Editing El Sayyid Nosair

{{Short description|Egyptian-born American assassin (born 1955)}}
{{Infobox criminal
| image             = El Sayyid Nosair mugshot.png
| name              = El Sayyid Nosair
| native_name       = سيد نصير
| birth_date        = {{birth date and age|1955|11|16|df=yes}}
| birth_place       = [[Port Said]], [[Republic of Egypt (1953–58)|Egypt]]
| children          = 3, including [[Zak Ebrahim]]
| spouse            = Karen Mills
| conviction_penalty = [[Life imprisonment]]
| conviction_status = Imprisoned in [[United States Penitentiary, Big Sandy]] in [[Inez, Kentucky]]<ref>[https://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/ Inmate Locator], [[Federal Bureau of Prisons]]: El Sayyid Nosair #35074-054</ref>
| caption           = Nosair in 1993
| alt               = Mug shot of Nosair
}}
'''El Sayyid Nosair''' ({{langx|ar|سيد نصير}}; born 16 November 1955) is a convicted killer, currently serving a life sentence.<ref name="abc-sonsbook">{{cite news |title=Son of convicted terrorist struggles to find empathy for his father |work=ABC News |date=2017-10-24 |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/son-convicted-terrorist-struggles-find-empathy-father/story?id=50666963 |access-date=2024-09-11}}</ref> An Egyptian-born American citizen, he assassinated [[Meir Kahane]] in 1990 in New York City, and was later convicted of involvement in the 1993 [[New York City landmark bomb plot]]. Nosair was acquitted in his initial trial on murder charges for the assassination of Kahane, but in his later trial was found to have committed the murder.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fact Sheet: Meir Kahane & The Extremist Kahanist Movement {{!}} IMEU |url=https://imeu.org/article/fact-sheet-meir-kahane-the-extremist-kahanist-movement |access-date=2024-08-29 |website=imeu.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=184761|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100818001119/http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=184761|url-status=dead|archive-date=2010-08-18|title='Sharon was Kahane killer's target'|date=2010-08-18|access-date=2019-04-13}}</ref>

In 1994, Nosair was convicted in federal court of nine counts, including [[sedition|seditious]] [[Conspiracy (crime)|conspiracy]], [[murder]] in aid of [[racketeering]], [[attempted murder]] in aid of racketeering, attempted murder of a [[U.S. Postal Inspection Service]] officer, use of a firearm in the commission of a murder, use of a firearm during an attempted murder, and possession of a firearm. Nosair's murder of Kahane was one of the acts in the conspiracy for which he was convicted.

==Background==
El Sayyid Nosair was born in 1955 in [[Port Said]], Egypt, and immigrated to the United States in 1981. He became an American citizen in 1989.<ref name="jpost-19901107">{{cite news |title=Alleged Assassin Shot by New York Policeman |work=The Jerusalem Post |date=1990-11-07}}</ref> In the United States, Nosair worked various jobs in [[New Jersey]] and New York City.<ref name="benjamin">{{cite book|title=The Age of Sacred Terror|author=Benjamin, Daniel and Steven Simon |publisher=Random House |year=2003 |pages=4–6}}</ref>  Nosair was employed by the City of New York to repair the air conditioning equipment at the criminal courts building.<ref name="jpost-19901107" />

Nosair expressed [[Anti-Americanism|dislike for American culture]] and what he perceived to be rampant moral corruption. Nosair became involved with the al-Farouq Mosque in [[Brooklyn]], which was supported by the [[Maktab al-Khidamat]] (Afghanistan Services Bureau). The Maktab al-Khidamat was established in 1984 by [[Osama bin Laden]] and [[Abdullah Azzam]] in [[Peshawar]], [[Pakistan]] to raise funds for the Arab [[mujahadeen]] during the [[Soviet–Afghan War]], and later to recruit participants in [[al Qaeda]]. [[Ali Mohamed (double agent)|Ali Mohamed]], a sergeant at [[Fort Bragg (North Carolina)|Fort Bragg]], provided [[United States Army]] manuals and other assistance to individuals at the al-Farouq Mosque, and some members, including [[Mahmoud Abouhalima]] and Nosair, practiced at the Calverton Shooting Range on [[Long Island]], many of the group wearing shirts reading "Help Each Other in Goodness and Piety ... A Muslim to a Muslim is a Brick Wall" with a map of Afghanistan emblazoned in the middle.<ref name="benjamin" /><ref name="sacredcows">Benjamin, Daniel & Steven Simon. ''The Age of Sacred Terror'', 2002</ref>

