Achmed Said Khadr
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Ahmed Said Khadr ( ar, أحمد سعيد خضر; March 1, 1948 – October 2, 2003) was a Canadian citizen who began working in Afghanistan in the 1980s. There he has been described as having had ties to a number of militant and
Mujahideen ''Mujahideen'', or ''Mujahidin'' ( ar, مُجَاهِدِين, mujāhidīn), is the plural form of ''mujahid'' ( ar, مجاهد, mujāhid, strugglers or strivers or justice, right conduct, Godly rule, etc. doers of jihād), an Arabic term th ...
leaders in Afghanistan, including
Osama bin Laden Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (10 March 1957 – 2 May 2011) was a Saudi-born extremist militant who founded al-Qaeda and served as its leader from 1988 until Killing of Osama bin Laden, his death in 2011. Ideologically a Pan-Islamism ...
, founder of
al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...
. Khadr was accused by Canada and the United States of being a "senior associate" and financier of al-Qaeda.Thorne, Stephen. The Canadian Press. "Pakistan to release wounded Cdn", January 26, 2004 Friscolanti, Michael (August 4, 2006)
"The house of Khadr"
'' Maclean's''.
During this period, Khadr worked with a number of charitable non-governmental organizations that served Afghan refugees and set up agricultural projects. He set up two orphanages for children whose parents had been killed in the Soviet invasion of the 1980s. He funded the construction of Makkah Mukarama Hospital in Afghanistan with his own savings,Bell, Stewart (October 10, 2001)). "FBI hunts for 'The Canadian': Former Ottawa man appears on primary list of suspected bin Laden associates". ''
National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with M ...
''.
Review of ''Book of 120 Martyrs in Afghanistan''
Bell, Stewart (January 24, 2004). "Khadrs Reveal Bin Laden Ties". ''National Post''. as well as seven medical clinics in the
refugee camp A refugee camp is a temporary settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for internally displaced peo ...
s of Pakistan. Due to his prominent regional role, Khadr helped negotiate compromises among rival warlords, power brokers and leaders to establish peace in the region.Berger, J. M. (June 3, 2006)
"Al Qaeda Figures Lurk in Shadows Around Toronto Terror Cell"
Intelwire.com.
The Canadian government had considered him to be that country's highest-ranking member of al-Qaeda.
'' Canada Free Press''. (June 15, 2005).
In 1999, the United Kingdom added Khadr's name to a United Nations list of al-Qaeda members. Two of his sons were captured separately by United States forces in Afghanistan in 2002, after their invasion in the fall of 2001 following the 9/11 attacks. The sons were detained at the
Guantanamo Bay detention camp The Guantanamo Bay detention camp ( es, Centro de detención de la bahía de Guantánamo) is a United States military prison located within Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, also referred to as Guantánamo, GTMO, and Gitmo (), on the coast of Guant ...
. Captured at the age of 15, Omar Khadr was among the youngest detainees at the camp, and the last Western citizen to be held there. He accepted a plea deal (which he later recanted) and pleaded guilty to charges of war crimes in October 2010. He was repatriated to Canada in 2012 to serve the remainder of his sentence and was released on bail in 2015. Khadr was killed on October 2, 2003, along with al-Qaeda and Taliban members, in a shootout by Pakistani security forces near the Afghanistan border. Following his death, his family members moved back to Canada, where they remain today.


Early life

He was born in Egypt in 1948 to Mohamed Zaki Khadr and Munira Osman. Raised in
Shubra El-Kheima Shubra El Kheima, ( ar, شبرا الخيمة, lit=hamlet of the tent, , from ) is the fourth-largest city in Egypt after Cairo, Giza and Alexandria. It is located in the Qalyubia Governorate along the northern edge of the Cairo Governorate. It ...
, Khadr was a shy child with a speech impediment. He frequently stayed at the house of his much older half-brother Ahmed Fouad. When Fouad left for the United States in the early 1970s, Khadr asked his father if he could follow – but was forbidden. Planning the move behind his father's back, Khadr moved to Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 1975 at the age of 27. After a few months in Montreal, Khadr moved to Toronto. He was accepted at the University of Ottawa to study Computer Programming. In Ottawa that he met Qasem Mahmud, the founder of ''Camp Al-Mu-Mee-Neen'' in Creemore, Ontario. Khadr volunteered to help at the camp. There he met
Maha el-Samnah The Khadr family ( ar, أسرة خضر) is an Egyptian-Canadian family noted for their ties to Osama bin Laden and connections to al-Qaeda.
, a Palestinian immigrant and volunteer. She was impressed by his calmness and thought he was a good listener. Mahmud later described their meeting as "love at first sight".


Marriage and family

Ahmed and
Maha married in November at
Jami Mosque A congregational mosque or Friday mosque (, ''masjid jāmi‘'', or simply: , ''jāmi‘''; ), or sometimes great mosque or grand mosque (, ''jāmi‘ kabir''; ), is a mosque for hosting the Friday noon prayers known as ''jumu'ah''.* * * * * * * ...
in Toronto. In May 1978, the couple moved to Ottawa so Ahmed could finish his studies. In 1979, Maha gave birth to their first child and daughter, Zaynab. Khadr joined the Muslim Students Association at the university. He came to agree with their notions of
Sharia law Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the Five Pillars of Islam, religious precepts of Islam and is based on the Islamic holy books, sacred scriptures o ...
, and advocated Islamic rule for his native Egypt. Khadr started working at
Bell Northern Research Bell-Northern Research (BNR) was a telecommunications research and development company established In 1971 when Bell Canada and Northern Electric combined their R&D organizations. It was jointly owned by Bell Canada and Northern Telecom. BNR ...
, while writing his
masters thesis Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...
, entitled ''Development of a CSSL interface to GASP IV''. Maha gave birth to their son Abdullah in 1981.


