Zaynab Khadr
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The eldest child of the Khadr family, Zaynab Khadr was born in Canada to Maha and Ahmed Said Khadr.
During the family's time in Pakistan following the 1992 injury that left Ahmed crippled, Khadr became a "second mother" to the younger children.[1]
Interviewed for the 2004 documentary Son of al Qaeda, Zaynab also made a comment in an interview with the CBC that year indicating that she believed that the September 11th attacks gave the Americans an opportunity to feel the same pain that they inflicted on others around the world. A critic of the Invasion of Iraq, Zaynab has also stressed that she does not try to force her opinions on others, and respects that others may disagree with her, even offering for those who disagree to contact her for discussion.
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[edit] Life
In July 1995, Ahmed arranged for the 15-year old Zaynab to marry an Egyptian man named Khalid Abdullah in December, and Maha began preparing an apartment for the couple in the family's house.[1]
On November 19 Ayman al-Zawahiri bombed the Egyptian Embassy in Pakistan, and Zaynab's fiancee went into hiding, named as one of the conspirators.[1] When police arrived to arrest her father on suspicion of involvement eight days later, Zaynab took her father's rifle and held it over her head screaming, while her mother barricaded the door.[1]
A divorced mother of a seven-year old daughter, Zaynab's marriage was attended by Osama bin Laden with whom the family had contact. She explained that nobody was individually invited, and that word of mouth simply informed all interested parties about the upcoming wedding and all were invited.[2]
Zaynab recalled celebrating the engagement of Umayma al-Zawahiri at her family's house for an all-day party, and her father Ayman al-Zawahiri knocking softly at Umayma's door asking the two girls to please keep their singing and partying quiet as it was nighttime.[3]
[edit] Return to Canada
Zaynab lived in a rented apartment with her daughter and younger sister in Islamabad, Pakistan, and although her passport was revoked by the Canadian High Commission in Pakistan, she returned to Canada on February 17 2005 to be with her mother, and help the legal defence teams of her brothers Abdullah Khadr and Omar Khadr.[2][4] Zaynab and her mother are both on passport "control" lists, meaning they will no longer be issued Canadian passports due to the frequency with which they reported losing their passports since 1999.[5]
When she returned to Canada, security officials, including Konrad Shourie, met her at the airport bearing a search warrant stating that "Zaynab Khadr has willingly participated and contributed both directly and indirectly towards enhancing the ability of Al Qaeda", and seized her laptop, DVDs, audiocassettes, diary and other files.[6] They claimed that they were able to determine the present locations of multiple al-Qaeda veterans, though were not able to produce any evidence to charge her. Zaynab offered the defence that she had purchased the computer second-hand seven months before her trip.[7] After the expiry of the three-month limit on holding the items, the RCMP was granted a one-year extension on June 18th.[8][9][10]
Although she has indicated a desire to one day return to Pakistan, her Canadian passport remains withheld, rendering her unable to leave the country.
[edit] Advocacy
Zaynab has been involved in the defence and support of other Canadians accused of militant actions in the War on Terror, notable attending the bail hearings and preliminaries for the accused men and youths arrested in Toronto in 2006. Her presence has caused a stir in the media, while she maintains that many of the accused were friends of the family.[4]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Michelle Shephard, "Guantanamo's Child", 2008.
- ^ a b Daughter of alleged terrorist returns: RCMP meets her with search warrant, cageprisoners.com, February 27, 2005
- ^ Wright, Lawrence, "The Looming Tower", 2006
- ^ a b Accused terrorists' families supply drama, Toronto Star, July 7, 2006
- ^ Shephard, Michelle and Tonda MacCharles. Toronto Star, "Shadow of CSIS will follow Khadr", December 3 2003
- ^ "Khadr laptop seized at Toronto airport: report", CTV News, Thursday March 3, 2005. Retrieved on 2008-01-13.
- ^ Canada Discovers AQ Information Trove, Ed Morrissey, Captain's Quarters, June 15, 2005
- ^ RCMP can hold items of Khadr family member, judge rules , CBC, June 18, 2005
- ^ Mounties uncover 'Al Qaeda' cache: Plans, tapes diaries seized at Pearson Zaynab Khadr denies they belong to her, Toronto Star, June 14, 2005
- ^ Toronto hearing a window on terror probe, Toronto Star, June 18, 2005
[edit] External links
- Video interview with Zaynab Khadr on CityNews
- The lonely world of al-Qaeda's wives, Canberra Times, April 4
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