The Martyr's Oath: The Apprenticeship of a Homegrown Terrorist [Hardcover]

National Post reporter Stewart Bell has played a central role in alerting Canadians to the threat posed by foreign and Canadian-born terrorists in Canada. His previous book Cold Terror (BiC, Sept 04) explored the activities of Tamil Tigers, Sikh separatists and Islamic militants who had found, in Canada, a comfortable base from which to wage their murderous struggles. In his latest book Bell focuses on the career of Kuwaiti-born Mohammed Mansour Jabarah, whose family, like that of a large number of other Kuwaitis, obtained immigrant status in Canada while retaining strong links to Kuwait. In fact, for many of those from the Gulf States it is the Canadian passport and access to Canadian health and education that attracts, not the desire to move permanently to a country whose climate and economic opportunities are not overwhelmingly alluring.
There is remarkably little published on Canada's rapidly growing Muslim community, in sharp contrast to the attention European writers have given to the position of Muslims on that continent. Much of the most insightful writing on radical Islam emerges from France, where authors like Gilles Kepel, Olivier Roy and Farhad Khosrokhavar have contributed significantly to our understanding of why Muslims born and raised in the West might not only be attracted to militant jihad, against the values and societies in which they were raised, but are increasingly defining the ideological thrust and tactics of global jihad. Bell's account of this Canadian-raised terrorist fits well with the pattern recognised by European writers—a young man uncomfortable in the permissive West who finds in a murderous interpretation of Islam his own salvation.
Jabarah's family immigrated to St. Catherines, where, to comply with the investor program through which they had gained entry, Mohammed's father purchased a gas station. It was from St. Catherines, via frequent trips back to Kuwait, Pakistan and other centres of Islamic militancy, that the young Jabarah would become a leading player in Al Qaeda and global jihad. Bell not only provides a comprehensive account of the trajectory that took Jabarah to the heart of Islamist terrorism, he offers an insightful account of the way in which Al Qaeda and similar groups recruit, nurture and transform young male Muslims into terrorists, eager to kill and die for the global struggle. The transformation of a young man—concerned at the real or alleged injustices experienced by Muslims in Palestine, Chechnya, Iraq and elsewhere—into an operative prepared to carefully plan mass murder, targeting those who might have only the remotest connection with the perceived grievances, takes time.
Jabarah's journey took him from Kuwait, through Pakistan into Afghanistan. He proved an adept pupil, coming first in his snipers' class and being selected to train as a personal bodyguard to bin Laden, but Jabarah's Canadian passport and familiarity with the West enabled him to be singled out for other tasks, notably the identification of bombing targets in the Philippines and Singapore. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) has an unenviable record in counterespionage, but in Jabarah's case, involvement in local Islamist fundraising activities in St. Catherines had alerted CSIS to the potential threat. Following 9/11, the agency's interest in Mohammed and his brother, Abdul Rahman, another terrorist recruit, intensified.
The discovery of the plot in Singapore caused Jabarah to flee. Ultimately, he arrived in Oman, where again the group he was involved with was apprehended, this time with Jabarah. The Omanis had little direct evidence against Jabarah, and, given his Canadian citizenship, were unwilling to extradite him to the US. Finally it was agreed that CSIS would collect him and take him back to Canada. The position of CSIS was tenuous. Bell notes that while Jabarah had "trained with Al Qaeda and helped organize mass casualty suicide bombings in Southeast Asia," he had broken no Canadian laws—such was Canada's level of preparedness. After some weeks of discussion, CSIS persuaded Jalabar to agree to go voluntarily to the US, plead guilty to various offences and provide information in return for leniency in sentencing. Jabarah remains in detention, but he is no longer cooperating with American authorities. His family, together with Canadian sympathisers, continue to portray Jabarah as a victim of unscrupulous Canadian intelligence services and demand that the government secure his return to Canada.

Martin Loney (Books in Canada)
-- Books in Canada

"In The Martyr's Oath, Stewart Bell, Canada's most respected journalist covering terrorism, tells how Mohammed Mansour Jabarah, a teenaged Canadian, was selected by the Al Qaeda leadership to coordinate a powerful attack in Southeast Asia that would have led to more destruction than 9/11. There is no better way to understand how Western youth are being drawn to terrorism than to read this story of the rise of a new generation of terrorist."
— Rohan Gunaratna, Author of Inside Al Qaeda: Global Network of Terror (Columbia University Press)

"The Martyr's Oath provides a unique vignette into the recruitment, training and operational deployment of young Canadian Muslims by Al Qaeda terrorists. it couples a biographical account of their personal and family experiences, culminating in capture, interrogation, and death, with some extraordinarily detailed accounts of counter-terrorism operations across the Middle East, Southeast Asia and North America. This will be a must-read for anyone and everyone interested in the challenges of international terrorism in our times."
— Dr. Martin Rudner, Director, Canadian Centre of Intelligence and Security Studies, The Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, Ottawa, ON

Acclaim for Stewart Bell's first book, Cold Terror: How Canada Nurtures and Exports Terrorism Around the World

"an arresting look at the reality of terrorism"
—The Gazette (Montreal)

Every responsible citizen of Canada, the US, the UK and other Western Countries should read this book."
— Christopher Ondaatje, Times Higher Education Supplement

"Cold Terror will shock the conscience of the nation... This book is not just an exposé it is an urgent call to action."
—David Frum, Author of The Right Man: The Surprise Presidency of George W. Bush

"The most important Canadian book of 2004."
—Western Standard