Detainee gave expansive interview on the conditions at Camp Delta; his views on different Al Queda leaders and US/Mid-East relations. He had no specific complaints about his conditions. When asked what he liked about America, he provided three-things he enjoyed about the United States (U.S.): 1) Power limitations because of the Democratic form of government; no one group has all the deccisionmaking power, 2) Everyone is accountable under the law and these laws apply to all citizens regardless of their status; and 3) People are more open-minded and tolerant of different values and
convictions.
FI)-302 (Rev. 10-6.95)
-1-
FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATIC
Da
transcription 37
Investigation on File # at Date dictated
by
This document contains neither recommendations nor conclusions of the FBI It is the property of the FBI and is loaned to
your agency, it and its contents are not to be distributed outside your agency.
10/19/2002
_, _
IAta, Naval Station m-2,3,4
was interviewed at Camp tel
LI
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Also present during the interview was
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1, Air Force Office of Special
Special Agent (SA) 1A
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Investigations (AFOSI). The interview was conducted in English After being advised of the identitrb7 F
with a translator on standby.
FaILIJI) interviewing Agents and the purpose of the interview,' -1 provided the following information:
I
Upon being asked the first question, he initially stated that everything investigators were interested in learning was already in his file. However, after slight prodding by interviewing agents, the questioninc continued.
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meaning t at is spiritua ity never c ange• • u is ac ions • if He constantly struggled with temptations which caused him to stray. When asked why he is at Camp Delta, he responded that the
U.S. could not catch the big guys or UBL, therefore, they grabbed
10/17-18/02 Guantanamo Bay, Cuba DETAINEES-3918
10/19/2002
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On Contra 4 b6 -3,4
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When asked, he defined 'Fatwa' was a religious decree
made by a priest or scholar giving legitimacy to or prohibiting a
certain act. These decrees are usually made pertaining to
something not addressed during the time of Mohammad. When asked
about whether UBL could declare a fatwa, he responded that this is
appropriate because of UBL's notoriety as a war hero and status as
a wealthy Saudi. UBL issued a fatwa to remove U.S. troops out of
Saudi Arabia after the Saudi government allowed them in during the
gulf war. When asked how)A'view Americans, he, in
turn asked for clarification as to whether interviewers meant the
b6 -3,4 people or the government. After clarification, he proclaimed that b7C -3,4 the.American people were viewed as non-believers, in Arabic
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"Kuffar". Non-believers (non-Musli are viewed as rejecters of
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Mohammad, which is sin to Muslims. particularly spoke of
sins in America such as sexual promiscuity among women and partying
which are A
glamorized by the media.
1w4s then asked about his sociation with
He claimed that this b6 -3,4, was a racial incident and not terrorist related.
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He further explained that the reaction to b7F -1 this incident was rational paranoia, However, he guaranteed this incident was not related to the 9/11 attacks.
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When asked if the term AL QAEDA ever came up among him
and his associates, he stated that he never knew the term before.
He would refer to these people as MUJAHADEEN and not-AL QAEDA.
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ToAthe U.S. was just getting what they deserve
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(attacks on 1/11) because oE the current foreign policy. In fact,
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he provided an Arabic saying, "The magic that you made is now b7F -1 working against you."
When told that A
and others told investigators that
went to an AL QAEDA training camp, he responded that they
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were lies. However, in response to prodding by SA regarding his attendance at this training respon ed that b7C -3,4 he could not answer the question. Moreover, stated that
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before he could answer SA would have to pray about it
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(the answer). Based upon non-verbal expressions, itA
DETAINEES-3921
FD-3022145N4EMieVJ122ng the West.
