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By John Muir and Annan Boodram |
Speaking to numerous media within and outside of the USA over the last few weeks, family members have described Adnan as a brother who loved to picnic in the desert outside Medina and enjoyed American movies. They added that he was just a normal, good-natured young man, whose young adult years in Miramar, Florida were filled with driving children to school, buying groceries and taking college courses.
He sometimes went with his father to lead Islamic worship services and took his Muslim heritage seriously. But by their account, Adnan El'Shukri-jumah never showed any signs of taking up the militant causes of extremists.
In 1999, Adnan organized garage sales and car washes to raise money for Muslim refugees of the war in Bosnia. ''I remember him telling me once that he felt like those people were his family too,'' said Adnan's mother Zurah Abdu Ahmed, who is originally from Yemen.
At the time, his family said, neither they nor Adnan were aware that the charity they supported -- Global Relief Fund -- was allegedly involved in funding terrorist organizations.
About the same time, the family befriended a man named Imran Farooq Mandhai -- who later would become the genesis of the FBI's suspicions about Adnan.
Mandhai, now serving nearly 12 years in prison for plotting to blow up power plants and other South Florida facilities, first approached Gulshair's father for spiritual leadership. The family described him as a follower of little intellect but lovable.
Mandhai was ensnared in a federal terrorism investigation in early 2001 in which discussions of his plots were recorded by undercover agents. It is in these recordings that Adnan's name first became known to federal authorities.
On March 13, 2001, Mandhai told an undercover agent: "Brother, why don't you come with us to Adnan...Probably he, he will join with us.''
Two months later, Adnan left for Saudi Arabia via Trinidad and Panama, his family said. He was in Trinidad in May trying to sell Islamic goods and trinkets, his family said.
''He wanted so much to get married and have children,'' his mother said. "And there were things he didn't like about American customs. He didn't like what people wore, the permissiveness. He wanted to get married back home.''
When he last contacted the family, Zuhra said Adnan was very happy after marriage and becoming the father of a boy. "He also inquired about the health of his father, brothers and sisters and asked us to pray for him," she added.
Under Suspicion
After 9/11, it became clear the son was under suspicion. The family said the first time they met with FBI agents was in the weeks following Sept. 11. It was the first in a half-dozen visits from agents looking for information.During the first FBI visit, the family said, Adnan had not been in touch.
''When he did call I told him the FBI was looking for him,'' said his mother. "He wanted to come home, but I told him to stay away. I was very scared for him.''
She said the family is afraid that if Adnan is arrested he will be incarcerated at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, for months until the government concludes he is innocent.
She said the last time he called was in October. He was teaching English in Morocco and had married. ''These are not the actions of a terrorist,'' she said.
After Sept. 11, federal sources said Mandhai was given a lie-detector test in which he was asked whether he knew any of the suspected terrorists involved in the attacks.The polygraph indicated he was lying when he said no, sources said. Confronted with the deception, Mandhai told authorities that he was thinking of Adnan, sources said.
The federal search for El'Shukri-jumah went worldwide following the March 1 arrest in Pakistan of Khalid Shaik Mohammed, the suspected mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks and a top al Qaeda commander. And, the head of the FBI's Miami office called a news conference to say El Shukri-jumah "has been identified by senior members of the al Qaeda organization as a very, very, very serious threat.''
Federal authorities acknowledge that there is no indictment, no arrest warrant and no evidence that El Shukri-jumah has ever been involved in an act of violence. They have not made public any evidence suggesting El'Shukri-jumah is a threat, and they won't say under what conditions Khalid Shaik Mohammed -- now under interrogation at an undisclosed location -- made the identification.
Not Saudi
Adnan's father, Gul Shir Muhammad Al-Shukri Jumah has also contradicted an FBI statement that claimed Adnan was a Saudi. "He was born in Madinah while I was working as preacher there for Dar Al-Ifta," he said adding that Adnan is a US green card holder. Guyanese authorities have also confirmed that Adnan is alegitimate holder of a Guyanese passport.
A Saudi Interior Ministry spokesman confirmed last month that Adnan was not a Saudi citizen. Adnan's father, Gul Shir, stayed in the Kingdom for 27 years before moving to the United States with his family in 1986 after receiving American citizenship, the spokesman said.
Gul Shir is originally from Guyana. "I worked in Trinidad as an Islamic preacher for six years before moving to New York in 1986 and then to Florida," he said.
Threats
Gul Shir told an Arab newspaper that he had received threats from several quarters. However, their neighbors including Christians and the Muslim community in Florida had been very supportive of the family. "The Amana Islamic Society in Florida arranged for a lawyer to defend our case," he added.