Career

The following year, Khadr was offered a position at the Gulf Polytechnique University in Bahrain, where he hoped to become a professor. According to a biography published by al-Qaeda in 2008, he did not like living in Canada, so he accepted the position. In 1982, Maha gave birth to Abdurahman, their third son. Disappointed to find Western influences in Bahrain, Khadr became interested in the struggle of Afghans as a result of the Soviet invasion. He wanted to help the Muslim widows and orphans in Afghanistan. Through 1983 and 1984, the family lived in Bahrain while the children were in school. During the summer holidays, Khadr traveled to Pakistan. His wife took the three children to Scarborough, Canada, where they lived with her parents. Khadr told friends that he had no intentions of helping to fight the Soviets, only of helping the victims of the invasion.


Charitable work begins

During his 1984 summer in Pakistan, Khadr joined
Lajnat al Dawa Lajnat Al-Da'wa al Islamia ''(LDI, also known as the “Islamic Call Committee”)'' is a Muslim non-governmental organization based in Kuwait. It says that it is a humanitarian aid organization. It has provided aid in Afghanistan and other areas of ...
, a Kuwaiti-run relief organization to help Afghan refugees living in Pakistan after the Soviet invasion. He returned to Toronto in December with his family, to explain his decision to Maha's parents. After returning briefly to Bahrain, the family stopped in Kuwait to meet the charity's organizers. By January, they had settled in a second-floor apartment above the
Kuwait Red Crescent Society The Kuwait Red Crescent Society is a branch of the international Red Crescent Society The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It ...
's offices in Peshawar, Pakistan. While in Pakistan, Khadr became known by the ''kunya'' Abu Abdurahman al-Kanadi (Father of Abdurahman, the Canadian), due to the community mistaking which of his sons was eldest. Refusing to abandon his Western clothing, Khadr frequently took care of the children while Maha volunteered at the Red Crescent hospital. During his time in Pakistan, Khadr met with the journalist Eric Margolis several times. He later said that Khadr was a "man of respect" in the city, and seemed "entirely humanitarian and not ideological at all". The family returned to Canada several times a year, visiting relatives. Khadr conducted fundraising for his charitable work, giving speeches at mosques and community events. During one of the visits back to Toronto, on July 6, 1985, Maha gave birth to the couple's fourth child, Ibrahim. Diagnosed with a congenital heart defect, the boy was transferred to the city's Hospital for Sick Children for surgery. Three months later, the family returned to Peshawar. That year, Khadr met
Abdullah Anas Abdullah Anas, an Algerian scholar,Williams, Paul L., "Al Qaeda: Brotherhood of Terror", 2002 was the nom de guerre of Boudjema Bounoua, who helped Afghanistan mujahideen fight the Soviet Armed Forces, Soviet and Armed Forces of the Democratic Repu ...
, an Algerian who had helped fight the Soviets in northern Afghanistan. Anas would later describe Khadr as "not a man of fighting, not a man of
jihad Jihad (; ar, جهاد, jihād ) is an Arabic word which literally means "striving" or "struggling", especially with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it can refer to almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with Go ...
, just a man of charity work aid". He also became acquainted with Abdul Rasul Sayyaf, the founder of the Islamic Union for the Liberation of Afghanistan and a ''
mujahideen ''Mujahideen'', or ''Mujahidin'' ( ar, مُجَاهِدِين, mujāhidīn), is the plural form of ''mujahid'' ( ar, مجاهد, mujāhid, strugglers or strivers or justice, right conduct, Godly rule, etc. doers of jihād), an Arabic term th ...
'' warlord, with whom Khadr would later nurture a close relationship. Returning to Toronto in the summer of 1986, Ibrahim underwent more surgery. On September 19, Maha gave birth to another son, Omar. Six days later, the 39-year-old Khadr was featured in the ''
Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...
'', calling attention to the plight of Afghanistan. He condemned the Soviets for cluster bomblets and
landmines A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automati ...
disguised as colorful toys, attracting children who picked them up and sometimes lost limbs.Cahill, Jack.''
Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...
,'' "'Pretty toys' maiming Afghan kids", September 25, 1986
In the autumn, the family returned to Peshawar, where Khadr met
Ayman al-Zawahiri Ayman Mohammed Rabie al-Zawahiri (June 19, 1951 – July 31, 2022) was an Egyptian-born terrorist and physician who served as the second emir of al-Qaeda from June 16, 2011, until his death. Al-Zawahiri graduated from Cairo University with ...
, a doctor who had been convicted in Pakistan five years earlier for
arms dealing The arms industry, also known as the arms trade, is a global industry which manufactures and sells weapons and military technology. It consists of a commercial industry involved in the research and development, engineering, production, and servi ...
. The doctor was then working in the Red Crescent hospital treating wounded refugees. The two quickly became friends, and had many conversations about the need for Islamic government and the needs of the Afghan people. At this time, the family was living in a "tiny" apartment on an $800 monthly allowance. In 1987, Khadr convinced his wife to let her parents take care of their sickly son Ibrahim in Scarborough. He said she could help a hundred Afghan children in Peshawar if she sent him back for care. He often praised the bravery of the fighters in the
Battle of Jaji The Battle of Jaji was fought during the Soviet–Afghan War between Soviet Army units, and their allies of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan against Afghan mujahideen groups in Paktia Province. This battle occurred in April 1987, during ...
to his children, but never suggested that he had participated. In January 1988, Maha returned to Toronto with her youngest, Omar, to look after Ibrahim so her parents could visit relatives in the Middle East. Ibrahim became sick during the visit, and was rushed to the hospital. He was pronounced brain dead the following morning. That year, Khadr joined
Human Concern International Human Concern International (HCI) is a Canadian federally registered charitable non-governmental organization (NGO) working in international development and emergency relief assistance since 1980. History Since 1980 HCI has contributed over $110 m ...
full time; it was a Canadian-based charity operating in Peshawar with which he had been cooperating."National Post Apologizes to Human Concern International"
, ''
South Asia Partnership Canada South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...
'', April 26, 2004
The charity had been investigated following a statement by Osama bin Laden that "The bin Laden Establishment's aid covers 13 countries ... this aid comes in particular from the Human Concern International Society". Under Khadr's leadership, HCI built ''Hope Village'' in
Akora Khattak Akora Khattak ( ps, اکوړه خټک , Urdu: اکوڑہ خٹک ) or Sarai Akora is a town in Jehangira tehsil of Nowshera District in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It sits beside the Kabul River, which merges with the Indus River ...
to house 400 orphans,Boyle, Theresa (December 15, 1995). "Canadian held in Pakistan bombing: Worker's family 'going through hell'". ''
Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...
''.
and a number of unemployed refugees were given work repairing damage at the Khost airfield. He gained the support of the World Food Program, and a $325,000 donation from the Canadian International Development Agency. Around this time in 1989, Khadr solicited aid from Canadian
