Figure 1.--Here we see Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab on a field trip to London as a young teenager, about 2001. Wmar was 13 years old at the time, but already very religious. Source: Mike Rimmer collection.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was a young Nigeria man who graduated from a London university and attempted to blow up an American (Northwest 253) Airliner on Chridstmas Day as it was landing in Detroit, Michigan. One of the many people shocked by this event was a British teacher who taught him at an international school in Togo. Apparently his wealthy Nigerian father sent him to school in Togo because of all the turmoil and disorder in Nigeria.

Radicalization

Abdulmutallab's family claims that he became radicalised while attending the British International School in Lome, the capital of neighbouring West African country of Togo. At the school, which takes in both Muslim and Christian pupils, Abdul had a reputation for preaching about Islam to his schoolmates and earned the nickname �Alfa�, meaning Islamic scholar. In reading the reports we so not find thar it occurred at the School. Although we note that the School failed to provide a very accurate overview of Middle Eastern developments. Umar while at the school was bothered about Muslim brothers being killed in Iraq by Americans. Somehow he seem unaware or ufased by the Muslims Sadam killed or the Muslims Al-Qaeda or other extremists killed. Also he does not seem to have been bothered by the Muslims being killed in huge numbers in Darfur. Apparently the School did not do a very good job of teaching these basic facts.

British Press Report

Here are the basic details from a British newspaper, " The arrest of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab has stunned British history teacher Michael Rimmer, who taught Abdulmutallab in Togo. He said the student had been 'every teacher's dream - very keen, enthusiastic, very bright, very polite'. Mr Rimmer recalled how his student had excelled in Islamic scholarship at the multireligious British school and gained a reputation for preaching to other students. He said Abdulmutallab had been among a number of pupils he had taken to London in 2001 and 2002, when aged 13 and 14. At one stage on the trip, Abdulmutallab had become upset because several older students had visited a pub and he thought it should not have been allowed on religious grounds. Mr Rimmer said that rather than spend money on souvenirs in London, Abdulmutallab had donated �50 to an orphanage. 'At one stage, his nickname was "the Pope". In one way, it's totally unsuitable because he's a Muslim, but he did have this saintly aura. He was a model student, very keen, enthusiastic and loved the subject I taught him, history, and would often stay behind after lessons to discuss items in the lesson or in the news.' He added, however, that Abdulmutallab started to express extremist views after 9/11. 'I remember in 2001 there was a class discussion about the Taliban in Afghanistan. All the other children including all the Muslims thought they were a bunch of nutters with beards, but he thought they had it right and thought their views were acceptable. At the time I thought, well, young people have silly views and he would grow out of it. 'I was angry at the nutters who had put these silly ideas in his head but also angry with him because he had wonderful parents and comes from a lovely family, with lots of friends and had everything going for him. 'He's a fine looking lad, very bright and I expected great things of him. But he's thrown it all away and his parents will be devastated.' Abdulmutallab had told Mr Rimmer that he was going to study Arabic in the Yemen. 'I thought nothing of it at the time. I just thought he was being adventurous, instead of going to more mainstream places like Damascus.' " [The Daily Mail (December 28, 2009).]

British Teacher

A HBC reader knows Abdulmutallabth's British teacher. The teacher writes, "Yes, I taught him History for 3 years, and took him on two trips to Ghana and two to London. I thought I knew him well. I obviously didn't! [Mike Rimmer, December 26, 2009.]

The Mind of a Suiside Bomber

Information coming forth allow us to explore the mind of a suiside bomber. There is no single templsate. Abdulmutallab is very different from the shoe nomber who has mental problems. Abdulmutallab was an avid poster on Islamic soicial webites. And his fellow students and teachers remember him. We seem a young ma struggling between Western and Islamic ideas. He was struggling with Islamic morality and the West. Morality was very important to him. He mentions not always loweing his gaze in the presence of girls. He was upset when his classmaters wnt to a pub. And he donated money to orphans. He attended Western schools, not madrasses. His religious mindset, however, turned from the toleration one would expect from a Western educated Muslim. He came to think that the Koran justified the imposition of his religious faith on others. This of course is not unusual in histoty. What we fail to understand is why he was so offended by Muslim caualties that resulted from the American intervention in Iraq, but willing to ignore the vicious killings by Sadam, al-Qadea, the Dudanese in Darfur, or the Algerian fundamentalists. This seems to be an outlook shared by some Muslims. As long as the killers have the Koran in their hands, killing even of women and children is acceptable. Some sources suggest that Abdulmutallab was a good student. His SAT scores were, however, decidely mediocre. We wonder how this affected his thinking.

