There is a rather interesting article found in The Daily Beast all about how a Dutch guy, who was once a violent Islamic fanatic, turned and became a double agent.
After the opening, the article goes on to explain …
This is the story of Morten Storm, who has since decided to go underground, fearing for his safety.
For almost 10 years before this story begins, Storm was an internationally well-known figure in radical Islamist circles, known by the nickname Murad Storm. A convicted criminal who had converted to Islam, Storm visited mosques throughout Europe and the Middle East, speaking openly about the need for armed jihad.
But, he says, a series of complicated events in 2006 prompted a crisis of faith and left him disillusioned with the cause. No longer a believer, he decided to become a double agent and, in the winter of 2006, called the Danish Security and Intelligence Service, also known as PET.
Well aware of who he was, the Danish security agency took his call and quickly arranged a meeting between him and agents from the British intelligence agencies, The Security Service (MI5) and the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) at a tony hotel near Regent’s Park in London. Later, PET facilitated a meeting between the CIA and Storm, which took place at the Scandic Hotel in central Copenhagen. During these and subsequent meetings, the agents discussed possible ways in which Storm could infiltrate radical Islamist groups.
It then goes on to explain, how it all eventually led to him becoming best friends with Anwar al-Awlaki, and how he identified where Anwar was so that US drones could take him out.
Least you have any moral quibbles about that, Anwar was working vigorously with this guy and others to develop and deploy biological weapons, and was specifically interested in targeting shopping centers in the west … so if Anwar had not been taken out in sept 2011, then it is quite possible that he might have take you and many others out while you were out shopping.
Is it really true, or is this some lone nutter spinning a yarn?
Storm approached Jyllands-Posten (a Danish newspaper) with his story, and there the journalists interviewed him for more than 120 hours and vigorously checked his extraordinary account against a trove of documents and email messages as well as audio and video recordings that he provided. When asked, the Danish intelligence agency PET provided a statement to the reporters verifying it all, but the CIA kept silent and chose not to comment.
It is an interesting read (and be warned, it is long).
It is also more than a tad scary to see how violent and dangerous some strands of Islam can be … so much so that the intelligence communities of most nations don’t just track it all, but actively infiltrate because of the very real threat they pose.
What is of course also encouraging is that a fanatical believer calling for an armed violent jihad … changed his mind.
Criticism of irrational and quite frankly insane beliefs truly does matter. What happened here is that he was prepared to fight in Somalia in late 2006, but when that trip was called off, he was not only annoyed, but also starts to doubt; he then turns completely after 2 weeks of googling.
Storm bought £1,500 of equipment for himself and those he was planning to meet, packed it all into a rucksack, said goodbye to his family and friends for the last time and bought a ticket to Somalia.
But just before he was due to depart, he had a phone call from his contact in Somalia who said they had lost control of the airport in Mogadishu to Western-backed Ethiopian troops and there was no way for him to get there.
“All my dreams about jihad were ruined. I was like, ‘that can’t happen, why?’ I was so hurt, and really, really upset and angry. I couldn’t comprehend.
“It made me sit up all night. I came back, opened the laptop and typed ‘contradictions in the Koran,’ something I had never dared ask before. If I had some doubts I had suppressed them. Then I picked up the Koran and confirmed it.
“It took a couple of days, and then I said: ‘F**k it. I spent ten years of my life and I was just about to get killed for this.’ So I called the PET.”
The Danish agents met Storm at the Raddisson Hotel in Copenhagen and when he requested a beer, they knew he had turned his back on his old life.
If you want to know more you can ask him yourself, he posted this not too long ago …
Thank you for showing interests. If anyone want more information on my life and work. Please add me on facebook: stormoutdoors
This was my undercover company during the time no longer running however I do reply to comments on FB etc
Looking forward to hear from you
Morten Storm
Links
- An interesting article in the Telegraph from last Dec here that goes into more detail on what happened to him and how he was initially sucked into Islam.
- New York Times interview with him – Dec 28