Doreen Wicks Doreen Mary Wicks, (''née'' Curtis; 1935 – March 1, 2004) was a Canadian nurse, humanitarian and Citizenship Judge. Her husband was the cartoonist Ben Wicks. Born in Bristol, England, she moved to Canada with her husband in 1957, settling i ...
. She agreed to have her own charity send medical supplies to help the Afghan orphans. Not long after, Anas spoke to Abdullah Azzam about the need to ensure Muslim help reached northern Afghanistan, and not just that of Western NGOs. Azzam appointed Khadr in charge of a new charity to be affiliated with the Muslim World League NGO. Khadr promised to help raise funds for a new Peshawar-based charity, to be named al-Tahaddi (''The Challenge''), if Azzam gave him an endorsement to help him appeal to Canadian mosques. Citing a disagreement with Khadr,
Abu Hassan al Madani Abu or ABU may refer to: Places * Abu (volcano), a volcano on the island of Honshū in Japan * Abu, Yamaguchi, a town in Japan * Ahmadu Bello University, a university located in Zaria, Nigeria * Atlantic Baptist University, a Christian universit ...
and Enaam Arnaout led the Islamic Benevolence Committee to withhold its donation to al-Tahaddi, so
Wael Julaydan Wa'el ( ar, وائل), also spelt Wael or Wail, is an ancient Aramaic male given name. The first currently known usage of the name was found and translated at a site called Sumatar Harabesi. There is coinage and inscriptions mentioning a King o ...
met with Khadr on 19 October 1988 to discuss the financial shortfall and issues. Khadr and Julaydan signed a contract specifying the exact roles of personnel and funds in the group, but it appears Khadr didn't notice the clause that would allow a steering committee headed by Azzam to replace any administrative staff. Within days, Khadr received notice that he was being replaced just before his scheduled trip to Canada. On November 2, unknown men assumed to be associated with Azzam broke into Khadr's Peshawar offices and seized documents, leading to the freezing of al-Tahaddi's accounts with Habib Bank and a shifting of the project's assets to a Saudi Red Crescent warehouse. When he returned to Peshawar, Khadr accused Azzam of "confiscating" the money he had raised, and spreading rumors that he was a Western spy by having faxed all of al-Tahaddi's associates with a list of accusations against Khadr and announcing new leadership. Khadr demanded a Sharia court be convened to mediate the matter, and sought
Sheikh Rabbani Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates a chief of a ...
, Sheikh Sayyaf, Yunus Khalis or
Gulbuddin Hekmatyra The Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin ( fa, حزب اسلامی گلبدین; Abbreviation, abbreviated HIG), also referred to as Hezb-e-Islami or Hezb-i-Islami Afghanistan (HIA), is an Afghanistan, Afghan political party and former militia, originally fou ...
to arbitrate. It was ultimately led by
Sayyed Imam Al-Sharif Sayyed Imam Al-Sharif, ( ar, سيد إمام الشريف, ''Sayyid ‘Imām ash-Sharīf''; born 8 August 1950), aka "Dr. Fadl" and Abd Al-Qader Bin 'Abd Al-'Aziz, El-Zayyat, Montasser, "The Road to al-Qaeda", 2004. tr. by Ahmed Fakry has been des ...
and Abu Hajjer al-Iraqi in Osama bin Laden's compound on December 26, and Azzam was found guilty '' in absentia'' of spreading allegations against Khadr and ordered to return the money to the charity for which it had been raised, and to return Khadr as director of the charity. No further sentence was imposed, although Azzam refused to comply with the Court Order which aggrieved al-Sharif who later published a book in which he characterizes Azzam as having rejected the
sharia Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the H ...
by his default, although
Ayman al-Zawahiri Ayman Mohammed Rabie al-Zawahiri (June 19, 1951 – July 31, 2022) was an Egyptian-born terrorist and physician who served as the second emir of al-Qaeda from June 16, 2011, until his death. Al-Zawahiri graduated from Cairo University with ...
later wrote a piece in which he criticised al-Sharif for being too quick to judge Azzam's intentions and reminding readers that both parties were noble mujahideen. When Azzam was killed in 1989, Khadr was among the mourners at his funeral. In 1989, Maha gave birth to a fifth son, Abdulkareem. Eight months after the end of the Soviet invasion, Khadr was profiled in the ''
Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...
'' newspaper, pleading for Western aid to help Afghanistan rebuild; he noted the nation had the highest child mortality rate in the world. Around this time, he began to adopt the kurta and
pakul Pakol ( khw, پاکول, scl, پاکول, ps, پکول ur, ) is a soft, flat, rolled-up, round-topped men's cap, usually worn in northern South Asia. It is typically made of wool and found in a variety of earthy colours, such as brown, black, ...
associated with the
Mujahideen ''Mujahideen'', or ''Mujahidin'' ( ar, مُجَاهِدِين, mujāhidīn), is the plural form of ''mujahid'' ( ar, مجاهد, mujāhid, strugglers or strivers or justice, right conduct, Godly rule, etc. doers of jihād), an Arabic term th ...
, giving up Western clothing. In September 1991, Khadr gave a fundraising lecture entitled ''Afghanistan: The Untold Story'' at the Markham Islamic Centre. He described the suffering of the widows and orphans, but emphasized the valor of the ''
mujahideen ''Mujahideen'', or ''Mujahidin'' ( ar, مُجَاهِدِين, mujāhidīn), is the plural form of ''mujahid'' ( ar, مجاهد, mujāhid, strugglers or strivers or justice, right conduct, Godly rule, etc. doers of jihād), an Arabic term th ...
'' who had repelled the Soviets. They had been supported by the United States at the time. In 1992, Khadr sustained severe shrapnel wounds which tore apart his right side, puncturing his bladder and a kidney. The exact cause of the wounds is debated,
Human Concern International Human Concern International (HCI) is a Canadian federally registered charitable non-governmental organization (NGO) working in international development and emergency relief assistance since 1980. History Since 1980 HCI has contributed over $110 m ...
maintains that Khadr was inside one of their refugee camps when he stepped on a landmine, while his son Abdurahman has said that he was hurt by a bomb during the ongoing battles between warlords. Unable to get proper medical care in Peshawar, he was taken to Karachi. Maha convinced him to return to Toronto a month later, and he was admitted to
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre (SHSC), commonly known as Sunnybrook Hospital or simply Sunnybrook, is an academic health science centre An academic medical centre (AMC), variously also known as academic health science centre, academic healt ...
. Although there were fears he'd never walk again, or his arm would require
amputation Amputation is the removal of a limb by trauma, medical illness, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on indi ...
, his surgeon managed to treat Khadr successfully. His half-brother Ahmed Faoud came up from the United States to visit Khadr, who was growing restless with his long recovery time. According to
Mustafa Hamid Mustafa Hamid ( ar, مصطفى حامد; born March 1945 in Alexandria, Kingdom of Egypt), also known as Abu Walid al-Masri ( ar, أبو وليد المصري) and Hashim al-Makki ( ar, هاشم المكّي), is a journalist who in the 1980s foug ...
Khadr had quietly played a role in resisting the Soviet Union.
Abu Abdul Rahman al-Kanadi did excellent work during the jihad against the Soviets but it has not been well recognised, especially the military work he did in Logar province. As you know, Logar is in between Paktia and Kabul. Abu Abdul Rahman al-Kanadi trained at Sadda and was at Jaji with Abu Abdullah; he and Abu Abdul Rahman al-Surahyi did a fantastic job with their observation work and giving guidance for the Arab activity. When the enemy discovered their hiding place, the jets bombed the area very heavily but they were not hurt.


