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Home Front
Peacful Religionist goes all Robespierre on a guy
2004-01-13
Chalk up another one for the Peaceful ReligionTM
A Saudi millionaire’s son who went from a freewheeling Houston college student to an observant Muslim pleaded guilty Monday to nearly decapitating a longtime Jewish friend in the accused’s Galleria-area apartment but offered no explanation.
Lopped his nut off, did he? How very... ummm... Islamic.
Mohammed Ali Alayed, 23, who spent the last three years in Houston on a student visa, admitted slashing the throat of Ariel Sellouk, also 23, with a 4-inch butterfly knife Aug.6. Alayed, who was to go on trial Monday on murder charges, pleaded guilty in a deal that will limit his punishment to 60 years in prison when he is sentenced in April by state District Judge Joan Huffman.
That’s, what, 10-and-out for lopping off the guy’s dome?
Although there was no direct evidence the killing was a hate crime, attorneys said jurors might have been particularly unsympathetic to Alayed because the slaying raised the specter of Islamic extremism and stereotypes surrounding terrorists. "Now is not a good time to be trying a case with these facts," said Alayed’s attorney, George Parnham.
Hey, George! When's a good time for trying a case where somebody cut somebody else's hat stand off?
"I believe a jury well could have given him a life sentence."
Gee, wonder why that is? But why would life in the hole be a bad idea, Jawge? Dude lopped off the guy’s dome. The sad thing is that these two guys used to be friends:
Alayed and Sellouk became friends while studying at Houston Community College. Alayed attended Sellouk’s 21st birthday party, and the two spent time together, visiting local bars and socializing with young women.
Until the Peaceful ReligionTM came along:
But Alayed severed ties with Sellouk about one year before the killing. The defendant had undergone a religious reawakening and had recently reformed his typical American student behavior to a more conservative, Islamic lifestyle, authorities said.
But the really great thing about the Peaceful ReligionTM is that when you screw up, it motivates you to stay and bravely face the consequences of your actions:
Alayed then immediately called a friend for a ride to a nearby mosque. He later told his roommate he planned to flee to Saudi Arabia to avoid prosecution, authorities said.
Where he would have gotten his own TV show or a cola named after him. Guess who Texas thought might help the guy make bail? Yup:
Alayed’s bail was set at $5 million after prosecutors said they feared the Saudi Arabian government would help post his bond. The Saudi consulate had posted previous bonds for Alayed on minor traffic violations, St. Martin said.
Guess the Saudi entity thought he could do them more good in the hole. Punch up the Wahhabi recruiting, maybe
Posted by:Christopher Johnson

#4  WTF! Will somebody please tell me why this isn't a hate crime?

And it happened in Texas.
Posted by: Daniel King   2004-1-14 10:26:28 AM  

#3  Hell, my bud Faisal suggests he was just studying marriage counseling and got carried away.
Posted by: Shipman   2004-1-13 8:36:29 PM  

#2  Looks like an easy payday for Barrister Parnham... and not in rials please.
Posted by: tu3031   2004-1-13 8:16:46 PM  

#1  According to another story linked from LGF, this guy's "religious reawakening" occurred "about two years ago". I'm guessing it happened two years, four months ago.

Oh, and the reason this case raised "stereotypes" about Arab Islamic terrorism? Because it's a prime example.
Posted by: Robert Crawford   2004-1-13 8:02:33 PM  

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