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Now Abdulmutallab is in a federal prison outside Detroit, cooperating with authorities, and living a life not unlike the one he had been somewhat obsessed with: as a prisoner of the U.S. government, in an orange jumpsuit.
Excerpt:
The Islamic societies attract a certain kind of Muslim - extremely devout. In fact, school officials say most Muslims at British universities don't join their "ISOCs," as they are known, because the young people who join them tend to be very political and don't particularly want to mix with other groups at school.
Abdulmutallab joined the University College London ISOC soon after he arrived on campus. His quick elevation to the presidency of the group just a year later meant that in addition to leading the opening prayer at the society meetings, he was in charge of organizing the annual Islamic Awareness conference, a task that people who knew him say he attacked with gusto.
I attended some of the sessions at this year's Islamic Awareness Week program at University College London. Walking into the auditorium, there were signs that directed "sisters" to the left and "brothers" to the right. (A flyer seeking feedback about the session asked, in addition to whether the speaker was interesting, whether the event was "separate" enough.)
About a dozen young women sat in the back of the lecture hall. They all wore headscarves. One of them was from Pakistan, another from Malaysia and a third from Indonesia. The young men wore sweatshirts and track pants. They were at the opposite corner of the hall in the front three rows. Some were bearded, and others were not.
'War on terror' week
This year's program included a lecture on the Prophet Muhammad, and another on finding one's life purpose through Islam. The sessions were conducted in a combination of English and Arabic.
In 2007, the tenor of Abdulmutallab's conference was very different. He called his event "War on Terror" week, and it focused on the Bush administration's war on terrorism policy.
The conference opened with a startling video: American Airlines Flight 11 plowing into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. It then cut to various images of mujahedeen on the battlefield.
It is unclear whether Abdulmutallab knew that he was essentially using the very same images recruiters use in their videos to convince young Muslims to join violent jihad. But people who saw the video that day in the hall said they were a little taken aback.
If there was any question about where Abdulmutallab stood when it came to the war on terrorism, it was answered by how the ushers in the hall were dressed - young men in orange jumpsuits passed out flyers; they were supposed to look like Guantanamo prisoners.
The U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay had clearly captured Abdulmutallab's attention months before the conference took place.
Story here.
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