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Saudi students and seek assistance at local mosques. He counted on their break-
ing off any such relationships once they moved to the East Coast.
6
Our inabil-
ity to ascertain the activities of Hazmi and Mihdhar during their first two weeks
in the United States may reflect al Qaeda tradecraft designed to protect the
identity of anyone who may have assisted them during that period.
Hazmi and Mihdhar were directed to enroll in English-language classes upon
arriving in Southern California, so that they could begin pilot training as soon
as possible. KSM claims to have steered the two to San Diego on the basis of his
own research, which supposedly included thumbing through a San Diego phone
book acquired at a Karachi flea market. Contradicting himself, he also says that,
as instructed, they attempted to enroll in three language schools in Los Angeles.
7
After the pair cleared Immigration and Customs at Los Angeles International
Airport, we do not know where they went.
8
They appear to have obtained assis-
tance from the Muslim community, specifically the community surrounding the
King Fahd mosque in Culver City, one of the most prominent mosques in
Southern California.
It is fairly certain that Hazmi and Mihdhar spent time at the King Fahd
mosque and made some acquaintances there. One witness interviewed by the
FBI after the September 11 attacks has said he first met the hijackers at the
mosque in early 2000. Furthermore, one of the people who would befriend
them--a man named Mohdar Abdullah--recalled a trip with Hazmi and
Mihdhar to Los Angeles in June when, on their arrival, the three went to the
King Fahd mosque. There Hazmi and Mihdhar greeted various individuals
whom they appeared to have met previously, including a man named "Khal-
lam." In Abdullah's telling, when Khallam visited the al Qaeda operatives at
their motel that evening,Abdullah was asked to leave the room so that Hazmi,
Mihdhar, and Khallam could meet in private.The identity of Khallam and his
purpose in meeting with Hazmi and Mihdhar remain unknown.
9
To understand what Hazmi and Mihdhar did in their first weeks in the
United States, evidently staying in Los Angeles, we have investigated whether
anyone associated with the King Fahd mosque assisted them.This subject has
received substantial attention in the media. Some have speculated that Fahad
al Thumairy--an imam at the mosque and an accredited diplomat at the Saudi
Arabian consulate from 1996 until 2003--may have played a role in helping
the hijackers establish themselves on their arrival in Los Angeles.This specula-
tion is based, at least in part, on Thumairy's reported leadership of an extrem-
ist faction at the mosque.
10
A well-known figure at the King Fahd mosque and within the Los Ange-
les Muslim community,Thumairy was reputed to be an Islamic fundamental-
ist and a strict adherent to orthodox Wahhabi doctrine. Some Muslims
concerned about his preaching have said he "injected non-Islamic themes into
his guidance/prayers at the [King Fahd] Mosque" and had followers "support-
ive of the events of September 11, 2001."
11
Thumairy appears to have associ-
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