Posted on 11/25/2006 4:24:33 AM PST by MadIvan
Their destination may be almost 3,000 miles away, but the draw of martyrdom in Iraq is proving irresistable for the young men of Tetouan.
American intelligence officials believe that the Moroccan town, less than 30 miles from the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, has become one of the world's most fertile recruiting ground for jihadists.
In the last eight months a group of young men, all worshippers at the same mosque, have left their homes to become suicide bombers in Iraq.
After DNA tests on their bodies, and Moroccan authorities asking families to provide samples, US intelligence traced at least nine of those responsible for recent suicide missions in and around Baghdad to Tetouan and its surrounding area in the foothills of the Rif Mountains.
Local reports suggest that another 21 individuals have left the area to seek martyrdom, following in the footsteps of five other Tetouanis who blew themselves up in a Madrid suburb when cornered by police, who believed they played a part in the train bombings in the Spanish capital in March 2004.
The families of the young men, all in their twenties, tell the same stories – of sons, brothers, husbands who became disillusioned with the daily struggle to earn.
Early each morning Abdelmonem Amakchar El Amrani, 21, would leave the home that he shared with his wife and infant daughter to travel 30 miles to work as a porter hauling merchandise across the border between Morocco and Ceuta. On a good day he could make four or five trips, earning around £3 a time.
When he arrived home exhausted each evening he would talk of his dream of making the short journey across the Mediterranean to Spain, where he would build a life for himself before sending for his family.
Earlier this year he began spending more time at the mosque, grew a beard and one day disappeared.
The first the family learnt of his fate was when police informed them that on March 6 he had driven a car bomb into a funeral procession, killing six and wounding 27 in the Iraqi city of Bakuba, 35 miles northwest of Baghdad.
Like many of the other men, he lived in Jamaa Mezuak, one of the poorest districts of Tetouan, where unemployment and illiteracy are high, and many houses in the labyrinthine streets have no running water. Young men loiter on street corners in groups of four and five, selling contraband cigarettes and hashish from the nearby mountains.
"This part of Morocco is a place of misery, of poverty, unemployment and a place devoid of hope," said Aissa Acharki, a prominent member of Justice and Spirituality, a controversial Islamic political party which promotes non-violence and understanding between different religions.
"That so many of these men are choosing to become martyrs in Iraq is shocking but we should not be surprised that they are making this choice."
He believed that the region's proximity to Europe creates a state of mental torture in the young. "They watch western television, they follow the Spanish football league, they look at the style of life that people have over there and they become frustrated.
"The idea of reaching paradise through martyrdom is becoming increasingly attractive. This is promoted by imams in some of the mosques and prepares them for the call to jihad."
Acharki, like others in the town, believed that the men were persuaded to join the insurgents through extremist literature on the internet and DVDs distributed secretly across town by agents of extremist groups in Algeria.
The fact that all nine suspected of being suicide bombers worshipped in the Daawawa Tabligh mosque has caused the imam to become very protective of his activities and aggressive to those asking questions.
When approached by a local reporter on behalf of The Daily Telegraph, Imam Abdel Ihah, who is in his mid-twenties, said: "I know who you are and where you live. Be careful about asking questions about these boys. They are Muslims and are free to follow their chosen path."
A local worshipper said that before they left for Iraq the bombers would meet in groups, often with the imam present, to discuss Islamic teachings.
"Sometimes strangers from Arab countries would visit and join them. They would sit on the terrace of the mosque and talk. This still happens," he whispered nervously. "But it is other young men now."
Regards, Ivan
Ping!
Pull a Carthago on this town.
That is exactly the solution.
ARTICLE SNIPPET: ""The idea of reaching paradise through martyrdom is becoming increasingly attractive. This is promoted by imams in some of the mosques and prepares them for the call to jihad.""
ON THE NET...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1513148/posts?page=7#7
I am sorry to say that I wish the entire region would just BLOW THEMSELVES UP and get it over with. The world would be better for it. Flame away!
I think there is a better solution. Put the boots on the ground and kill every living thing in the area. Don't fly over it and bomb it. Look it square in the eye and kill it up close and personal.
It's the imam. They are the carriers.
Either we're in a war on terrorism that's the most critical conflict since WWII or we're not. I guess we're not.
Quote " Like many of the other men, he lived in Jamaa Mezuak, one of the poorest districts of Tetouan, where unemployment and illiteracy are high, " endQuote
Much like people who are pro-abortion,
my thought is,
they don't understand or respect,
the value of their own life,
and that's why they won't respect another life.
When approached by a local reporter on behalf of The Daily Telegraph, Imam Abdel Ihah, who is in his mid-twenties, said: "I know who you are and where you live.
This kind of threatening of reporting the truth should not be tolerated anywhere in a free society. These creatures are the scum of the earth and should be fumigated.
I was thinking the same thing. Give them a REAL reason to go on jihad.
-ccm
At least level the mosque and kill the imams involved.
Until we are willing to take such steps, we will never prevail against this evil ideology.
It would provide excellent on-the-job experience for the lovable little mayhem-makers.
They are told that the way in which they die is more important than the way in which they live. By dying to fight for Allah (i.e., killing infidels as well as themselves), they will reside forevermore in Paradise, amidst untold pleasures and luxuries; and their families will be rewardeed by Allah here on earth.
Is it just me, or do the words suicide bomber and mosque usually appear in these same types of stories?
The one thing I keep thinking about is what my father once said - we were watching "The Robe" starring Richard Burton. At the end of that film, the brave Roman convert to Christianity (as played by Burton) and his wife go off to be killed for their beliefs. My father said, "That's real martyrdom - not to kill for your beliefs, but to be killed for them and accept your fate."
Quite so.
Regards, Ivan
You can't fight stupid.
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