Return to Pakistan

In the autumn of 1993, Khadr returned to Pakistan with his family, renting a comfortable house with its own garden in Hayatabad while he continued working with HCI despite his injuries. Without the use of his right hand and walking with a limp, Khadr found his injuries frustrating. Before leaving for Tajikistan in 1994, a young Ibn Al-Khattab gave Abdulkareem a rabbit, which was named ''Khattab''. The rabbit's legs were injured during rough play with his youngest daughter Maryam, and the crippled Ahmed would often sit in the backyard, crying over it.
Human Concern International Human Concern International (HCI) is a Canadian federally registered charitable non-governmental organization (NGO) working in international development and emergency relief assistance since 1980. History Since 1980 HCI has contributed over $110 m ...
had struggled with the year-long absence of Khadr's management, and had hired
Abdullah Almalki Abdullah Almalki (born 1971) is a Canadian engineer who was imprisoned and tortured for two years in a Syrian jail after Canadian officials falsely indicated to the Syrian authorities and other countries that he was a terrorist threat. Almalki h ...
from Carleton University to replace him. Almalki was on
sabbatical leave A sabbatical (from the Hebrew: (i.e., Sabbath); in Latin ; Greek: ) is a rest or break from work. The concept of the sabbatical is based on the Biblical practice of ''shmita'' (sabbatical year), which is related to agriculture. According to ...
at the time of Khadr's return. The two managers clashed, as Khadr's work ethic had changed after his injury. He had become a demanding workaholic who began alienating his colleagues. Almalki left HCI early, citing frustration with Khadr. Khadr's eldest son, Abdullah later confided in his father that he was not spending enough time with his family, due to his time and efforts towards the local orphanages. PBS
"Interview Abdullah Khadr"
(February 23, 2004).
Maintaining his connections with regional warlords, Khadr was furious at their in-fighting which he felt was invalidating the Mujahideen success in driving out the Soviets. Believing in the need for an Islamic government, he talked to his children about the rewards of martyrdom. In 1994, he sent his two oldest sons, Abdullah and Abdurahman, to Khalden training camp. He visited the camp once after they started there, to meet with Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi. In Pakistan, Khadr renovated an abandoned building, which had previously used by the KhAD secret police, to be used for his charity, but once it was refurbished, the government announced they would re-take control of the building. An angry Khadr wrote a letter to Taliban leader Mullah Omar, complaining that he should be compensated for the money he spent in fixing the building. He clashed with the Taliban again when they objected to the fact he had opened a school for girls, who were not allowed to receive an education under Taliban law. When
Mohamad Elzahabi Mohamad Kamal Elzahabi ( Mohamad Kamal El-Zahabi) is a Lebanese national who was granted permanent resident status in the United States in 1986, after first arriving on a student visa. During the 1990s, he worked as a small arms instructor at an ...
was injured in a 1995 battle in Kabul, Khadr visited him the Peshawar hospital.


