The Blood of Lambs: A Former Terrorist's Memoir of Death and Redemption (33 page)

Perhaps that means that something my father told me as a boy has become in some small way prophetic: “I wish you were a girl,” he spat, glowering over me in my mother’s kitchen. “That way I could get rid of you, because I know you are going to be a thorn in my side.”

I am not a particularly well-educated man, but I have a story.

I am not one of America’s great patriots, scientists, innovators, or soldiers. I did not invent an alternative energy source or discover a cure for cancer. But I can tell my story. It includes a lot of my failures, a lot of my wickedness. But when bin Laden hit the World Trade Center, it turned out that my story also had a purpose: To say, “Wake up, America! You have a good heart toward foreigners, but it will be your death if you do not recognize your enemies and face them head-on.”

My story has proven itself a thorn in the side of many who like to pretend that all Muslims are good Muslims and that anyone who warns against radical Islam is a radical himself.

Let us stop pretending: Many Muslims are kind and gentle people, but about one in ten, according to scholars who study jihad, have declared war on our way of life, and it is not a war that we can watch on CNN. As Americans, we must examine the patterns of jihad and be constantly on our guard at home and abroad.

Beware of attempts to establish Sharia law in your town, such as hap
pened in Minneapolis. There, in response to Muslim cab drivers who did not want to transport Orthodox Jews or people carrying alcohol, the airport authority suggested that some taxis be marked as “Sharia” cabs so that passengers fitting the “no ride” profile would not have to face rejection. The idea did not catch on. Yet.

Beware of attempts to establish Muslim prayer rituals in public schools, such as happened at Carver Elementary School in Oak Park, California. There, Muslim students were allowed fifteen minutes of daily prayer, led by a staff member, a practice not allowed for other religions in public schools.

In warning Americans about such things, there is no gain for me personally. I had a good career in information technology that I quit to write this book. I will not be famous, but infamous. Whether you become infamous by speaking out, like Ayaan Hirsi Ali, author of Infidel, or famous, like Sir Salman Rushdie, author of The Satanic Verses, the Islamist sentence is the same: death by fatwa. Ali, and Theo Van Gogh, who teamed up to make a ten-minute film documenting the abuse of women in Muslim societies, were both targets of the same death threats. Van Gogh is already dead, shot eight times in 2004 on an Amsterdam street by an Islamist zealot who then nearly cut Van Gogh’s head off with a knife.

People who are like I used to be do not get tired. They do not give up. They do not run out of money. And they do not run out of hate.

I am fifty-one years old, living the back stretch of my life. I am not the young man I used to be, shouting and screaming and waving a gun, attempting to change the world on the strength of my hatred.

But that young Beiruti boy who gazed through his dreaming window at the spot where the moon kissed the sea still lives inside me. That rooftop boy who cried out to his god under the shimmering stars grew into a man who still prays—not to a god of war, but to a God of peace.

I pray for my family’s safety. I pray for this great country. And I pray for you, that you would never meet a man like me.

People

Abdel.
The owner of the Beirut gift shop where Kamal worked.

Adnan.
Kamal’s neighbor and childhood friend.

Ahmad, Omar.
The founder of CAIR (Council on American-Islamic, which claims to be the largest Muslim civil liberties organization in the United States.

Ahmed, Syed Haris.
Georgia Tech Student who cased and videotaped the Capitol and World Bank for a terrorist organization in 2006.

Ahmed.
One of two adult
fedayeen
(Palestinian freedom fighters) who escorted Kamal and other recruits on a mission to transport weapons to the Palestinians.

Ali ibn Abi Talib.
The cousin and son-in-law of the prophet Muhammad. Ali is regarded as the first imam and the rightful successor to Muhammad. The disagreement about Ali’s place in the Muslim landscape split the Muslim community into the Sunni and Shia.

Ali, Abu.
A Shia convert to Sunni and the leader of Kamal’s first mission.

Amal.
A young boy who went to school with Kamal and his siblings. Kamal watched as he was subjected to physical torture for stealing.

Amira,
See
Saleem, Amira.

Anani, Zakariah (or Zak).
A student of the Koran, Zak traveled with
Kamal and another Muslim recruit named Walid on speaking assignments to recruit other young Muslims.

Arafat, Yasser.
Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization and president of the Palestinian National Authority, he was the leader of the Fatah political party, which he founded in 1959. He died in 2004.

Assad, Hafez al-.
President of Syria from 1971 until his death in 2000. Strongly anti-Zionist and a major supporter of Palestinian guerrilla organizations, he came into power after leading a coup in late 1970.

Azziz, Abu.
An imam (religious leader) Kamal met when he took refuge in the mosque in Beirut. Member of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Bakr, Abu.
An early convert to Islam and senior companion to the prophet Muhammad. After Muhammad died, Bakr became the first >Muslim ruler.

Banna, Hassan al-.
A schoolteacher and the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Barak, Ehud.
An Israeli politician, former prime minister and the current minister of defense, deputy prime minister, and leader of Israel’s Labor Party.

Basha, Omar Al-.
Plumber who worked high-rise buildings. Kamal went to work for him as an errand and clean-up boy.

