Muslim on Va. Commission Quits After Videos Surface

The Washington-based Investigative Project on Terrorism, which tracks what it thinks are radical Muslim groups, posted both videos on YouTube.

Omeish told the Associated Press late Thursday that his comments in the videos were taken out of context and that his reference to "the jihad way" was not a call for violent attacks.

"In Islam, jihad is a broad word that means constant struggle -- struggling spiritually, emotionally, intellectually, physically -- in all respects. So my words were in support of people who are resisting occupation and people who are trying to . . . remove oppression from their land," Omeish said.

Kaine appointed Omeish to the immigration panel because the governor wanted the group to be diverse and include a Muslim representative, administration officials said. The legislation establishing the panel also required that at least one member be a medical professional. Kaine said he will replace Omeish with another Muslim.

Omeish is on the board of directors of the Dar Al Hijrah center, one of the Washington area's oldest and largest mosques. It was scrutinized after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. At Inova Alexandria, Omeish was the surgeon on call after the Pentagon attack.

The FBI and the federal 9/11 commission concluded that two of the Sept. 11 hijackers briefly worshiped at the mosque after one of them befriended its imam in San Diego. FBI officials have said they found no evidence that the imam, who has since resigned and left the country, had prior knowledge of the attacks.

In 2005, Omeish joined a group of moderate Muslim clerics in the United States in denouncing Islamic terrorism overseas.

The Islamic center is closely affiliated with the Muslim American Society. Several of the group's founders had been active in the Muslim Brotherhood, a movement that started in Egypt in the 1920s and advocates a purer, more restrictive form of Islam in the Middle East.

Before the videos surfaced, Del. C. Todd Gilbert (R-Shenandoah) had written a letter to Kaine on Tuesday expressing concern about Omeish's links to the Muslim American Society.

"There are many of our fellow Muslim citizens who value our democratic institutions and constitutional guarantees," Gilbert wrote. "The origins, affiliations and goals of the Muslim American Society, however, should be a matter of grave concern to all Virginians."

Before he saw the videos, Kevin Hall, Kaine's spokesman, dismissed Gilbert's letter as xenophobic. After Omeish resigned, Gilbert praised Kaine for acting swiftly to remove him.

"I would hope that the governor's staff was vetting candidates for state commissions a little better, but I am certainly pleased the governor himself has taken action," Gilbert said.

Hall said the governor's office carefully scrutinizes appointees to state commissions. "But I think it is fair to say that YouTube was not part of the vetting process in this case," Hall said. "It certainly will be from here on out."

Staff writers Pamela Constable, Dan Eggen and Mary Beth Sheridan contributed to this report.