A Kidnapping in Milan: The CIA on Trial (10 page)

“They asked me,” the man said, “if I knew these people. I answered that I didn’t know them. I’ve prayed they won’t make me go back and ask me everything. They asked me if I know a Syrian, if I know the sheikh Mahmoud, if I know Sheikh Tahar. Later another carabiniere came who told me to be careful because they have recorded everything. They have a conversation in which there was talk of killing a carabiniere because he was a Jew—and do you know who it is [who’s to do the killing]? It’s me. ‘What do you have against the Jews?’ And I answered that I had nothing to do with it. They have hundreds of photos, including many of you.”

“And you,” Abu Omar said, “what did you say to them?”

“I said, what do you want from me? What have I got to do with it?”

“Do they have many photos of me?”

“Yes. There are many of them, particularly of you and of Sheikh Abdurahim, and hundreds of photos that show the brothers in different places. From what I understand from the photos, they have a telecamera in the Great Mosque [of Rome].”

“Oh!!! But my photos—where did they photograph me?”

“In several places. They photographed you close to home, near the mosque, and you were together with Sheikh Nabil.”

“And what did they ask you about me?”

“I told them that I don’t know you very well, that I know you as imam.”

“Is that all?”

The man said he knew nothing more. He did, however, have other news. Brothers in London were going to set up charities across Europe to aid Muslim orphans, and one of the charities (which the Italians believed to be fronts, at least in part) was almost ready to open in Holland.

“But opening offices here,” Abu Omar said, “is very delicate, because they’ve already come under surveillance in Holland. They’re seen as offices for recruiting and supporting terrorism.”

“We’re used to this. It happened this way in Bosnia too. But we must not be weak. It’s our duty, especially for we who have survived and know well the situation of the families of the brothers who sacrificed their lives in the name of God—above all for those who knew them. Neither the Christians nor the Jews can thwart this project.”

“We’re ready to help, but I’m sure they will raise various doubts and problems about these offices because the people here do not understand religion, because they confuse it with politics.”

“We will demonstrate the contrary. We cannot forget them. He who has need of bread, we will give bread. He who has need of milk, we will give milk.”

Their discussion shifted to a colleague who was to perform an unstated task.

“And how does he go?” Abu Omar said.

“By sea.”

“When?”

“Not yet. He needs to study the thing well, because he has been booked. They have taken his fingerprints.”

“That’s bad.”

“He has decided to change his documents—that’s the plan. Give me a pen.”

There was a shuffling noise, then silence as if the man were writing. At length he said, “The brother already sent me the photos and a catalogue.” A “catalogue” was often code for a passport or other documents.

“What?”

“The brother has sent them to me, but for me it’s a lot.”

“How so?”

“The wax, in my opinion, is too much.”

“Who is it that has prepared it for you? Who? Who?”

“One of the Palestinian brothers.”

“The Palestinian?”

“Yes.”

There followed some talk about using a car for something that was at first inscrutable but whose meaning soon became clear.

“Put a car into a bus,” the man suggested, “like that car that exploded against a bus. But inside there was a brother, which I don’t like.”

“The car sped into the bus with a brother inside?”

“Personally I like to be protected, and I like to protect the youth. Personally I prefer that it be remote-controlled. It’s more beautiful this way. You put yourself far off, and this way you’re protected. We can say God is with us and with them.”

“Amen.”

“There is need of an attack. There is need to do what is done to the Jews, to terrorize them that way, to make them like the Jews who are tired even if they don’t take the bus.”

“Everything at its time,” Abu Omar said. “For now we give thanks to God.”

ALI SHARIF
,
the director of the mosque, came to Abu Omar a few hours after the man from Rome did.

“I’m sorry,” he said, “but who is that brother running around here?”

“He is a brother.”

“Is he from here, or did he come from abroad?”

“No, he’s from Rome.”

“From Rome?”

“Yes. They have plans to open a school in Rome, and he came to ask my advice. He also asked Mohamed Ali. Anyway, this school has already started. He wanted only some advice.”

