Anger “They did it in the name of Islam”

Not only was I angry at the people for what they did, but I was also angry because they did it in the name of Islam which to me was such a warped understanding of what I knew to be Islam and what I had studied for so many years. I felt very angry at them for having usurped such a moral religion for such an immoral purpose.

FBI Investigation “They seemed to know a lot about me”

My brother-in-law was working at a local computer company and was taking flying lessons on the side. And a couple months, or several months before September 11, he had resigned from his job and started attending full time flight school several hours away from Austin. Then September 11 happened and lo and behold he gets a knock on the door, the FBI comes and interviews him. And, in the course of the interview, they asked him about his brother-in-law. And he said, “Well, which brother in law? I have eight sisters and seven of them are married and . . .” He said, “No, no, not those brother-in-laws, this one Jihad.” Or “Gee-haad.” I don’t know how they said it exactly. So he said, “Well, what about him?” And he said, “Well, is he raising funds for Islamic Jihad?” And he says, “No, he’s a poor student, he doesn’t have money to pay his rent.” I don’t know all the details, but they seemed to know a lot about me when they were questioning him. So, I was, I guess, on their radar screen for some reason or another, which is chilling, you know, who wants to be spied on all the time by your own government. On the other hand I felt, what kind of incompetent intelligence community do we have that they’re following me. I have nothing to do with anything.

Identity “Jihad means to struggle”

Well, growing up my dad always told me the meaning of it, which is very different than what you hear in the news today. And it was actually something that I felt quite proud of because it gave me something to aspire towards. Jihad means to struggle, it’s the struggle within yourself to do what is right, so whenever you are tempted to do something wrong, it’s that inner struggle to do what is right. So I’ve always felt proud that I was engaged in this, or tried to engage in this inner struggle to do what’s right and to overcome any inclinations I would have to do anything wrong.

Loss “I’m being singled out”

The fact that I’m being surveilled and my phones are being tapped and my privacy, I’m sure, is being invaded, makes me feel like I’m being set apart in some way from the rest of American society. I’m being singled out, unfairly, unjustly, just because of some aspect of my profile that is different than the majority of other Americans.