More on this story. "'Al-Qaeda' terrorists who brainwashed Exeter suicide bomber still on the run," by Duncan Gardham for the Telegraph, October 15:
The al-Qaeda extremists who brainwashed an autistic Muslim convert into launching a failed suicide nail bomb attack in a family restaurant are still on the run, it can be disclosed.Nicky Reilly, 22, tried to detonate a series of nail bombs, mixed in soft drink bottles with caustic soda, paraffin and aluminium foil, in the Giraffe restaurant at Exeter's Princesshay shopping centre in May this year.
But when he attempted to assemble one of the bombs in the lavatory cubicle of the restaurant it exploded in his hands. He pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey to attempted murder and preparing of an act of terrorism.
Police sources have told The Daily Telegraph he was groomed by two men on the Youtube website who claimed to be living on the Afghan-Pakistan border and to be in touch with al-Qaeda.
"We believe these men were living abroad but we are still investigating whether they were who they claimed to be," the source said.
The men discussed with Reilly, who called himself Mohammad Abdulaziz Rashid Saeed Alim, whether to attack police officers and civil servants or the general public, in the end persuading him it should be an attack on the public.
Reilly left a typed suicide note at the flat he shared with his mother which referred to "Sheikh Osama" and said "We love death as you love life."
His mother, Kim, said: "He is a vulnerable person who's been radicalised and that is like an easy target, easy prey for them. Someone has brainwashed him - he has done the work and they are walking free."
Investigations are also continuing into radicals in this country who may have played a part in encouraging Reilly, who has a low IQ and suffers from Aspergers syndrome, to become a suicide bomber.
Reilly visited dozens of websites and learned how to make bombs from videos he had downloaded on Youtube, a video-sharing website, where he used the log-in Chechen233 and gave his name as Rashid.
He had watched 4,262 videos since joining in November 2006 and his favourites included dozens of videos about the September 11 attacks and ambushes on Allied forces in Iraq.
The source added: "He suffers from a form of autism which means he is essentially a highly suggestible simpleton and it is difficult for him to comprehend the end result of his actions.
"His access to the internet means he came across bomb-making instructions but it could easily have been a chess club – he has had ideas put in his head."Reilly, known to friends as the Big Friendly Giant, after the Roald Dahl character, converted to Islam in 2002 at the age of 16 but did not begin researching bomb-making until the beginning of this year.
On May 22, wearing an improvised suicide vest and carrying a rucksack containing the bombs, Reilly travelled by bus from his home in Plymouth, boarding the 11.02am bus to Exeter and arriving in Paris Street at 12.24.
He lingered at the bus stop and then entered the Giraffe restaurant at 12.39 pm at the newly opened Princesshay shopping centre where he bought a drink from a member of staff and sat at the bar for a short period.
Then he went to the toilets where he locked himself in a cubicle and set about mixing his home made bombs.
Reilly had brought with him around 500 nails, three glass soft drinks bottles containing paraffin and three containing caustic soda which he was mixing with aluminium foil when they started to react, sources said.
But Reilly was unable to get out of the toilet cubicle because the lock on the door jammed and he was badly injured in the attack.
There were 35 diners and members of staff in the restaurant and 20 more eating outside when three loud bangs were heard from the toilet at around 12.50pm.
In police interviews he readily admitted that he had become increasingly driven to violent action in revenge for the persecution of Muslims and had come up with the idea of becoming a "martyr."
He also revealed that he had considered attacking Charles Street police station in Plymouth, Drake Circus shopping centre in Plymouth and Devonport dockyard.
Reilly appeared yesterday by video link at the Old Bailey where he pleaded guilty to two charges against him and will be sentenced next month after psychiatric reports.
From article: 'revenge for the persecution of Muslims'...
Right...so the best thing to do is blow up people who are not persecuting muslims.
That's real terrorist mentality. It does not matter who 'them' is, just kill them.
A mental case...you bet, they all are...
While this man is a simpleton I feel he does illustrate a larger part of the Islamic epidemic. Note the new Arabic name he chooses "Mohammad Abdulaziz Rashid Saeed Alim", as he formally renounces western civilization for the social morays of the Islamic world. Converting to Islam is a formal declaration of war on western society at large, and therefore seditious, and should be considered as treason by any and all sane democratic nations. Choosing the name is the official stamp of treason in my opinion. I would like to note all of the mental simpletons, and felons Islam seems to recruit into its fascist ranks, as if that new Arabic name will bestow some sort of elevated status which would otherwise be impossible to attain for dullards, and criminals.