“I’m sorry, but it’s a delicate moment. I must know the brothers who are running around here. You know very well the situation we find ourselves in. It’s not that I don’t trust you. . . . I don’t want to ask you for too much information. You know the brothers come with others and then you discover some strange things. The brothers here have also wondered who he is.”

“He is one I’ve known a long time. He’s a good brother.”

“This is not a problem.”

“He was in prison.”

“What do you mean?”

“In the past. He belongs to the family of Djamel Lounici”—an Algerian terrorist who for a time was based in Naples. “He was in prison in ’95 or ’96 with Djamel’s group.”

“What’s his name?”

“He’s Algerian. He’s with Djamel Luonici’s group. He’s of the same family. I don’t understand why you’re frightened of him.”

“We’re not afraid,” said the imam, sounding more than a little bullied.

“They’re good brothers. They’re ex-jihad. They’re opening some facilities and are asking only for advice.”

“Fine. I don’t have anything against him. Only prudence. God protect you and peace be with you.”

A MA
N
FROM
Germany arrived later that June. DIGOS could not determine his nationality but his Arabic was flavored with idioms of the Maghreb, which suggested he was Algerian, Tunisian, or Moroccan. He had apparently just given a sermon, because Abu Omar said, “Congratulations, you inspired the youth.”

“It doesn’t end here,” said the man. “There are so many things to change to eliminate the enemies of God, the policies of Israel, and those who pursue them.”

“It is our hope.”

“On the sixteenth of last month, there was a confidential meeting of the sheikhs in Poland. The final decision was to completely change the front of Hizb ut-Tahrir”—a group working to reestablish the medieval caliphate—“and build a new organization that takes care of national and international territory. But we need very educated people at every level.”

“It takes time.”

“We have time,” the man said. “We’re going little by little. There are people already on the inside.”

“How so?”

“Currently Sheikh Adel and Sheikh Abd al-Wahab have created several groups in which there are various brothers who have returned from Chechnya.”

“And Sheikh Adlen?”

“He moved before I came here. I knew him in 1987. But let’s return to our subject. Our project has need of people who are intelligent and very educated. As for the jihad part, there is Abu Serrah, who has plans to create a battalion of twenty-five, twenty-six divisions, but the scheme must be well studied.”

“Just don’t let the devil in your midst,” Abu Omar cautioned.

“The first thing I say to you is that we are aware of being under surveillance. We know that half the brothers are in prison, including those who are accused of raising funds. I repeat to you, the plan must be studied in detail, because the thread starts in Saudi Arabia. He who is responsible for this project is Abu Suleiman, who has the same blood as Emir Abdullah, so there is no need for more comments.”

They both laughed. “Emir Abdullah” was code for Osama bin Laden.

“The mosques, however,” the man continued, “have too high a profile. They must be left alone. We need new structures. We’re looking for seven to nine premises. Recently we bought a four-story building.”

“And we’re not looking after the mosques?”

“Sure, we’re looking after them. We finance them too, but money must bring money because the objective is also to form an Islamic army that will have the name of Force 9.”

“How are things going in Germany?”

“I can’t complain. We are already ten. We are also taking an interest in Belgium, in Spain, in the Netherlands, in Turkey, and in Egypt, Italy, and France. But the headquarters remain in London. Sheikh Adlen has given a lot of money. As I’ve already told you, this plan doesn’t need more comments or words.”

“I hope this will inspire the youth.”

“This is our objective. Every one of us has a task. For example, if one has at his disposal a force of ten—he becomes their chief—then it is up to him to decide whether to organize them into smaller groups or keep them as they are. The important thing is to use intelligence.”

“And if some of them are foreigners?” Abu Omar meant non-Arabs.

“It’s not important. We need even foreigners. We have Albanians, Swiss, Englishmen. . . . Just so long as they are of a high cultural level. In Germany we have interpreters and translators who translate books. We also have them in telecommunications, also in Austria. The important thing is that their faith in Islam be true.”

“We have never had problems with them,” Abu Omar allowed of the foreigners. “To the contrary, we’ve noticed that they are very enthusiastic and take part readily.”

