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Exposing the role that Islamic jihad theology and ideology play in the modern global conflicts

Tunisia jihad murderer: “There was no sign he was an extremist, he just looked like a normal young man.”

Jun 27, 2015 2:35 pm By Robert Spencer

Seifeddine RezguiThe Islamic State’s manual How to Survive in the West teaches Muslims “how to live a double-life, how to keep your Secret life private, how to survive in a threatening land, how you can Arm and strengthen the Muslims when the time for Jihad comes to your country, and neighborhood….If you are a convert to Islam, you should try to hide your Islam as much as possible….If you are a born Muslim: then don’t make it too obvious you have become a practicing Muslim….if you are a practising Muslim, and you have a beard already, then don’t remove it if it will bring unwanted attention to yourself. I.e. your family, friends and colleagues will get more suspicious why you removed it, forcing them to spy on you more.”

“Tunisia shooter: A dedicated student who enjoyed breakdancing,” Reuters, June 27, 2015:

Casually dressed in dark shorts, a necklace and T-shirt, he would have looked like any other young Tunisian among the German, British and Irish sunbathers soaking up the Mediterranean heat on one of Tunisia’s long, yellow beaches.

In just five minutes, armed with the black Kalashnikov he had hidden in his beach umbrella, Saif Rezgui unleashed horror across the Imperial Marhaba resort, leaving 39 victims dead among the deck chairs and pool loungers.

It was the worst attack of its kind in Tunisia’s modern history. Islamic State claimed responsibility though authorities say Rezgui, a 24-year-old student, was not on any terrorism watch list or a known militant.

Witnesses say the gunman, dressed like a tourist, drew little attention. He opened fire suddenly, making his way from the beach to the pool and hotel, selecting foreigners, pursuing his victims even as they fled indoors.

Rezgui was apparently well aware of the hotel’s layout, a security source said. He had time to reload his rifle at least twice before he was finally confronted and shot dead by police outside the hotel.

Panicked tourists fled from the beach, running among the umbrellas, some falling among the white plastic sun loungers, their bodies later to be covered with towels and sheets. Blood was smeared over the steps leading into the hotel.

“It was horror what we saw, he was killing in an incredible way. It was clear he knew the hotel, he was everywhere,” said Neil, an English tourist leaving Sousse with his wife. “He took seven minutes killing. They [sic] was no sign he was an extremist, he just looked like a normal young man.”

A popular tourism destination, Tunisia has emerged from political upheaval after its 2011 uprising against autocrat Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali. Praised for its transition to democracy, the country is also struggling with rising Islamist militancy.

Tunisian authorities were already on the alert, months after two gunmen killed 21 foreign tourists at the Bardo Museum in Tunis, gunning down Japanese, French and Spanish visitors as they arrived by bus.

Like the Bardo attackers, the young Tunisian gunman appears to have fallen prey to extremist recruiters, radicalized and drawn away from his life as a student in a very short time, security sources said.

Since the 2011 uprising, Tunisia has seen radical imams and ultraconservative groups extend their influence, taking over mosques and setting up religious schools in the early turmoil of the country’s transition.

More than 3,000 Tunisians are fighting for Islamic State and other groups in Iraq, Syria and neighboring Libya. Some have warned they will return to carry out attacks in their homeland, one of the most secular nations in the Arab world.

By official accounts, Rezgui was a dedicated student from a stable family who enjoyed partying and practiced break-dancing. In a pattern similar to other Tunisia jihadists, he appeared to have come into contact with extremist preachers about six months ago, a senior security source said.

The two Bardo gunmen were also radicalized in their local mosques by hardliners. They were sent to Libya for training and showed no outward signs of their new extremist beliefs.

“He was a good student and always attending class,” Prime Minister Habib Essid said. “Our investigations show he didn’t reveal any signs of extremism, or ties to terrorists. He wasn’t even on a watch list.”…

Islamic State praised the gunman’s operation against a “bordello”.

“I was on the beach when he started shooting. We got everyone back toward the hotel, but he followed us. He targeted the foreigners but not the Tunisians,” said Wadia, a waiter.

“When he saw a Tunisian he shouted out ‘Get out of the way’ and shot at foreigners.”

