Democrat linked to ‘Blind Sheikh,’ Al-Qaeda wins primary

Dr. Adam Hamawy’s primary victory has renewed scrutiny of decades-old associations and testimony.

By World Israel News Staff

A Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in New Jersey won his party’s primary on Tuesday, drawing renewed scrutiny over his past association with a charity later linked to Al-Qaeda and his longstanding relationship with the spiritual leader behind the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, Omar Abdel-Rahman, better known as the Blind Sheikh.

Dr. Adam Hamawy defeated several candidates seeking to replace retiring Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ).

Born in Egypt, Hamawy served as a combat surgeon in the U.S. Army and was credited by Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) with saving her life after a helicopter crash in Iraq.

However, Hamawy’s past has raised questions among critics. He testified as a defense witness during the Blind Sheikh’s criminal trial and served as his translator during a press conference shortly after the World Trade Center bombing, during which the Sheikh denied any involvement in the attack.

Hamawy also volunteered with the now-defunct Benevolence International Foundation in Bosnia in 1994.

The 9/11 Commission Report described the organization’s Bosnia branch as part of an “impressive array of offices [that] covertly provided financial and other support for terrorist activities” linked to Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda.

“I think the voters of New Jersey have a right to know why Dr. Hamawy felt so strongly in defending a violent jihadist leader — the Blind Sheikh — that he repeatedly lied under oath in the 1995 terrorist trial,” said Steven Emerson, founder and executive director of the Investigative Project on Terrorism, told the New York Post.

“Dr. Hamawy’s silence until now suggests he has no qualms about his testimony.”

A spokesperson for Hamawy’s campaign said the Sheikh “was one of very few religious figures in what was then a very small Muslim community in New Jersey.”

The statement added that “Hamawy condemns that man’s violent rhetoric and actions, and all violence, hatred, and terrorism — and he will always,” and maintained that the candidate “had no contact with” the Sheikh after his arrest.