Turning their backs on jihad
Disenchanted with Osama bin Laden, former holy warriors are renouncing violence.
By Britta Sandberg
July 16, 2008 | Noman Benotman walks into a restaurant on Park Lane, the exclusive, minimalist sort of place that is currently all the rage in London. People in business suits converse in hushed tones at nearby tables. Benotman, wearing an orange polo shirt and a gray checked blazer, fits in perfectly.
Benotman, a 41-year-old man from Libya, was once a jihadist. He fought against the Soviets in Afghanistan, and it was in those days, which some would later romanticize as heroic, that he met Osama bin Laden. Benotman says that he was once adept at using an AK-47, and that he remembers making out the faces of Soviet helicopter pilots before shooting them down.
After the Soviet army withdrew in disgrace from Kabul and Kandahar, Benotman returned to his native Libya, where he became one of the leaders of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG). The group, several hundred strong, sought to overthrow the regime of Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, which they believed was corrupt and un-Islamic. Before Sept. 11, 2001, Benotman was an important figure in the expanding global network of terrorism.
Today he sits in a London restaurant and orders an espresso with a glass of water from a waiter dressed in a white uniform. He speaks with a flawless British accent.
Nothing short of spectacular
Benotman has just returned from Libya, where he is working on behalf of the Gadhafi regime, the same regime he hoped to oust only a decade ago. He has been assigned a very delicate task. His job is to convince imprisoned members of his former terrorist group to sign a peace treaty of sorts. He has traveled to Libya 25 times in the last 16 months, and his efforts are paying off. Now, he says, the document that will allow his former comrades to be reintegrated into society is as good as written -- and on the verge of being signed.
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/07/16/jihad/index.html?source=rss...
You can't teach experience
Plenty of other countries out there.
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NIL ILLEGITIMI CARBORUNDUM
Southland, thought the link was only in reference to the source. Apologies, I'm sure I have a mild form of ADD.
Yes Dr. Fadl, now that he has time to think about what he's done, seems to have sobered up. If only all extremists would take some time to think rationally and not be so reactive.
Martyrs, my friend, have to choose between being forgotten, mocked or used. As for being understood - never.
Albert Camus
I know we are all busy and some topics are boring but the article goes into more detail about how the 'creator' of al-Qaeda has given up the ghost.
labda06 - I can be a slippery slope, but I have seen leaders/groups turn away from terrorism (PLO, IRA, Gadaffi, Kim Jong-il?, etc.)
has his price, to turn from opposing Gadaffi to working for him is a little hard to swallow, money will have definitely changed hands, people surely don't turn their backs on everything they once believed in, just like that, I guess there is more to this than what is said in the post.
I wonder if he was bought out by Gaddafi...Gaddafi is not exactly known for his democratic ways so I find it odd that Benotman has chosen to side with the ancient dictator. Atleast he has renounced his association with Osama. But then again, isn't Gaddafi considered a terrorist by many states?