Two explosions in Stockhom today....Hmmmm

[Jan Klimkowski]

It seems someone owned Taimour Abdulwahab al-Abdaly.

The Luton Islamic Centre challenged his "extremist" views through theological debate several times. After a few days, al-Abdaly would come back with the same, or very similar, "extremist" message.

Given British intelligence surveillance of mosques and islamic centres, he had to be on the radar of the spooks.

Al-Abdaly may have been a genuine angry young man, intent on launching his own jihad.

There are other possiblities, as the material already in this thread suggest.

It's entirely plausible that al-Abdaly was either a witting agent provocateur sent to besmirch the reputation of the Luton Islamic Centre.

Alternately, it's also possible that al-Abdaly's "radical" controllers were in fact (British, American or Israeli) inteligence. In which case, one wonders whether this "suicice bomber" really had control of the red button, or whether even that was controlled by his handlers.

Stockholm suicide bomber confronted by Luton mosque leaders

Taimour Abdulwahab al-Abdaly had been challenged by leaders of Luton Islamic centre over extremist views

Sam Jones and Haroon Siddique guardian.co.uk, Monday 13 December 2010 17.37 GMT

The suicide bomber who struck in Stockholm on Saturday stormed out of a British mosque where he worshipped after being confronted over his extremism, it emerged today

Taimour Abdulwahab al-Abdaly, who set off a car bomb in the Swedish capital before killing himself with a second device strapped to his body, attended the Luton Islamic centre where the mosque's leaders expressed concern about his views.

Abdaly was a student at the University of Bedfordshire in Luton between 2001 and 2004 and continued to live in the town after graduating. Qadeer Baksh, chairman of Luton Islamic centre, said Abdaly showed up at the mosque during Ramadan in 2006 or 2007 and made an instant impression with his "very bubbly character" but they soon clashed over his views.

"We were challenging his philosophical attitude to jihad," said Baksh. "He got so angry that he left. He was just supporting and propagating these incorrect foundations [of Islam], so I stepped in."

He said Abdaly believed scholars of Islam were "in the pocket of the government" and proposed a "physical jihad".

Baksh said he thought he had talked Abdaly round to a more moderate position but the Iraqi-born Swede then came back with more arguments. "I had no idea it would escalate to where it escalated," said Abdaly. "I thought that when he stormed off he was just angry at me. I heard afterwards that he was criticising the mosque in general and me in particular at the university. He said we were working for the British government and that we were in the pocket of Saudi Arabia. He was trying to defame our honour."

Despite the clashes, Baksh said it was not for him to report Abdaly to the police or security services. "It's the police's job, the intelligence service's job to follow these people up, not ours," he said. "You can't just inform on any Muslim having extreme views. In the past many Muslims have had extreme views but have become good balance Muslims."

The Islamic centre's secretary, Farasat Latif, said if they feared a person could be a potential terrorist "any Muslim in his right mind" would report him.

Police continued to search a terraced house in Luton today as part of the investigation. Abdaly's wife and three children reportedly live in Luton, and neighbours said they last saw him two and a half weeks ago.

Police obtained access to the property yesterday with a warrant issued under the Terrorism Act 2000. Whitehall officials have confirmed the bomber's identity; Swedish police say they are 98% certain Abdaly was the culprit.

The Swedish newspaper Expressen reported that the country's security service believe the bomb went off accidentally and Abdaly had planned to detonate three devices, including one at the main railway station and another at a large department store. It said he had planned to blow up his car but also had 12 pipe bombs strapped to his body, and a bomb in a rucksack.

Abdaly has been hailed as a martyr on the Islamist website al-Hanin. A photomontage on the site suggests he was a member of an al-Qaida-linked organisation, the Islamic State of Iraq.

In 2007, the group's leader, Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, called for reprisals in Sweden for the cartoons of the prophet Muhammad by the Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks. In an email apparently written by Abdaly and sent to Swedish the news agency TT shortly before the explosions he condemned Sweden's' "stupid support for the pig Vilks".

Abdaly's father was quoted by Expressen as saying he had lost contact with his son. "He did not say where he was going," he told the newspaper. "The whole family is in shock, and wants to find out what happened."

Tahir Hussain, 33, a taxi driver who lives near to the Luton house being searched, said he used to exchange greetings with Abdaly. "He had only been here about a year. I used to chat to him a bit: say good morning, good afternoon," said Hussain. "He seemed like a very nice person. I never thought he'd be like this."

He said he would see Abdaly with his three children in the garden. "His wife used to cover her face, and he wore a djellaba," Hussain said. "You could tell he was religious."

Faisal Ahmed, 24, a restauranteur who lives on the same street as Abdaly, said: "The [Abdaly] family is very gentle; the news is a big shock. I hope it's not true, it's really unbelievable."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec...ton-mosque