Aukai Collins, also known as Aqil Collins (February 13, 1974 – July 19, 2016) was an

Irish-American , image = Irish ancestry in the USA 2018; Where Irish eyes are Smiling.png , image_caption = Irish Americans, % of population by state , caption = Notable Irish Americans , population = 36,115,472 (10.9%) alone ...

convert to Islam and Chechen Mujahid of the

Chechen Republic of Ichkeria The Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (; ce, Нохчийн Республик Ичкери, Nóxçiyn Respublik Içkeri; russian: Чеченская Республика Ичкерия; abbreviated as "ChRI" or "CRI") was a ''de facto'' state that ...

. He then, among other things, went on to work as a deep cover intelligence operative for the

FBI 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 ...

. His exploits, which included contacts with Al Qaeda leading operatives, are described in the autobiographical book ''My Jihad: One American's Journey Through the World of

Usama 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 his death in 2011. Ideologically a pan-Islamist, his group is designated ...

—as a Covert Operative for the American Government'' (). In this book, he distinguishes between the Chechen armed resistance against the Russian army, which he regards as justified according to Islam, and

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

in Al Qaeda style, which he regards as contrary to Islam. He also claimed that he warned the FBI long before the

September 11 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 commer ...

that

Hani Hanjour ) , birth_place = Taif, Saudi Arabia , death_date = , death_place = Arlington County, Virginia, U.S. , death_cause = Plane crash, suicide , known_for = Hijacker-pilot of American Airlines Flight 77 (a ...

, one of the September 11 hijackers, was using a

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

flight school as his training ground for terrorism. The FBI emphatically denied that Collins provided any information to the FBI about Hanjour prior to 9/11 but admitted that Collins did have some dealings with FBI operatives. He also appears in Canadian-born adventurer

Robert Young Pelton Robert Young Pelton (born July 25, 1955) is a Canadian-American author, journalist, and documentary film director. Pelton's work usually consists of conflict reporting and interviews with military and political figures in war zones. Pelton has ...

's book, ''The Hunter, The Hammer, and Heaven: Journeys to Three Worlds Gone Mad'' and director Lech Kowalski's short film documentary ''Camera Gun''. After authoring ''My Jihad'', Collins became a

bounty hunter A bounty hunter is a private agent working for bail bonds who captures fugitives or criminals for a commission or bounty. The occupation, officially known as bail enforcement agent, or fugitive recovery agent, has traditionally operated outsid ...

, which ultimately led to his arrest in Mexico on weapons charges. He was released in May 2006 after serving a 4-year prison sentence in Durango, Mexico. He died on July 19, 2016, of

sepsis Sepsis, formerly known as septicemia (septicaemia in British English) or blood poisoning, is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage is follo ...

in Oceanside, California.

References

External links

Aukai Collins HomepageAukai Collins Obituary:
Converts to Islam 2016 deaths American Sunni Muslims 1974 births American Islamists Sunni Islamists Foreign volunteers in Chechnya Deaths from sepsis American people of Irish descent American expatriates in Russia {{Islam-bio-stub