Tale of an American Taliban

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Tale of an American Taliban
Rashid
12/02/01 at 22:14:43
[slm]

Subhanallah...make duah for the brother
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Tale of an American Taliban
In an exclusive, a U.S. citizen on the horror at Kala Jangi

By Colin Soloway
NEWSWEEK WEB EXCLUSIVE

Dec. 1 -  Abdul Hamid is tall, thin and barefoot in a filthy black tunic. A prisoner of the Northern Alliance, he sits with his elbows
bound behind his back with a strip of cloth, his right leg and left foot bandaged for gunshot wounds. Hamid's face is almost entirely covered in dirt and black soot, but it is quickly apparent that he is not just another beaten and frightened Taliban warrior. Abdul Hamid, age 20, is an American. He is not a naturalized citizen or disaffected Arab-American youth rebelling against Western culture. He is a white, educated-sounding, apparently middle-class American, a convert to Islam who came to Afghanistan six months ago to help the Taliban build a "true Islamic state."

HAMID IS ONE OF ONLY 86 survivors of a vicious, four-day battle in
the Northern Afghan fortress of Kala Jangi. He refused to give more
than the scantiest details about his U.S. origins, including his real name.  But while waiting to be taken into detention along with over a dozen other wounded men, mostly Arabs, in a large cargo truck, Hamid talked to a Newsweek reporter about why he came to Afghanistan and how he survived the nightmarish battle of Kala Jangi.

He said he was originally from the Washington, D.C., area, but indicated he grew up elsewhere in the states. Well spoken, with a
mid-Atlantic accent, Hamid said that he converted to Islam at 16 and
later went to Pakistan to study the Koran. "In my travels, I came in
contact with some of the original teachers of the leaders of the
Taliban movement," he said. "The ideas of the Taliban occupied my mind a lot."  Six months ago, he entered Afghanistan "to help the Islamic government" because "the Taliban are the only government that actually provides Islamic law." When asked if he supported the September 11 attacks, he hesitated. "That requires a pretty long and complicated explanation. I haven't eaten for two or three days, and my mind is not really in shape to give you a coherent answer." When pressed, he said, "Yes, I supported it."

Despite his confused state, Hamid also gave Newsweek what may be the most complete account to date of the prisoners' uprising on Sunday
morning, Nov. 25, and the horrific final three days after the end of
the battle. Hamid said he had been fighting with the Taliban during the two-week siege of the city of Kunduz, about 100 miles to the east of Mazar e Sharif. Finally, under a negotiated deal, the foreign Taliban forces surrendered to the Northern Alliance forces of General Rashid Dostum. But almost as soon as Hamid and about 500 others were taken to the fortress. "Two of the [Taliban] threw grenades they had hidden in their clothes, and killed a couple of people," Hamid says.

"After that they put us in the basement and left us over night. Early in the morning, they began taking us out, slowly, one-by-one, into the compound. Our hands were tied, and they were beating and kicking
some of us. Some of the Mujahedin [Taliban] were scared, crying. They
thought we were all going to be killed.  "I saw two Americans there. They were taking pictures with a digital camera and a video camera. They were there for interrogating us.  As soon as the last of us was taken out of the basement, someone either pulled a knife, or threw a grenade at the guards, and got their guns, and started shooting. I don't really know how it happened. As soon as I heard the shooting and the screaming, I jumped up and ran about one or two meters, and was shot in the leg. It's not as bad as you would think, but after that I was down in the basement."

The Americans were CIA agents Mike Spann and another called Dave.
Spann was badly beaten, possibly to death, and then shot by the
prisoners. Dave and local Red Cross doctors were able to escape with
the help of a team of U.S. Special forces. Then, said Hamid, "they hit us with everything they had. The Americans were bombing us. It was
horrible. Nearly everyone in the basement was wounded."

After Tuesday, all resistance above ground stopped. Alliance soldiers poured diesel fuel into the basement and lit it, assuming that any remaining Taliban would be killed by the fire and the fumes. But when workers on Thursday went into the basement of a pink, one story
building in the center of the compound to take bodies out, they ran into as many as 100 Taliban, mostly wounded, still alive in the cells. Two of the workers were wounded, and a third was abducted or shot.  The Alliance then spent Thursday afternoon dropping large
artillery rockets into the basement and setting them off with fuses.
"It was horrible," said Hamid. "But the rockets were exploding in the
hallway of the basement, and we were all hiding in the cells. The stairway was just a pile of rubble, and there were parts of bodies all over." Still they survived, with no food or water.

