While praising local Muslims for their help in capturing a Florida Muslim who wanted to blow up area nightclubs, CAIR then criticized law enforcement authorities saying they may have used “entrapment” to catch the bomber.
Sami Osmakac, a naturalized American citizen from Kosovo, identified himself as a Muslim and said he wanted to bomb Tampa nightclubs and a sheriff’s office with bombs and guns. Osmakac also railed against Christians and Jews in videos he posted online.
Appearing on Fox 13 out of Tampa Bay, Hassan Shibly, executive director for the Council on American Islamic Relations mentioned that the local Muslim community was receiving a lot of praise from local law enforcement for their role in helping stop a radical Muslim from bombing area nightclubs.
“I met today with the U.S. attorney and the head of the local FBI and they expressed a lot of gratitude and thanks to the Muslim community for its vital role in bringing the suspect to the attention of law enforcement.”
Shortly before his arrest, Osmakac made a video saying “we all have to die, so why not die the Islamic way?” He was arrested after attempting to purchase explosives from an FBI agent.
While praising the Muslim community, Shibly then turned around and criticized the FBI expressing concern about a perception of entrapment with their arrest.
Shibly said, “The weapons and explosives were provided by the government. Was he just a troubled individual, or did he pose a real threat?”
Following the reporting of Shibly’s comments, he has said CAIR will not pursue the entrapment allegations.