Squad’-Backed NJ Dem With Al Qaeda Ties Wins Primary Race

An Egypt-born former combat surgeon with ties to an Al Qaeda-linked group and the notorious “Blind Sheikh” has won the Democratic primary in New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District, positioning himself to fill a seat being vacated by a retiring progressive lawmaker.

Adam Hamawy secured victory Tuesday in the crowded primary race for the deep-blue district currently held by retiring Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, according to New York Post.

Hamawy’s campaign enjoyed high-profile endorsements from some of the furthest-left members of Congress, including “Squad” members Reps. Ro Khanna, Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Rashida Tlaib, as well as socialist Senator Bernie Sanders. The candidate has positioned himself as a staunch critic of Israel.

Past Ties to Terror-Linked Organization Raise Questions

Despite his status as an Iraq War veteran who gained national recognition for saving Sen. Tammy Duckworth’s life following a helicopter crash, Hamawy’s background includes troubling associations that have drawn significant scrutiny.

In 1994, Hamawy completed an internship with the Benevolence International Foundation during its operations in Bosnia. The 9/11 Commission Report later characterized the now-defunct organization’s Bosnian operation as part of an extensive network that covertly provided financial and other support for terrorist activities conducted by Osama bin Laden throughout the 1990s.

A 2003 court filing by federal authorities alleged the Benevolence International Foundation served as a front for Al Qaeda to establish operational bases in Europe for targeting the United States. The allegations were first brought to public attention by Jewish Insider.

Hamawy has never faced charges or accusations of direct involvement with Islamic terrorism. His campaign spokesperson dismissed scrutiny of the internship as desperate, absurd, and bigoted.

Defense Testimony for Convicted Terror Leader

More concerning to some observers is Hamawy’s yearslong relationship with Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, who earned conviction on seditious conspiracy charges in 1995 after his followers executed the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

Hamawy appeared as a defense witness during Abdel-Rahman’s trial, challenging a government informant’s testimony that the sheikh had urged followers to assassinate then-Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Trial transcripts reveal Hamawy also testified that Abdel-Rahman’s statements about conquering the land of the infidels were being taken out of context by prosecutors.

Steven Emerson, founder and executive director of the Investigative Project on Terrorism, a Washington-based think tank studying extremism, raised serious questions about the testimony, as New York Post reports.

A Hamawy campaign spokesperson defended the candidate by highlighting his military service record and clarifying that Abdel-Rahman was among very few religious figures in what was then a small Muslim community in New Jersey. The spokesperson stated that Hamawy condemns the sheikh’s violent rhetoric and actions, all violence, hatred, and terrorism, and had no contact with the individual following his arrest.

The primary victory positions Hamawy as the overwhelming favorite in the heavily Democratic district this November.

With information from New York Post