NEW DELHI: Two former jihadist operatives from the US, one of whom allegedly even attended Lashkar-e-Taiba’s training camp in Pakistan in 2000, and engaged in terrorist activities in Kashmir, including firing at Indian positions, have been appointed by the Trump regime to the White House Advisory Board of Lay Leaders.Ismail Royer and Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, co-founder of Zaytuna College, were listed despite their alleged affiliations with Islamic jihadists and proscribed terror groups, said Lara Loomer, a prominent ally of US President Donald Trump.Royer got 5 trained in terror in PakistanLoomer, who was a big factor in the sacking of Trump’s National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, termed the appointment of Royer as “insane”. As per a White House statement, Royer serves as director of the Islam and Religious Freedom Action Team for the Religious Freedom Institute.Royer, who was Rendell Royer till he converted to Islam in 2000, was convicted by a US court in 2004 and handed a 20-year jail sentence for terrorist activities that targeted Americans — specifically, as part of the ‘Virginia Jihadi Network’. He was investigated by the FBI and in 2003, indicted on terrorism-related charges, including conspiracy to wage war against the US and providing material support to al-Qaida and LeT. He pleaded guilty in 2004 to aiding and abetting the use of firearms and explosives, receiving a 20-year sentence but serving only 13 years, Loomer posted on X on Saturday.In his plea agreement, Royer admitted to aiding and abetting co-defendant Masoud Khan, Yong Ki Kwon, Muhammed Aatique, and Khwaja Mahmoud Hasan in gaining entry to a terrorist training camp in Pakistan operated by LeT, where they trained in the use of various weapons, including semi-automatic pistols.Royer also admitted to helping co-defendant Ibrahim Ahmed Al-Hamdi gain entry to the LeT camp, where Al-Hamdi received training in the use of a rocket-propelled grenade in furtherance of a conspiracy to conduct military operations against India.Loomer said a second appointee to the advisory board — described by the White House as co-founder of Zaytuna College, the first accredited Muslim liberal arts college in the US, and an adviser to the Center for Islamic Studies at Berkeley’s Graduate Theological Union — also has a jihadi background. “I like to inform you that Shaykh Hamza Yusuf @yusuf is also a jihadi who has lied about the true definition of jihad and is affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas. Zaytuna College, which was co-founded by Hamza Yusuf @sh_hamzayusuf , teaches Sharia Law,” she posted.