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Filed Under: Featured, Tunisia, War is deceit Tagged With: Saif Rezgui


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Comments

  1. Angemon says

    Jun 27, 2015 at 2:49 pm

    As if we needed any more reasons to place a moratorium on muslim immigration…

  2. underbed cat says

    Jun 27, 2015 at 3:00 pm

    Worst case scenario,,,, transformation to deceive even better and instill terror. Closing mosques (good thing) a little too late, transfer to homes. … houses with lots of cars and men, like I suspect is in my state. What happens if they do close the mosques…now will be a little provoking but a good statement to the rest of the western world. It seems to be untenable. This is getting way too close for me…

  3. Charli Main says

    Jun 27, 2015 at 3:25 pm

    Yeah—yeah—yeah—blah—blah—blah. Heard it all before. He was always SUCH a lovely young man. A peaceful, moderate, tolerant Muslim that respected women´s rights, loved his kafir neighbours, kissed puppies and didn´t have an extremist bone in his body.

    • Bamaguje says

      Jun 28, 2015 at 6:28 am

      It’s called Taqiyya – deception. It blurs the distinction between “moderates” and “radicals.”
      With Taqiyya we can’t tell a truly moderate (secular) Muslim from a dangerous “war is deceit” Jihadist.

      • Truth Seeker says

        Jun 28, 2015 at 12:32 pm

        So called Moderate Muslim is More Dangerous for he/she is Islamic Trojan Horse

  4. Champ says

    Jun 27, 2015 at 3:35 pm

    If you are a convert to Islam, you should try to hide your Islam as much as possible….If you are a born Muslim: then don’t make it too obvious you have become a practicing Muslim….if you are a practising Muslim, and you have a beard already, then don’t remove it if it will bring unwanted attention to yourself.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Things that make you go hmmm …

    Yep, islam is evil to the core!

  5. Champ says

    Jun 27, 2015 at 4:08 pm

    One day God will wipe that *smile* off of your face …

    Romans 2:5: “But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.”

  6. gerard says

    Jun 27, 2015 at 4:31 pm

    From “Psycho”
    Mother: [voice-over] It’s sad when a mother has to speak the words that condemn her own son. But I couldn’t allow them to believe that I would commit murder. They’ll put him away now as I should have years ago. He was always bad and in the end he intended to tell them I killed those girls and that man, as if I could do anything except just sit and stare like one of his stuffed birds. Oh, they know I can’t even move a finger and I won’t. I’ll just sit here and be quiet just in case they do…. suspect me. They’re probably watching me. Well, let them. Let them see what kind of a person I am. I’m not even going to swat that fly. I hope they are watching… they’ll see. They’ll see and they’ll know, and they’ll say, ‘Why, she wouldn’t even harm a fly.’

  7. dumbledoresarmy says

    Jun 27, 2015 at 4:37 pm

    From the article – “When he saw a Tunisian he shouted out ‘Get out of the way’ and shot at foreigners.”

    Translation: “When he saw someone whom he could reasonably assume to be a Muslim – even if not a particularly strongly-practising Muslim – he shouted “Get out of the way” – and shot at people who weren’t Muslim.”

    Exactly like Al Shabaab did in the attack on the Westgate Mall in Kenya: let the Muslims go, ritually murder the kuffar.

    Exactly as happened in the attack on the hotels in Mumbai in 2008 – separate out Muslims from non-Muslims, let the Muslims go, torture and ritually murder the non-Muslims.

    • Bamaguje says

      Jun 28, 2015 at 8:50 pm

      Yet Obama, PMs Cameron and Abbott would all have us believe, it has “nothing to do with Islam.”

  8. Mark A says

    Jun 27, 2015 at 4:43 pm

    Robert, can you add a link to this IS manual on How To Survive In The West which you mentioned in your opening sentence?

    In the interest of “know the enemy” I’d like to read it.

    • Ashley says

      Jun 27, 2015 at 5:14 pm

      Hello, Mark.

      Although I’m not Robert, I found a link to the “How to Survive in the West” manual here:

      http://smallwarsjournal.com/blog/isis-publishes-manual-on-%E2%80%98how-to-survive-in-the-west%E2%80%99

      It is in a PDF file format and looks long (and spooky!)

      • Mark A says

        Jul 25, 2015 at 10:56 pm

        Thanks for the info.

  9. pongidae rex says

    Jun 27, 2015 at 4:44 pm

    The problem is not Muslims or Islam. The problem is our government that is determined to import them into our societies by the millions at taxpayer expense. For a ‘diverse, multi-cultural’ society.

