Where do Homegrown British Suicide Bombers Come From? Part II

By Evan Kohlmann

Not far from the Stockwell tube stop in south London--where British police earlier today shot and killed a suspected suicide bomber--lies the town of Brixton.  Investigators have likewise found clothing in Brixton that they believe was abandoned by one of those responsible for yesterday's failed terrorist attack.  Coincidentally or not, Brixton is also the former home of Sheikh Abdullah al-Faisal, a Jamaican-born Islamic convert and religious leader now serving a lengthy prison sentence for inciting young Muslims to kill Jews and Hindus. 

Faisal's indoctrination into fundamentalism took place in Saudi Arabia, where he studied at an Islamic university and became a firm devotee of extreme Salafist clerics in the Kingdom.  After completing his studies in Saudi Arabia, Faisal later told UK police that "he was sent to the United Kingdom to preach by Sheikh Rajhi"--an apparent reference to the wealthy and powerful Saudi Al-Rajhi family that has been repeatedly accused of supporting international terrorism.  Settling in Brixton, al-Faisal regularly surfaced to deliver sermons to his followers at the local town hall--but also traveled and spoke before other audiences in Manchester, Worthing, Bournemouth, Cardiff, Swansea, and Birmingham.  According to legal documents filed in his criminal case, each of Faisal's lectures was "attended by 100 people and sometimes [as many as] 500."

What was Faisal ordering his hundreds of followers to do?  Stop me if this sounds familiar...

[Click to hear audio c/o Globalterroralert.com]

"Another aim and objective of jihad is to drive terror in the hearts of the [infidels].  To terrorize them.  Did you know that we were commanded in the Qur'an with terrorism?  ...Allah said, and prepare for them to the best of your ability with power, and with horses of war.  To drive terror in the hearts of my enemies, Allah's enemies, and your enemies. And other enemies which you don't know, only Allah knows them... So we were commanded to drive terror into the hearts of the [infidels], to prepare for them with the best of our abilities with power.  Then the Prophet said, nay, the power is your ability to shoot.  The power which you are commanded with here, is your ability to shoot.  Another aim and objective of jihad is to kill the [infidels], to lessen the population of the [infidels]... it is not right for a Prophet to have captives until he makes the Earth warm with blood... so, you should always seek to lessen the population of the [infidels]."

In fact, Sheikh Abdullah al-Faisal's message was so potent and effective--particularly among Western converts to Islam--that it spread even to the United States.  In the years leading up to 9/11, a group of Faisal's faithful established an alternate base of operations in San Diego, where they marketed tapes endorsing jihad and raised money to help free the Egyptian Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman.  Faisal's supporters in the U.S. also set up an Internet website--www.islamicjihad.com--where American Muslims could seek the advice of the fanatical Jamaican cleric.  Responding to one question submitted online, Faisal explained, �I fully endorse the verdict� in regards to martyrdom operations.  I would recommend to all Muslims who slipped into [atheism] and is now suffering from the disease AIDS to come forward and volunteer to carry out such operations in order to die with some form of dignity and prestige.  With this maybe Allah will forgive you of your sins and give you [heaven].�

Can what took place in London on 7/7 and 7/21 also happen here in the U.S.?  If Faisal's constituents are of any indication, unfortunately, the answer would seem to be yes.  One of the regular visitors to Sheikh Faisal's online forum in early 2001 was an  Islamic convert and Al-Qaida sympathizer claiming to be a veteran of the U.S. Army living in the Washington D.C. area.  "Muhammad Daoud al-Marylandi" identified himself as a "former satcom operator, tactical network switching administrator and several other teams", warning other forum participants to use encryption on communications in order to evade detection by U.S. law enforcement.  He also vigorously advocated that his fellow radicals begin military training at once.  In one message, he pleaded: �Brothers, start learning something even if is Morse code.  Prepare your mindset for jihad if anything� SO you must take it upon yourselves and myself [god-willing] to begin training and learning.  May Allah(swt) bless all of us with success in this life and the next .�  In an earlier post, �Muhammad Daood� was more specific about what exactly he meant by training: �Learn about weapons every type you can imagine.  ANd learn about: Breathe Relax Aim and Squeeze� Get in Shape, [god-willing] the [infidel�s] military have left me in great shape.  [Praise God]� Learn CLOSE QUARTER COMBAT.�

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