Finally, on Friday, Alliance troops flooded the basement with water. "We spent the night in the freezing cold water," said Hamid
"Those who could stand up survived, but there were a lot of wounded who couldn't stand, and they drowned. Most of the dead down there drowned yesterday. At that point we had one rifle with 15 bullets and one hand grenade."

On Saturday morning they gave up. They came out of the basement, soaking wet and shivering, clambering over the rubble and body parts. Saturday afternoon they sat and lay in the truck, waiting to be transported two hours away to a camp in Sherbagan. It is unclear what will happen to Abdul Hamid, who says he lost his U.S. passport in Kunduz. But he may well be headed for a U.S. military tribunal.
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CNN also has their report  [url=http://www.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/central/12/02/ret.american.taliban/index.html]here[/url]

[wlm]
Re: Tale of an American Taliban
Rashid
12/02/01 at 23:45:06
[slm]

[url=http://www.msnbc.com/news/666325.asp]Update: American Mujahid in custody[/url]

[wlm]
Re: Tale of an American Taliban
Rashid
12/05/01 at 13:31:54
[slm]

I'm curious, is there a particular reason no one is discussing this exceptional story?
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U.S. Taliban suspect may face treason charge 2 others may be American
By Jonathan Weisman
USA TODAY

WASHINGTON -- The American military on Monday was holding a U.S. citizen who allegedly fought for the Taliban, and officials were negotiating to take custody of two others who claim to be Americans.

Americans who fight for the Taliban ultimately could be returned to the United States and charged with treason. Conviction could lead to a death sentence.

The captive, identified by his parents as John Phillip Walker Lindh, 20, of Marin County, Calif., told CNN he followed his faith to Afghanistan to help build a ''pure Islamic state.'' Lindh appeared on television bearded, disheveled and visibly in pain from wounds he suffered during a vicious prison uprising near the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e-Sharif.

A senior U.S. official said U.S. special operations troops are negotiating with Northern Alliance commanders to turn over two more Taliban who also say they are American. Their names were not immediately made public.

Lindh said he had converted to Islam at 16, journeyed to Yemen at 18 to study Arabic and drifted to Afghanistan 6 months ago to help the Taliban. He was one of only 86 pro-Taliban survivors of the bloody insurrection at the Qala-I-Jangi fortress, where 600 of Lindh's comrades perished under U.S. bombs and Northern Alliance gunfire. Another American at the fortress, CIA officer Johnny ''Mike'' Spann, was killed in the uprising.

For the Bush administration, Lindh presents a quandary.

He is the first identified Taliban fighter to have been taken into custody by U.S. forces, a prime candidate for a trial by military tribunal. But President Bush's executive order creating such tribunals exempted American citizens from military trials. Legal analysts said that if U.S.-born Taliban were prosecuted for their deeds, it likely would be in regular federal courts here under criminal laws.

A senior Pentagon official said Monday that Lindh would be turned over to the Justice Department for questioning and potential arrest.

The charge? Possibly treason -- an offense rooted in the Constitution. Federal law makes it a crime for anyone ''owing allegiance to the United States,'' such as a citizen, to wage war against the United States or help its enemy.
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[wlm]
Re: Tale of an American Taliban
taueeya
12/05/01 at 17:56:42
Assalamu 'Alaikum,

        It was pretty shocking for the whole world that why would an Arab, a saudi national, son of a multi-billionaire (Osama Bin Laden), leave all the facilities and comforts of health and wealth, and go to Afghanistan and live in caves. Ofcourse, its easy for us(the Muslims) to believe that that it was for Islam, but it was/is very hard for them (Non-Muslims, particularly Americans) to believe that. This is an even tougher situation for them to believe that a '20-year-old American' can also quit the best of comforts of this worldly life only for the sake of Allah (swt) and go for Jihad( the importance and essence of which many Muslims also, unfortunately, do not understand, sometimes including me). It reminds me of a hadeeth from Saheeh Muslim, InshaAllah , I'll post it later.