Bobby and Patrick.
Two IRA (Irish Republican Army) soldiers who trained at the camp with Kamal. After carrying out terrorist acts from England to Italy, Omar and Kamal killed them on orders from Abu Mustafa.

Eli.
Kamal’s best childhood friend (a Christian).

Elshafay, James.
American high-school dropout recruited into
jihad
and arrested in the United States for planning to bomb New York’s Penn Station during the 2004 Republican National Convention.

Emad.
Kamal’s uncle, whom the imam from the neighborhood mosque knew.

Faisel.
A Palestinian driver who took Kamal to the training camp in the Sahara.

Farouge.
An Armenian shop keeper in Kamal’s Beirut neighborhood.

Fatima.
The prophet Muhammad’s daughter by his first wife. She was the wife of Ali.

Fatima.
Kamal’s grandmother.

Fouad. (See Saleem, Fouad) Gaddafi, Muammar.
The de facto leader of Libya since a 1969 coup. Although Gaddafi holds no public office or title, he is accorded broad honorifics in government statements and the official press.

Gemayel, Pierre Abdel.
Founder of the Lebanese Phalanges, a political and military force which he led for almost fifty years. The Phalangist Party, geared toward Lebanese Maronite Christians, focused on the need for a strong Lebanese state. Harsh opponent of Palestinian refugees. He died in 1984.

Habbal, Sarri.
A Muslim man who often drove Kamal to the training camp. He arranged for Kamal’s job at the gift shop. He was also a thief and a gigolo.

Haroon.
One of two
fedayeen
who rode in the Zodiac with Kamal on the mission to Haifa. He was half-Palestinian and half-Lebanese.

Hasson, Adham Amin.
A man illegally in the United States, charged with providing material support to terrorists in 2002.

Hayat, Hamid.
Resident of Lodi, California, convicted of attending a terrorist training camp in Pakistan in 2006.

Hayat, Umer.
Resident of Lodi, California, charged with providing material support to terrorists. After his trial ended in a deadlock, he pleaded guilty to making false statements to the FBI. His son, Hamid, was convicted of attending a terrorist training camp in Pakistan in 2006.

Hussein.
Son of Ali ibn Abi Talib. He was killed in a battle for power of the fifth Calipha.

Hussein, ibn-Talal.
King of Jordan from 1952 until his death in 1999. Pious Muslims considered him to be a direct descendant of the prophet Muhammad.

Ibrahim, Abu.
A Palestinian
fida’i
(
fedayeen
soldier) and leader of Kamal’s Fatah/PLO cell.

Ibrahim. (See Saleem, Ibrahim) Iskendar.
One of the Shia Kurd boys who bullied and harrassed Kamal in Beirut.

Issa.
A Lebanese
fedayeen
who challenged Kamal at the training camp and spoke to him disrespectfully.

James, Kevin.
A U.S. national and founder of Jam’iyyat Ul-Islam Is-Saheeh, a radical Islamic organization that identifies the U.S. government and Jews as major targets. He recruited co-conspirators Levar Washington, Gregory Patterson, and Hammad Riaz Samana to carry out attacks on the National Guard, Los Angeles International Airport, two synagogues, and the Israeli consulate in Los Angeles.

Jihad, Abu.
A Sunni Palestinian who visited the mosque in Beirut and recruited Kamal for Fatah (Arafat’s armed force).

Karim, Abdul al-.
Kamal’s uncle for whom Kamal worked as a child.

Khalid.
Kamal’s uncle.

Mahmoud.
One of Kamal’s uncles.

Marie.
One of Kamal’s Christian childhood friends from the Beirut neighborhood.

Marwan.
The concierge of the Baath party office, he and his wife were taken hostage by Kamal and his fellow terrorists in order to obtain access to the Baath headquarters.

Mezin.
Baathist leader on Kamal’s first mission.

Mohammed.
One of Kamal’s childhood friends from the Beirut neighborhood.

Mu’awiyah.
An early Islamic leader and founder of the great Umayyad Dynasty of caliphs. He fought against the fourth caliph, ’Ali (Muhammad’s son-in-law), seized Egypt, and assumed the caliphate after ’Ali’s assassination in 661. He restored unity to the Muslim empire and made Damascus its capital. He reigned from 661 to 680.

Mughrabi, Dalal.
A female Palestinian terrorist who participated in the Coastal Road Massacre in 1978. In all, she and her companions killed thirty-five civilians including several Americans and thirteen children and wounded seventy-one others along Israel’s coastal highway. Along with the other terrorists, she was killed when she blew up a hijacked bus on Israel’s coastal highway. Many Muslims now consider her a martyr.

Muhammad, Prophet.
Considered the central human figure of the religion of Islam, Muhammad, born in the year 570, is regarded by Muslims as a messenger and prophet of God, the last and greatest law-bearer in a series of prophets.

Mukhtar.
A young boy who went to school with Kamal and his siblings.

Mustafa, Abu.
Palestinian leader and the secretary general of the Popular Front of the Liberation of Palestine from July 2000 until he was killed by Israeli forces in 2001.

