Shukri Abu-Baker is part of the Holy Land Five, Muslim activists targeted during the Bush Administration in their attack on Muslim activists after September 11th. He was sentenced to 65 years in prison.

Personal Background

Mr. Abu-Baker — who’s of Palestinian and Brazilian heritage — was born in Brazil in 1959. At age 6, he and his family moved to Silwad, Palestine, where they lived for a couple of years. In 1967, the family left to Kuwait and lived there for about a decade. Mr. Abu-Baker migrated to the United States in 1980, where he got his Bachelor’s degree in business administration from Orlando College. During that time, he also helped launch the first mosque in central Florida.

After marrying Wejdan in 1982, Mr. Abu-Baker moved to Indianapolis, Indiana. There, he worked as an office manager for the Muslim Arab Youth Association. In 1990, they relocated to Culver City, Calif., near Los Angeles where he and a few friends opened the Holy Land Foundation. Then in 1992, the family moved to Dallas and the HLF moved with them. He and Wejdan currently live in Garland, TX and have four American-born daughters: Zaira, 24; Sanabel, 21; Nida, 14 and Shurook, 7.