Hatred at Home: al-Qaida on Trial in the American Midwest

Acknowledgments

 Acknowledgments Reporting and writing stories for the Associated Press typically requires speaking with a handful or more of sources and the able work of an editor or two. Completing a project like Hatred at Home involved the assistance of dozens and dozens of people, all of whom made great contributions to the work and without whom none of it would have been possible. My exploration of the story of the Columbus trio of terrorists began with an assignment from my AP news editor, Deb Martin, to profile Iyman Faris in the summer of 2003. She edited that and many other stories on Faris, Nuradin Abdi, and Christopher Paul, and I am grateful as always for her instruction, guidance, and eagle editing eye. I am also thankful to my AP chief of bureau, Eva Parziale, for her support of my work as an AP newsman as well as for this project. My colleague Liz Sidoti, now national political reporter for the AP, conducted a crucial early interview with Faris’s ex-wife, Geneva Bowling, in the summer of 2003 that helped guide much of my future reporting on the case. Several individuals with close ties to the defendants provided extensive interviews without which the book would not exist. Kaltun Karani, Nuradin Abdi’s younger sister, spoke extensively about her brother and responded patiently and graciously to many follow-up questions. Yusuf Abucar, a longtime Columbus resident who acted as the family spokesman in the months before Abdi’s plea deal, provided crucial background information on the Somali experience in Columbus as well as Abdi’s case. Several other members of the Somali community were generous with their time and information, including Abdulkadir Ali, Jibril Hirsi, and Adam Mohammed, imam of the Masjid Ibn Taymia, who echoed many when he spoke of his gratitude for the United States’ acceptance of Somalis fleeing the destruction of their country. In 2009, Geneva Bowling sat with me for more than an hour to recount the years she spent with Iyman Faris. Virginia Laws McCammon , a cousin to Christopher Paul, was equally generous with her  acknowledgments time as she drew a picture of Paul and his family as they grew up in Worthington, Ohio. Mike Brooks, the FBI’s chief division counsel for the Southern District of Ohio, and Kevin Cornelius, assistant special agent in charge, provided crucial details and background and context about all three men and the government’s pursuit of them; I am especially thankful to Mike and his patience in answering multiple followup questions. Faris’s former attorneys, Frederick Sinclair and David Smith, both willingly answered questions and guided my reporting. Smith especially was generous with his assistance and answers. The Muslim community in central Ohio has grown from a demographic footnote to a rich part of the area’s cultural tapestry. My recounting of this group’s history and growth benefited greatly from the research and writing of Asma Mobin-Uddin and conversations with Jennifer Nimer, Mouhamed Tarazi, and Adnan Mirza. Julia Shearson, of CAIR’s Cleveland office, helped put the issues facing Muslims in Ohio in perspective, especially in light of the terror investigations in Columbus and Toledo. Andrea Murray, an editor at the Herald-Times in Bloomington, Indiana, where I came of age as a reporter, was kind enough to read an early draft of the book and make multiple suggestions that lifted the narrative far beyond where it was headed. University of Texas law professor Bobby Chesney, one of the country’s leading experts on the prosecution of terrorism, read selected chapters and made pinpoint suggestions that led to important and needed changes. His 2005 article, “The Sleeper Scenario: Terrorism Support Laws and the Demands of Prosecution,” was invaluable to my reconstruction of the history of the material support laws. James Benjamin, co-author of In Pursuit of Justice, a comprehensive study of terrorism prosecution in the federal courts, also helped improve my understanding of these statutes. Jennie McCormick, the Worthington, Ohio, historian, instructed me on the story of African Americans in Worthington and made sure I distinguished between facts and legend. The city’s history is in good hands. I’m appreciative of the support of the Ohio University Press for my work, including Editorial Director Gillian Berchowitz, who guided me toward the narrative that Hatred at Home would become, Managing Editor Nancy Basmajian, whose editorial oversight improved the manuscript tenfold, and Rick Huard, whose copyediting skills polished the final product greatly. [3.144.12.205] Project...