Page 264 - Encyclopedia Of Terrorism

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242———Moussaoui, Zacarias (1968– )

2001, Moussaoui took flight lessons at Airman on
MOUSSAOUI, ZACARIAS (1968– ) small planes. He was reportedly a dreadful pilot, and

aka Shaqil, Abu Kahlid al Sahrawi after being told that he would need more lessons, he
quit the school. In August, Moussaoui left Norman,
moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and attended Pan
The first person to be indicted in the United States Am International Flight Academy.
on charges stemming from the September 11, 2001,
His behavior soon attracted attention. He paid a
attacks on New York City’s World Trade Center and the
$6,300 fee in cash, he was extremely evasive, and he
Pentagon near Washington, D.C., Zacarias Moussaoui
adamantly insisted that he be taught to fly a large pas-
was in prison in Minnesota when the attacks occurred.
senger plane even though he had not mastered flying
Moussaoui, a radical Muslim with ties to Al Qaeda, is
a small plane. Instructors became suspicious and con-
believed to have been a last-minute recruit who was
tacted the FBI. Moussaoui was arrested on August 17,
supposed to fill in for another would-be hijacker. He
2001 and held on immigration charges.
was jailed about a month before the attacks for over-
In December 2001, Moussaoui was formally charged
staying his visa.
with six charges of conspiracy related to the September
Moussaoui was born in 1968 in St. Jean de Luz,
11 attacks in a federal court in Alexandria, Virginia. In
France, the son of a Moroccan couple who married
March 2002, the U.S. government announced that it
when Moussaoui’s mother was 14 years old. His
would seek the death penalty for Moussaoui. Although
parents divorced when he was young, and Moussaoui’s
as a French citizen Moussaoui was eligible to be tried
mother worked to support her four children, eventu-
before a special military tribunal empowered to charge
ally buying a home in Narbonne. Moussaoui’s mother
foreign terrorists, he was instead indicted in a civilian
raised her sons and daughters to share housework,
court. Moussaoui is representing himself and was
a practice that was criticized by some of her more
granted a delay in his trial in order to prepare for it. The
conservative relatives.
trial was postponed to June 30, 2003.
In the early 1990s, Moussaoui moved to London.
There he received a master’s degree in economics See also AL QAEDA; MOHAMED ATTA; OSAMA BIN LADEN;
from Southbank University and fell in with radical HIJACKING; MILITANT ISLAM; SEPTEMBER 11 ATTACKS
Muslims, eventually becoming estranged from his
immediate family. Nonetheless he made several visits Further Reading
to France and was outspoken enough about his views
Daley, Suzanne. “Mysterious Life of a Suspect From
to attract the attention of French authorities, who France.” New York Times, September 21, 2001, B1.
put him under surveillance. Moussaoui traveled to Doyle, Pat. “Suspect Was a ‘Hardheaded’ Student Pilot:
Pakistan and Afghanistan more than once, training at Zacarias Moussaoui Didn’t Leave Much of a Trail for
an Al Qaeda camp in 1998. He occasionally attended Investigators.” Star Tribune, September 18, 2001, 15A.
the same mosque in Brixton, England, as Richard Fallis, David S., and Lois Romano. “Between Two Worlds:
Colvin Reid, who in December 2001 attempted to Suspect Chafed at Western Ways, Alienated Fellow
blow up an airliner by igniting explosives hidden in Muslims.” Washington Post, September 29, 2001, A19.
his shoes. Moss, Michael. “A Traveler With Strong Views on the
Right Kind of Islam and No Fear of Sharing Them.”
In the fall of 2000, Moussaoui contacted Airman
New York Times, December 12, 2001, B6.
Flight School in Norman, Oklahoma, inquiring about
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
taking flight lessons. Around the same time, Ramzi
Alexandria Division. United States v. Zacarias Mous-
Binalshibh, a member of Al Qaeda living in Germany,
saoui. Indictment. December 2001.
abandoned his efforts to get an entrance visa to the
United States; these facts led investigators to conclude
that Moussaoui was a replacement for Binalshibh. In
early September 2002, Binalshibh was arrested in MOVEMENT OF THE
Pakistan. Now in U.S. custody, he is suspected in con- REVOLUTIONARY LEFT
nection with the September 11 attacks and the bomb-
ing of the USS Cole.
Moussaoui entered the United States on a student The militant Movement of the Revolutionary Left
visa in February 2001. From late February to late May (Movimiento Izquierda Revolucionaria; MIR) began