Thursday, September 29, 2011

A decade on for the 'American Taliban', John Walker Lindh...


The television images of the bedraggled and bewildered young American detained in Afghanistan months after 9/11 were beamed across the world. They were seared into the consciousness of the country which quickly came to know him as the "American Taliban".

On a quiet suburban street in Mill Valley, a prosperous town a few miles north of San Francisco, the Islamic Centre is slowly emptying after holding Friday prayers.

Once the crowds have gone, Abdullah Nana recounts how over a decade ago a white teenager turned up, confused and looking for answers. "He was at a crossroads at that time. He was unsure of his direction in this world. It seemed that Islam and religion was a way for him to spiritually fulfil himself."

Mr Nana says he quickly became friends with the 16-year-old who converted to Islam and soon set himself the daunting task of learning Arabic and memorising the Koran. Full story...

Don't miss:
  1. The persecution of "American Taliban" John Walker Lindh...
  2. Top US legal scholars condemn Bradley Manning's inhuman treatment...
  3. Troy Davis: a legal lynching...
  4. The Agony of the Usual Suspects...
  5. Aafia Siddiqui : a grievous miscarriage of justice...
  6. The persecution of John Demjanjuk... 
  7. Irom Sharmila: in India,11-year hunger strike against military violence largely ignored... 

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