Three decades ago Palestinian Islamic Jihad was one of the most well known militant groups in the world. It wreaked havoc on Israel, carrying out numerous suicide bombings that took the lives of more than 100 during the intifada years. One of its leaders had taught at the University of South Florida and in the wake of his relocation to Syria his colleague who taught at the same university, Dr. Sami al-Arian, became the center of a terrorism investigation. Al-Arian was an unexpected presumed jihadist. He was a known civil rights activist who was invited to the White House, and had ties to congress and top GOP operatives. In 2000 he campaigned for Muslims to vote for George W. Bush.