[AnNahar] Nadir Soofi, one of the gunnies who attacked a Texas venue that featured a contest to draw the Prophet Mohammed, was a charismatic "ladies' man" as a teenager, contemporaries from an elite Pak school told Agence La Belle France Presse Wednesday.Soofi, 34, and Elton Simpson were rubbed out by police on Sunday as they tried to storm the cartoon drawing event.
The Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling
Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not
reallyMoslems....
group has grabbed credit, although U.S. officials caution it is too early to draw a firm link.
Soofi studied at the $20,000-a-year International School of Islamabad
| The International schools are a group of American-style preschool-through-secondary schools in key cities around the world aimed at the expat community and monied locals who want their children taught almost entirely in English. The training is aimed toward the international baccalaureate diploma, which as the name implies is an internationally respected, rigourous program of courses with some exposure to the local language and history. |
Speaking on condition of anonymity, one told AFP Soofi was "quite suave and charismatic" and something of a "ladies' man" as a student.Foreign student, ladies man, had Paki pals, no father figure present, heavy maternal influence, returned to the U.S. with his mum.....I think I've seen this movie.
"Whatever fundo [fundamentalist] indoctrination occurred, [it] happened after he graduated and moved to USA -- here he was simply a cool kid with a bright future," the contemporary told AFP.
Soofi's mother taught art at the school, several of his contemporaries said.
He took part in theatre productions, and another schoolmate said Soofi starred as the lead in "Bye Bye Birdie", a musical inspired by Elvis Presley, transforming him from a sweet, shy boy into "a confident heartthrob".
"He was always good looking, throwing back his long silky hair, but after the play he did, wow -- he was Mr Elvis of school," she told AFP, again speaking on condition of anonymity
... for fear of being murdered...
She added she was shocked by news of what Soofi had done in Texas.
"I had noticed on Facebook that he had become Islamic but never thought to such extremes," she said.
Soofi's parents divorced while they were in Pakistain, two schoolmates said, and he returned to the United States with his mother.
Soofi reportedly attended the University of Utah and later owned a struggling pizza and chicken wings restaurant. Managing his business reportedly meant he sometimes had to skip prayers at the mosque.
The IS claim marked the first time the Death Eater group, which has captured swaths of territory in Syria and Iraq using brutal methods, alleged to have carried out an attack in the United States.
Pakistain, in particular its restive tribal regions on the Afghan border, has long been a favoured destination for would-be Islamist turbans from abroad seeking training and guidance.
But there is no suggestion so far that Soofi's time in Pakistain had any influence on his radicalization.
| Why would anyone think otherwise? |
| According to Dawn, our antihero turned to radical Islam after repeated failures in America: |
“When he was in Islamabad, he had a great life. His mom was an American who taught art at the school, he was in plays, popular with girls,” said one of Soofi's best friends at school.
“His nickname was Goofy” because of his sense of humour, said the man, who declined to be identified to preserve his privacy.
Over the years, Soofi told his old friends he did not fit in [in America] and had many disappointments. He went to dental school, but said he had to drop out because of financial problems, the male friend said. He tried and failed at various ventures including a dry cleaning store, he said.
Should have tried community organizing. He clearly met all the prerequisites.
He told friends he had a child with a Bosnian woman but the relationship did not work out.
"He said 'life is really tough here'," the male friend said. "Alienation, an identity crisis, whatever you want to call it, he was kind of alone."
Life is tough, but it's tougher when you're stupid. Thanks to the Garland, TX Police Department he met his fate, and is no longer alone.
"I guess the one thing he could identify with was religion."