Muslim barber who taught kids jihad flees U.S.

Muslim barber who taught kids jihad flees U.S.
Judge allowed him to keep passport when released prior to sentencing

© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com

A Muslim who allegedly used his Seattle barber shop to teach children "how to shoot and fight the Americans" has fled to Somalia to avoid prison after he was convicted on federal counterfeiting and weapons charges.

Ruben Shumpert, a black American who converted to Islam, was among more than a dozen arrested by the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force two years ago on charges including immigration fraud and bank fraud, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported.

Shumpert was able to leave the country because a judge allowed him to keep his passport when he was released from custody prior to sentencing. A condition of Shumpert's release was that he surrender the passport prior to his sentencing, which was scheduled for Tuesday.

While he was not convicted on terrorism-related charges, federal agents allege Shumpert's barber shop was a gathering place for radical Muslims where he showed children videotapes of "fighting, shooting and killing with images on his computer screen of al-Qaida and the Taliban," the PI reported.

In court documents, the agents called his shop a kind of "anti-American training ground for Muslims."

Federal authorities have issued a warrant for the arrest of Shumpert, also known as Amir Abdul Muhaimin.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Redkey said Shumpert had been free on personal recognizance and faced sentencing under a plea agreement.

According to Redkey, Shumpert made a phone call from Somalia to an FBI agent on the Joint Terrorism Task Force from Somalia. The convict apparently has little fear of being tracked down as the African nation, considered a hotbed of radical Islam, has no extradition treaty with the U.S.

Redkey told the Seattle paper it has become more common in recent years for judges to allow defendants to turn in their passports after they are released from custody, but the U.S. Attorney's Office is reviewing the practice.