New York - Former State Prison Imam Pleads Guilty To Gun Charge

New York - The former head Islamic chaplain for the state prison system pleaded guilty to charges he had weapons in his apartment and accused the government of using the case as an excuse to raid his home to search for terrorism-related materials.

The cleric, Warith Deen Umar, admitted he had the guns in a Bronx building he owns when he called police to the building in late December after a dispute with one of his tenants.
The government charged Umar with gun possession. Outside court, he criticized law enforcement for conducting extensive searches of his Bronx apartment and his Glenmont, N.Y., home. A search warrant said authorities were looking for notes, memos, correspondence and periodicals making reference to "holy war," "jihad," or acts of violence against Jews, U.S. military service personnel."
"I feel like they are persecuting me because I'm Muslim and I'm black and I speak out and because I was the Muslim chaplain in the state prison system for 25 years," he said. "They trashed the place," Umar said.

Umar made headlines in February 2003 after a Wall Street Journal article quoted him as saying "even Muslims who say they are against terrorism secretly admire and applaud" the hijackers. Ron Kuby, Umar's lawyer, said his client was misquoted.

Government spokeswoman Heather Tasker said she had no comment on the case.