British Readers

A British reader writes, "There is a radicalised Inman clientele in the UK. Some are entitled to draw welfare benefits and are critical of Western values. It was not always like this. This has only happened in the last 15 years or saw. It is noticeable in the textile area of Northern England. It is common to see women veiled and wearing head scarves. This is recent as is the building of new Mosques. They were first ordinary houses. Then disused cinemas were converted into Mosques. Now new purposeful buildings are being built for Islamic worship. This surly is one of the advantages of living in Britain. In which other faiths are allowed to worship openly and build their places of worship. In the former Soviet Central Asian countries which have recently become republics the worship of Islam is often restricted in some countries and forbidden in others." Another British reader writes, "A friend of Tajik origin has moved from Dushambe to Northern England. She is uncomfortable about the area where she lives. Many people who are of Asian origin live there. She is a Muslim and says she does not like the area because of the Islamic Fundamentalist views of the populace."

Obama Administration Reaction

The initial reaction of the Obama Administration on the Northwest 253 plot bcame from the Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, who proclaimed with a straight face that "the system worked". This is the same person who declared that America faces the danger of serious attacks from returning service men. She was forced to retact both statements and apolgize for the first. But these statements showcase the mindset of the Obama Administration which refuses to face up the fact that America is at war with Al-Qaeda and other Islamic extremist groups. The Obama Administration has banned the terms "war on terror" and "eneny combatant". The Administration can declare the War on Terror was misguided, but it clearly can not stop terroir attacks. It can also refuse to treat the rerrorists as enemy conbatats even though this is a legal terms firmy established under international law as aresult of the Geneva Conventions. Presidet Obama himself constatly shows that he considers terror attacks as a criminsal rather than a national security matter. He incredibly described Abdulmutallab as a "suspect" and his action as an "isolated attack" and an "attemp at terror". This was not an "attempt at terror", it was a terrorist action. The fact thsat it failed, does not nean that it was not an act of terrorism. Even a superficial assessment shows that Abdulmutallab was not "isolated" but supported by a vicious terror network which appears to include individuals released from Guantanamo. The President subsequently admitted that it was a "systeicm failure". What is apparently not clear to the President is that he is at the hear of the system. The President has not addressed the need to stregthen inspections and collecting informatioin on passengers. He had spoke to some extent both overseas and in America on the alesged abuse of civil rights by the Bush Administration. Predictably, the media anxious to protect the President, immediately began to attack the CIA rather than assess the priorities established by the Administration.

The Koran and Violence

This failed terrorist attempt is a good example of the falicy among many liberal Americans that the problem of Islamic terrorism is an economic problem developing from poverty. Abdulmutallab came from a wealthy Nigerian family and lived in a multi-million dollar London apartment. There is a general reluctance in the West to look at these acts of violence to stem from Islam and Koranic teaching on violence. Islam is often desribed as a religion of peace. And there are references toward peace in the Koran. but there are also many references to war and violence. The number of such references is disturbing. Even more disturbing are references to violence as a positive good and references justifying violence against unbelivers. We notice the repeated usage of passages like "kill/slay them wherever you find them". (Some scholars suggest "fight" is a better translation.) However the passages is translated, the justificatioin for violence against those of other faiths and hypocrites who abandon Islam is clearly enshired uin the Koran. These passages are unlike any in the religious books of the worlds other great religions. Several of these passages would seem to give a Muslim justification for suiside bombers targetting Jews, Christians, and even Muslims of differing views. The Koran also authorizes violence against women. In reading these passages it should be remembered that Islamic scholars teach that the Koran is the literal, perfect word of God and can not be questined. We have quoted the various pertinent passages from the Koran and attempted to assess their meaning. Some are elusive. Others seem rather straight forward. We do not pretend to be Islamic scholars and welcome any insights that readers might have.

Muslim Hero

There is a hero in this whole sordid affair. We have been very critical of Muslims who accept or tolerate violence while at the same time insisting that Islam is a religion of peace. The Muslim response to Aran and Iranian vilence as been tepid at best. The lack of Muslim resonse to the killing in Sarfur, for example, is shampeful. It is not what is expected from the members of a great religion. But in the Abdulmutallab terror plot there was a Muslim hero. Abdulmutallab 's father reported him to the U.S. Embassy, fearing that he had been radicalized. This was a courageous act, making him a target for Islamic extremists. It will be interesting to see just how the Muslim press evaluates this heroic father.

Created: 8:29 PM 12/28/2009
Last updated: 5:50 AM 12/31/2009