The sheik, 56, who is blind and diabetic, smiled slightly and nodded toward the first pool of 100 potential jurors called into the courtroom, which was lined with federal marshals.
In remarks to the potential jurors, Judge Michael Mukasey said he expected the search for a panel of 12 jurors and six alternates to last until Jan. 30. The jurors' identities will be kept anonymous for security reasons, but they will not be sequestered.
Mukasey summarized the indictment that includes charges that the sheik and his followers engaged in a seditious conspiracy against the United States that included plans to bomb the United Nations, the FBI's New York headquarters, two tunnels and the George Washington Bridge connecting Manhattan to New Jersey.
The indictment also accuses the defendants of plotting the assassination of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, New York politicians and Jewish leaders. None of these attacks was carried out.
"No one is charged here with having opinions or simply expressing opinions," the judge said.
He also noted that the Feb. 26, 1993, World Trade Center bombing that killed six people and injured more than 1,000 was part of what prosecutors allege was a holy war waged by Abdel-Rahman and his followers against the United States, which they considered an enemy of Islam.
Defense lawyers will argue that the sheik and his co-defendants were unwittingly enlisted to perform seemingly innocent tasks that contributed to alleged crimes, or were entrapped by an overzealous, careless informant.
The cleric is considered a spiritual leader by many members of the extremist al-Gamaa al-Islamiya, or the Islamic Group, which is fighting to overthrow the secular Mubarak government.
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