Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab: From Alpha to Terrorist

Op-ed, West Africa  |  01.02.10   By Adaora Mbelu

On December 25, 2009 as families gathered in various parts of the world to enjoy the Christmas celebrations, Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab, a 23-year-old Nigerian man who claims to be an al-Qaeda affiliate, allegedly tried to bring down a plane using an improvised explosive device strapped to his genital area.

Fortunately, due to a faulty detonator, the attack which could have killed the 279 Passengers and 11 crew members on a Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam, Holland to Detroit, USA, was thwarted.

This failed bombing attempt led muslim leaders and groups to cringe once again, as they stood united in their condemnation of such an inhuman act. Hussam Ayloush of CAIR, the Council on American Islamic Relations described the attempt as “an immoral act.”

A similar statement was found on the website of MPAC, the Muslim Public Affairs Committee, by Salam Al Maryati.

CAIR was established to “promote a positive image of Islam and Muslims in America” and believes that “misrepresentations of Islam are most often the result of ignorance on the part of non-Muslims and reluctance on the part of Muslims to articulate their case.”

I am also opposed to misrepresentations; however the increasing number of violent acts by religious fanatics forces the speculation that it is not misrepresentations and ignorant prejudice that CAIR fights on a daily basis.

They are also fighting the truth, and any criticism of Islamic belief or practice.

CHARACTER

Mike Rimmer, a former history teacher at his high school, described Mutallab as the ideal student, but showed concern for some of the radical views he shared in his teenage years.

Rimmer told the British daily, The Daily Telegraph: “In 2001 we discussed the Taliban in class. All the other Muslim kids thought they were a bunch of nutters with beards, and could not understand why they did such things as banning kite flying. But Umar seemed to think that was reasonable.”

Rimmer also said fellow pupils gave Mutallab the nickname ‘The Pope’ because of his “pious” and “high-minded” attitudes and later dubbed him ‘Alfa’ a local term meaning Islamic teacher.

He was said to be a shy and quiet individual who kept to himself most of the time, and wore a skull cap to emphasize his religious zeal. After graduating from UCL, he moved to Egypt, and then Dubai in the United Arab Emirates where he studied for an MBA before dropping out and telling his family he did not want to have anything to do with any of them again.

Mutallab was said to have made a few trips to Yemen for short Arabic and Islamic courses. An anonymous friend said he had “extreme views about religion” and had alienated himself from his family members because they disagreed with his views.

“We know Farouk’s extreme views and were always apprehensive of where it may lead him to. He has maintained his distance from us and we never bothered him much. He wanted to be left alone so we respect his wishes. We were always worried about him because he is young,” he said.

Mutallab’s religiosity leads me to pose the question: So was this ‘Alfa’ also a Jihadist?

The Islamic idea of jihad, which is derived from the Arabic root meaning “to strive” or “to make an effort,” connotes a wide range of meanings, from an inward spiritual struggle to attain perfect faith to an outward material struggle to promote justice and the Islamic social system.

Whether we choose to believe it or not, there are little children everywhere in the world that are being misled to believe that executing attacks such as that attempted by Mutallab, is “striving in the way of Allah” – Jihad.

This is contradictory to the modern standard Arabic definition of Jihad as “a fight for liberation.”  If this definition is accurate, then Mahatma Gandhi’s struggle for Indian Independence was a Jihad.

I propose that Mutallab be asked the question – “Liberation from what?”

Perhaps his aim was to shed light on the impoverished nations of the world that crave attention from the Western world or maybe it was a selfish act by a disturbed young man with the belief that his soul would be accepted by Allah.

I cannot justify the “malice, idealism, dogmatism, and proselytizing zeal on behalf of religious or political idols” with which this young man took a decision to cause such a catastrophic event.

Instead, this is indeed the time for all religious bodies to rise and intensify their teachings on love, peaceful coexistence, and respect for the sanctity of human life

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