Mullah Krekar
Najmuddin Faraj Ahmad (Arabic: نجم الدين فرج أحمد), commonly known as Mullah Krekar (Arabic: الملا كريكار), born July 7, 1956, is an Iraqi Kurd who came to Norway as a refugee from northern Iraq in 1991. His wife and four children have Norwegian citizenship, but not Krekar himself. He speaks Kurdish, Arabic, and Norwegian.
Krekar was the original leader of the Islamist armed group Ansar al-Islam, which was set up and commenced operations in Iraqi Kurdistan while he had refugee status in Norway. Since February 2003 he has an expulsion order against him, which is suspended pending Iraqi government guarantees that he will not face torture or execution.
Proceedings against Krekar
In August 2002, while Krekar was in Iraq, the Norwegian government revoked his refugee status on the grounds that he had traveled back to his homeland and spent long periods there directing terrorist activities. [1].
Krekar was arrested in the Netherlands at an airport near Amsterdam in September 2002, after Iran denied him entry and sent him back to Europe. He was interviewed by FBI agents (at Krekar's request, in an attempt to clear his and his group's name); no extradition request was made.[2] He was deported to Norway in January 2003.
In February 2003 the Norwegian government ordered Krekar to be deported to Iraq, but as of December 2005 the order had not been implemented because of the security environment in Iraq, and the risk that Krekar could face the death penalty there (Norway will not deport people in these circumstances). Krekar has unsuccessfully challenged the expulsion order in court, with the order being confirmed in September 2005. Norway's government has said that the new government to be elected in Iraq in December 2005 might permit discussion on whether Krekar's expulsion order can be implemented.[1]
On March 21, 2003 his arrest was ordered by Økokrim, the Norwegian law enforcement agency for economy crimes, to ensure he did not leave the country while accusations that he had financed terrorist attacks using Norway as a base were investigated. Court proceedings against Krekar were however dropped when it proved impossible to prove his connections with the terrorist attacks staged in Iraq by Ansar al-islam during his leadership. Indeed, it has been difficult to establish when his term as leader ended.
The United States government has declared Ansar al-Islam a terrorist group, but Krekar denies that it was during the time he headed it, and says he no longer does. While Krekar has not been found guilty of anything, a number of his opinions have met little sympathy; he was once recorded claiming that Osama bin Laden is the "jewel in the crown of Islam". [3]
In September 2005 the Iraqi Justice Minister Abdel Hussein Shandal said that Krekar was wanted in Iraq and should be tried there.[2]
About the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy, he said to the Norwegian media "This is a declaration of war against of our religion, our faith, and our civilization. We muslims are ready for this." [4]
Trivia
- Krekar tries to maintain a spotless lifestyle in Norway, possibly knowing that any misbehaviour might be used against him. This led him to condemn people who sneak onto Oslo's buses without paying.
- In June 2005, when the Norwegian minister Erna Solberg was asked in court about her sources about mullah Krekar's activities, she mentioned (among others) this page of Wikipedia. This was criticized by attorney Brynjar Meling since anyone can edit this page.
Bibliography
- Template:No icon Krekar, Mulla (2004). Med egne ord ("In My Own Words"). Autobiography. Oslo: Aschehoug. 246 pp. ISBN 8203229689. Translated from Arabic.
Notes
- ^1 Associated Press Worldstream, 28 October 2005, "Norway's new government says expulsion order for Ansar al-Islam founder stands"
- ^2 UPI, September 13, 2005, "UPI Intelligence Watch"
External links
- Mullah Krekar Interview (WMV) – By Jonathan Miller (reporter), Ivan O'Mahoney (producer), Insight News Television
- "Krekar contradicts his own defense" – By Inger Anne Olsen, Aftenposten, 9 January 2004
- Mullah Krekar: Leader of Kurdish Ansar al-Islam – By Trevor Stanley, in Perspectives on World History and Current Events (PWHCE), 2005
- "Krekar can be expelled soon" – Aftenposten/NTB, 16 March 2006