    • Godwin says

      Jun 27, 2015 at 10:05 pm

      David Cameron said Islam is a religion of peace. This has encouraged the British tourists to go to Tunisia, a peaceful Muslim country. With so many of the British citizens killed in this attack, the victims’ families should sue Cameron for misleading them. On the other hand, the British are stupid to have voted an idiot like him as PM.

      • Charli Main says

        Jun 28, 2015 at 4:04 am

        @ Godwin

        David Cameron does and says what ” baroness” Warzi and the Muslim Council of Britain want him to say and do.

        I fear that Cameron is little more than a Muslim sock puppet.

        • dumbledoresarmy says

          Jun 28, 2015 at 8:30 am

          There is also the quite horrible possibility – just a possibility – that he might be a Nu’aym bin Mas’ud.

          Because some years ago, he went and spent time – as a house guest – with an oh-so-nice Mohammedan family, in Britain. And came out of the experience burbling on and on about how wunnerful Muslims were. I’ve always wondered whether, during that time under a muslim roof, he might have been flattered and petted and suckered into reciting the Shahada.

      • quotha raven says

        Jun 28, 2015 at 10:04 am

        @ Godwin – Would you have preferred the UK to have elected Milbeck or whatever his name was, the Labor candidate, frothing at the mouth and embracing PCMC? Get real. And get ready to have the American people presented a choice between Hillary (ugh) and Bush III (also ugh). What are you going to do? Cheers! Quotha

  10. mortimer says

    Jun 27, 2015 at 5:28 pm

    So how can you distinguish a JIHADIST from a ‘moderate’ Muslim?

    Saif Rezgui has just proved there is no way to distinguish between a ‘moderate’ and a jihadist!

  11. abad says

    Jun 27, 2015 at 6:27 pm

    “Normal” Muslims are as insane as they come.

  12. Jaladhi says

    Jun 27, 2015 at 7:47 pm

    Normal one day and jihadi murderer the next day. What can you conclude from it??

  13. Ed says

    Jun 27, 2015 at 7:48 pm

    Well, that is becoming the new ‘normal’ for an islamist young man.

    • Jaladhi says

      Jun 27, 2015 at 7:56 pm

      I think it has been always like that but we in the West just don’t want to believe it!!

  14. Jaladhi says

    Jun 27, 2015 at 7:54 pm

    Stop all Muslim immigration.

    And stop going to Islamic countries for tourism. There are millions of awesome places in the sane world that one can go to and not get killed. But in spite of all this one goes to a Muslim country as if without going there he will miss out on paradise on earth then its his choice and nobody else should get blamed.

    • Charli Main says

      Jun 28, 2015 at 4:15 am

      I get your point Jaladhi, but it is no longer necessary to go to Muslim countries to be murdered by Musrats. There are enough Musrats in our countries, ready and eager to do the job.
      Why, the Musrats even get regular supplies of fresh troops every day. Right now there are about a million or so paddling about the Mediterranean on planks of wood, waiting to be picked up and brought to Europe. Instead of building our defences, our stupid politicians are REINFORCING THE ENEMY BATTALIONS.

  15. jewdog says

    Jun 27, 2015 at 8:58 pm

    He was a nice, normal guy. In our brave, new, multicultural world, we must refrain from condemning people just because they come from different cultures with different values. To us, machine-gunning sunbathing tourists may seem barbaric, but to many Muslims, those beachgoers are evil, immodest infidels who deserve to be slaughtered. You see, the whole concept of traditional values should be viewed in its cultural context, lest we be racist.

  16. Godwin says

    Jun 27, 2015 at 10:21 pm

    I should blame the Tunisian government for not providing enough security at the beach resort. Within 1 minute of firing his weapon, the attacker should have been taken down. In this case he had time to reload his rifle twice n started to chase the tourists n conducted a killing frenzy.

    • SpiritOf1683 says

      Jul 1, 2015 at 4:10 am

      He’d have needed to reload his rifle a good 10 or 15 times to create the sort of carnage he did. At least 150 bullets found their mark, and many more would have missed their targets. Thats the sort of slowness we’re looking at, but then again, its more likely he had armed accomplices.

