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READERS HAVE JIHAD IT WITH TRAITOR
October 16, 2001 -- Patriotic Americans want a fellow citizen who says he'd like to join the jihad to get out of the country - and they're prepared to personally pay for his one-way ticket to Kabul.
More than a dozen readers contacted The Post yesterday offering to stump up the cash to grant 24-year-old Maine resident Isamu Dyson his wish: to fight for the Taliban in Afghanistan.
"I'd love for him to take my money and get out of here - anything for him to leave the country," said deli owner Shannon Campbell, 33, of Connecticut.
Campbell said he was "really ticked off" when he read that Dyson, a fifth-generation American who lives in Portland, was prepared to fight in Afghanistan and also believed government workers were fair targets in the holy war.
Robert Grappa, 50, a seafood distributor at New York's Fulton Markets, said: "If we have to, we should fly a plane over Afghanistan, give him a parachute and say goodbye."
Portland Police Chief Mike Chitwood revealed yesterday that Dyson tried to buy a .308 caliber assault rifle and a .45 caliber handgun from a local gun shop Sept. 26.
The shop owner, who asked not to be named, said Dyson was not perturbed that the guns cost $2,085 - despite saying he was unemployed.
But the owner refused the sale to Dyson, who appeared at the store wearing traditional Afghan dress, including a turban.
"These are very powerful weapons and, given the circumstances, I just didn't feel comfortable," the owner said.
He said Dyson threatened to take legal action against him, saying he was being discriminated against because of his religion.
Chitwood said Dyson, who claims he converted to Islam three years ago, also told police he applied to work at North East Air as a refueler at the Portland International Jet Port but was also given a thumbs-down.
Dyson first came to the cops' attention three days after the World Trade Center attack, when he asked police to attend a meeting at a Portland mosque to explain how local Muslims would be protected.
Chitwood said that he started "mouthing off" to two cops, saying he supported the trade-center attacks if it was part of an Islamic jihad.
When the startled cops questioned him, he said he would not warn authorities if he knew of a planned attack against the United States.
Chitwood said cops re-interviewed Dyson yesterday, but they can't arrest him because he hasn't broken the law.
Dyson tried to back away from his comments yesterday when hundreds of angry Portland residents contacted a local radio station and the police.
He told The Post he had tried to explain his beliefs so Americans understood that Muslims who were not even part of al Qaeda would be required by their faith to join the fight.
"This is not going to go away," he said. "This is not just a fringe group that, all of a sudden, other Muslims are going to ignore."
http://www.nypost.com/news/nationalnews/31908.htm
October 16, 2001 -- Patriotic Americans want a fellow citizen who says he'd like to join the jihad to get out of the country - and they're prepared to personally pay for his one-way ticket to Kabul.
More than a dozen readers contacted The Post yesterday offering to stump up the cash to grant 24-year-old Maine resident Isamu Dyson his wish: to fight for the Taliban in Afghanistan.
"I'd love for him to take my money and get out of here - anything for him to leave the country," said deli owner Shannon Campbell, 33, of Connecticut.
Campbell said he was "really ticked off" when he read that Dyson, a fifth-generation American who lives in Portland, was prepared to fight in Afghanistan and also believed government workers were fair targets in the holy war.
Robert Grappa, 50, a seafood distributor at New York's Fulton Markets, said: "If we have to, we should fly a plane over Afghanistan, give him a parachute and say goodbye."
Portland Police Chief Mike Chitwood revealed yesterday that Dyson tried to buy a .308 caliber assault rifle and a .45 caliber handgun from a local gun shop Sept. 26.
The shop owner, who asked not to be named, said Dyson was not perturbed that the guns cost $2,085 - despite saying he was unemployed.
But the owner refused the sale to Dyson, who appeared at the store wearing traditional Afghan dress, including a turban.
"These are very powerful weapons and, given the circumstances, I just didn't feel comfortable," the owner said.
He said Dyson threatened to take legal action against him, saying he was being discriminated against because of his religion.
Chitwood said Dyson, who claims he converted to Islam three years ago, also told police he applied to work at North East Air as a refueler at the Portland International Jet Port but was also given a thumbs-down.
Dyson first came to the cops' attention three days after the World Trade Center attack, when he asked police to attend a meeting at a Portland mosque to explain how local Muslims would be protected.
Chitwood said that he started "mouthing off" to two cops, saying he supported the trade-center attacks if it was part of an Islamic jihad.
When the startled cops questioned him, he said he would not warn authorities if he knew of a planned attack against the United States.
Chitwood said cops re-interviewed Dyson yesterday, but they can't arrest him because he hasn't broken the law.
Dyson tried to back away from his comments yesterday when hundreds of angry Portland residents contacted a local radio station and the police.
He told The Post he had tried to explain his beliefs so Americans understood that Muslims who were not even part of al Qaeda would be required by their faith to join the fight.
"This is not going to go away," he said. "This is not just a fringe group that, all of a sudden, other Muslims are going to ignore."
http://www.nypost.com/news/nationalnews/31908.htm
