it was towards media fame just as was the case with Paster Terry Jones,of Dove Church... Would expect few would take the Pastor as an example towards fame...? Tell you what only God knows what was in his heart,may God forgive him and give him guidance...what ever was he a believer or a disbeliever?! What is he,that is not mentioned here...
If the roles were reversed you would be demanding his execution in the name of Christ. You people are such hypocrites.
Frank.
Is that you the same Frank the nice Catholic man? Any way do not know what you mean but we can not judge him until we hear what he has to say or at least admit to his crime!? You think that is hypocrite to grant him his eight to speak of him self and intentions first? Not sure what's happening to the world heading towards the jungle rules?
No, I'm not "Frank the Catholic" My name isn't even Frank. I am calling you a hypocrite, if the roles were reversed you would not be jumping to the Muslim's defense saying we need to hear the facts first, you would be quoting some obscure bible verse that would make everybody roll their eyes.
Frank.
Well he was a nice guy any way and was pleasure to have came across him...well if your name isn't Frank then Muneef is my first name... Any way Frank I hope you would be Frank as well... First I am a Muslim defending Muslims but not to the account of taking an innocent life with out listening to reason;
Al-Hujraat sura 49:
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
O ye who believe! If an evil-liver bring you tidings, verify it, lest ye smite some folk in ignorance and afterward repent of what ye did. (6).
That is as you can see what the Quran told and not because I am hypocrite...thanks any way
I cannot help but think that you would not be so charitable if the target was a Christian church and the suspect was any shade darker than cappuccino.
But...feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.
Dear Frank and everybody, Muneef is a Muslim and he is not defending this guy. All he is saying is that we should let people speak up their mind before passing judgment. He is saying it in the light of Quran, Chapter Al-Hujrat. I am also a Muslim, I am not full of anger against this guy because I want to listen to his side of the story too. I am only a bit nervous on how you all are condoning his actions only because you think that Muslim deserve to be blown up.
@Frank
I may be wrong here, however, I think you may be misunderstanding -Muneef. He is a Muslim. Please take that into consideration and re-read your postings, and see if what you said still makes sense...?
Peace...
Thank you guys for explaining and most appreciated..(Reply2Frank/Peace2All). Peace
@Muneef
You're welcome... No problem.
I hope that you are well...?
Peace...
He is a terrorist. Lock him up. There are no excuses for this. If this had been a Muslim guy who wanted to target a church, you'd all be panicking like crazy and calling for deportation of all Muslims.
@inyourhead00
Unfortunately, there are many in the U.S., (including finding quite a few on this 'belief blog), that 'do' want all Muslim's deported, among many other fear-based over-generalized actions.
Peace...
Fox News to loose a faithful brainwashee for the next 20 years.
Uh oh. Will they have to cancel Beck's show in Dearborn now that he's lost his viewership ? They've already bounced the Becksteer from WOR in NYC and WPHT in Philadelphia.
Really? He was going to blow up a mosk with fireworks...lol. What exactly was he goin going to destroy with a box of sparklers and some snap n pops?? Get real!
Are you defending him?
Seriously inyourhead. Honestly do you have to ask such an apparent question? Wait should I even be asking this very apparent question about your question? He obviously is commenting on the part of the article in which they felt the need to mention that he had fireworks to elaborate the severity of his threat.
@Casey – I can ask whatever I want, however I want. Obviously, I get what you're saying, but I wanted the person to elaborate on why s/he thinks that because if the roles had been reversed, that is, a Muslim was targeting a church, s/he'd be singing a different tune. With or without fireworks.
If somebody showed up at your church with M-80s and other bombs made out of fire works, would you invite him in and offer a match?
I bet we find out that this guy is banned from buying real weapons so he got the fireworks for their gun powder.
Here goes America defending the Mosque terror breeders. Just look at whats happening in New York people there is a terror threat there everyday, not saying this man is correct in having his little bottlerockets near a mosque but you can clearly see he is like most normal Americans....FED UP.
It does my heart good to hear that muslims in our country should be afraid for their lives...the rest of us "infidels" are worried each and every day that some miserable muslim will throw a bomb in a crowded area and kill hundreds if not thousands of innocent Americans. Let the muslims in our midst know the fear that we experience every day because of their terrorist activities. I think I would have cheered if that "biggest mosque in America" would have been blown up without any loss of life...it would have meant one less place for them to congregate and plan terrorist activities in our midst...not a bad thing to happen.
ra1201, let's be serious for a minute, you would have cheered until you cried if there had been loss of life.