Arrest, investigation and release

In July 1995, Khadr arranged for his daughter Zaynab to marry an Egyptian man named Khalid Abdullah, "an Egyptian guest of the Taliban" from the Sudan, in December, and Maha began preparing an apartment for the couple in the family's house. Abdullah lived with the family for two months, "like a trial engagement". On November 19,
Ayman al-Zawahiri Ayman Mohammed Rabie al-Zawahiri (June 19, 1951 – July 31, 2022) was an Egyptian-born terrorist and physician who served as the second emir of al-Qaeda from June 16, 2011, until his death. Al-Zawahiri graduated from Cairo University with ...
carried out an attack on the Egyptian Embassy in Pakistan, and the suitor Ahmed had arranged for his daughter went into hiding, named as one of the conspirators. A warrant was sworn for Khadr's arrest eight days later, after it was discovered that Khalid Abdullah had purchased one of the vehicles used in the attack. Statement of Richard A. Clarke, United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, October 22, 2003 Two dozen Pakistani went to his house on November 27 at approximately 23:00, but he was still in Afghanistan and had been there since before the attacks. Maha barricaded the door, while the 15-year-old Zaynab took her father's rifle and held it over her head screaming. The police managed to enter, and took his wife, three children and in-laws who were visiting from Canada, into custody while they searched the house, seizing $10,000Lyon, Alistair. Reuters. "Canadian said held for Egyptian embassy blast", December 14, 1995 $29,000 or $40,000 in cash from the home. While he insisted the money was to pay the salaries of HCI workers, others alleged he had used HCI to launder money eventually used to finance the attack. His wife and children were released shortly after the raid, while his in-laws were held for a month before being released. Stories disagree whether Ahmed was arrested on December 3 at the border crossing back into Pakistan, or if he had returned to his home the previous day and gone to the police station to lodge a complaint about the raid, and been arrested. He was charged with aiding terrorism, and faced the
death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
, although investigators conceded they "did not have much evidence" linking him to the bombing. After being refused food for two days, Khadr announced he was launching a hunger strike, which led to his collapse on his fifth day and his being transferred to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences in Islamabad. He was interviewed in hospital, where he denounced Foreign Minister
Assef Ahmad Ali Sardar Asif Ahmad Ali Daula (21 October 1940 – 19 May 2022) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 18th Foreign Minister of Pakistan from 1993 to 1996. He was a senior member of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and Pakistan Peoples Party. On 2 ...
's claim that he had financed the explosives, detonation devices, and both vehicles used in the bombing.Huang, Michelle (December 30, 1995). "Bombing suspect pins 'last hope' on Chrétien". ''
Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...
''.
He stated that his work consisted solely of charitable work to provide food and schooling to Afghan orphans. Foregoing legal advice, he also refused to hire a lawyer to defend him. Suffering from a urinary tract infection due to weight loss, he claimed that he had been targeted simply because of his Egyptian background. His plight caught the attention of the
Canadian Arab Federation The Canadian Arab Federation (CAF) was formed in 1967 to represent the interests of Arab Canadians with respect to the formulation of public policy in Canada. It presently consists of over 40 member organizations. CAF's stated objectives include ...
and the
Jewish Civil Rights Educational Foundation of Canada Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
, the latter of whom wrote to Pakistan urging that Khadr be afforded a fair trial, and expressing their concern "about unfair and unnecessary hardship placed on individuals like Khadr" in Pakistan's efforts to combat terrorism. The Canadian-Muslim Civil Liberties Association similarly gathered a petition of 800 signatures and presented it to both Canadian and Pakistani officials, and
Human Concern International Human Concern International (HCI) is a Canadian federally registered charitable non-governmental organization (NGO) working in international development and emergency relief assistance since 1980. History Since 1980 HCI has contributed over $110 m ...
executive director Kaleem Akhtar echoed his certainty that Khadr was not involved in the blast, stating that "politics was not his cup of tea", and subsequently started a legal defence fund for Khadr. Rumors began to surface that he had already been extradited to Egypt.Levy, Harold (December 17, 1995). "Metro kin 'frantic' over Pakistan captive". ''
Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...
''.
As Canadian Prime Minister
Jean Chrétien Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (; born January 11, 1934) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003. Born and raised in Shawinigan Falls, Quebec, Chrétien is a law graduate from Uni ...
happened to then be visiting Pakistan, he mentioned the matter to Pakistani Prime Minister
Benazir Bhutto Benazir Bhutto ( ur, بینظیر بُھٹو; sd, بينظير ڀُٽو; Urdu ; 21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th and 13th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990 and again from 1993 t ...
, who promised "fair trial and fair treatment". Lacking evidence to suggest Khadr was involved in the bombing, Pakistan dropped their charges and released Khadr in March."Canadian Charity Claims Religious Discrimination"
'' Washington Report on Middle East Affairs''. (July/August 1999). pp 52.
Upon returning to Canada, Khadr kissed the ground. In 2002,
Abul-Dahab An Egyptian medical student, Khaled Abu al-Dahab (Abul-Dahab) was arrested and convicted of terrorism. He is alleged to have been a right-hand man to Ali Mohamed (double agent), Ali Mohamed, who had been an American Special Forces soldier. Ali Moh ...
confessed to Egyptian interrogators that he had funded the bombing of the Egyptian embassy on orders from bin Laden, and had transferred money from a Californian bank account to Pakistan to finance the attack.Bell, Stewart "Report says bin Laden paid bail in Canada". ''National Post''


