Daniel Maldonado

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Daniel Maldonado is a U.S. convert to a fundamentalist version of Islam who faces charges for an alleged association with terrorism.^[1]

Maldonada converted to Islam in 2000 in Methuen, Massachusetts.^[1] According to the Boston Globe his views became so extreme his mosque's Imam asked him to either quit criticizing the mosque's other members, or to leave, according to a friend of Maldonado, Soner Uguz, of Lawrence, Mass.:

"He was arrogant; he knew the book [the Koran] better than anyone, He went from loving rap to hating poetry."

In mid-February 2007 Maldonado was charged with playing a role in terrorist activities in Somalia.^[1] Maldonado is notable because his charge, in a Houston, Texas court, was the first time a US citizen faced charges for participating in terrorism in Somalia.

The Boston Globe reported that, as a youth, Maldonado had minor brushes with the law, but nothing serious. Maldonado, his wife, and three young children, moved to Egypt in November 2005.^[1] The Boston Globe reports that an FBI affidavit asserts he moved to Somalia a year later, where he undertook trainning in bomb-making and military skills.

According to a speech FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III delivered on March 28, 2007 at National Defense University:^[2]

"... such as the arrest of suspected terrorist Daniel Maldonado. Maldonado, an American citizen who converted to the Muslim faith, moved from Houston to Egypt in November 2005. He then traveled to Somalia to practice what he called 'true Islam'. According to the indictment, while in Mogadishu, Maldonado participated in a jihadist training program that included weapons and explosives. He said that he was willing to fight on behalf of Al Qaeda and even offered to act as a suicide bomber. Kenyan military authorities captured Maldonado in January. Members of the Houston Joint Terrorism Task Force transported him back to the United States."