What can motivate terrorism?

1
What can motivate terrorism?

• Fan Yi (12)
• Phang Zheng Xun (26)
• Liu Fang Xu (22)

2
General causes

• Strong feeling of injustice to seek revenge
• Extreme poverty willing to do anything for
  reward out of desperation.
• Ignorance believing radical Muslims that
  terrorism is about fighting a holy war.

3
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab
4
Overview
Attempted to blow up a plane headed to Detroit on
25 Dec 2009.
Grew up in Kaduna, Nigeria
Strongly religious, which translates into
loneliness
Farouk
Father's banking career brought much wealth.
Highly educated
5
Highly educated

• Graduate business program in Dubai (2009)
• Mechanical engineering at University College
  London (2007)

6
Birthplace

• Westernized families like Farouk's have had
  contact with clerics espousing anti-Western and
  anti-Jewish ideals.

Sani (neighbour) said
Kaduna city has a long history of religious
extremism and intolerance. For 30 years, there
has been violence here. People like Farouk grew
up in this atmosphere. I dont think all his
radical ideas came from Yemen.
EG Many were killed in religious violence
incited by the Miss World contest in 2002.
7
Strongly religious

• Criticised his father's profession for charging
  interest.

A cousin said
An American classmate at the Sana Institute for
Arabic Language said
He would tell his father he needed to quit
banking because it was un-Islamic.
He'd even leave class in the middle to go to pray
at the mosque.
8
Strongly religious

• His obsession with Islam was detrimental to his
  social circle.

Mahmoon (uncle) said
Farouk's Internet postings in 2005
He doesn't do what his peers used to do. He is
always indoors reading his Koran.
I feel depressed and lonely. I do not know what
to do. and then I think this loneliness leads me
to other problems.
9
Unprecedented example?

• Osama bin Laden's father was a rich contractor in
  Saudi Arabia.
• Second in command in Al Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahri,
  is a doctor who was born into a highly
  prestigious family in Egypt.
• John Walker Lindh, fighter for the Taliban in
  Afghanistan, was the son of a lawyer.

10
Why strongly religious?

• Lonely These people are usually different from
  their social surrounding and are unable to find
  themselves.
• Depressed Family emphasises academic excellence
  at the expense of their moods, psychological and
  intellectual inclinations.
• Being lonely or depressed, they seek "religious
  utopia", a very radical one.

Hani Nesira, director at Al Mesbar Studies and
Research Center
11
Christmas surprise

• 24 25 December 2010
• Northwest Airlines Flight 253

Pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN)
12
Videos
Passengers Describe Flight 253 http//www.youtube.
com/watch?v_kXuNQCWdDE
Flight 253 What went wrong? http//www.cbsnews.co
m/video/watch/?id6045956n
13
Forewarnings

• Farouk's messaged his father saying that he has
  found "the real Islam" and that his family
  "should just forget about him".
• Farouk's father warned American authorities that
  his son is a security threat.
• Yet he was allowed to board the plane

14
Pre-boarding

• Farouk was seen with a "sharp-dressed" man around
  50 years old.
• The second man told the ticket agent that Farouk
  did not have a passport.
• Farouk was allowed onto the plane and was
  unnoticed until attempted attack.

15
Pre-boarding

• The Dutch counter-terror agency said that Farouk
  presented a valid Nigerian passport and U.S.
  entry visa.
• Did not find any indication from camera
  recordings that Farouk had accomplices.
• It was believed that the unknown man played a
  role in ensuring Farouk "did not get cold feet".

16
Failure to detect

• Hid explosives in his underwear
• Screening machines not high-tech enough
• Farouk only had to pass through a magnetometer.

17
Failed attack

• Spent 20 min in the bathroom
• Claimed he had a stomachache and covered himself
  with a blanket after returning to his seat
• Attempt to ignite the explosive failed Only
  foul odour and popping noises were observed.

18
Failed attack

• Farouk's trouser leg and the wall of the plane
  caught fire as a result of the failed attempt.
• Fellow passenger Jasper Schuringa subdued Farouk.
• Flight attendants put out the flame.
• 2 people were injured, while Farouk suffered from
  first and second degree burn.

19
Failed attack

• Farouk had a 80 g packet of explosive powder,
  PETN with acetone peroxide
• Which is a highly dangerous plastic explosive.
• Farouk claimed that he was directed by al-Qaeda,
  and obtained the explosives in Yemen
• However, tests suggested that even if the
  explosive was ignited successfully, the plane
  would not receive much damage.

20
International Response
21
References

• http//www.nytimes.com/2010/01/17/world/africa/17a
  bdulmutallab.html
• http//msnbcmedia3.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Phot
  o/_new/100124-Abdulmutallab-vmed-1p.widec.jpg
• http//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/FilePETN.png
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umar_Farouk_Abdulmuta
  llabAttack
• http//news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8548021.stm