As more details emerge about the suspects on the Ministry of Interiorâs new terror list, it is clear that radical groups have systematically been targeting poor rural areas and infiltrating recruiters into public schools in the guise of teachers who set up camps using brainwashing techniques and perverting the messages of the Qurâan to create terrorists.
| Well, shucks. When did that start? |
 | | I confess I find this guy frightening. Not because he's a ferocious Lion of Islamâ¢, but because he looks like he packs a switchblade. Clean him up and he might pass for a down-on-his-luck tango instructor, but that's the most he'll ever amount to. If he lived in Alabama he'd be behind in the payments on his trailer house. |
Naif Al-Shammary, suspect No. 13 on the new terror list, grew up in Hafr Al-Batinâs narrow alleys. His family was unfamiliar with radical Islam. The people of his region descended from Bedouin tribes, most of them being immigrants who left Iraq decades ago and returned to the Arabian Peninsula after leaving for economic reasons. According to those close to the suspect, his views were never an exception to the moderate Arab tribe norms living in the region.
| "Yeah, they'll thump the old lady, maybe despoil an occasional camel caravan, but other than that they're just folks. The cops ain't there but once or twice a week." |
From the period of his education in Abu Moussa Al-Ashaari district until his last years of high school, his actions were much like any other Saudi schoolboyâs. However, they said his life slowly started to change to a radical one when he forsook his old companions, and joined a religious group. At first, the manâs relatives welcomed the move, assuming his involvement in the new religious group would strengthen his faith.
| "He's such a good boy, Paw! Lookit how he's memorizin' the Koran!" |
Area residents also said extremism started to creep into their villages in the mid-1990s. Religious teachers coming from areas known for extremism began to teach in public schools, where they started forming student groups called âscientific groups,â which would meet during non-school hours to avoid detection. Members of the group would gather on a regular basis, and no one outside of the group would be welcome.
| "You ain't holy like us! Beat it!" |
Those who heard of such camps were told that students were given disciplinary lectures to encourage them to stay on Godâs path during adolescence along with religious lectures to help guide their lives. According to those who attended these camps where Naif and other young Saudis were radicalized, military training was given to the young men under the auspices that âa Muslim must be strong.â Radical teachers at these camps used brainwashing techniques to turn the young men to new ideologies while discrediting less radical schools of thought. One common characteristic of the camps was screening videos billed as âheroic venues of jihadi fighters in Afghanistan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Chechnya.â
| Showing the little brats snuff flicks, were they? |
The teachers targeted the poor communities in the area. They also were responsible for collecting zakah. Poor families that sent their sons to the camps on a regular basis received large sums of money from the organizers and promises that the young men would later get help enrolling in colleges and universities. Naif never made it beyond high school.
| You can guess that from his photo, can't you? |
He dropped out before completing 12th grade. His relatives who noticed the change in his behavior and views say that he disappeared less than a year ago. They were shocked when they saw his name on the list of most wanted terror suspects.
"Maw! Lookit dat! Naif made the 36 Most Wanted list!"
"Dang, Paw! I'm shocked! I never thought he'd amount to anything!" |
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