“Besides, it is neither you nor I who decide whether or not to take them. Those who decide are the people with Hizb al-Tawid.” He perhaps meant the aforementioned Hizb ut-Tahrir, or perhaps he referred to a new group.

“This plan really excites me,” said Abu Omar.

“Never worry about the money, because the money of Saudi Arabia is your money. The important thing is not to run, because it’s all new. There are old parts, but the training is completely new. He who wanted to create the plan is near Emir Abdullah, and we are grateful to Emir Abdullah. Prepare yourself.”

“I’m ready.”

“We’re also awaiting the sheikh from Iraq,” by whom he may have meant Mullah Krekar, the co-founder of the Kurdish terrorist group Ansar al-Islam.

“Be careful of the Internet,” the man warned a little later. “It’s frightening. These are the first instructions of Sheikh Adlen: we must ignore the Internet. If you communicate on the Internet, use another language. . . . The main issue is that each group protects the other group without destroying each other. And each group must be far away from the other. Chechnya takes care of training the youth, while another group takes care of information. Even for the air we breathe, another group takes care of it. There is only one condition: at each meeting one or two people from the group participate. They speak of their situation and listen to the others. The important thing is that these people are all of the same rank as the others . . . and everyone must be aware of everything. We are all one, and one is God.”

“We fight for the word of God, even by paper.”

“Yes, this too is part of our plans. There is a certain amount of information that I can’t give until we see each other next time, if God wills. . . . We need businessmen, professors, engineers, doctors, instructors. . . . Dear Abu Omar, it’s not the quantity but the quality. Even if they are ten, it’s enough, because you can study [the recruits], you can understand them psychologically. You do as at school. There is kindergarten, elementary school, high school, and college. At each stage there is an exam. But the most important things are security, prudence, intelligence, orders, and communication . . . because each group is part of a region. I will give you a small example: Italy is part of Austria, Germany is part of Holland, Holland is part of London. . . . Prudence is what saves you. Take for example the case of Ismail who has been in Holland since 1979 and nobody knows who he is. I repeat to you, the organization must be impeccable where confidentiality is concerned.”

“And I, what do I look after?” Abu Omar asked.

“You sell, you buy, you print, you record. Then the person involved will come and talk with you personally. It’s enough that things not get mixed. It’s enough to avoid the easy arrests. We know perfectly well that you, I, and the others are all under surveillance. I know I am followed by police, but I make fools of them. The important thing is that you find a way of getting the message to the other person. Dear Abu Omar, for combating the enemies of God, we need technology.”

“It’s true.”

“This is why the sheikhs insist that we have many highly educated people.”

“Yes, yes.”

“We need to have a lot of intelligence. If Sheikh Abu Khalil, Sheikh Abu Qatada, or Sheikh Aden the Syrian are all under surveillance, there are other people who lead the group in their stead, who handle the situation. Second, we need to be careful in the way we speak. One must not throw words about carelessly. The tongue must always be controlled. Our groups are spread from Algeria throughout the world. For example, one could lead the group perfectly from Poland, like Sheikh Abdelaziz. He has a group called the Katilea group. His organization is stunning. It’s an impeccable organization. One may even communicate via a book.”

“How? Has he written in a book?”

“Even more. He, in the books—they are books, but they are full of dollars.”

“He sends the dollars via the books?”

“Yes. Also other things.”

“How? By mail?”

“Yes, by mail.”

“With such ease?”

“Yes, because it’s not Europe. Europe is now under surveillance by air and by land, but in Poland, in Bulgaria, and in countries that aren’t part of the European Community, it’s all easy. First of all, they are corrupt. You can buy them with dollars. I take the substance over there, and I put it here and here. They are countries less surveilled, there aren’t so many eyes. But the country where everything starts is Austria. There I meet with all the sheikhs, and all our brothers are there. . . . It has become the country of international communications, the country of contacts, as I told you earlier. All the contacts arrive from Austria or from Poland. The most convenient country is Austria and the other countries nearby. If you are wanted by the law, you have two choices: either you hide there or in the mountains. Above all, the Sahafi Mosque, the old mosque, has been a very hot mosque for a long time, very hot. They are very united, particularly after the event that just happened there.”