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Mosque Leader: NY Terror Suspect Way Off On Islam

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May 21, 2009 8:42 am US/Eastern

Mosque Leader: NY Terror Suspect Way Off On Islam

NEWBURGH, N.Y. (CBS) ― A leader of a Hudson Valley mosque says one of the suspects in a New York terrorist plot is an ex-convict who has misunderstandings on the teachings of Islam.

Hamin Rashada told the Times Herald-Record of Middletown on Thursday that 21-year-old Laguerre Payen told him he was a Muslim. Rashada says Payen occasionally attended a Newburgh mosque where his statements on Islam often had to be corrected.

Rashada, an assistant imam at the mosque, says he met Payen through a program that helps parolees reintegrate after being released from prison.

Rashada says Payen lived in Middletown and Newburgh, where he stayed in a rooming house. State police and FBI searched his room for several hours Wednesday night and early Thursday morning.

Along with Payen, federal authorities also arrested James Cromitie -- a.k.a "Abdul Rahman," David Williams, Onta Williams, all of Newburgh, on charges arising from a plot to detonate explosives near a synagogue in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, and to shoot military planes located at the New York Air National Guard Base at Stewart Airport in Newburgh with Stinger surface-to-air guided missiles.

The suspects were arrested shortly after planting a mock explosive device in the trunk of a car outside the Riverdale Temple and two mock bombs in the backseat of a car outside the Jewish Center, authorities said.

Meantime, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly met privately with congregants Thursday inside the Riverdale Temple. Kelly said neighborhood security was heightened to improve residents' "comfort level."

Kelly reiterated that the men allegedly "wanted to commit Jihad." Bloomberg warned against stereotypes. The mayor stressed that the temple is open to people of all faiths, including a Muslim girl who sometimes prays there.

The defendants are due in federal court Wednesday in suburban White Plains.

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(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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