Word: westerns
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...Hussein's regime in Iraq, the Iranians came up with another offer: they would trade their Arab captives, including Saad, for members of the Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MEK), an Iranian terrorist group that was given sanctuary by Saddam. "It was a straightforward swap: your terrorists for ours," says a Western intelligence official familiar with Tehran's offer. The official says the offer included assurances that the MEK operatives would not be tortured and that international human-rights organizations would have access to them. "They said, 'We'll let the Red Cross or Amnesty [International] monitor the MEK prisoners...
...more influential.) But terrorism analyst Peter Bergen, author of Holy War Inc.: Inside the Secret World of Osama bin Laden, points out that having Saad bin Laden in custody "would have been a great propaganda victory" for the U.S., greater than his death could be. Adds the Western intelligence official: "Think of how Americans would feel about Guantánamo if one of Osama's sons was among the detainees...
...repressive rule under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have been jarring, following, as they did, eight years of social reforms under Mohammed Khatami. The Basij militia turned into the country's religious police, patrolling the streets at night to catch those returning from private house parties, where drugs, alcohol, dancing and Western music - forbidden under Islamic law - could be found. Such harassment, including jail time and hefty fines, has become a part of daily life. The Basij also stepped up enforcement of the ban against dating, the restrictions on public dress (berating women for letting their hijab reveal too much hair...
...Over the past few years a new breed of young Muslim activists, most of them educated and from the middle class, have aggressively embraced a stricter version of Islam, rejecting anything Western and Christian. Boko Haram began life as a peaceful group focused on the study of the Koran, according to Abdulmumin Sa'ad, a Muslim scholar and professor of sociology at the University of Maiduguri. "The idea was that there is a lot of sin in the larger society and their parents had amassed a lot of ill-gotten wealth," says Sa'ad, who taught some of the militants...
...Western diplomats worry that the security vacuum may allow foreign terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda to move in. Osama bin Laden is widely admired in the arid north. It has become fashionable for Muslims to name their sons after him, while his picture adorns T-shirts and posters. In a speech in 2000, bin Laden named Nigeria as among "the region[s] most qualified for liberation." "Clearly there is a lot of concern in Washington with the idea that al-Qaeda can gain a foothold within the 65 million-strong Muslim population in northern Nigeria," says the U.S. official...