Going Radical
This NPR News investigation explores the life and path of the Nigerian man accused in the attempt to blow up a U.S. passenger plane on Christmas Day. NPR's Dina Temple-Raston, Ofeibea Quist-Arcton and Peter Kenyon report from three continents to trace Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's path from young man of privilege to potential jihadist.
Going Radical: NPR Investigates Abdulmutallab
()Three NPR reporters spent weeks investigating the life and eventual radicalization of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. West Africa correspondent Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, counterterrorism correspondent Dina Temple-Raston and Middle East correspondent Peter Kenyon share their findings.
Officials: Cleric Had Role In Christmas Bomb Attempt()
February 19, 2010 NPR News Investigation: Intelligence officials suspect that American-born radical imam Anwar al-Awlaki may have lured Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab to Yemen for training by al-Qaida operatives before the young Nigerian tried to bring down a Detroit-bound trans-Atlantic airliner on Dec. 25. A look at the cleric and his reach.
Yemen A Turning Point For Christmas Bomb Suspect()
February 19, 2010 NPR News Investigation: Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab took two separate trips to Yemen, four years apart, to learn Arabic at a school near the capital. Officials now wonder whether the second trip, in 2009, was simply an excuse to gain entrance to Yemen to train with al-Qaida.
Wooing Recruits To Radical Islam Like 'Dating'()
February 18, 2010 NPR News Investigation: A former member of the radical Islamist organization Hizb ut-Tahrir explains the psychology and tactics of enticing new recruits. Although he never met Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Christmas Day bombing suspect, Shiraz Maher recruited people like him.
In London, Bomb Suspect Found Militant Edge()
February 18, 2010 Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's evolution as a radical Muslim took root in his home in Nigeria, but found rich soil during his time as a university student in London. The man accused of trying to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner rubbed shoulders with Islamic extremists and organized an event that brought former Guantanamo detainees to campus to speak.
Bomb Bid Throws Nigeria Into Terrorism Debate()
February 17, 2010 An NPR News Investigation: Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the young man charged with trying to blow up a plane on Christmas Day, came from predominately Muslim northern Nigeria. Analysts say the area could be an incubator for extremism as Islamic fundamentalism spreads among a population facing inequality and opposed to U.S. foreign policy in Muslim nations.
Faith, Family Strife Drove Christmas Bomb Suspect()
February 17, 2010 The alleged Christmas Day attacker grew up in a strict, well-to-do family in a region of northern Nigeria heavily impacted by religious violence. When he left home for boarding school, he became increasingly troubled by his family's Western lifestyle and turned more ardently to Islam. Part 1 of an NPR News Investigation.
Timeline: From Student To Radical()
February 16, 2010 The young Nigerian man accused of trying to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas Day is the well-educated son of a prominent banker. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was born Dec. 22, 1986, in Lagos, Nigeria, and grew up in the city of Kaduna, in the country's Muslim-dominated north.
