CNN.com
Powered by
Click Here to Print
SAVE THIS | EMAIL THIS | Close
Failed suicide bomber turns on al Qaeda
* Story Highlights
* Ahmad al Shayea, a Saudi, survived his suicide bombing mission
in Iraq
* He says al Qaeda tricked him into delivering the truck bomb
* Al Shayea now works with the Saudi government to battle al Qaeda
propaganda
* He tries to convince young Saudis not to join the terrorist
organization
>From Nic Robertson
CNN
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- Ahmad al Shayea is the rarest of truck bombers
-- he survived his suicide mission in Iraq even though the blast from
his bomb was strong enough to kill 12 bystanders.
Al Shayea, who was disfigured during the attack, claims al Qaeda
tricked him into becoming a bomber by asking him to deliver a tanker
truck, which they had rigged with a bomb.
"They told me to take it to an address in Baghdad. As soon as I got
there the truck exploded," said the native of Saudi Arabia. He
survived by jumping out of the truck.
Al Shayea renounced terrorism and returned to Saudi Arabia, where he
works to convince would-be insurgents and terrorists to give up their
deadly ways.
"I think God took me out of death to show others what can happen," he
told CNN. "If you join al Qaeda, they will use you, and maybe you will
die."
Al Qaeda propaganda videos glorify so-called foreign fighters in Iraq
like al Shayea. It has recruited them from countries all across the
Middle East.
Some Iraqi officials say more Saudis than any other nationality have
responded to al Qaeda's call. Saudi officials and the U.S. military
deny that claim. But Saudi sources do admit that more than 800 young
Saudis have gone to Iraq to fight. That's far more than the Saudi
government has acknowledged until now.
Since 9/11, when 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudis, the oil rich
kingdom has been accused of spreading radicalism. It's a claim that
stings this longtime U.S. ally, which also finds itself in al Qaeda's
cross hairs.
So now, Saudi officials say they are escalating their fight against
homegrown al Qaeda militants. Former insurgents and terrorists like al
Shayea are their chief weapon in the battle for the hearts and minds
of young Saudis.
"The reality behind it is the religious misunderstanding of Islam, so
we have to correct the ideas," said Dr. Turki Al-Otayan, a psychologist.
Al Shayea and hundreds of other Saudis who were aligned with
terrorists are being re-educated in prisons and rehabilitation
centers. They are taught that al Qaeda's emphasis on a violent
approach to Islam is wrong.
The program offers early release from prison. It's available only to
captured jihadis who demonstrate a willingness to change over the
course of repeated interviews with specialists. Al Shayea said he was
questioned by security forces, then clerics, then psychologists.
"They looked at my mood, listened to me. They were nice," he adds.
Al Turki said the review is thorough.
"We make sure he understands dialogue. We make sure he is not just
lying. So it is not an easy job I can assure you," he said.
The Saudi government says more than 1,000 former al Qaeda recruits
have been through the program. Seven hundred of them are now free.
Critics, mainly from the country's security forces, fear mistakes
could allow some al Qaeda fighters back on the street.
A native of Saudi Arabia, al Shayea was just 19 when he went to Iraq
to fight for al Qaeda against American forces. He was angered, he
said, by scenes of U.S. troops killings his fellow Muslims.
"I went to Iraq with Saudi men because jihad is a duty for every
Muslim," he said. "I went to Iraq to fight the jihad and kill Americans."
He was hoping to take up arms against Americans, but said he never
envisioned himself as a suicide bomber. After his truck bomb exploded,
al Shayea was captured and paraded on Iraqi TV. Burned and bandaged,
he was blamed for the death of 12 bystanders. He confessed.
Iraqi security officials deported him to Saudi Arabia. Today, with the
backing of the Saudi government, al Shayea gets his anti-al Qaeda
message out on fliers that include pictures of him before and after
his bombing. He has become the anti-Al Qaeda example.
"I learned my lesson, and others will learn as well," he said.
All AboutSaudi Arabia
Find this article at:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/09/14/reformed.jihadist/index.html
Click Here to Print
SAVE THIS | EMAIL THIS | Close
Check the box to include the list of links referenced in the article.
© 2007 Cable News Network.
Post message: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Unsubscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED]
List owner : [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
