Those Syrian Musicians

[rowyn]

I know koogrr was interested in the group of musicians suspected of one reporter of being terrorists.

They appear to have been the backup band for "Nour Mehana" (a.k.a. Noor Mehanna, Nour Mhanna, or Noor Mhanan, or probably some other spellings, take your pick).

Thanks to Scott Kellogg and Snopes.com for the link.

Comments

[kelloggs2066.livejournal.com]

Credit for pointing out the debunking of the article goes to tdj and unciaa.

Shame goes to me for participating in spreading paranoia. :(

Still, I'm just glad that it WAS a bunch of hooey.

[rowyn]

Eh, don't be so hard on yourself. It was a credible article and saw a lot of investigation from other sources, not just you. For that matter, just because we know who the band members are and who they were backing doesn't necessarily mean that they weren't on a terrorist dry run. It seems much less likely -- but mainly because the FBI investigation didn't turn up any reason to hold them.

A couple of other recent articles on the subject:

One pro-Jacobsen: http://www.heatherwilhelm.com/Heather_Wilhelm_dot_com--Nour_Mehana.html

Another that more favors 'cultural misunderstanding':
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/27/business/27road.html

[level-head.livejournal.com]

While the reporter may have jumped the gun on this, it also seems that Snopes might have. The issue is still raising questions -- and you might re-read other posts here.

There is no shame to be had.

===|==============/ Level Head