Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab

TELEGRAPH  CO.UK

Airline bomber suspect 'defended Taliban'

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian accused of trying to blow up Northwest Airlines Flight 253, defended the Taliban in classroom discussions, his high school teacher has said.

By Stephen Adams
Published: 11:01AM GMT 27 Dec 2009

Abdulmutallab, now 23, believed the Taliban were "right and proper" to blow up the Bamiyan statues of Buddha in March 2001, said history teacher Mike Rimmer.

The terrorist suspect, accused of trying to detonate a bomb on board the Airbus A330 as it came in to land at Detroit airport on Christmas Day, also defended their crackdown on harmless activities such as kite flying.

At the time Mr Rimmer, a Briton who taught teenage Abdulmutallab at the British School of Lomé in Togo, west Africa, did not think such talk truly indicated extremist views.

Mr Rimmer described the Nigerian as a "model pupil" who was interested in world affairs.

He said: "In 2001 we discussed the Taliban in class.

"All the other Muslim kids thought they were a bunch of nutters with beards, and could not understand why they did such things as banning kite flying.

"But Umar seemed to think that was reasonable.

"Even when they blew up the Bamiyan statues he thought that was right and proper."

The Taliban provoked worldwide outrage when they destroyed the two 1,700-year-old sandstone statues near Bamiyan, in the foothills of the Hindu Kush mountains. The demolition was carried out after an edict by Mullah Mohammed Omar, then the Taliban leader, to destroy all non-Islamic statues.

Explaining what he thought of his pupil's remarks at the time, Mr Rimmer said: "I wasn't unduly worried. I thought he was just playing devil's advocate."

He added: "A lot of people have strange views when they are young."

Mr Rimmer, who taught Abdulmutallab for three years between about 14 and 16 years old, said the boy also gained the nickname 'The Pope' while at the boarding school, "because he was so pious and high-minded". He "grimaced" at being called that, recalled Mr Rimmer.

On another occasion, during a trip to London, Abdulmutallab objected to being taken to a pub for lunch.

The teacher said: "Umar came up to me and said, 'Mr Rimmer, you should not be taking us into pubs. We do not want to be in a building associated with alcohol.' "

He remembered his pupil with fondness.

"He was very interested in world affairs and would stay behind after lessons to discuss issues. For a teacher, that was just wonderful."

"He was a very personable boy; he could have gone into politics. He could have become the president of Nigeria. But now his future doesn't look bright at all."

Mr Rimmer said he was contacted by Abdulmutallab in 2006, after setting up a website to keep in touch with his former pupils.

"He said that he was going to Yemen to study Arabic. At the time I had not heard that it was a hotbed of al-Qaeda, and I just thought he was being adventurous."

During his time as his history teacher he took him on four school trips, two to Ghana and two to London.

He said: "I thought I knew him well, but obviously I didn't."

He said the suspect came from a "wonderful" Nigerian family, who looked after those less fortunate than themselves.

"The Mutallabs brought their son up very well indeed," he said. "They will be devastated by this."

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Flight 253 terrorist Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab led life of luxury in London before attempted attack

BY Rich Schapiro
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Originally Published:Sunday, December 27th 2009, 1:07 AM
Updated: Sunday, December 27th 2009, 9:59 AM

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab lived a life of extraordinary privilege before he turned to terror.
The son of a wealthy Nigerian banker, Abdulmutallab was educated at top schools in AfricaBritain - and dwelled in homes worth millions, his relatives said.
The baby-faced extremist's last known address was a $4 million flat in one of London's poshest neighborhoods.
Police in London scoured the swanky apartment Saturday in search of clues as to what - or who - might have led Abdulmutallab, 23, to try to blow up a packed jet over Detroit.
The flat, in London's West End, is surrounded by several of the city's best-known tourist haunts, including Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square.
Historic theaters, expensive hotels and exclusive retail stores are all within walking distance of Abdulmutallab's former pad.
He reportedly hails from a far more humble place, the Nigerian border town of Katsina.
Abdulmutallab's father, Dr. Alhaji Umaru Mutallab, was a government minister during the 1970s and went on to become the head of the First Bank of Nigeria.
As a teen, Abdulmutallab attended the British International School in Lome, Togo, a Nigerian paper reported.
There, he quickly acquired a reputation as a devoted Muslim.
"At the secondary school, he was known for preaching about Islam to his schoolmates and he was popularly called 'Alfa,' a local coinage for Islamic scholar," according to The Day.
After his secondary school, Abdulmutallab went to the prestigious University College London
Abdulmutallab was apparently sent to Dubai by his father after finishing his education in London.
CNN reported he fled to Yemen, a hotbed of militant activity, soon after and cut off all communication with his family.
Who Abdulmutallab met with in Yemen remains unclear. But by the time he left the country, he had apparently become a radicalized extremist bent on inflicting carnage in the West.
This past May, he reportedly tried to return to Britain for a six-month program, but his visa application was denied by the United Kingdom Border Agency.
An official told the Times of London "he was applying to study at an educational establishment that we didn't consider to be genuine."
Seven months later, Abdulmutallab completed his descent from the promising child of a wealthy family to a brazen terrorist when he tried to set off an explosive inside Northwest Flight 253. and in 2005 to study engineering. He graduated three years later.

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