Notable Individuals Connected To ISA
- Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, valedictorian of the academy in 1999, was convicted in 2005 on charges of providing material support to the al Qaeda terrorist network. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison. His defense team argued that his first confession in Saudi Arabia had been extracted under torture, but the judge ruled his confession admissible. Courts have upheld his conviction but pushed for a longer sentence.
- Mohammed Osman Idris and Mohammed el-Yacoubi, both former students of ISA were denied entry to Israel in Dec 2001, under suspicion of planning to carry out a suicide martyr attack. The two were departing JFK International Airport when a letter was found in el-Yacoubi's luggage which was characterized as "a farewell letter...for a suicide mission in the name of Jihad." The two hastily boarded a flight to Jerusalem, leaving behind their belongings. However, when the flight arrived in Israel, the two were detained and sent back to the U.S. Idris was later charged with lying to a federal grand jury investigating terrorism.
- Ayman Shawky, a former footballer and a participant in the 1990 World Cup representing Egypt, is now a teacher in the physical education department and is also the coach of the varsity soccer team.
- Susan L. Douglass, a former social studies teacher at the school, wrote social studies textbooks for the International Institute of Islamic Thought.
Read more about this topic: Islamic Saudi Academy
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