'I Met Bin Laden'
Between december 2001 and May of last year, Mullah Krekar was the leader in Iraq of Ansar Al-Islam. He served both as spiritual guide and warlord for the militant Islamist group, which controlled a small enclave in Iraqi-controlled Kurdistan. Now Krekar (whose real name is Najumuddin Faraj Ahmed) lives in a modest apartment near the central railway station in Oslo, where he spoke last week to NEWSWEEK's Mark Hosenball. Excerpts:
HOSENBALL: Do you think the Americans should get out of Iraq now?
KREKAR: Yes.
If Ansar fighters go back into Iraq and fight the Americans, do you condemn them or is that good ?
When the Americans attacked Ansar Al-Islam's area, they destroyed everything and killed 253 people who belong to Ansar. Civilians, women and children, and some other people also. I think it is a very, very natural reaction, when the members who are still alive from Ansar Al-Islam try to do something against America. Of course, inside of Iraq, I mean.
You say the Americans wiped out Ansar Al-Islam's area. What happened to the fighters? They went over the border into Iran?
The people on the two sides of the border belong to the same religion, same nation, same creed. They [people in Iranian border villages] are Sunni Muslim; also they are Kurdish, like us, and we had good contact with them. After the attack, some of the fighters went inside Iranian Kurdish villages, and some of them returned back during the night.
You've been quoted as saying Osama bin Laden is a good Muslim.
I say that he is a Muslim like any other Muslim, and he is the leader of one of the Islamic groups also, like any other leader. But that doesn't mean that I am with him for everything he says or everything he does.
And did you ever meet bin Laden?
I met bin Laden in 1988 [but did not talk with him], when we tried to get some money from a Saudi family. I was trying to help orphans.
So you asked Osama for some money for the orphans?
Yes, for money. But I didn't speak with him.
Do you think it's legitimate for jihad fighters to go to Iraq now and fight the Americans?
It's like any other occupation that happened in history. Everyone knows that Muslims must do jihad against occupation everywhere.
When was the last time you had any contact with anybody in Iraq?
I haven't had any contact since 2002. Also I don't want them to contact me. Because now I am in Norway, and Norway is a democratic country, they cannot arrest me without reason.
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Mark Hosenball joined Newsweek as an investigative correspondent in November 1993, covering a range of issues for the National Affairs department. Most recently, he has written and reported numerous stories on terrorism and the Sept. 11 attacks on America. He has also covered campaign finance, the Monica Lewinsky controversy, the death of Princess Diana, Whitewater, the crashes of EgyptAir flight 990 and TWA flight 800, as well as related air safety issues.
Hosenball came to Newsweek from "Dateline NBC," where he worked as an investigative producer. He also worked extensively as a print journalist, writing for a number of British and American publications, including the London Sunday Times, the London Evening Standard, Time Out, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and The New Republic. In addition, he has done commentaries for American Public Radio.
Hosenball has been honored with a number of prestigious awards. Most recently, along with a team of Newsweek correspondents, he was awarded the Overseas Press Club's most prestigious honor, the 2002 Ed Cunningham Memorial Award for best magazine reporting from abroad for Newsweek's coverage of the war on terror. His reporting and that of his colleagues earned Newsweek the prestigious National Magazine Award for General Excellence in 2002 for its coverage of September 11 and its aftermath. And a story he co-authored was highlighted in a citation Newsweek received by the White House Correspondents' Association when it awarded the magazine the 2002 Edgar A. Poe Award for "excellence on a story of national or regional importance. "Newsweek's September 11 coverage started long before the attacks. An article in the magazine's February 19, 2001 issue warned with chilling accuracy: 'The threat posed by (Osama) bin Laden is growing -- and coming ever closer to home."
Hosenball was a contributor to the CANAL + TV documentary, "L'Argent de la Drogue" (Drug Money), which was awarded the "Sept D'Or," the French equivalent of an Emmy. He also contributed to NBC News' coverage of the BCCI scandal, which earned a 1991 Peabody Award.
He attended the University of Pennsylvania and Trinity College in Dublin. He lives in the Washington, D.C. area with his wife and son.
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