I give the simpleton not excuse but I come down even harder on the evil, wicked, base, lovers of chaos and death that recruited him.
I can't think of a punishment for the simpleton but it will be a cake walk compared to what the recruiter/s should receive.
I will leave it to a just and angry God who does all things rightly.
Since I have a child with high functioning autism I can understand how this can happen. There is no end to the evil that Muslims/Islam can think up and implement. The use of disabled children to carry out the biddings of these cowards is unforgiveable. And unless you know and work with this kind of disabled individual...I suggest that you leave this boy alone and place the blame 100% on his demonic handlers and Islam.
Since I have a child with high functioning autism I can understand how this can happen. There is no end to the evil that Muslims/Islam can think up and implement. The use of disabled children to carry out the biddings of these cowards is unforgiveable. And since you all evidently do not know a person with this kind of disability...leave this boy alone--he will need much help-- and place the blame 100% on his demonic handlers and Islam.
Is it just me or am I seeing a pattern here when it comes to these "would be" jihadists?
Let's see now...
"mentally disturbed", "had been suicidal in the past", "previously hospitalized for depression", "had not been taking his medications", "lost his job, recently divorced and upset", etc. I've heard all the "mental" excuses.
To be honest, maybe this guy has some real problems, BUT EVERYONE OF THEM!?!
I think not.
Did mum ever notice he was watching thousands of terrorist linked videos? Did mum do anything, like seek counseling, notifiy authorities, report names of people junior was seeing? Did mum notice juniors strange activities of buying nail, caustic sodas, and lots of parafin wax? Did mum notice any stange talk coming out of juniors mouth? talk about jihad, dirty kuffars, Islam and the Qur'an perhaps?
well, Mum did say he was a nice boy...
Mum is just like the government and more and more every day the future dhimmi citizens...probably sees anti social behavior and does nothing about it..
"Aspergers syndrome"??? Maybe that diagnosis is a bit different in the UK as opposed to the US : Here, it seems that being an Aspie by definition means a higher than average IQ, coupled with a blindness to social cues. A low IQ suggests ordinary autism, rather than a spectrum diagnosis...I wonder if the UK journalist just ASSumed Aspergers syndrome is the "nice", PC way to say autistic, just as I've seen a few US writers mistake Down's Syndrome as the "polite" phrase for mentally retarded, regardless of the actual cause of the retardation (I swear I once read a sentence about a child who "acquired Downs syndrome from a head injury as an infant".)
Abby,
I'm having a hard time letting this young man off the hook. If he was REALLY a simpleton, would people have been able to give him the directions necessary to make the bomb? He found all those videos on the internet. He's not stupid. If he had the mind of a child would he consider such acts? It's not as if someone handed him a loaded gun or a fully assembled bomb and asked him to drop it off somewhere or pull the trigger.
If "it is difficult for him to comprehend the end results of his actions" then this young man should not be allowed out on the street alone. He certainly should not be allowed into a bar. A person with the mind of a child should be treated as a child - in a home with constant adult supervision.
I have a problem with the double standard here. We are supposed to excuse his actions while giving him freedom to act as he pleases. This wasn't an accident. He wasn't playing a game.
Yea, labrat, that's a good explanation of Aspies.
http://freemendo.typepad.com/undaunted/2008/02/homeless-alert.html
"(I swear I once read a sentence about a child who "acquired Downs syndrome from a head injury as an infant".)"
Posted by: labrat
You're right about someone acquiring Down's Syndrome. It's only acquired genetically, as my younger brother acquired it.
Abby,
I've recently read a book written by an autistic woman, who earned a Ph.D.. She's a psychologist specializing in the humane treatment of animals who are farmed for food. She admitted that she's no vegetarian, but follows up by saying there's no reason to torment the cattle, chickens, and other animals bound for the slaughter house, while they're still alive.
When it comes to remembering names, I stink. The book is "Animals in Translation", and the author's first name is Temple, but I can't recall her surname.