Contmul
On
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Page
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lid not consider him to be more than an
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associate. I joften recited the Koran during Islamic
b7C -3,4 services and daily durin Ramadan. I was married with
b7D -1 children, which ledAto dery any q )legation of
position as a terrorist.Ao ma e
gain,'A
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statements of a derogatory nature toward' !refused T
Regarding'AI, he characterized him as a
fundamentalist who was attached to his beliefs. He requested to
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know iflA Ithen became
I was still in custody. IA
involved in a dialogue regarding the definition of fundamentalism. b7C -3,4
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He defined jihad as literally meaning "to strive or
striving for Allah". These jihads may be individual, within
oneself, or may be declared for a nation. He noted that many
scholars are a part of making jihadslAI A jihad can
be accomplished by word, money or hand. Each individual may face
various jihads during their life. For him, he has strived in
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(converting others to Islam). His most difficult personal jihad
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has been becoming more submissive to God. When asked who would
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strive through the sword, he responded that there needed to be a
b7F -1 community of followers before this could happen. He mentioned that
is a good example of someone striving through protest. He
wou not comment on HANI HANJOURI or NAWAF AL-HAZMI's strive.
Moreover, when asked about the striving of the other highjackers,
he commented that there was no use in answering these questions.
However, he further advised it would be easy to say the victims
were innocent people.
When asked; he opined that USAMA BIN LADEN (UBL) is
considered a hero in the Arab world, but he would not give his
personal views. The Arab people view UBL as the new SALAH HADEEN
(phonetic), who fought against the Crusaders.
If the U.S. wants to fix the problems with the Arab
world, the government representatives must review foreign policy.
The U.S. must quit supporting Israel and pull military forces out
of Saudi Arabia. With one speech,AIto call people to
a jihad, a large group of people would line up to fight against the
b6 -3,4 U.S. He refused to answer the question as to whether or not he
b7C -3,4 would also be a fighter. I_
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Athe greatest challenge for the new president
would be terrorism, terrorist acts and UBL. Further, he made
DETAINEES-3920
He knows he was in the wrong place at the
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On Iwere smart, professional
, Page b7C -3
people, not terrorists.
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He further stated that he did not believe in bloodshed. When told that not all people fight, some b7F -1 give money to fight, he did not respond.
When asked about conditions at Camp Delta, he responded
that the worst part is how staff members were treating detainees.
He considered the guards to be a minor issue thoug12 herause hp
understood their psychology. Other detainees know'
A(therefore they sometimes ask him for advice
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He recalled hearing o I A
l(name unknown)
b7C -3,4 1spoke to this individual II He was moved to a new cell
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Aland opined that this was because he was
thought to be a leader'
When asked if he considered himself to be a leader, he
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responded that'
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I However, he was cautious not to vocalize his position b7m-1 as a leader with "these detainees". When asked to clarify, he
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explained that "these" meant members of AL QAEDA and/or TALIBAN.
He also explained that, unlike him, most detainees do not
understand the American culture.
When asked, he provided three-things he enjoyed about the
United States (U.S.): 1) Power limitations because of the
Democratic form of government; no one group has all the decisionmaking power, 2) Everyone is accountable under the law and these
laws apply to all citizens regardless of their status,--3) People
are more open-minded and tolerant of different values and
convictions.
Regarding the detainees, he opined there are varying
degrees of Islamic worship, practices and convictions among the
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Muslims. He preferred to associate with those who had strongAfundamental beliefs. IAb7C -3,4
Ihe also associated withA
similar individuals. He characterized murderers, gangsters and
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drug dealers as nasty people.
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Arecused to say anything about which would be
A
considered negative. He characterized A
as over-enthusiastic b6 -3,4 and a noise-maker. 'was quick to anger and excitel__
Moreover,'A
which heA(blamed onlAI
lyoung age (approximately'A
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years oll. However,'A'often enjoyed deep intellectual
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conversation withl A
laLso had a bad reputation
I
b7F -1 land they considered him to bel aA
IA
troublemaker. IA
was involved :n an organization committed to
converting the entire world to Islam. In AI opinion,
biggest dilemma was residing in the West while at the same
DETAINEES-3919
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Flo-302 OttnetaMi0891/1A was hiding the truth and could not legitimately back Continua ktnipi 10/17-18/02Ab7C -3,4
5
On
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was then asked about details of his capture.
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b6 -3,4 b7C -3,4 he was already blindfolded and secured. b7D -1 b7F -1 b6 -3,4 b7C -3, b7D -1 b7F -1
b6 -3,4 At the conclusion of the interview, ttempted
to downplay the sincerity of the interviewing agen
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characterizing them as government pawns. However, agreed
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to speak again with the same interviewing agents.
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DETAINEES-3922