London: The 23-year-old Nigerian, charged
with attempting to destroy a US aircraft on its final approach
to Detroit airport, is a sexually frustrated loner who nurtured
fantasies about holy war, a British newspaper has claimed.
British tabloid 'The Sun' claims to have gathered
evidence of the twisted mind of the bomber by retrieving 300
of his chilling messages which he posted on an Islamic portal.
In one, posted in 2005 when he was 19, he wrote: "I
won’t go into too much detail about me fantasy, but basically
they are jihad fantasies. I imagine how the great jihad will
take place, how the Muslims will win insha'Allah (God willing)
and rule the whole world, and establish the greatest empire
once again!"
In another, he said: "Killing is only permitted
in jihad." And in a third, he complained of being depressed
during his days at a boarding school in Togo. He said he never
found a true Muslim friend.
And he added: "As I get lonely, the natural sexual
drive awakens and I struggle to control it, sometimes leading
to minor sinful activities. This problem makes me want to get
married to avoid getting aroused."
A harsh puritan streak shone through in the views of
Nigerian-born Abdulmutallab, who spent three years in Britain
as a mechanical engineering student at University College
London. It is best illustrated by his attitude to football.
In early 2005 he wrote cheerfully about the game. He
said: "Liverpool is my chosen club", though he rated Chelsea's
"classy" Frank Lampard as a better player than Kop idol Steven
Gerrard. But later in the year, his stance changed.
During a web discussion about soccer, he commented:
"I honestly don't think the Prophet would sit back, relax and
enjoy watching Beckham kick the ball around. I think football
is a doubtful matter... let's save our honour and religion and
try and stay away from football."
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, December 30, 2009, 18:52