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| Iraq-Jordan |
| The California Suicide Bomber |
| 2005-04-05 |
| According to a remarkable article by Scott Macleod in the April 4 issue of Time Magazine, the suicide bomber who carried off the worst atrocity in Iraq since the collapse of the Saddam Hussein regime was a 32-year-old Jordanian who had lived for two years in California. Raed Mansour al-Banna was born in Jordan in 1973 and grew up in a religious, economically prosperous merchant family. He studied law at the university, graduating in 1996, and then started his own law practice in the Jordanian capital of Amman. After three years, he gave it up and in 1999 he worked a half year without pay for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Amman, helping Iraqis who fled Saddam Hussein's tyranny. In 2001, sometime before 9/11, Banna received a visa and moved to the United States, where he apparently lived in California for nearly two years, moving from one unskilled job to another — factory worker, bus driver, and pizza maker. According to his father, Raed even worked "in one of the Californian airports." If Ra'ed did not make it economically, he seemed to fit in well, traveling to such destinations as the Golden Gate Bridge and the World Trade Center, growing his hair long, and taking up American popular music. Photographs sent to his family in Jordan show Banna eating a crab dinner, walking on a beach in California, mounted on a motorcycle, and standing in front of a military helicopter while holding an American flag. He even planned to marry a Christian woman until her parents demanded that the wedding take place in a church. Banna apparently loved America, reporting back to his family about the people's honesty and kindness; "They respect anybody who is sincere." Talal Naser, a young man engaged to one of Ra'ed's sisters, explained how Ra'ed "loved life in America, compared to Arab countries. He wanted to stay there." His father, Mansour, recounted that, despite the September 11 attacks, Ra'ed "faced no problems with his American workmates, who liked him." Banna visited home in 2003 but on his return to the United States he was denied entry, accused of falsifying details on a visa application. He returned to Jordan and became withdrawn, holing up in a makeshift studio apartment, sleeping late, and displaying a new interest in religion. He began praying five times a day and listening to the Koran. In November 2004, he went on pilgrimage to Mecca, returning to Saudi Arabia in January 2005. On Jan. 27, Banna crossed into Syria, presumably on the way to Iraq. He apparently spent February with Sunni jihadis in Iraq, during which time he called home several times, with the last call on about Feb. 28. Feb. 28 also happens to be the date when Banna suited up as a suicide bomber and blew himself up at a health clinic in Al-Hilla, killing 132 people and injuring 120, the worst such attack of the 136 suicide bombings that have taken place since May 2003. On March 3, the family received a call informing them of Ra'ed's fate. "Congratulations, your brother has fallen a martyr." A friend revealed that Banna became politically radicalized against American policies in the Muslim world while living in the United States. He was especially distraught about developments in Iraq. A neighbor, Nassib Jazzar, recalled Banna upset with the coalition occupation. "He felt that the Arabs didn't have honor and freedom.'" The father notes that Ra'ed wore Western-style clothing, rarely went to mosque, and was ignorant of the names of local sheikhs. "I am shocked by all of this because my son was a very quiet man, not very religious and more interested in pursuing his law profession and building a future for himself." As Time cautiously concludes from this tale, On the basis of accounts given by his family, friends and neighbors, Ra'ed apparently led a double life, professing affection for America while secretly preparing to join the holy war against the U.S. in Iraq. "Something went wrong with Ra'ed, and it is a deep mystery," says his father Mansour, 56. "What happened to my son?" Ra'ed al-Banna's biography inspires several observations: (1) When it comes to Islamist terrorists, appearances often deceive. That Banna was said to "love life in America," be "not very religious," and be interested in "building a future for himself" obviously indicated nothing about his real thinking and purposes. The same pattern recurs in the biographies of many other jihadis. (2) Moving to the West often spurs Muslims to despise the West more than they did before they got there. This appears to be what happened with Banna. (3) Taking up the Islamist cause, even to the point of sacrificing one's life for it, usually happens in a discreet manner, quite unobservable even to a person's closest relatives. In brief, Banna's evolution confirms the point I have made repeatedly about the regrettable but urgent need to keep an eye on all potential Islamists and jihadis, which is to say Muslims. Daniel Pipes (www.DanielPipes.org) is director of the Middle East Forum and author of Miniatures (Transaction Publishers). |
| Posted by:ed |
| #14 Thanks .com for both posts. "Arabia" is better left to the imagination, cuz the real thing is nothing anybody would like to experience, it sounds like. Everybody should listen to .com. Americans can be naive when associating with Arabs, and it's good to be forewarned. About the "vices" in America (the sleeze factor)--it was my experience that most Arab/Moslem males think EVERYBODY in America is participating in these things, when really, it's a small percentage. Most people are plugged into their families and are just trying to pay the mortgage. . . . At least in the red states! "The West is about choice and discipline to avoid the bad ones. Islam is about lack of choices so that discipline is not even needed, a fact that makes them ill prepared for the West." Great comment, rjschwarz. They can't navigate our society and it pisses them off. Poor babies. |
| Posted by: ex-lib 2005-04-05 8:47:36 PM |
| #13 Sooo, let's nuke Saudi Arabia, build a Hooters and a WalMart SuperCenter, in that order; to take the place of Mecca. |
| Posted by: badanov 2005-04-05 6:25:07 PM |
| #12 PD are you telling me you didn't try on a sheet? I mean that's brought over thousands to the true faith. Think about Toole O'toole prancing on the dunes..... and what did happened to Larry in that train station anyway? |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-04-05 6:18:23 PM |
| #11 James - Well, I know no one will believe it, lol!, but I was once a romantic. I actually went over the first time thinking neutrally and considering it my very own Arabian Adventure. Sheesh! That lasted about an hour - I arrived in the early afternoon during Ramadan that first trip. Man, if you smoke, Ramadan sucks the big one, heh. I was quickly disabused of all my other silly ideas in very short order. It's the same old story - one on one you think you're talking to a regular Joe / Yagoub. Over time you realize they are not your friends. Period. Never were. Never will be. And there goes the last of the delusions. |
| Posted by: .com 2005-04-05 4:10:01 PM |
| #10 These Saudis need Jesus in their Wahhabi lives, can I say that on Rantburg? |
| Posted by: Adam 2005-04-05 3:50:41 PM |
| #9 I dunno. Sounds like another queer jihadi. Eating crabs in California? Probably before his hajj to Mecca, he went on hajj to Castro street in SF. Couldn't get a visa to get back to to his lover in time for Gavin Newsome to officiate at their wedding, so he decided to go to Iraq and murder people for Allah. The dude was a friggin' lawyer. He could have had a good life in Jordan. |
| Posted by: Penguin 2005-04-05 2:28:14 PM |
#8 I can think of several reasons why visiting the West would make a Muslim despise us more than before.
