Suicide bombings and other forms of violent jihad are seen as worship, and jihadists who execute deadly jihad are deemed to be exceptional martyrs. Nothing compares to the glories of martyrdom for jihadists. This is indoctrinated into them and widely proclaimed; even the Turkish government three months ago published cartoons “glorifying martyrdom” to children, in which suicide bombings were compared to feeling a pinch, followed by the magnificent rewards that followed in the afterlife.
So while Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel may have been out picking up men and women, taking pictures in bed with them, doing drugs and alcohol, even when Islam forbids such carousing — with a special hatred and deadly intolerance toward homosexuality — for Bouhlel none of that would outweigh his ultimate deed of martyrdom as a jihadist, when he ploughed his 19-ton lorry into the Bastille Day-celebrating crowd, killing 84 people.
“Nice terror attack: ‘soldier of Islam’ Bouhlel ‘took drugs and used dating sites to pick up men and women’, The Telegraph, July 17, 2016:
The Bastille Day killer described by Isil as a “soldier of Islam” regularly used dating sites to pick up male and female lovers, it was claimed on Sunday night.
Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel’s mobile phone records suggest he used dating websites and dabbled with drugs and drink, French media reported.
The handset was picked up by police officers after they shot him dead last Thursday in a lorry that he had used to kill 84 people on the Promenade des Anglais, in the French city of Nice.
According to officers, the phone is proving more important to the investigation than the seven suspects currently in custody for their links to the terrorist.
The killer is said to have sent a chilling text message demanding weapons minutes before the seafront massacre.
Suspects range from two Albanians suspected of supplying a pistol to Bouhlel, and others whose phone numbers appeared on the phone.
Another man, 37, arrested in Nice on Sunday is suspected of supplying arms to the killer after reportedly receiving messages saying: “Bring more weapons, bring five of them to C.”
The message is said to have been sent 18 minutes before he ploughed a 19-tonne lorry into holiday crowds, killing 84 people.
More than 200 investigators were urgently working to determine the significance of ‘C’ and whether the killer had accomplices or links with a terrorist network.
Seven people including a woman were in custody on Sunday night after the arrests earlier in the day of an Albanian couple suspected of aiding Bouhlel, described by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) as one its “soldiers”.
He sent a flurry of texts shortly before the attack. Another one, saying “I’ve got the material”, was sent to one of the men in custody, whose identities have not been made public.
Bouhlel fired a 7.65mm automatic handgun at police before they shot him dead on Thursday night. Other weapons found in the lorry turned out to be fakes or replicas.
CCTV cameras on the Promenade des Anglais, the scene of the massacre, captured Bouhlel twice in the two days before the attack driving the lorry as he scrutinised his surroundings, apparently preparing how best to execute the attack.
Bouhlel’s phone is said to be full of messages, videos and photographs, including ones of men and women he had recently slept with.
“The testimony which investigators are relying on most is that of the mobile phone,” reported the BFM TV news channel, basing their report on evidence leaked to them.
Two hundred officers are now working exclusively on inquiries related to data found on the phone. Bouhlel loved sending selfie photos to people, and would record all of his relationships with other people, however brief.
He visited gyms and salsa bars regularly, and would also visit websites “showing pictures of executions”, said BFM TV.
“The busy sex life of a man who had recently discovered a religious faith is shown by the data on the device,” BFM added.
The divorced father-of-three also used his phone to prepare his attack on civilians, including hundreds of children enjoying a Bastille Day fireworks display…