Widow of LAX Terrorist is Unapologetic; May become U.S. Citizen

In an interview from Cairo, where she was visiting her mother since before her husband committed the July 4th terrorist attack, Hala El-Awadly, the Widow of LAX Terrorist Hashem Hedayet is unapologetic

El-Awadly said she did not believe her husband was responsible for the July 4 shooting. She offered no explanation for how he could be innocent when so many people saw him open fire, but said he was being blamed because he was Arab and Muslim.

"He is a victim of injustice," she said three times. "In America, they hate Islam and Arabs after Sept. 11."

What are her plans?

El-Awadly and her sons have reservations to fly back to California on Aug. 20 and an appointment later that month to be interviewed by immigration authorities considering their citizenship request.

I don't know about you, but I would feel better if our country didn't reward immigrant terrorists by allowing their families to become U.S. citizens.

I did a little digging and cross-checked the records for the "Five Star Limo" company owned by the terrorist. [See the Orange County Clerk's Fictitious Business Name file, and the NetworkSolutions whois database for fivestar-limo.com]

It turns out that the terrorist's name is spelled Hesham Hedayet, not "Hadayet" as most often reported. Home address: 5 Willowrun, Irvine, CA 92604; phone: (949) 733-8684. (the phone seems to be still connected, but there is no answer, not even a machine)

I don't think his widow should continue living in our country (my state, no less), let alone become a U.S. citizen. If you agree, think about sending a letter to that effect to your elected representatives. And think about sending a letter to the terror widow herself, telling her that she is not welcome in this country.

Now, because I know that the self-appointed ethnic sensitivity police will probably start hallucinating and wildly misinterpret what I'm saying, let me be very clear: (1) I absolutely reject any form of violence or threat of violence against this woman. But non-violent opprobrium and ostracism are entirely called for. Any letter or other protest should be non-threatening but to the point, e.g. "You are not welcome in this country. Please go somewhere else" (2) This is in no way a blanket rejection of immigrants from any specific part of the world. This is a rejection of this particular woman. Because her husband committed an act of terrorism on American soil and killed people based on their ethnicity, and because she is unapologetic, and blames America for making this terrorist a "victim of injustice". U.S. residency and citizenship should be a privilege, not an entitlement available to every family of a foreign-born murderer. If you agree with me that Hala El-Awadly has not earned this privilege, then please join me in making your opinion heard.

Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at July 13, 2002 02:55 PM