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292———Pearl, Daniel (1963–2002)

The movement received an unexpected boost military activities. Taking on the post of Asia bureau
when IRS enforcement budgets were reduced follow- chief for the Journal in 2000, he moved to Bombay
ing highly publicized congressional hearings in the with his wife, Mariane.
late 1990s on alleged IRS wrongdoings. As a result, At the time of his kidnapping, Pearl was in Karachi
many tax protesters came to believe they could be researching the links between bin Laden’s Al Qaeda
open about their activities without risk of prosecu- network and Richard Reid, the so-called shoe bomber.
tion. Unlike many other right-wing movements, most Reid, a British-born Islamic militant, was arrested
of which are strapped for cash, prominent tax protest in December 2001 aboard a Paris-Miami flight for
groups in recent years have been able to place full- allegedly trying to ignite explosive materials concealed
page color ads in national newspapers. As of 2002, in the heels of his sneakers. On January 23, 2002, Pearl
the tax protest movement continues to grow in size went to meet with contacts who had promised to
and activity. arrange a meeting with radical Islamic leader Sheik
Mubarak Ali Shah Gilani. Pearl was never seen alive
See also TIMOTHY MCVEIGH; OKLAHOMA CITY BOMBING;
again.
POSSE COMITATUS
A previously unknown group, the National Move-
ment for the Restoration of Pakistani Sovereignty, had
Further Reading
abducted Pearl. The National Movement sent e-mails
Aho, James A. The Politics of Righteousness: Idaho to various news agencies calling for the release
Christian Patriotism. Seattle: University of Washington of Pakistani prisoners among the Taliban and Al
Press, 1990. Qaeda detainees held at the U.S. military base in
Corcoran, James. Bitter Harvest: The Birth of Paramilitary Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. The e-mails included
Terrorism in the Heartland. New York: Viking, 1990. attached photos of Pearl in chains and with a gun to
Mulloy, D. J., ed. Homegrown Revolutionaries: An American his head. The group, reportedly linked to the outlawed
Militia Reader. Norwich, UK: Arthur Miller Center for
American Studies, 1999. Pakistani group Jaish-e-Mohammed, threatened to kill
Neiwert, David A. In God’s Country: The Patriot Movement Pearl and accused him of being a spy for the United
and the Pacific Northwest. Pullman: Washington State States and for the Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence
University Press, 1999. agency.
Noble, Kerry. Tabernacle of Hate: Why They Bombed Pearl was confirmed dead by the U.S. State
Oklahoma City. Prescott, Ontario: Voyageur, 1998. Department on February 22, 2002, after a Pakistan-
Pitcavage, Mark. “Camouflage and Conspiracy: The Militia based journalist obtained a videocassette showing Pearl
Movement From Ruby Ridge to Y2K.” American being murdered (he was decapitated) and brought it to
Behavioral Scientist, Vol. 44, February 2001, 957-981. the U.S. embassy in Pakistan. Pearl was survived by his
Ridgeway, James. Blood in the Face: The Ku Klux Klan, wife, who was seven months pregnant at the time of
Aryan Nations, Nazi Skinheads, and the Rise of a New his death. In his memory, Pearl’s family set up the
White Culture. New York: Thunder’s Mouth, 1990.
Snow, Robert L. The Militia Threat: Terrorists Among Us. Daniel Pearl Foundation to combat cultural and reli-
New York: Plenum Trade, 1999. gious hatred.
Ten days before Pearl’s death became known,
Pakistani officials arrested British-born Islamic mili-
PEARL, DANIEL (1963–2002) tant Ahmed Omar Sheikh and later accused him of
masterminding the kidnapping and murder. During
the spring of 2002, a special antiterrorism court in
Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl was Pakistan put Sheikh, Salman Saqib, Fahad Naseem,
investigating terrorist groups in Pakistan when he was and Shaikh Adil on trial for Pearl’s murder; all four
kidnapped and later murdered by Islamic extremists. pleaded not guilty. The prosecution painted a picture
Pearl was born in Princeton, New Jersey, in 1963. of a trap—Pearl’s kidnappers pretended to be arrang-
He began his career as a journalist at a string of ing interviews for him but instead plotted his abduc-
regional East Coast papers, joining the Journal in tion. The press and public were banned from the trial,
1990. As a foreign correspondent for the Journal, Pearl which was first held inside the central jail of the port
filed many stories about the Middle East, writing about city of Karachi and then moved 100 miles inland for
pearl divers in the Persian Gulf and describing how security. During the trial, a taxi driver testified that he
Osama bin Laden used the gem trade to finance his saw Pearl get into a car with Sheikh. A Pakistani