Omar Abu Omar

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Do not confuse with Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr (aka "Abu Omar"), who was kidnapped in Italy allegedly by the CIA, or with Sami Muhammad Ali Said al-Jaaf (aka "Abu Omar al-Kurdi")

Omar Abu Omar, also known as Abu Qutada (Arabic: عمر ابو عمر ابو قتادة محمّد عثمان القفيرى‎, ʿUmar Abū ʿUmar Abū Qatādä Muḥammad ʿUṯmān at-Taqfīrī) was born in 1959, or 1960, in Bethlehem, of Palestinian origin, when the West Bank was still Jordanian territory, so he is a Jordanian national. He was believed to be Osama bin Laden's right hand man.^{[citation needed]}

He has known ties with the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) and is a known fundraiser for the Chechen rebels.

In 1998, he was sentenced in Jordan in absentia for involvement in a series of explosions, including one in the car park of a hotel on April 30, 1998. In 1999, the Jordanian government held negotiations with the British Government for the extradition of Omar Abu Omar. The Jordanian Government believed that Omar had a connection to a group of 14 suspected terrorists. This discussion was seen by the British and Jordanian governments as a step in combating international terrorism.

Abu Omar was accused of funding a group of 12 Jordanians, one Iraqi and an Algerian to attack the settlement of John the Baptist where Christians believe Jesus was baptized on the Jordan River, Mount Nebo near Madaba, Jerash and Petra. The leader group was Khader Abu Ghoshar.

In London, Abu Omar denied accusations that he was plotting a Millennium bombing campaign with bin Laden. He said in an interview with London newspaper, The Observer, he was committed to a global jihad to free Islamic countries from bad rulers, but had not been involved in any of the terrorist activities attributed to him.

He is reported as saying to the reporter from The Observer, “I deny completely the Jordanian allegations. I don't head any organization. I don't follow Bin Laden. I am not one of his men. But I have no doubt that the Jordanian intelligence service wants me in person.”

He obtained political asylum in Britain after being convicted twice in absentia by a Jordanian court for his connections to terrorist activities. Jordanian officials have asked for his extradition, due to his previous involvement in planned attacks and to his involvement in al-Qaida. He was arrested by British authorities in early February 2001, but was released without charge. However, British officials stated that he was required to return to the police station for further questioning on February 26, 2001. As of December 7, 2005 he is imprisoned in Full Sutton jail in Britain.

Omar has been pointed out by Jamal al-Fadhl in his testimony in the Southern District Court of New York on February 6, 2001, as a member of al-Qaida’s Fatwa Committee under the name Abu Qutadah.

Omar is now believed to have been a mentor to Richard Reid, the "shoe bomber".

Almost all the questions asked of Bisher Amin Khalil al-Rawi a British resident, during his Combatant Status Review Tribunal, concerned his relationship with Omar.

Bisher al-Rawi said that Omar had denounced Saddam Hussein and supported the 1991 Gulf War, an unpopular position in Jordan at the time. According to Bisher it was one of the reasons Omar had to seek refuge in Britain.

Omar is one of the radical Muslim clerics that some in the UK believe should be deported back to Jordan. The British human rights act precluded deporting Omar to Jordan, because his safety would be at risk. But, in August, the BBC reported that the British and Jordanian governments reached an agreement that Omar and other Jordanian deportees would not be persecuted.