Nabil.
A young boy who went to school with Kamal and his siblings.

Nasser, Gamal Abdel.
Second president of Egypt from 1956 until his death in 1970. He led the Egyptian Revolution in 1952 and was a co-founder of the Palestinian Liberation Organization.

Nizhar.
The Lebanese leader of the mission against Haifa.

Omar.
Father of Mohammed, Kamal’s childhood friend.

Omer. (See Saleem, Omer.)

Padilla, Jose.
An American citizen convicted of conspiracy in the United States in May of 2002.

Patterson, Gregory Vernon.
A U.S. national, he joined co-conspirators Levar Washington and Hammad Riaz Samana and Kevin James to plan attacks on the National Guard, Los Angeles International Airport, two synagogues, and the Israeli consulate in Los Angeles.

Qaffin.
One of two adult
fedayeen
(Palestinian freedom fighters) who escorted Kamal and other recruits on a mission to transport weapons to the Palestinians.

Rabin, Yitzhak.
An Israeli politician and general. He was the fifth prime minister of Israel, serving two terms in office: 1974–1977 and 1992 until his assassination in 1995.

Rahman, Abdul.
A Sunni imam (religious leader) in Beirut who rescued Kamal from a gang of Shia bullies and gave him refuge in the mosque. He later introduced Kamal to extreme Islam and the Muslim Brotherhood.

Royer, Randall Todd.
A communications expert and civil rights director of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR). He was indicted in 2003 for terrorist activities in connection with the Virginia Jihad Network.

Sadat, Anwar.
Third president of Egypt, serving from 1970 until his assassination in 1981. He succeeded Gamal Abdel Nasser and brought much political reform to Egypt.

Sadequee, Ehsanul Islam.
Georgia Tech student who cased and videotaped the Capitol and World Bank for a terrorist organization in 2006.

Sadr, Musa as-.
An Iranian-born Lebanese philosopher and prominent Shia religious leader who spent many years of his life in Lebanon as a religious and political leader.

Salam, Saeb.
A Lebanese politician, who served as prime minister four times between 1952 and 1973. He was well connected with the Saudis and led one of the factions after Black Saturday (
See
Events).

Saleem, Amira.
Kamal’s oldest sister.

Saleem, Fouad.
Kamal’s oldest brother.

Saleem, Ibrahim.
Kamal’s older brother.

Saleem, Omer.
Kamal’s younger brother.

Saleem, Sayed Mohammed.
Kamal’s father.

Samana, Hammad Riaz.
A permanent U.S. resident from Pakistan, he joined co-conspirators Levar Washington and Gregory Patterson and Kevin James to plan attacks on the National Guard, Los Angeles International Airport, two synagogues, and the Israeli consulate in Los Angeles.

Samra.
The wife of Baath party office concierge Marwan. She was taken hostage by Kamal and his fellow terrorists in a raid against the Baath party headquarters.

Shafiq.
Kamal’s uncle.

Shoebat, Walid.
One of the two Muslim men who traveled with Kamal on speaking engagements. The grandson of a Muslim chieftain, he became an advocate for Judaism after reading the Jewish Bible and was marked for death by the
jihadists.

Siraj, Shahawar Martin.
A Pakistani national in league with James Elshafay in a plot to bomb New York’s Penn Station during the Republican National Convention in 2004.

Tahsein.
One of two
fedayeen
who rode in the Zodiac with Kamal on the mission to Haifa.

Tawfiq, Abu.
An imam (religious leader) Kamal met when he took refuge in the mosque in Beirut. Member of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Washington, Levar Haley.
A U.S. national, he joined co-conspirators Gregory Patterson and Hammad Riaz Samana and Kevin James to
plan attacks on the National Guard, Los Angeles International Airport, two synagogues, and the Israeli consulate in Los Angeles.

Yahya.
A friend of Kamal’s from the training camp. He was killed during an early mission.

Yassin, Sheikh Ahmed.
An Islamic cleric from Gaza and the founder of Hamas, the Islamic Resistance Movement.

Yazid.
The son of Syrian governor Mu’awiyah.

Yousef, Abu.
Leader of the camp where Kamal was trained as a terrorist, and Kamal’s main mentor in Fatah and the PLO.

Zachariah (or Zak).
See
Anani.

Pl
a
ce
s

Abu Dhabi.
The capital and second most populous city in the UAE (United Arab Emirates) and the seat of government for the emirate of Abu Dhabi.

Aleppo (or Halab).
One of the oldest inhabited cities in the world, located in northern Syria. The largest governorate in Syria, it serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate.

Avivim.
An Israeli
moshav
(a type of cooperative agricultural community) located in far northern Israel in Upper Galilee less than 3,000 feet from the Lebanese border. Founded in 1958, it was abandoned soon after and resettled in 1963 by immigrants from North Africa—mostly Moroccan Jews.

Chad.
Officially known as the Republic of Chad, a landlocked country in central Africa. Chad is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and, across Lake Chad, Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west.

Dubai.
One of the seven emirates in the UAE (United Arab Emirates).