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Foopie primer
Baby-faced and slightly built, Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani didn't present a physical threat, but his knowledge of explosives and commitment to radical Islam made the Zanzibari one of the most sought-after accused terrorists in the world. Arrested in Pakistan after a fierce gunfight, Ghailani had spent six years underground, evading an FBI-led manhunt and avoiding capture despite the bounty and a prominent listing among America's 22 most wanted terrorists.Ghailani is believed to have been born in early 1974 on Zanzibar, a semiautonomous archipelago off the coast of Tanzania. Despite being located only 25 miles off the African coast, the islands were once the seat of the Sultanate of Oman and remain 95 percent Muslim and the people and cities look more Arab in appearance than African. But during his childhood, Tanzania -- and by extension Zanzibar -- was ruled by a secular, socialist government made up mostly of mainland Christians, and devout Muslims were Ghailani dedicated himself to Islam and became a tabligh, or missionary. While most tabligh practice moderate Islam, a growing minority travel the world, visiting mosques and preaching the hatred of Western culture that is the hallmark of radical Islam. Posted by: Dan Darling 2004-07-30 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=39336 |