Define irony: "It does my heart good to hear that muslims in our country should be afraid for their lives"
You are nothing but a coward. Afraid of people that don't look and believe the same way you do. And while you walk around a coward let it be known that for every person like you there are three people like me, people who don't live their lives in constant fear of a far fetched scenario. I think you need to get some help, channel all that anger somewhere else, perhaps the military? Oh, right, the coward thing.
Been living in NYC my entire life, totaling 31 years. I work in what remains of the World Trade Center. My office overlooks ground zero; been looking down into empty pit for 8 years, but now I see 4 structures finally emerging from the rubble. Honestly – no idea what you're talking about. Zero. Zilch. Everything you wrote is false. Seriously. False. Get a clue.
@Anavay
Hmmm.... I'm going with -Luke's assessment on this one.
Peace...
I don't believe "normal" means what you think it does.
@rs1201
I'm guessing that you don't really know 'any' Muslim's...? The one's I know are peace- loving, kind and productive people with families, just getting by and living their lives.
Too much 'hate' in your 'heart,' in my opinion...- rs1201.
Maybe a little less 'over-generalizing' and 'stereotyping' of a whole group of individuals, and a bit more understanding and tolerance.
And, there are a lot of tragedies that 'could' happen that are too numerous to even mention. Maybe try living without the fear...? I think you may be wrong in your *inference* that somehow most 'infidels' (assuming you mean Americans') are 'worried' each and every day.
Peace...
A war is coming soon, so pick ur side u want to be on! There will be no excuse or empathy from either side! Both sides is about killing one another and its been going on for a very very long time. Read ur history, it just might tell u something! Or, we can learn to get along with one another to make this planet a better place! In the name of the father of Muslims, Jews and Christians alike, 'ABARAHAM', if we don't an enemy will come along one day to threaten us all and none of our childeren will be alive to carry on our name! So beware of the forces of hate that seek to destroy us for they will make slaves of us all or kill us all!!! We must get along, or we doom ourselves to a footnote in history!
I feel a little dumber for reading what you wrote. There goes twelve seconds of my life I'll never get back.
2haired, i agree to a point, but explain that to the muslims and see how far you get.
I think YOU are the one who is the "bearer of hate." Seriously, get help or your anger issues before you implode.
Wow. Dumbest thing I read in quite a while.
Ah the never ending cycle of violence and revenge. Such things never really end until both sides are willing to let it go.
But people who go looking for enemies, sadly, always find them (or make them).
@ 2haired
The only thing that really seems to be of a positive or truly understandable comment is about us all learning to somehow get along better.
I'm for that.
Peace...
So we persecute people who want to bomb mosques but Muslims teach children hate are free to preach at will??? Pathetic...1
If you think bombing a mosque is the right thing to do what are you waiting for?
Yes this guy also thought that Islam is danger, that is why he wants to blow a Mosque. I think the only dangerous people here is him and you who want to condone his actions.
@IslamiISdanger
You Said: "So we persecute people who want to bomb mosques but Muslims teach children hate are free to preach at will???"
What are you saying exactly...? Are you suggesting that we 'shouldn't' persecute people that take specific actions from desiring/wanting to actually possibly taking the steps to do it, like the guy in the article...?
I believe that there is no law against someone for 'wanting' to bomb a Mosque, i suppose, but this guy took it just a bit too far, don't ya' think...?
Are you suggesting then, since there are extremist Muslim's that teach hatred to their children, that then it is o.k for us to just 'nuke' the middle-east or something...?
Help me here... What are you saying exactly...?
Peace...
Another isolated incident? Man, they are really starting to pile up!
Send him Guantanamo and torture him. Fair is fair.
@bobby. How is that "fair"? He is, it seems, an American citizen, not an unlawful combatant fighting without uniform or rules on a foreign country.
Seems that you are just another ignorant poster without any understanding of WHY there is a Guantanamo in the first place.
Absolutely agree!!!
He is not an unlawful combatnant. He is a crimminal that got caught.
Now, for the million dollar question. What makes an unlawful combatant?
Was the man fighting against something? Yes. Was the act unlawful? Yes.
🙂
ooops.. Where is his lawyer ? What proof of bomb? Fire wooks are not bombs. What if he was just planning to harass them with noise. I'm don't like this at all
what makes you think he doesn't have a lawyer? proof comes out at the trial and, for justice reasons, can't be circulated publically beforehand. and what if he planned on blowing up the building ... should the police have stood calmly by until he actually did that?
