Excerpt
SUMMARY: In the new book “In the Skin of a Jihadist,” a journalist goes undercover to understand the mind of a terrorist and his recruitment techniques. The author, whose identity has been hidden to protect her safety, speaks with Hari Sreenivasan in New York.
HARI SREENIVASAN (NewsHour): It started with a share on Facebook of this video. A fake profile named Melodie had friended Abu Bilel. And he had just sent around the latest video about his guns, his SUV, the money and the glamorous life he had as a jihadist.
Bilel was born in France, went to fight in jihads in Bosnia, Afghanistan and Chechnya, and now was a trusted lieutenant of the leader of the Islamic State. He had two jobs, to fight and to recruit.
Within minutes, Abu Bilel saw that Melodie had shared his video and began private-messaging her on Facebook.
ANNA ERELLE, Author, “In the Skin of a Jihadist”: And he asked me if I was a Muslim and if I want to go to Syria, and what is my point of view about mujahideen.
HARI SREENIVASAN: Within three days, he was asking Melodie to marry him, before even seeing her face, knowing only that she was a convert to Islam.
ANNA ERELLE: He told me, no, it’s not important. The only thing, it’s like, you are a Muslim. I am too.
And if we are a — if you want to be — to become a good Muslim, you cannot stay in your country. You have to come in Syria. Today, it’s the only country when you can be a good Muslim. If not, if you stay in your Western country, you will burn in hell because you are not a good person, you are not a good Muslim. You have to come and help your brother here.
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