When did Sirhan Sirhan switch from Christianity to being a Muslim? While I certainly understand (not sympathize) that his being Palestinian would influence his hatred of Kennedy, what would connect him to ties with Al Qaida. Do you have a link where he converted to being a Muslim?

I don't believe I said he was connected to al Qaeda. If I did, then I apologize. If that was mentioned in the original article I would probably have to disagree because I don't think that organization even existed when he killed Kennedy. But, the Muslim Brotherhood did and were very active in Egypt and Jordan at that time, and they were the extreme when it came to hating Israel, so he may have had some involvement with them. According to my research, as a chlld he was raised a Maronite Christian at home but not at school. So as an adult he frequently changed his religious leanings first toward the Baptist doctrine, then tried the doctrine of the Seventh-day Adventist, then went off on a trek through Rosicrucianism. There a number of websites that claim he remained a Christian, but an equal number say that he eventually turned completely away from Christianity to embrace Islam, apparently for the same reasons he killed Kennedy, because of his hatred for Israel. I find far too much information that makes that sound more valid than a simple claim that he remained Christian.

For instance one article states the following:

"As a child Sirhan had been taught by Arab teachers who instilled in him the principles of the Palestinian cause. They promoted the cause of Palestinian nationalism and made constant references to the great Arab warrior, Saladin, who had expelled the foreign crusaders (Christians) from Jerusalem. Teachers would attempt to inspire the children in their care to fight for Palestinian rights.

During Sirhan’s trial his mother related how the intense feelings of the Palestinians remained with the family even though they had been far removed from the conflict when they emigrated to America. She told of how her family had lived in Jerusalem for “thousands of years” and she spoke of the bitterness and hatred of the Israelis who had ‘taken their land’. Mary Sirhan believed her son had killed Robert Kennedy because of his Arab nationalism. She said, “What he did, he did for his country.” A friend of Sirhan’s, John Strathman, believed the young Arab was heavily influenced by his mother’s views.

Before Sirhan emigrated to America at the age of 12 he had been schooled in East Jerusalem which had been annexed by Jordan during the 1948 conflict. After 1948, East Jerusalem and West Bank schools followed the Jordanian curriculum. In the Arab world, including Jordan, educational systems were riven with notions antithetical to the values of tolerance and understanding that are so intently promoted in the West. Hundreds of books published from 1948 in Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq promoted the theme that the liquidation of Israel was not only a political necessity, but also a moral imperative. Israel and its people were an evil entity and that it was permissible to destroy them. The textbooks contained material that went beyond the worst excesses of Nazi Germany.

Arab leaders compiled a curriculum of hatred for use by their children and the anti-Israeli and anti-Jewish teachings became a basic element in the study of history in the schools. Arab children were taught that Jews were the ultimate embodiment of evil and should be ‘destroyed’. Although Sirhan’s school was nominally Christian teachers were mainly drawn from the Arab community, which was predominantly Muslim, with some input from foreign missionary workers. Christian Arabic children used Jordanian textbooks. From 1948 to 1967 Christian Schools in East Jerusalem were required to teach the Koran. Following his arrest for the murder of Robert Kennedy, Sirhan told of how he had been influenced by one particular teacher in his school, “ Mr Suheil”, who angily denounced present day Arabs and compared them to the Arab warrior Saladin. Suheil tried to indoctrinate his pupils in Arab nationalism and urged them to be like Saladin and fight for the Arab cause."

In another we find these little tidbits:

The family spoke Arabic amongst themselves and all the brothers described themselves not as “Christian Arabs” but as “Palestinian Arabs”.

He read everything he could get his hands on about the Six Day War. He avidly read ‘B’nai B’rith Messenger’

After a 1968 Easter visit with the Sirhan family, Arab-American Lou Shelpy described them this way:

Perhaps the best way to explain it is by saying that though they were Christians, the general quality, the atmosphere, of their family was that of a Muslim family.

So, it would appear that his so-called Christian background wasn't as "Christian" as is thought by some. Whatever he got at home wasn't as influencial as the Muslim education he got in the "Christian" school during those early years and it doesn't look as though what he got at home was all that "Christian" either. Between the brainwashing of hatred for Israel combined with the teachings of the Qur'an obviosly made a lasting mark on him.

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No, you didn't say that he was connected to Al Quada, and neither did the article directly, but they were the ones that committed the atrocities on 9/11. If he had prior knowledge of 9/11, I simply assumed that he would have had some sort of a connection, as I can't believe that they would have shared that type of information (the planning) with just anyone. If they did, then our Intelligence was even worse than imagined.

Ok, do we know why he requested and received a tv during this time? Has anyone one published anything to show that we have received any intelligence from him that would have fortold the 9-11 bombing?

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An informed voter scares the Goverment lackeys.

An American first and always a Conservative.

I don't think sharing information that something big was about to happen that would make international news for days would have been any more informative to the intelligence community at that time than anything else they had. And I seriously doubt he was considered just "anyone'. He had pretty much proven his loyalty by killing Kennedy, don't you think?

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Not to my knowledge but you have to admit what is stated in that article is good reason to wonder. There's an update on the website I linked in my first post. Here's some of the information it includes.

According to the former prison guard at Corcoran, Sirhan Sihan, did something in the months before 9/11 he had not done at any other time during his decades of incarceration – he ordered a television set for his cell. Interestingly, he showed no interest in watching television, only to occasionally check to make sure that the TV worked.

Then, on September 10, 2001, Sirhan Sirhan did something else he had not done before – he shaved his head. Although he was always a “clean cut” inmate according to this prison guard, he had never shaved his head. According to the prison guard, inmates in California often shave their heads immediately before their gangs go to war against other factions to show their solidarity and support.

Then, on the morning of 9/11 Sirhan was up early in his cell watching his TV for the first time when the news broke about the planes hitting the World Trade Center. In some manner, it is obvious that Sirhan Bishara Sirhan, 33 years after the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy and a guest of the California prison system, had advance knowledge of the events of September 11, 2001.

A great number of questions remain, from the events of the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy to the events of 9/11. Based on the information from one prison guard, who was advised not to talk about the actions of Sirhan Sirhan or the FBI’s extensive questioning of the prisoner beginning on September 12, 2001 and lasting for 3 weeks, it appears that a California prisoner who changed the course of history has at least some of the answers.

Why isn’t there anyone in government asking the questions?

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Why isn’t there anyone in government asking the questions?

Mom, I suspect the goverment and the FBI isn't wanting us to know how that maybe they botched somethings?

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An informed voter scares the Goverment lackeys.

An American first and always a Conservative.

Rob, I suspect there's a lot more going on here than botched intelligence.

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Tell me...what is more miserable. Life imprisonment or a quick painless death? Would it be reasonable to assume most people would take the latter?

How about life on a chain gang in East Texas with nothing but beans, rice and water everyday? That would satisfy me more than him sitting in an air conditioned cell, getting 3 square meals a day and a television on request that we're paying for. There are too many children in this country that don't get that and they've never done a thing wrong.

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