I didn't say he didn't have a laywer, I said: " where is his laywer? "
Meaning this story is one sided. Of course I assume the mosque is hiding something! They teach disrespect for women and non believers. Fact of quran.
This kind of thing wouldn't be happening if non muslims were protected by laws against islam.
Johnee, I'd TELL you how to make a bomb out of class C fireworks, but I'm too concerned you'd go and make one, in order to murder other citizens.
So, I'll leave my IED training to myself and those who were trained with me.
Suffice it to say, it isn't difficult.
ooops again.. LAWYER. I'm not saying the guy is innocent, what I'm saying is this country needs proection from islam. You wait.. Years from now they'll be running rampant in the streets, burning everything in sight, demanding sharia and trying to dissolve our govt and I'll be in tears hiding under my bed wondering why islam was allowed here at all! IMHO
Goodeee for you wzrd1, so keep your IED training to yourself, we have enough peaceful muslims in this country who would love to read all about it.
Uh....fireworks are bombs. And when you string a glut of them together, it becomes one big bomb. Fertilizer is not a bomb either – but it is when you know what to do with it.
Little tip: There are laws against interfering with a religion. Even just making noise is a crime if it is intended to interfere with people freely practicing their religion.
It would appear that your basic premise is that the founding fathers were wrong and that the citizens of this country should NOT have freedom of religion, at least when it's a religion you have no real understanding of other than what you heard from Rush Limbaugh.
What this country needs is protection from hateful bigots like this guy and you. Millions of Muslims are living in this country peacefully but people like you want to preach hatred against them. Islam teaches disrespect to women? I don't know but you sure are teaching some hatred here.
@johnee
You Said: "You wait.. Years from now they'll be running rampant in the streets, burning everything in sight, demanding sharia and trying to dissolve our govt"
I suppose it's possible... but, 'probable'... not very likely at all, don't ya' think...?
Peace...
"Islam teaches disrespect to women? "
idiot. you ve got it exactly backwards. Islam is the one that teaches respect for women and it is your trailer park culture that teaches disrespect for women. lol.
This is called 63 years of hate that has gone unchallenged, people don't just wake up one day and decide to act on terrorism and the scary thing about this he has probably instilled this kind of hate in others. Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, etc. don't help these people who don't have a bully news channel to work on, so they take their rage out on innocent people.
Claudia, you need to wake up and see what is really going on around you and the world!!
We are going to get many people who are against the Moslems and things will get worse...Of course these people have a few problems of their own...They are killing Christians in the Moslem countires..No church is allowed in Sadia Arabia but they send money here to build Mosques...were is the answer.......Do it our way...No churchs are allowd inSaudia Arabia..How can I allow Mosques here? Moslems are not fanatics here in America because they are now in the minority...see what happens when they get bigger.
There are 50 odd Muslim countries and many of them have churches . Muslims and Christians have lived peacefully in those countries with a few exceptions here and there . Saudi regime is aided and propped up by Western Countries – just like most middle east countries
I think you need to worry less about the muslims and more about sentence structure and grammar.
I see, so we are now the building code enforcers for Christianity? If Saudi doesn't allow churches and the Vatican won't allow Mosques, we will not allow either?
Or do you want us to nuke them until they build churches?
Sorry, you are a dolt in great need of mental health assistance.
agree
I know, build a Jesus Park right in the middle of Dearborn with dinosaurs, a full sized ark and every night, re-enact the Flood showing how the Unicorn missed the boat. That'll show 'em who's in charge.
I'm trying to figure out if you don't know governments of foreign countries are structured – being that they make laws you may not agree with – or you think all countries have governments that are structured identically to America. If Churches are not allowed in Saudi Arabia, that's there decision. Mosques are allowed here because we are secular. Many countries are not secular, including most of the Middle East. Of those some are theocracies or democratic monarchies. Most have state religions that are enforced by strict laws (archaic laws). Fortunately for Americans, we are not ruled by a bronze age book or belief system. That's the beauty of a secular republic.
Bill I think you gotta worry about yourself first, probably taking an English remediation class will be a good start.