Wassalam.
Re: Tale of an American Taliban
taueeya
12/06/01 at 10:27:57
Assalamu 'Alaikum,

           Here is the hadeeth, I was talking about:

It was reported from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allaah  (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “By the One in Whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, not one of this nation, Jew or Christian, will hear of me and will die without having believed in that with which I have been sent, but he will be one of the dwellers of Hell fire.”

(Narrated by Muslim, 153)

Wassalam.
Re: Tale of an American Taliban
*sofia*
12/06/01 at 18:05:46
SubhanAllah, only 20 years old.  I saw the pictures, he looked close to death.  May Allah protect him, and accept all of the righteous mujaahideen into jannat-al-firdaus.  

Funny, how the article seemed at times sympathetic to him, and other times cynical of his "cause".  If he were not an American, no one would publish his story here.  That's how deeply seeded racism is in the u.s.  It always has a different name, but Shaytaan's same old tricks show up again and again (racism/arrogance/pride/greed).  That's more of an observance on foreign policy in many places, not just the u.s.  

The other day, an Christian American woman said to me, red with anger, "I never knew 'taliban' meant 'the students'".  I think the wool was slowly being pulled off her eyes.

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American in the ranks as Taliban surrender
http://www.smh.com.au/news/0112/04/world/world2.html

A family friend called him a sweet, shy kid from California. But somehow John Phillip Walker Lindh turned up among the Taliban prisoners who surrendered over the weekend to Northern Alliance forces.
A spokesman for United States Central Command said: "He was among the al-Qaeda and Taliban prisoners ... He is injured and is being given medical assistance by US forces."
The man, described as "a white, educated-sounding, apparently middle-class American", was taken into custody on Saturday at a hospital, where he had been admitted for treatment for minor gunshot and shrapnel wounds.
Mr Lindh, 20, spent his formative years in San Anselmo, a leafy suburb across the bay from San Francisco. He became Abdul Hamid when he converted to Islam at 16, a move grudgingly accepted by his parents.
"I was a student in Pakistan, studying Islam and came into contact with many people connected with Taliban," John Walker said in an interview shown on CNN television yesterday.
"I lived in the region, the North West Frontier Province (of Pakistan)," he said. "The people in general have a great love for the Taliban so I started to read some of the literature of the scholars, the history of Kabul ... my heart became attached to that."
"It isn't what they would have chosen for him," said a family friend, Bill Jones.
However John's father, Frank Lindh, who is divorced from his mother Marilyn, said that his son took to Islam naturally. "I support him and his studies," Lindh said. "He's learned Arabic and is memorising the Koran. He's a very good scholar."

The Washington Post and agencies




Re: Tale of an American Taliban
Rashid
12/09/01 at 15:43:54
[slm]

Really good article in Newsweek: [url]http://www.msnbc.com/news/669825.asp?cp1=1[/url]
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Subhanallah, his story parallels mines...note: I'm not Taliban or al-qaeda

[wlm]
Re: Tale of an American Taliban
Anonymous
12/10/01 at 22:47:19
Asalamalaikum

Brother Rashid, you are right this is an AMAZING story and one that
will InshAllah make everyone, muslims and non-muslims alike, sit up and
take notice.The irony of it all, an american taliban!!

Lately I had started to feel bitter about americans, europeans and
generally feel hatred towards non-muslims, this taught me that I can't see
things in such a black and white way. Our prophet(saw)when he was
literally chased out of Taif asked Allah(swt) for mercy for the people of
Taif and made dua that they become muslim, as they did and from that Land
came a da'ee who went to the land of my forefathers and helped take
them out of their idol worshipping ignorance.

The americans are as they are because of their arrogance over their way
of life - this brother rejected this way of life voluntarily and
prefered the straight path given by Allah(saw)

One of the effects of the sept attacks is that the american people are
being forced to question themselves and their leaders and this
brother's story will also force them to ask themselves why this young boy was
fighting against his "own" people.  If this brother had been arab, asian
etc people would have been able to ignore and make excuses for his
behaviour in not worshipping the american way of life.

Anyway I think we should all make dua for this brother's protection and
that he remains firm in his deen in the face of the many obstacles he
will face and make dua that he finds muslim brothers who are steadfast
and who can give him the solace of good companionship.


And generally just keep in mind that we don't know the status of a
person in Allah's sight - who know's todays Kafir may be tomorrow's muslim.


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