The Martyr's Oath: The Apprenticeship of a Homegrown Terrorist

If you didn't read Martyr's Oath last fall when it first came out, you're probably like most Canadians sitting there wondering how seventeen nice Muslim Canadian boys came to be arrested on terrorism charges in Toronto last week. Don't wait to be enlightened by the terminally politically-correct CBC. Instead check out Stewart Bell's book. Not only is it prescient in warning about the spread of the new phenomena of "homegrown" terrorism to Canada's tolerant shores, it is a very good read, conjuring images of Osama bin Laden wannabes wandering around in exotic Middle Eastern deserts, AK-47s in hand. Stewart Bell thoroughly researched his book, dauntlessly tracking the Jabarah brothers, who swears the bayat or "martyr's oath" of loyalty to Osama bin Laden, from their middle class home in St. Catherines on the Niagara Peninsula to Kuwait, Pakistan, Afghanistan, South East Asia, and beyond. Although he never got access to either of the boys - one being in the Manhattan Detention Centre and the other already in Paradise enjoying his reward of seventy two virgins, he spent much time with the boys' alienated father Mansour whose own fundamentalism and anti-Western ways, as described by Bell, may have planted the seeds of the boys' own peculiarly Islamic spiritual quest. As an experienced and award-winning investigative reporter on the national security beat for the National Post, Bell managed to get his hands on many intelligence reports and court documents. Bell's book just invites comparisons between the Jabarah brothers and the Toronto 17. It is also much harder to ignore in the light of what almost happened.

The Martyr's Oath is a thoroughly researched and highly readable account of how a young man who was raised and educated in Canada became a key organizer for al-Qaeda in Asia and played a major part in plans to kill large numbers of Westerners. A particularly interesting section of the book is Bell's description of how Mohammed Mansour Jabarah was "turned" by Canadian security authorities and induced to provide a wealth of valuable information on al-Qaeda and its operations. While Bell does not claim to have all the answers to the complicated question of what goes into the making of a home-grown North American jihadi, he takes the reader through a fascinating review of the various contributing factors. The Martyr's oath is a must read for students of terrorism concerned about increasing efforts by al-Qaeda and related terrorist groups to recruit new members in Western countries.