==Assassination of Meir Kahane==
{{Full article|Assassination of Meir Kahane}}
In 1990, Nosair assassinated Rabbi [[Meir Kahane]], formerly a member of the Israeli [[Knesset]], and founder of the [[Jewish Defense League]] and [[Kach and Kahane Chai|Kach]]. Nosair shot Kahane on November 5, 1990, shortly after 9:00{{nbsp}}p.m., following a speech to a Jewish group at in midtown [[Manhattan]]'s [[Marriott Hotel|Marriott]] East Side Hotel.<ref name="specter">{{cite news |title=Jewish Leader Kahane Slain in New York |author=Specter, Michael |date=1990-11-06 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> Nosair ran up and shot Kahane as he was answering questions following his speech. Nosair attempted to flee the scene and commandeer a taxi, but he was shot by Carlos Acosta, a police officer for the [[United States Postal Inspection Service]]. The two continued to exchange gunfire before Nosair was apprehended.<ref name="specter"/> Nosair and his victims were evacuated to [[Bellevue Hospital]] for treatment of their wounds, and Kahane was pronounced dead at the hospital.<ref name="specter"/>

===Trial===
During legal proceedings, Nosair largely ignored the court and focused on multiple sketches he made of [[Princess Diana]].<ref name="sacredcows"/>

In a verdict described by law professor Jeffrey B. Abramson as "bizarre",<ref name="abramson">{{cite book|title=We, the Jury: The Jury System and the Ideal of Democracy|last=Abramson|first=Jeffrey B.|year=2000|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn= 978-0-674-00430-6|page=144|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RaZ_AKgMIqUC&q=bizarre+verdict&pg=PA144|access-date=2010-04-07}}</ref> a jury in December 1991 [[acquittal|acquitted]] Nosair of Kahane's murder but convicted him of assaulting Acosta and possessing an illegal firearm. He was defended by [[William Kunstler]] (along with two co-counsels), who at first advised him to plead insanity.<ref name="nyt">[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE5DA1330F930A15751C1A967958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all Jury Selection Seen As Crucial to Verdict], ''The New York Times'', 23 December 1991</ref> When Nosair refused, the defense argued that there had been a conspiracy against Nosair, and Kahane might have been killed by one of his followers.<ref name="nyt"/>  Kunstler saw the composition of the jury (which he described as being made up of "third-world people" and "people who were not yuppies or establishment types") as crucial to the verdict.<ref name="nyt"/>

The judge in the trial, Justice Alvin Schlesinger, said that the jury's acquittal of Nosair on the murder charge was "against the overwhelming weight of evidence and was devoid of common sense and logic". The judge added that he believed Nosair "conducted a rape of this country, of our [[Constitution of the United States|Constitution]] and of our laws, and of people seeking to exist peacefully together." On January 29, 1992, he sentenced Nosair to 7{{fraction|1|3}} to 22 years in prison, the maximum allowed.<ref name="query.nytimes.com">[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE4D71639F933A05752C0A964958260 Judge Gives Maximum Term in Kahane Case], ''The New York Times'', 30 January 1992</ref>

Kunstler also saw the verdict as irrational, promising to appeal Nosair's convictions.<ref name="nyt" /> However, Nosair was unsuccessful in several efforts to overturn the verdict.

===Conspiracy to free Nosair from prison===
Nosair was originally to serve his sentence at the [[Attica State Prison]] in New York. It was reported that prior to his arrest, [[Omar Abdel-Rahman]] (the "Blind Sheikh") and his followers had conducted detailed surveillance of the facility, and they had also discussed plans to rescue Nosair from prison by launching a truck bomb attack combined with an armed assault.<ref>[http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/terrorism_weekly_june_18 The Destruction of Sarposa] by Fred Burton and Scott Stewart, Strategic Forecasting (Stratfor) June 18, 2008 (retrieved on October 1, 2008).</ref>

==Terrorist conspiracy conviction==
Nosair was still imprisoned in a state prison when he was convicted as part of the federal trial of the "Blind Sheik" [[Omar Abdel-Rahman]]. Both received [[life sentence]]s without the possibility of parole for their involvement in a terrorist conspiracy, in Nosair's case life plus 15 years' imprisonment.<ref>[http://www.tkb.org/CaseHome.jsp?caseid=332 MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080109221029/http://www.tkb.org/CaseHome.jsp?caseid=332 |date=January 9, 2008 }}</ref> It was ruled that Nosair's murder of Kahane was part of the "seditious conspiracy".<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.cnn.com/US/9510/terror_trial/update/ | work=CNN | title=Defense: Juror 'bias' in terror verdicts | access-date=May 1, 2010}}</ref> Nosair was convicted of nine counts, including conspiracy to [[New York City landmark bomb plot|use explosives against New York landmarks]], [[seditious conspiracy]], plotting to assassinate U.S. politicians, [[murder]] of Kahane in aid of [[racketeering]], [[attempted murder]] in aid of racketeering, attempted murder of a postal police officer, use of a [[firearm]] in the commission of a murder, use of a firearm in an attempted murder, and possession of a firearm; he received life plus 15 years of imprisonment.<ref name="tkb">{{cite web|url=http://www.tkb.org/CaseHome.jsp?caseid=332|title=USA v. Omar Ahmad Ali Abdel-Rahman et al.: 93-CR-181-KTD|access-date=2005-09-05|archive-date=2008-01-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080109221029/http://www.tkb.org/CaseHome.jsp?caseid=332|url-status=dead}}</ref> Nosair's relatives obtained funds from [[Osama bin Laden]] to pay for Nosair's defense.<ref>{{cite news|title=Bin Laden bankrolled Kahane killer defense|work=New York Daily News|date=9 October 2002|author=Smith, Greg B.}}</ref>

