Our own Oregon jihadist: Convicted!

Pete Seda is going to be sentenced in a few days for sending money to Chechen jihadists.  Here are my thoughts.

Pete Seda; The tree-trimming jihadist of Oregon

   It is official, Pete Seda, also known as Pirouz Sedaghaty is guilty of supporting Chechen jihadists to the tune of $150,000.  His charity, the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation, based in Ashland was the foundation from which the money was raised, money specifically intended to support the establishment of an Islamic state in Chechnya.

   The former arborist and self-proclaimed peace activist was actively involved in the Chechen/Islamic cause, and kept himself in the middle of it through e-mails about current events within the Islamic fighters in Chechnya to establish sharia law, he used his expertise to translate postings on the internet about the latest jihad attacks and had expressed a desire to loin the jihadists he had help fund. 

    The proof of his money-laundering came from agents in the successor to the KGB, who had discovered that approximately $130K of the $150K Seda had facilitated out of the US in March of 2000, had gone directly to a jihad training camp which required its graduates, as a final exam of sorts, to perform an act of terrorism.  Easier than writing a 1,000 page dissertation, I suppose.

   One month later, in April, Russian agents intercepted a phone call where one of the co-founders of the Ashland charity, one Mr. Soliman Al-Buthe is telling the head of the training camp that Al-Haramain has purchased grenade launchers, sniper rifles and other weapons, and that all were on their way to the camp. 

  Al-Haramain is not just a local Islamic charity based in one mans warped interpretation of Islamic doctrine.  Al-Haramain was a global Islamic charity foundation, but since 2002 most of their world-wide offices have been shuttered: Bosnia, Somalia, Indonesia, Kenya, Tanzania and Pakistan.  Their main benefactor has been the Saudis, and the international headquarters for AH are located in Riyadh. 

   The Saudis promote, and practice a virulent form of Islam known as Wahabbism, and up to 80% of US Mosques are supported or paid for outright from Saudi money. Their support for terrorist acts around the globe, in the name of Allah is well-documented, Pete Seda was merely being a faithful Wahabbi Muslim, following the guidance of the Qur’an in supporting the installation of an Islamic state in Chechnya.

   Pete Seda, as one of his acts of being a peace activist gave Qur’ans away for free, through the AH foundation, to anyone asking, including prison inmates.  The problem?  The free Qur’an’s contained some not-so-nice things about jihad and non-Muslims.  In a chapter called “Appendix 3”, readers are extolled to “race to jihad” and to use weapons such as missiles, ships and planes against the enemies of Allah.  This version, called “The Noble Qur’an” was published before 9/11, in a time where jihad wasn’t supposed to mean anything bad, yet there it is, a call to arms for Muslims who take the word of Muhammad literally, as did Pete Seda.

   An expert witness in the trial, As’ad Abukhalil, ,professor at CSU Stanislaus, while disputing claims Mr. Seda supported radical Islamic doctrine, also said that Saudi wealth is used to fund and promote Wahabbism globally, through mosque construction and charties, while distributing a Saudi version of the Qur’an called, you guessed it, “The Noble Qur’an”.  It would be strange to think Pete Seda knew nothing of the content of these Qur’ans, nor the doctrine of Wahabbism as applied in Islam.

   Pete Seda may be sentenced to up to eight years in prison, and be required to pay $81,000 in back taxes.  His crimes have been made public, but the doctrine and ideology behind the crimes remain, for most people, including the attorneys and judge not of any import.  Convicted of money-laundering and tax evasion, ala Al Capone does not provide an insight to the thinking behind the face.  Without that insight and acknowledgment of Islamic doctrine as the prime mover behind the actions of Pete Seda, Oregon will remain a place where jihadists can, and do, for the most part roam free.  Ashland is but one more ugly spot on the Oregon jihadists map.  Rest assured, we have not seen the last of the likes of Pete Seda.