I'm not sure I believe this story. Why all the bogus charges of bombs? Fireworks are not bombs. Why are they , meaning muslim police and islam center, blowing this into terror charges? Where is his laywer? Why no investigation into terror connections at mosque? Something is very wrong here!
actually, fireworks ARE bombs.
and the police weren't muslim and the mosque didn 't even KNOW about it till after the man was apprehended. the thing that's "very wrong, here" is that you are already assuming the mosque is hiding something.
No, there isn't. The "fireworks" he was in possession of were M-80s (real ones, not the ones marketed as such), not a handful of bottle rockets. If you're hanging around somewhere with a bunch of quarter-sticks of dynamite, then you are looking to do some damage. Take off the tinfoil hat.
According to the American Pyrotechnics Association, Class C fireworks are known as consumer fireworks and are "most commonly sold at neighborhood stands during the Fourth of July season."
@galfridus73 does not sound like M-80s to me. Either you are wrong or CNN is wrong. Either is possible from where I sit.
"Something is very wrong here". Yeah, and that something is you defending his actions.
Class C fireworks can get REAL loud and destructive when lit off in one mass.
Well... fertilizer is a bomb, either - but it can be turned into one. Likewise, the components in fireworks can be the basis for bomb-manufacture.
"Why no investigation into terror connections at mosque? Something is very wrong here!"
A guy makes threats to kill, and parks a car full of fireworks (a crude, but effective bomb), and you want the victims to be investigated for terrorism? Something IS very wrong here.
@johnee
Yes, you must be right... there must be something wrong here. Because, obviously no one in America has ever made any threats, nor has stated any intentions of harming Muslim's and their Mosque's...?
Peace...
How odd. I quoted directly from the article and followed with a note that the police seem to be overreaching with their charge against the man and CNN marks the comment as "awaiting moderation–which usually means they will discard it eventually. Now, I wonder what THEY said that triggered THEIR censor?
• The moderators of this blog have set up a secret forbidden word filter which unfortunately not only will delete or put your comment in the dreaded "waiting for moderation" category but also will do the same to words having fragments of these words. For example, "t-it" is in the set but the filter will also pick up words like Hitt-ite, t-itle, beati-tude, practi-tioner and const-tution. Then there are words like "an-al" thereby flagging words like an-alysis and "c-um" flagging acc-umulate or doc-ument. And there is also "r-a-pe", “a-pe” and “gra-pe”, "s-ex", and "hom-ose-xual". You would think that the moderators would have corrected this by now considering the number of times this has been commented on but they have not. To be safe, I typically add hyphens in any word that said filter might judge "of-fensive".
• More than one web address will also activate “waiting for moderation”. Make sure the web address does not have any forbidden word or fragment.
Sum Dude routinely updates the list of forbidden words/fragments.
Two of the most filtered words are those containing the fragments "t-it" and "c-um". To quickly check your comments for these fragments, click on "Edit" on the Tool Bar and then "Find" on the menu. Add a fragment (without hyphens) one at a time in the "Find" slot and the offending fragment will be highlighted in your comments before you hit the Post button. Hyphenate the fragment(s) and then hit Post. And remember more than one full web address will also gain a "Waiting for Moderation".
The police sure work quick when there may be an incident at a mosque but they sure are stow to respond when there is a threat to a church. I quess the police in Michigan pray to Alah to.
Right. Because the church burnings in the south a few years back went COMPLETELY unnoticed, didn't they?
Why, did the Catholics burn your protestant church down again?
What a buffoon.
stupid terrorist
This is hilarious. He is being charged for possession of bombs – illegal fireworks. Other than a nice spectacular vehicle fire, what exactly would happen? A few Whistling Moon Travelers would shoot across Ford Road?
"hilarious"? what if it had been a church and the person doing the threatening had been muslim.
it's not "hilarious". it's very, very serious.
Hmmm.. What exactly did the time square bomber had? Fireworks, fertilizer from homedepot and some fireworks. Go find out what he was charged with.
What would you have done if this guy "looked Muslim" and showed up are your church with a truckload of fireworks, ready to set them all off during Sunday service? Handed him a match?
Do you know just how easy it is to make a bomb from fireworks? They're all gunpowder and it's pretty straightforward.
Glenn Beck fan?
Derp Palin did it Derpity derp
No, he is Hannity fan, .
Not bad Gramps, almost became a Martyr for us Americans.
*ArmyofNone* – I bet you cheered when that old guy went nuts and killed the guard at the Holocaust Museum.
@ArmyofOne
Ugh... When you use the word 'martyr' you kinda' sound like the extremist Muslim's.
Peace...