The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said it had foiled terrorist attacks against two synagogues in New York and a National Guard aircraft at a base about 60 miles north of the city on Wednesday. FBI agents arrested four men as they planted what they thought were homemade bombs outside the two synagogues in the Bronx neighborhood of New York City. The bombs had in fact been made by undercover FBI officers and were harmless.
Four men were allegedly involved in the Bronx plot. If convicted, all four, three Americans and one Haitian, could face life in prison, officials said. They added that three of the men were converts to Islam. Speaking to reporters at the Riverdale Jewish Center, one of the targets of the alleged plot, the New York Police commissioner Raymond Kelly said that the four men were small-time criminals who had become acquainted with each other in the first place though prison contacts.
Imam Ali, the head of Islamic Culture Center of New York, one of the largest Islamic centers in the United States, called on "Muslim leaders to stand firm against the forces of evil." He added that any terror attack acted out in the name of Islam represented a distortion of the Holy Koran. Rabbi Marc Schneier, chairman of the World Jewish Congress United States, echoed Ali's condemnation. "It is reassuring to hear the voices of Muslim leaders speaking hard in solidarity with the Jewish community and unequivocally condemning acts of terrorism and violence," he said.
