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We know much of jihadists who blow themselves up. But what about those that sit on the margins of the movement? 1/ Let's look at Nourdeen Abdullah: an unreported story about prison, £2,000 of crack cocaine, Islamic state propaganda, and contact with a foreign fighter in Syria.pic.twitter.com/52br26SoRx
2/ Last Friday, Nourdeen was sentenced to 5¼ years for: - Disseminating terrorist publications (4 counts) - Possession with intent to supply a Class A drug (1 count) The case received only one news article. But a closer examination shows some interesting themes.pic.twitter.com/Vzw43Mr7Te
3/ Let's trace his chronology; this wasn't the first time he'd fallen foul of the law. In 2006, Nourdeen was convicted of a Class A conspiracy (involving heroin), and sentenced to 6½ years. In his own words, he came from "a broken home", and became a "man in the cage":pic.twitter.com/i1nwH1IhQ9
4/ In prison, it seems he adopted extremist ideas when he studied "with mujahids", realising he was living in "jahiliyyah" (ignorance) despite being a Muslim. This hints at the importance of both ideas AND face-to-face socialisation in his radicalisation process.pic.twitter.com/S45ftbqh2J
5/ But it's one thing to become involved in extremist ideas/networks in prison, and another for those to persist upon release. In 2009, around his release, he registered a company called "Al Mu' mineen Ltd". It's unclear why he did this, but he'd use the name in his propaganda.pic.twitter.com/B3PfTUxKOK
6/ In 2010 he created a youtube channel under the name "Abu Siddiq Al-Ghaarib" (since removed), and began posting homemade Islamist videos. Three of these formed Count 1 of his propaganda conviction. Posted in 2011 with ≤2,000 views, they were low hanging fruit for prosecutors.pic.twitter.com/eCIcZkk6cG
7/ Nourdeen edited clips from Abdullah el-Faisal (an infamous Jamaican preacher - also a black convert - who was deported from the UK in 2007) talking about ideological warfare.pic.twitter.com/iPwfzyLuPO
8/ He created a mock Q+A with Anwar al-Awlaki, on the role of media, supporting jihad if not on the battlefield, etc. set to an anti-Semitic montage. Awlaki was one of the most charismatic and influential ideologues and recruiters (who, as an aside, had a thing for prostitutes).pic.twitter.com/yT0zC4gV41
9/ And after that? Nourdeen went quiet. Over the next few years he didn't post on his youtube channel, his online jihadist footprint was small, and he started a clothing company, too. It seemed like he was another Islamist supporter whose involvement faded with time.
10/ While he was absent on the propaganda front, Nourdeen began a streetwear clothing company in 2013, registering it in June 2014. Had he left the drug dealing, jihadist ideas, and "mujahid" friends behind? Was he moving forward with his life?pic.twitter.com/5KSPhbFMha
11/ Did Nourdeen's silence mean he had disengaged from extremism? Or desisted from drug dealing? There's no way of knowing. He himself said: "what can't be seen is not like what is seen", a phrase which belongs in the methodology section of a terrorism studies article.pic.twitter.com/RQlrxqRsiu
12/ It's clear he had a rupture with his family. He'd spoken of leaving home in his teens, but we don't know what exactly caused that. His criminality likely contributed, and it seems as if his conversion and extremism didn't help later on. Here he is talking about his father:pic.twitter.com/3lqVXAT9jR
13/ But then he also had a new family; his wife (also a convert) seems to be similarly committed to extremist ideas. I won't post her comments here, but here's a brief online exchange they had about the nuances of taking a 2nd wife. She was pregnant when he was arrested in 2017.pic.twitter.com/0WqRMqb10V
14/ Nourdeen returned to posting jihadi content in the summer of 2015, which he continued doing until his arrest in July 2017. In October 2016 he was referred to Prevent. It's a voluntary service; the pre-trial hearing which revealed this didn't clarify if he took up the offer.
15/ For someone on the margins, what would it have taken for him to escalate his involvement? Just as we ask why people travelled to Syria, why is it that some did NOT go? In December 2016, Abu Hijar, his "friend/acquaintance" (the words of his defence team) travelled to Syria.
16/ They whatsapped from 12/2016 to 02/2017. Did Nourdeen think of travelling? Was he happy to just cheer from the sidelines? Nothing came up in the trial. Nourdeen sent him propaganda videos, which formed Count 2 of his propaganda conviction. He continued posting on his FB+IG:pic.twitter.com/KiOGgSGCSV
17/ Nourdeen was a believer in conspiracy theories - he believed that the Grenfell fire was a government plan, and had liked posts suggesting the Orlando shooting and 7/7 were faked. I find it really bizarre when a jihadist supporter thinks that jihadist attacks are staged...pic.twitter.com/vNlJtUxAsX
18/ Through 2017, he continued posting jihadist material, including Islamic State videos and some homemade videos. This one, using audio from a convicted UK Islamist and posted on his Facebook and Instagram in January, formed Counts 3 and 4 of his propaganda conviction:pic.twitter.com/NCbe5ytQ9t
19/ Police arrested him in July 2017 for the propaganda. In his car they found a single 27.4g lump of crack cocaine. At £10 for a 0.1g wrap, that's £2,740. What was his involvement - wholesale distribution or retail? Was this a one-off, or routine behaviour? We don't know.
20/ At his sentencing, Nourdeen expressed remorse in a handwritten letter delivered to the judge. The drugs, his defence said, "were contrary to his moral compass", and the "money was not halal". He also distanced himself from extremism. He pled guilty to all charges.
21/ Was his drug dealing related to his jihadist activities? As me and @PeterRNeumann have written, in Europe crime is often used as a form of jihad. But it seems unlikely this was an instance of that:https://ctc.usma.edu/crime-as-jihad-developments-in-the-crime-terror-nexus-in-europe/ …
22/ And what next for Nourdeen? What's the best way of managing someone like him in prison? Can we change his behaviour, or his beliefs? And what about when he's released, which may happen (on licence) in a couple of years? There are no easy or quick answers here...
23/23 Nourdeen Abdullah was convicted for his jihadist propaganda, and for the crack cocaine he possessed. One week before his arrest, he posted this on social media. I wonder what was going through his mind:pic.twitter.com/7Gp6b2BkpX
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