I wonder, .com: did you like the Saudis more before you actually knew some? :-) |
| Posted by: James 2005-04-05 1:36:39 PM |
| #7 "Moving to the West often spurs Muslims to despise the West more than they did before they got there." The West is about choice and discipline to avoid the bad ones. Islam is about lack of choices so that discipline is not even needed, a fact that makes them ill prepared for the West. That is why Atta and company got lap dances, and it is also why so many Muslim men cannot stand to see a woman uncovered. I think many communists have a similar problem. You here many complain about too many choices or the lies and duplicity of ads because they have trouble making the commercial decisions themselves and would like someone else to do so for them so they can avoid making the wrong one. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2005-04-05 11:42:51 AM |
| #6 (2) Moving to the West often spurs Muslims to despise the West more than they did before they got there. This appears to be what happened with Banna. Sounds like jealousy to me. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2005-04-05 11:08:53 AM |
| #5 I have an anecdote which applies. I knew a Saudi guy who had lived in America for almost 15 years. He loved talking to me and other expats because he was "so American" that the other Saudis almost shunned him. He was in his mid-twenties, his parents were obviously well-connected Saudis (to get such a long stay / assignment) and he had just returned to Saudi -- to get married. It seems he wasn't very attractive to American femalians - who resented his hyper-authoritarian Saudi Wahhabi Muzzy approach. So his Daddy had arranged a marriage for him with a good Saudi girl he could own and utterly dominate. I can't remember specific phrases, probably because it was waay over the top, but it was clear she was going to be his pet and slave. He giggled, described his planned exploits - leaving nothing to the imagination, and I gasped - yeah, me, gasping... who'da thunk it? I was appalled and realized, over time, that everything he was saying was pretty common stuff for the Saudi men - it's just that he felt comfortable telling me in detail where others would only imply. BTW, he was amused by my disdain and discomfort with his gleeful hand-rubbing (yes, he did - with a twinkle and a giggle) over how he would dominate her. Luckily, I soon relocated to another part of Aramco and did not run into him but once or twice afterwards. It's bad. That they can't do the same with American femalians unless they can sucker them into going to their homeland as their wife, where she will immediately be relieved of her separate US Passport, you can bet, is likely very frustrating. I picture this guy when I read these articles and get nauseated all over again. FWIW. |
| Posted by: .com 2005-04-05 11:01:45 AM |
| #4 Congenital schizophrenia. |
| Posted by: raptor 2005-04-05 10:51:48 AM |
| #3 I still think most, if not all of these jihadiis are acting out sexual abuse trauma--I keep reading how "quiet" they are, how "soft spoken," how "emotional" and how "focused" on their future they are, but underneath is the rage and the desire to lash out at an enemy they think they can control through reliance on the tenets of an exacting religion promising utopia and the restoration of "honor." Structure and restoration are a powerful duo in the lives of those who have been humiliated and shattered. "Moving to the West often spurs Muslims to despise the West more than they did before they got there." Wonder why that is. Perhaps America is oriented toward the individual compared with their countries, which are generally oriented toward social groups, that they feel more isolated and unimportant than ever, which translate into further "humiliation." Fuel for the fire . . . Other thoughts, anyone? |
| Posted by: ex-lib 2005-04-05 10:43:17 AM |
| #2 Wait just a friggin second! We don't need to import any Jihadis from Arab countries, we have our own homegrown whack jobs here in California. The connection to California was a miniscule part of Banna's life (sounds like the best part). He was probably pre-disposed to be a Jihadist or maybe he was one waiting for the best time to strike here in California. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2005-04-05 10:14:19 AM |
| #1 What a friggin loser. I think this relates to the jihadis' inability to deal with western women. Turns them into homicidial maniacs willing to commit despicable sex crimes (kill many innocents, get your 72 doe eyed virgins). |
| Posted by: Classical_Liberal 2005-04-05 9:51:28 AM |