Health & Education Projects International

Trying to distance themselves from the controversy, HCI issued a statement in December, stating that Khadr and his colleague Helmy el-Sharief no longer worked for the organization. Khadr then founded his own charity, Health & Education Projects International which was located in the Kart-e-Parwan district of Kabul and listed the Canadian Salahedin Mosque as a partner.Agency Coordinating Body For Afghan Relief, , June 2004 American prosecutors have alleged the new group, while collecting $70,000 in donations, supported Afghan training camps. In July, Khadr met with bin Laden for the first time, as the latter was beginning construction on a large house. In 1997, while living in the Pathan district of Peshawar, Khadr began visiting
Nazim Jihad Najim Jihad (نجم الجهاد; also ''Nazim Jihad'', ''Abu Mahajin'', ''Najim al Jihad complex'' ) is the name given to a housing compound outside Jalalabad, Afghanistan, which is the former home of Osama bin Laden and approximately 250 followers ...
, bin Laden's family home in Jalalabad. In September, the Khadrs moved into a three-room house owned by Zaffar Rehman, to whom they paid $100 monthly rent. At an unspecified time during his life in Pakistan, Khadr made use of his master's degree and provided computer training and systems "for the government employees from 14 departments". In May 1998,
Essam Marzouk An Egyptian resident of British Columbia, Essam Hafez Mohammed Marzouk (عصام حافظ محمد مرزوق) arrived in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in 1993 as a refugee fleeing persecution in Pakistan. He was one of 14 people subjected ...
and
Mohammed Zeki Mahjoub ) (also ''Abu Ibrahim'', ''Mahmoud Shaker'') is an Egyptian national who was arrested in May 2000 on a security certificate for his alleged membership in the Vanguards of Conquest. Although he has not been charged in Canada,Adelman, Howard21st Ce ...
were also introduced to each other at the home of Khadr's in-laws while he was in Toronto. Canadian Security Intelligence Service
Summary of the Security Intelligence Report concerning Mahmoud Jaballah
February 22, 2008.
Also that year, Mahmoud Jaballah met Khadr, having invited him to share a cup of tea and discuss their mutual experiences in Peshawar, Pakistan, after Khadr's mother-in-law took his wife grocery shopping.Bell, Stewart. National Post, "'A lot' of Canadians in al-Qaeda", August 1, 2004Met top al-Qaeda figure just for tea, Egyptian says
''The Globe and Mail'', May 26, 2006
At some point, Mohammad Harkat met Khadr in Ottawa and the two of them shared a van back to Toronto. Harkat claims that he met Khadr through his roommate Mohamed El Barseigy, and that Khadr was silent during most of the trip, and his only advice to Harkat was "tell the truth to immigration authorities". Federal Court of Canada
Reasons for denial of bail to Mohamed Harkat
Harkat and Jaballah would both later be jailed on security certificates which cited their contact with Khadr as a factor in their detention. Jaballah denies terrorist training
, ''
Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...
'', May 18, 2006
Duffy, Andrew. "The Case Against Harkat: CSIS is Sure the Man is an al-Qaeda Sleeper", December 21, 2002 In June 1998, the family moved into Nazim Jihad while Ahmed was away; but were only there a short time before bin Laden moved and didn't invite the family to accompany him.Hughes, Gregory T.
Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...
, " Affidavit of Gregory T. Hughes", 2005
He caved to the demands of his "problem child", Abdurahman, and purchased him a horse of his own."Son of Al Qaeda" PBS documentary on Abdurahman Khadr
/ref> That year, Pakistan renewed its claims that Khadr was involved in the embassy bombing, accused him of
money laundering Money laundering is the process of concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdictions ...
and smuggling and suggested he may have been connected to the year's simultaneous bombings of American embassies. Reports suggest that when Pakistani forces stormed the apartment of an Algerian named ''Abu Elias'' in Lahore, Khadr was actually present but was either not recognised by the troops, or allowed to leave. In 1999, Khadr met with bin Laden again to try to mitigate hostilities between bin Laden, the Taliban and warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, whom Ahmed had recently met in Iran. That year, the United Kingdom submit his name to be put on a United Nations list of individuals believed to finance terrorism, but refused to share any evidence with Canadian officials. He was subsequently sanctioned, and UN states were forbidden from commerce with him.Bell, Stewart. National Post, "UK intelligence ID'd Canadian as bin Laden aide", October 12, 2001 In January 2001, Khadr's name was added to a United Nations list of individuals who supported terrorism associated with Bin Laden. Later that year, Egyptian forces surrounded Khadr's house in Peshawar, and requested that Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence forces offer assistance in capturing the man they still believed had knowledge of the Embassy bombing in Islamabad. Instead, the ISI contacted the Taliban, who sent a diplomatic car to pick up Khadr and bring him into Afghanistan.McGirk, Tim (April 29, 2002)
"Rogues No More?"
'' Time''


