FORMER EXTREMIST: Abu Muntasir
Abu Muntasir fought as jihadi for 15 years in Afghanistan, Kashmir and Burma. He now works to prevent radicalisation and extremism
Abu Muntasir experienced unfathomable horror during the India/Pakistan war, which drew him to identify with the Palestinian cause. Inspired by a newspaper article, he embraced the idea of jihad, which he visualised in heroic terms. He joined the Muslim Brotherhood, and then moved on to fight with the Mujahedin in Afghanistan. In this rare interview he talks about the growing sense of self-righteousness that accompanied his progression intos radical beliefs – which he now sees as dangerously politically naive. He describes his growing unease as he realised that Muslims were suffering due to the actions of jihadis like himself, and how began to break faith with the movement which he had once seen as righteous and noble. Abu Muntasir describes a state of idealism which blinds extremists from the very real harm they are perpetrating and talks about his changing perspective on Islam, and what he means by the ‘jihad of the heart.’