Full Name Tarik Dowdell Nationality American | Occupation Jazz musician Name Tarik Shah | |
Known for Pleaded guilty to conspiring to provide aid to al-Qaeda Similar People Abbey Lincoln, James Weidman, Harold Vick | ||
Tarik Shah at Mezzrow Jazz Club, NYC, February 6, 2019
Tarik Shah (born January 24, 1963) is an American modern jazz bassist and martial arts expert who has been imprisoned since 2005 for conspiring to provide aid to the terrorist organization al-Qaeda.
Contents
- Tarik Shah at Mezzrow Jazz Club NYC February 6 2019
- Life and work
- Arrest and guilty plea
- Selected Discography
- References
Life and work
Shah was born Tarik Dowdell in Harlem, New York City in 1963. Several of his family members were musically gifted. His brother, Antoine Dowdell, worked as a music teacher and jazz pianist. Shah began learning to play double bass at age twelve and went on to study with Slam Stewart. In 1985, Shah toured across Europe with Betty Carter and worked with Ahmad Jamal, Abbey Lincoln, Ron Burton and Art Taylor after his return. Shah later played with the Duke Ellington Orchestra alongside Red Rodney, Roland Hanna, Harold Vick and Dr. Lonnie Smith. He also performed regularly at clubs like St. Nick's Pub in Manhattan and worked with Vanessa Rubin (Pastiche, 1993) and the World Saxophone Quartet (Breath of Life, 1992).
Shah's other passion is martial arts and he attained the level of Master in karate.
Arrest and guilty plea
In 2005, Shah was arrested by the FBI on the charge of conspiracy to provide material support for terrorism. The Department of Justice alleged that Shah and another man, Dr. Rafiq Abdus Sabir, engaged in multiple recorded conversations with a paid confidential informant and an undercover FBI Agent posing as an al-Qaeda recruiter, during which Shah agreed to provide hand-to-hand combat training and Sabir agreed to provide medical aid to Al-Qaeda members.
Shah pleaded guilty to the charge in 2007 and was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison. Despite his guilty plea, Shah and his supporters continue to claim that he was entrapped and never actually intended to join or support al-Qaeda. In addition, the case raised further controversy regarding federal law enforcement's use of paid informants.
Shah is currently serving his sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution, Petersburg Low, a low-security federal prison in Virginia, and is scheduled for release in June 2018.
Sabir pleaded not guilty to the charge, but was convicted and sentenced to 25 years in federal prison in 2007. In a sentencing statement, Sabir maintained his innocence and claimed that Shah had set him up. He is scheduled for release in 2027.