Sought by the United States

Immediately following the
September 11, 2001 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...
, the United States found Khadr's name while "seeking anyone they believe might be linked to bin Laden" and issued a statement that he was "wanted in connection with the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks", and on October 10 listed him as a "primary suspect".Bell, Stewart. National Post, "FBI hunts for 'The Canadian'", October 10, 2001 Three days later, the United States froze his assets. The family fled Kabul the day before its fall to the Northern Alliance, and made a temporary home in the Logar orphanage the night of November 10. This was the last time the United States knew the family's location. Maha and Ahmed returned however to gather their possessions. While packing, Kabul's walkie-talkie communications ring began reporting that the Taliban had been defeated and the city was being overrun. Running out to their car, they saw wounded men filtering into the streets. Tossing out their computer and a chair, the couple made room in their backseat for three men who had been injured in an explosion. They reached the Logar Hospital at 2am, but were told that only two of the men could be treated. Speeding off with the third, they continued to another nearby hospital but arrived to find their passenger had succumbed to his wounds. Returning to their children at the Logar orphanage, they were informed that Abdurahman had decided to take the truck to Kabul in their absence and spend the night with friends. Shortly afterwards, Bin Laden approached Khadr and asked him to join the Mujahideen Shura Council, organising the retreat of families from the Northern Alliance onslaught, to the relative safety of the Pakistan border. In April 2002 it was believed that he had fled Nangarhar to
Paktia Paktia (Pashto/Dari: – ''Paktyā'') is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the east of the country. Forming part of the larger Loya Paktia region, Paktia Province is divided into 15 districts and has a population of roughly 6 ...
, along with
Mullah Kabir Maulavi Mohammed Abdul Kabir is a senior member of the Taliban leadershipMaulvi Nazir Maulvi Nazir (also Maulvi Nazir Wazir; 1975 – ) was a leading militant of the Pakistani Taliban in South Waziristan. Nazir's operations were based in Wana. He was opposed to foreigners exercising influence in Waziristan, including Americans and ...
. Khadr's Canadian property was raided by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as part of
Project O Canada Founded in 2001, Project O Canada was a Toronto-based O'Connor, DennisReport of the Events Relating to Maher Arar: Factual Background, 2006 anti-terrorism investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Created in response to the September 11, ...
in January 2002. There was also reference to a "seized photograph" that showed Khadr standing alongside an
anti-aircraft gun Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...
along with anti-Soviet mujahideen.McLeon, Kagan. National Post, "One U.S. soldier was killed and four others injured in a fierce gun battle in a remote village in Afghanistan." When his second son, Abdurahman was taken prisoner by the Northern Alliance in November, he sent a request to have his son freed since he had helped the Alliance in the past, but was told that unless he could pay a $10,000 ransom then Abdurahman would be turned over to the Americans. Lacking the money, Khadr asked his eldest son Abdullah to not tell his mother about Abdurahman's capture, and only insist that he was "missing", rather than captured. In July 2003, the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress stated that Khadr's last known whereabouts were in Afghanistan in November 2001. Meanwhile, Khadr was asked to organise militants operating near the border of
Shagai, Pakistan Shahgai is a region in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas. A fortress built by British forces in 1927 to oversee the Khyber Pass and house the Khyber Rifles still stands, and is today used by the Pakistan Army. In 2002/2003, Canadian ...
, and subsequently asked his son Abdullah and Hamza al-Jowfi to help him procure weapons.Hughes, Gregory T. USA vs. Khad
affidavit
, November 23, 2005
He clashed with
Abdul Hadi al Iraqi Nashwan Abdulrazaq Abdulbaqi al-Tamir (Arabic: نشوان عبدالرزاق عبدالباقي التامر), better known as Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi () is an Iraqi member of Al-Qaeda who is now in United States custody at Guantanamo Bay detention ...
, arguing that guerilla tactics would prove more useful than
front line A front line (alternatively front-line or frontline) in military terminology is the position(s) closest to the area of conflict of an armed force's personnel and equipment, usually referring to land forces. When a front (an intentional or uninte ...
battle.


