Ali al-Timimi, a American born Muslim was convicted by a jury on 10 counts in Virgina.

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Begin ArticleJury Convicts Islamic Scholar of ExhortationTuesday, April 26, 2005Associated Press

Five days after Sept. 11, al-Timimi addressed a small group of his followers in a secret meeting and warned that the attacks were a harbinger of a final apocalyptic battle between Muslims and non-believers. He said they were required as Muslims to defend the Taliban from a looming U.S. invasion, according to the government.

While nobody ever joined the Taliban, four of the defendant's followers subsequently traveled to Pakistan in late September 2001 and trained with a militant group called Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Three of them testified that their intention had been to use the training they received from the group to join the Taliban and fight in Afghanistan, and that it was al-Timimi's speech that inspired them to do so.

The evidence included a 2003 e-mail in which al-Timimi described the Columbia shuttle disaster as "a good omen" that "Western supremacy (especially that of America) that began 500 years ago is coming to an end, God willing."

End ArticleThe Judge for the case, Leonie Brinkema is allowing the convicted to remain free on bond until July for his sentencing.

MoreThenCorn; "al-Timimi will flee over the pond and will disappear. If he had such a following in the states, then there is someone who will finance a plane trip to the Middle East where he can escape sentencing.