Florida Imam Arrested On Terrorism Charges As He Ends Prayers In His Mosque

The Miami Herald describes Saturday's arrest of a 76-year old imam at Miami, Florida's Flagler Mosque on charges of conspiring to transfer funds to supporters of the Pakistani Taliban-- a designated foreign terrorist organization operating in Pakistan. An indictment (full text) handed down May 12 charges Hafiz Muhammad Sher Ali Khan with conspiring with four family members and a fifth Pakistani man to funnel money through U.S. banks and wire transfer services to the Taliban to use to purchase guns and sustain militants and their families. It also charges that Khan founded a madrassa in Pakistan that shelters Pakistani Taliban. (Justice Dept. Press Release). In arresting Khan, FBI agents surrounded his mosque. The agents, who had removed their shoes, waited for morning prayers to end before entering the mosque and making the arrest.