[Published here April 10, 2019]
Iraq has offered to put on trial hundreds of accused foreign jihadists in Baghdad in exchange for millions of dollars, potentially solving a legal conundrum for Western governments but sparking rights concerns. Continue reading
[Published here February 11, 2019]
A Canadian jihadist detained in Syria told AFP on Sunday he has been “hung out to dry” by the Islamic State group like other foreign fighters and appealed to his government for help.
[A joint piece with Beirut’s Deputy Bureau Chief Layal Abou Rahal, published here on October 1, 2018]
With a deadline for establishing a demilitarised zone around Syria’s Idlib inching closer, confusion and apprehension is rife among Turkish-backed rebels who fear it will cost them their last stronghold.
[Published here on September 10, 2018]
Hailing from far and wide, they flocked to Syria to wage “holy war”. Now foreign jihadists face a fight to the last to hold onto Idlib, their final bastion.
[Published here on February 26, 2015]
In interviews I conducted with ISIS fighters and supporters, I tried to bring it back to basics: why did you join, what’s it like, where’s your family? These brief yet illuminating conversations gave me a glimpse inside their heads.
We are friendly! Unless you are an enemy, of course, I mean, just because people are in ISIS doesn’t mean that they go around on a killing rampage. They are humans, they laugh they joke, they goof with each other. The beheading, execution in public are messages to ISIS enemies, but also part of Sharia law and shows that they implement it fully. — Abu Bakr al-Janabi
Mainly my main inspiration to come to Syria was George Bush, Tony Blair, and the presidents of the West and their foreign policy towards Islam — Egypt, Kashmir, Sinai, Yemen, Afghanistan. Guantanamo Bay. Abu Ghraib. —Abu Sumayyah
[Published here June 9, 2014]
“There are brothers from all over the place – America, Canada, China, Indonesia. This is the most beautiful thing about the Islamic state,” says Abu Sumayyah excitedly, in flawless, London-accented English. “It’s beautiful ‘cause we’re all one ummah.”
MAYA GEBEILY 