Word: zarqawi
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...battles against U.S. troops, says he was instantly awestruck. "I could not feel my tongue, my hands, my legs ... I could not move," he says, his eyes widening at the very memory. "For a few moments I could not even think. My mind went completely blank." Bakr says al-Zarqawi led him into another room, with prayer mats and copies of the Koran. "Come, let us pray," al-Zarqawi said. Bakr says they prayed for about three hours, with al-Zarqawi reciting from memory several long surahs, or chapters from the Koran, in a whisper. From time to time...
Bakr spoke about his first meeting--and many others over several months--with al-Zarqawi in a recent interview with TIME in Baghdad. He admitted he was using a pseudonym and asked that some details of his experiences be omitted in order to avoid al-Zarqawi's wrath. The anecdotes and other details in his account were verified by several sources, including a second al-Qaeda fighter who has spent some time close to al-Zarqawi, commanders of two Iraqi insurgent groups who have met the Jordanian-born terrorist, U.S. counterterrorism officials-- who confirmed some aspects and cast doubt...
Such fiery rhetoric, though, masks a gradual but unmistakable effort by al-Zarqawi to recast his image. Based on interviews by TIME with Bakr and others who have associated with al-Zarqawi, a picture emerges of a cold-blooded killer trying to reinvent himself as a quasi-religious leader. He wants to be seen as a deeply spiritual Muslim whose actions are driven by a desire to save Islam from attacks from external and internal enemies, according to those sources. The most striking aspect of that transformation is al-Zarqawi's attempt to mimic the sirah, or lifestyle...
What explains such conspicuous expressions of piety? Some Western officials believe that al-Zarqawi may be trying to project a more moderate, appealing image to regain some of the prestige he has lost in recent months. Clashes between al-Qaeda, which mainly comprises foreign fighters, and homegrown Iraqi insurgent groups have been interpreted as an indication that al-Zarqawi is no longer the all-powerful figure leading the anti-U.S. forces in Iraq. He has also attracted criticism for his group's deadly attacks on Iraqi Shi'ites...
...Zarqawi hasn't lost his appetite for murder--or his determination to sow civil war in Iraq. Bakr says he recalls conversations in which al-Zarqawi raged at the Shi'ites. "Those were the only times I hear him shout," he says. "He really hates the Shi'ites, even more than the Americans." The terrorist leader may carry his Koran at all times, but his Kalashnikov is never far from his reach, as evidenced by last week's video, in which he is clearly seen wearing an ammunition belt. Bakr and other sources say al-Zarqawi constantly wears a suicide...