Death

On October 2, 2003, Khadr, his son Abdulkareem, al-Jowfi, al-Iraqi,
Khalid Habib Khalid Habib ( ar, خالد حبيب) (died October 16, 2008), born Shawqi Marzuq Abd al-Alam Dabbas ( ar, شوقي مرزوق عبد العليم دباس), was an ascending member of al-Qaeda's central structure in Pakistan and Afghanistan. His ...
and Qari Ismail were all staying at a South Waziristan safe house. The following day, after Fajr prayers, Khadr told his son that Pakistani troops had warned a raid was scheduled in the village, and told him to start preparing to leave the village together. However, a Pakistani helicopter team and hundreds of security forces attacked the village before the pair were able to depart, and Abdulkareem lay down in a ditch but was shot in the spine, paralyzing him from the waist down. The 17-year-old
Khalid Murjan Salim Khalid (variants include Khaled and Kalid; Arabic: خالد) is a popular Arabic male given name meaning "eternal, everlasting, immortal", and it also appears as a surname.Murjan Salim, and extradited to Egypt shortly thereafter. Pakistan initially reported that Khadr had escaped hours before the raid.Tohid, Owais. '' The Christian Science Monitor'',
Tribesmen take cash, count 'blessings' from Al Qaeda
, November 2003
Other reports suggested that rumors of his death may have been staged to escape investigators. At one point it was reported that Ahmed had lived, and only his son had been killed. Early reports said that it was a joint American-Pakistani operation, while later reports denied American involvement. Reports said that 12 "al-Qaeda and Taliban members" were killed in the raid on the "armed encampment", including
Hasan Mahsum Hasan Mahsum (or Hassan Makhdum), also known as Abu-Muhammad al-Turkestani and Ashan Sumut, was the leader of the Islamic extremist group Turkistan Islamic Party and suspected of having ties with Al Qaeda. He was shot dead in a counter-terro ...
,Bell, Stewart. "Muslim groups eulogize Khadr: But some say death might have been staged using a decoy", October 15, 2003 and that two al-Qaeda members had been captured. Khadr's name was not included in any of the lists of deceased published in local media, and the captured Abdulkareem was unable to identify his father among the photos of corpses later presented to him, although the Islamic Observation Centre reported that Khadr was "caught" in the battle and died defending Abdulkareem. Three weeks after the attack, Pakistan was still reporting that he had escaped the raid and that they had been conducting house-to-house searches for him, although they spoke of having killed a "high-ranking" al-Qaeda member in the attack with a bounty on his head. In late December, Maha had attorney Hashmat Ali Habib file a petition to the Supreme Court of Pakistan asking for details about whether her husband and son were killed or captured in the operation. Meanwhile, it was believed that the Saudi
Sheikh Asadullah Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates a chief of a ...
stepped up to fill the void left by Khadr's death It was finally reported in January, three months after the operation, that his DNA had been matched to a body found just outside the doorway and he was indeed killed in the attack, leading his family to request the return of his body for burial in Canada. ''
Arab News ''Arab News'' is an English-language daily newspaper published in Saudi Arabia. It is published from Riyadh. The target audiences of the paper, which is published in broadsheet format, are businessmen, executives and diplomats. At least as of ...
'' reported that he had only been killed in January, following another Pakistani strike in Wana, after successfully escaping the October firefight. In Canadian Federal Court Justice Carolyn Layden-Stevenson's 2005 ruling rejecting
Hassan Almrei Hassan Ahmed Almrei ( ar, حسن أحمد المرعي also childhood name ''Abu al-Hareth'') (born in Syria on January 1, 1974),Canadian Security Intelligence Service, Summary of the Security Intelligence Report concerning Hassan Almrei, February ...
's application for release, she quoted a confidential CSIS agent named only as ''P.G.'' as having testified about Khadr dying in 2004.Layden-Stevenson, Justice. "Hassan Almrei and the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration and Solicitor General for Canada", "Reasons for Order and Order", December 5, 2005


Civil lawsuit

Sgt.
Layne Morris Sergeant First Class Layne Morris (born 1962) is a retired soldier in an American Special Forces unit. Sergeant Morris was wounded and blinded in one eye during a fire-fight on July 27, 2002, that left Sergeant 1st Class Christopher J. Speer de ...
and Sgt. Speer's widow Tabitha, both represented by Donald Winder, launched a joint civil suit against the estate of Khadr – claiming that the father's failure to control son Omar resulted in the loss of Speers' life and Morris' right eye. Since American law does not allow civil lawsuits against "acts of war", Speer and Morris relied on the argument that Omar throwing a grenade was an act of terrorism, rather than war. Utah District Judge Paul Cassell ruled on February 17, 2006, awarding C$102.6 million in damages, approximately C$94 million to Speer and C$8 million to Morris. He said this likely marked the first time terrorist acts have resulted in civil liabilities.GI injured in Afghan war wins lawsuit: Unique case: Court awards default judgment to man blinded in one eye
, '' Salt Lake Tribune'', February 16, 2006
The ''Salt Lake Tribune'' suggested that the plaintiffs might collect funds via the
U.S. Terrorism Risk Insurance Act The Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) (, ) is a United States federal law signed into law by President George W. Bush on November 26, 2002. The Act created a federal "backstop" for insurance claims related to acts of terrorism. The Act "provide ...
, but since the Federal government is not bound by civil rulings, it has refused to release Khadr's frozen assets.


Legacy

After his death, the media began referring to a "Khadr effect". The Prime Minister had intervened to ensure that Khadr got a fair trial, and the press said that he had intervened after Khadr's release. The suggestion was that politicians and the public were equally unwilling to lend any support or benefit of the doubt to the remaining family. On February 7, 2008, the ''National Post'' reported that a biography of Khadr was published on an "al Qaeda web-site" as part of an on-line book entitled ''Book of 120 Martyrs in Afghanistan.'' Seven months later, his family launche
The Khadr Legacy
which emphasized his work as a relief worker.TheKhadrLegacy.com
, both inactive archived site and current site
By July 2013, the website was replaced with a Japanese facial care website. Khadr remains a controversial figure. Canadian attorney Dennis Edney, lawyer for the Khadr family, has challenged the assumption that Khadr was a member of al-Qaeda, saying in 2001 that he was "really interested in obtaining one piece of evidence that would show indeed that Mr. Khadr was actually a terrorist. To me, it's just folklore." Khadr's
imam Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, ser ...
in Canada,
Ali Hindy Aly Hindy is the Imam of the Salaheddin Islamic Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada once called "Toronto's million-dollar radical mosque” by the ''National Post''. Career Hindy immigrated to Canada in 1975 after graduating in Engineering from Ai ...
, spoke after his death, saying "I don't think that he was al-Qaeda, but I think he felt that now he became part of Afghanistan." His friends described him as being "proud of eing aCanadian citizen". Some politicians and media have suggested that he disliked the country.


References


External links


The Khadr Legacyarchive
, a website maintained by the family {{DEFAULTSORT:Khadr, Ahmed 1948 births 2003 deaths Canadian al-Qaeda members Canadian expatriates in Pakistan Canadian Islamists Egyptian emigrants to Canada
Ahmed Ahmad ( ar, أحمد, ʾAḥmad) is an Arabic male given name common in most parts of the Muslim world. Other spellings of the name include Ahmed and Ahmet. Etymology The word derives from the root (ḥ-m-d), from the Arabic (), from the ve ...
University of Ottawa alumni Egyptian Muslims Islamists from Cairo