==Link to Osama bin Laden==
In 2002, [[Eleanor Hill]], director of the [[Senate Intelligence Committee]] investigating intelligence failures prior to the [[September 11 attacks|September 11, 2001, attacks]], reported that Nosair had links with terrorist organizations in Pakistan and that [[Osama bin Laden]] helped pay for his legal defense during his trial for the assassination of Meir Kahane. The [[FBI]] learned that one of Nosair's relatives traveled to [[Saudi Arabia]] and acquired funds from Osama bin Laden to fund Nosair's legal defense. [[Ron Kuby]], one of Nosair's lawyers, later stated that a cousin of Nosair's had pooled money together with Nosair's family to raise money for his legal defense.<ref>[http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/2002/10/09/2002-10-09_bin_laden_bankrolled_kahane_.html Bin Laden Bankrolled Kahane Killer Defense] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216014026/http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/2002/10/09/2002-10-09_bin_laden_bankrolled_kahane_.html |date=2008-12-16 }} by Greg B. Smith, ''[[New York Daily News]]'', October 9th 2002 (retrieved on October 1, 2008).</ref>

==Possible accomplices in Kahane's assassination==
In August 2010, the [[Israel]]i newspaper ''[[The Jerusalem Post]]'', referencing a story in ''[[Playboy]]'' summarizing FBI memos, claimed that Nosair had two partners and that his original target was Israeli military figure and future Prime Minister of Israel [[Ariel Sharon]]. The article states that in 2005 Nosair stated to FBI investigators "that on the night he shot Kahane dead, he was accompanied by two co-conspirators to the Marriot Hotel in Manhattan where Kahane was speaking – one of whom was also carrying a gun." The men, Bilal al-Kaisi (also known as Bilal Elqisi), a Jordanian, and [[Mohammed A. Salameh]], a [[Palestinians|Palestinian]], have never been charged for their part in the slaying, but both were linked to al Qaeda and the [[1993 World Trade Center bombing]], <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=184761|title='Sharon was Kahane killer's target'|date=August 15, 2010|publisher=Jpost.com|access-date=26 July 2015}}</ref> Salameh was convicted of his part in the terrorist conspiracy, but Al Kaisi was convicted of a minor immigration violation and released.<ref>{{cite news |title=Bombing Figure Gets 20 Months For An Immigration Violation |work=[[New York Times]] |date=1994-07-14 |last=Sullivan |first=Ronald |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/07/14/nyregion/bombing-figure-gets-20-months-for-an-immigration-violation.html |access-date=2024-09-11}}</ref>

==Family==
Nosair married Karen Mills, a native of Pittsburgh who changed her given name to Khadijah when she converted from Roman Catholicism to Islam in 1982. The couple had two sons, and they raised a daughter from Khadijah's previous marriage. One of Nosair's sons, born Abdulaziz El Sayyid Nosair, changed his name to [[Zak Ebrahim]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.peaceissexy.net/zak-ebrahim-choosing-the-path-of-peace/|title=Zak Ebrahim – Choosing the Path of Peace|publisher=peaceissexy.net|access-date=26 July 2015}}</ref> and now works as a [[Peace movement|peace activist]]. He released his first book, ''The Terrorist's Son: A Story of Choice'' in September 2014.<ref name="huffingtonpost140921">{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/21/zak-ebrahim-ted-talk_n_5857604.html|title=Here's How A Terrorist's Son Became A Peace Activist|author=Sam Levine.|date=2014-09-21|publisher=huffingtonpost.com|access-date=7 February 2015}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography}}
* [[1993 World Trade Center bombing]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nosair, El Sayyid}}
[[Category:1955 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American Muslims]]
[[Category:American assassins]]
[[Category:Egyptian assassins]]
[[Category:Islamist assassins]]
[[Category:Egyptian Muslims]]
[[Category:People imprisoned on terrorism charges]]
[[Category:Inmates of ADX Florence]]
[[Category:Egyptian people imprisoned in the United States]]
[[Category:Prisoners and detainees of New York (state)]]
[[Category:American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment]]
[[Category:Egyptian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment]]
[[Category:Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by the United States federal government]]
[[Category:American people acquitted of murder]]
[[Category:People convicted of assault]]
[[Category:American people convicted of attempted murder]]
[[Category:People convicted of racketeering]]
[[Category:People convicted of seditious conspiracy]]
[[Category:People from Port Said]]
[[Category:Egyptian emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:Meir Kahane]]
[[Category:20th-century American murderers]]