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An FBI agent recently revealed in a court testimony that an informant had been paid to look for evidence of terrorist activity at the Islamic Center of Irvine. Craig Monteilh posed as a man named Frederick Jordan and converted to Islam to gather information on an Afghan-born US citizen named Ahmed Niazi. Niazi is the brother-in-law of an alleged bodyguard of Osama bin Laden. The revelation that the FBI paid Monteilh to spy on Muslims at local mosques has chilled members of the community, many of whom are resorting to praying at home rather than risk being spied on. Monteilh has testified that Niazi talked of bombing the South Coast Plaza and Fashion Island. During the four years he spent infiltrating the Muslim community in Orange County, Monteilh railed openly against US foreign policy, recorded hours of conversations between himself and members of the Islamic Center, and asked if there were any so-called operations he could join. His conduct caused fear and concern at the mosque, leading some members to report him to the Irvine Police Department and the FBI. Monteilh has a criminal record that includes grand theft, burglary, and forgery. Ahmed Niazi meanwhile, faces charges of passport and immigration fraud. The case is similar to that of Osama Eldawoody, who worked as a paid informant for the New York Police Department, and helped indict a young Pakistani man he befriended and talked into a terrorist plot. The FBI has justified it’s spying on the Muslim community, saying it is their best tool to thwart domestic terrorism plots.

GUEST: Shakeel Syed, Executive Director of the Islamic Shura Council, Mona Shadia, contributing reporter to In-Focus News the largest Muslim newspaper in California

For more information, visit www.shuracouncil.org, and infocusnews.net.