Feel the love of
Islam.
A former Georgia Tech student charged with plotting to help terrorist groups turned the closing arguments in his federal trial on Thursday into a bewildering lesson on Islamic principles amid stunned courtroom observers.
Syed Haris Ahmed, 24, had waived his right to a jury trial so he could deliver closing arguments and warned last month he would use his time to focus on the "message of Islam."
Even so, the judge, prosecutors and even his defense attorney seemed unprepared: He read nine verses of the Quran in Arabic and never directly addressed the charges that could land him 15 years in federal prison.
"I hope that if I deliver the message that has been revealed by Allah, the promise of protection from evil will come to me," Ahmed said during the hushed and sometimes stumbling 45-minute address.
Prosecutors contend that Ahmed and Ehsanul Islam Sadequee took a 2005 road trip to Washington, D.C., to shoot 62 "casing videos" of the Pentagon, the Capitol and other landmarks they wanted to send overseas to earn the respect of foreign terrorists.
The clips, as well as Ahmed's alleged attempts to connect with terrorists in Canada and Pakistan, are at the center of federal charges that he provided support for terrorism in the U.S. and abroad.
Sadequee, who has also pleaded not guilty, is scheduled to go on trial in August.
Don't forget: Islam is a religion of peace.
The defendant, wearing a white skullcap and scraggly beard, got his chance a few hours later when he walked to the podium directly in front of U.S. District Judge William Duffey.
He said no one harassed him about his beliefs during his 10 years living in Georgia, and said he only wanted to help the public understand his faith.
He spoke of linguistic similarities between Hebrew and Arabic, quoted from the Quran and the Bible, and delved into some of the shared beliefs of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
"The Christians of America, my message is this: We worship the same God," he said.
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