She offered a lot of insight into how her autistic mind works. She speaks of thinking in pictures, rather than in words.
Anyway, this book and its author, and her achievements are proof that "autistic" is not the same thing as "simpleton".
All the best to you and your son!
Cindy
From above: the US : Here, it seems that being an Aspie by definition means a higher than average IQ, coupled with a blindness to social cues...
That's also the definition of a sociopath or worse a psychopath.
Operating without conscience. The Mohammadan attitude toward kufrs. Hannibal Lecter would be an extreme example of a psychopath, but he's no different than the Mohammadans who kidnap torture and murder, and blow up innocent people, except that Hannibal was not working for Allah.
I don't think this guy is a simpleton, that's a lame excuse. You can't be 'simple' and do all the research and calculating he did. Poor judgment, lack of conscience, malice, added up to his jihad.
Due to predestination, Allah set this dope up for failure. Allah decides who to lead astray...
I think Rashid should reconsider Islam, and start calling himself Nicky...Keep him away from Mohammadans in prison...
'Who's the bigger fool, the fool or the fool that follows'?
How on earth did this 'autistic' man get into debates with Al Qaeda operatives in the first place? Was he not being supervised?
I hate to say it but had the idiot not blown up his hands and packaged the bomb successfully, how many people would he have killed?
This is what the court needs to look at. He should either be executed for treason or else certainly spend the rest of his life in prison, never to be released.
It is a failure of NuLabour's 'Care in the Community' rubbish. If Al Qaeda can get to a simpleton like Reilly, then how many more have they got to?
If the courts to not clamp down on this immediately then they are giving an open ticket to anyone who wants to commit extremism. It begs the question; Why are they so soft on Muslim Terrorists, if there was not a hidden agenda behind it all?
duh-swami
Autism Spectrum Disorder, which includes Asperger's Syndrome, is not the same as sociopathy/ psychopathy.
My 18 year old son has what is known as high-functioning Asperger's: that is, his intellect is in the Gifted range, he got the highest possible score in his high school exit results, and he's a brilliant artist (many kids with Asperger's are very visual).
Here's one website that discusses some of the characteristics of people with Autism Spectrum Disorder, which includes Asperger's. People are born with it; it is a problem with their neurological 'wiring', and researchers are coming to think that it has to do, at bottom, with the way the brain processes and edits and makes sense of incoming sensory information.
http://www.autismqld.com.au/autism/autism.html
(browse around).
Key point: "It is not that children with ASD cannot feel affection or that they do not want to be socially involved, but that they do not know how to go about it."
From what I have seen of my son in his 18 years, this rings true. He is most comfortable with people he doesn't *have* to befriend - because they've always been there, such as siblings and cousins.
Kids with Asperger's are terribly vulnerable because they are neurologically wired such that they have difficulty *reading* the social cues - such as tones of voice, body language, facial expression - by which we discern other people's intentions and emotions.
Kids with Asperger's will take what you say very, very literally; you have to watch what you say with them, you particularly have to try to avoid exaggeration and extreme figures of speech. They have huge difficulties making friends - not because they don't *want* friends, but because they don't know how, and don't know how to tell friend from foe.
Large noisy parties are NOT what they like - the sensory overload is too much.
Asperger's kids freak out when hit with changes in routine - the other day we had a major thunderstorm which hit just as my son got off the bus from university at the place where he then goes to the shopping centre car park to get his bike and cycle the rest of the way home. He rang me, very anxious and frightened and not sure what to do (this is an 18 year old). I told him, quietly and clearly, to stay where he was and wait in shelter till the storm passed, then come home.
A sociopath or a psychopath is a 'predator'. I would argue that a neurologically ASD or Asperger's person could be described as 'prey'; and in fact, in schools, kids with Asperger's don't normally become bullies, instead they are attacked by bullies.
Had this fellow in Britain fallen in with, for example, a Taize-inspired church group or a bona fide Buddhist or Hindu group, or for that matter, had he become a stamp-collector, bird-watcher or trainspotter rather than getting sucked into Islam, he would have been perfectly harmless.
In medieval christendom many an Asperger's Syndrome person probably found a home in the monastery scriptorium, happily illuminating manuscripts all day long, with their only social interaction highly predictable and scripted (the chanting of psalms, etc).
