Perhaps it is too difficult to look inside the life of our enemies.
I speak of the jihadist — our main enemy these days — who killed thousands on 9/11 and continue to kill with their strapped-on explosives or even with weapons of mass destruction if they are available. Many Americans probably see these fighters as young men with brown skin and haunting eyes. Some are from the poor neighborhoods where their lives have been one of want and lack of justice. Others come from privilege, courtesy of the petro dollars from the massive oil and gas wealth of some Middle Eastern states.
But others who fight civil society also seem normal and are the boy next door turned “The Jihadist Next Door,” which is also the title of a fascinating New York Times Magazine article I read yesterday. The article — by Pulitzer Prize winning writer Andrea Elliott — explores the life of Alabama boy Omar Hammami.
Omar is the son of a Syrian immigrant, and Muslim, who married a Southern Baptist from Alabama. His intellect and wit drove Omar to become one of the most popular kids in his high school. He was steeped in both of his family’s cultures including spending summer days shelling peas on his maternal grandmother’s farm.
But eventually, Omar’s intellectual and religious curiosity steered him to those with the more radical interpretations of Islam, in which as a student and young adult Omar became increasingly entrenched.
A fascination with Somalia — complete with a Somalian wife — landed Omar in that African nation, held together by threads of authority. Now, the young Alabaman who still signs off “Later Tater” to his sister in e-mails has become one of the most powerful and fiercest jihadists in Somalia.
If you are looking for answers as how a seemingly normal young Syrian-American boy, the smart but funny kid everyone likes, becomes a jihadist you will either be disappointed or find yourself looking ever deeper.
Perhaps it is the lack of a solid reason why this young man, who says he considers America a target in the Jihad, is both so frightening and interesting. Maybe the clash of cultures were too great for Omar to withstand, even though on the surface he seems more assimilated than many Anglo Americans. He doesn’t appear to be a product of bad, or even lackadaisical parenting. So why is Omar a jihadist? It is a question that too often has followed the end to tragic cults, which is the closest I came to a parallel. If you are prepared to read an excellent article with an open mind, you might not be disappointed not knowing the answer to that question.