  17. Mark A vanderMolen says

    Jun 27, 2015 at 11:10 pm

    Evil must be stopped. This is a cult not a religion…join and be like us or you will pay a fine or be eliminated. Some Muslims have spoken out and are fighting this, many are silent. No matter what your religion -atheists included, anytime we as a human race see this type of genocide we must fight it with our core, with our souls, and with our lives. Freedom to express one’s thoughts, one’s religion, one’s beliefs, one’s gender, and one’s sexuality must and is the only way the human race will survive. Debate should be welcomed. Washington has been ‘bought’ and ‘ paid’ for by lobbyists and foreign governments. Politicians caught taking foriegn ‘donations’ should be tried and hung for treason. This is currently illegal under United States law but every politician on both sides take the bribe. In return they get political money for their campaign and waste tax payer money donating our tax dollars for foriegn aid in return. Our press is bought and paid for. There is good in this world and there is evil. Good must prevail.

  18. Westman says

    Jun 28, 2015 at 12:49 am

    The difference between Mercury Poisoning and Islam is one causes insanity and death of the poisoned individual while the other causes insanity of the individual and the death of others.

    A normal guy + Islam + a fundamental Imam = Insanity.

  19. ECAW says

    Jun 28, 2015 at 2:30 am

    It’s a mystery isn’t it?

    “He was good, good, good!” said a neighbour and family friend, Monia Riahi, 50, standing with her daughters at the entrance to her house. “I’ve known him since he was small. He was never in trouble with anyone ever. Maybe he was brainwashed or something.”

    “I think maybe, just maybe, it was poverty that did it,” said neighbour Ammar Fazai, 64. “There’s that old saying: ‘If poverty was a man, I would kill him.’ And maybe, like the lady said, they washed his brain and eliminated all the kindness from it.”

    “I’m as totally at a loss to explain this as everyone else. This is not the kind of Islam we preach here at all,” said the imam of one mosque in town, a middle-aged man who declined to give his name.

    http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/27/seifeddine-rezgui-tunisia-attacks-brainwashing-blame-terror

    • Godwin says

      Jun 28, 2015 at 3:25 am

      After the brainwashing sessions, he suddenly realized he should do the needy to receive his 72 virgins. He never know that it is a Charlatan’s trap until he died. His soul has become an angry ghost hanging around the place where he met his violent death.

    • Jaladhi says

      Jun 28, 2015 at 7:53 am

      Millions of excuses except for the real one!! It’s Quraa and the religion of murder!! Until the West recognizes that no amount of hand wringing will solve the Muslim problem!!

  20. duh_swami says

    Jun 28, 2015 at 7:54 am

    The first thing a convert must learn is to hate what Allah hates, even if he did not previously hate it. So what does Allah hate?
    Well if you read his book, it’s just about everything…He really hates Jews, has little tolerance for Christians, or any kuffar, and would like to smash those rotten Wiccans…Once the convert learns the lessons of hate, he is ready to go into action for Allah…The hows and the whys, can be found in the same book, along with the examples of a semi-psychotic Arab named ‘Messenger’…When the convert gets the message, he’s ready…

  21. quotha raven says

    Jun 28, 2015 at 9:46 am

    “Like the Bardo attackers, the young Tunisian gunman appears to have fallen prey to extremist recruiters, radicalized and drawn away from his life as a student in a very short time, security sources said.”

    Oh, give me a break. I am so sick of seeing these murderous jihadis characterized as victims of or having “fallen prey” to extremists…poor little things, snatched from a perfectly normal life into “radicalism”…as though they have no individual responsibility, no will or ability to resist. Pictures of these innocents smiling and posturing as they celebrate decapitation might lead one to conclude they enjoy themselves. As I understand it, according to Allah, human heads make acceptable substitutes for soccer balls, or they look great stuck on poles for public appreciation of the supremacy of the religion of peace..

    As U.S. Supreme Court Justice Scalia noted on Friday, “words have no meaning”. We are in a catastrophic situation when this observation becomes generally accepted truth and relativism reigns, as seems to be happening. PCMC manipulation of the very means of communication (words) are simply tools for manipulation and confusion of the people. Cheers! Quotha R

    • quotha raven says

      Jun 28, 2015 at 9:52 am

      Last sentence too hastily scrawled. I meant:

      PCMC manipulation of the very means of communication makes words simply tools for deception (takiyya), manipulation and confusion of the people.

  22. Lioness says

    Jun 28, 2015 at 10:11 am

    This is the kiss of death for the tourist industry in Tunisia, which is what the Islamists want. The same happened in Egypt, which was a great tourist destination for westerners under Mubarak, and a reliable source of income for thousands of locals, is now all but gone. Two major jihad attacks in Tunisia in a short time will do the same for that country, which means more poverty and even more jihad, as it’s easier to recruit jihadis from among the poor.

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