If Islam were recognised as the dangerous cult that it is, this young man once tried and convicted would be separated from all contact with Islam and a good psychologist who was experienced in working with ASD people, could probably reprogram him.
If he really does have a. classic Asperger's Syndrome and b. intellectual impairment, he *is* a victim - a weakling of the Western flock, who has been picked off by jihadist spiritual predators.
Abby - I agree with you.
What some in this discussion aren't 'getting' is that people with Asperger's - no matter what their level of intelligence (in the sense of being able to read and follow specific instructions) - are *horribly* vulnerable to a cult like Islam, or indeed, to any cult.
And that this does not mean they are inherently immoral. It means that they can be VERY EASILY DECEIVED and USED.
The jihadist hyenas are circling the herd, looking for any and every weakling, any and every opportunity to do harm.
They are looking for the violent, the greedy, the foolish, those inclined toward cruelty and pride and resentment...but they are also looking for the naive, those who can be suckered and used in a different sort of way.
If, for example, parents and others who work with ASD people knew all about Islam, especially its 'mind-control' cult characteristics, the bizarre rituals affecting everything from toileting to sex, the magical thinking, the suppression of thought, the teachings of hate and the command to wage Jihad, they would do everything they possibly could to keep their ASD-afflicted relatives and friends far, far away from it; to work out ways (tailored to the capacities of ASD people) of warning them and educating them against it; and, if they noticed the person taking an interest in Islam, they would take steps to prevent them pursuing that unhealthy interest. Don't let an ASD person anywhere near a mosque - or anywhere near a Muslim book, website or da'wa artist!
The more widely the unpleasant truths about Islam are spread throughout kafir society, the less likely it will be that someone like Reilly's mother or his non-Muslim friends would be willing to blandly accept his conversion to Islam, attendance at a mosque, etc.
Our society has yet to reach the point where anyone identifying as a convert to Islam, would get the same reaction from their family, set off the same alarm bells, as they would if they declared themselves to have joined the KKK or the neo-Nazis.
Because Reilly's kafir family and associates seem to have complacently treated Reilly's conversion to Islam, at 16, as if it were no different from, for example, his joining the local Baptist church or deciding to attend an ashram, Reilly has destroyed his own life and nearly destroyed the lives of others.
Their complacency and ignorance - induced by all the lying pro-Islam propaganda that has flooded their world in the past fifty years or so - has cost them dearly.
dumbledoresarmy wrote:
What some in this discussion aren't 'getting' is that people with Asperger's - no matter what their level of intelligence (in the sense of being able to read and follow specific instructions) - are *horribly* vulnerable to a cult like Islam, or indeed, to any cult.
And that this does not mean they are inherently immoral. It means that they can be VERY EASILY DECEIVED and USED.
Hmm.....
If this is so and I am inclined to agree with you, but if they are vulnerable to Cults and of course Islam then how on earth do we stop them from getting involved? Correct me if I'm wrong but your first amendment allows freedom of religion does it not, so allowing a person like Reilly, in the USA(and the UK) to not practice Islam is illegal. Simply put, we are unable to stop people from converting to Islam should they choose to.
It seems to me that EVERYONE that joins Islam is 'easily' deceived as this comes out in all stories of Muslim youth in the UK who become Radicals. 'They were easily swayed' come the sayings of the judge all too often.
I have to say that although Reilly was a suffer of Aspergers, he still managed to join Islam, even though there are many websites like this telling people what Islam really is. He still managed to look up how to make a bomb on the internet. He still managed to get to a restaurant to prepare the explosives which would have killed and maimed many. And he got what he deserved when they blew up in his hands.
Here in the UK, because of this continued striving for equality by our Socialist Government, of course with a hell-of-a-lot of Feminist input, we have people like Reilly, clearly disabled, not being looked upon as such because we're being discriminatory if we said so.
It means simply that we should make a choice and that is:
1. Are these people capable of doing everyday tasks like others?
or
1. Are they clearly disabled and not?
We cannot have a situation where we let disabled people have complete freedom to do what they do and are then protected when they fuck up, even though we could see it in the cards.
This man would have killed others, just because they were NOT MUSLIMS and that is nothing short of despicable. He should be subsequently tried for treason, executed or locked up for life. The man's a would be killer, albeit of Asergers or not.