Gitmo Veteran Warns Europe’s Youth Away From Jihad

The 33-year-old Frenchman is one of a small number of Europeans presenting their jihadi past as an example for others not to follow

In this May 13, 2015 photo, former Guantanamo detainee and al-Qaida trainee Mourad Benchellali talks during an interview with the Associated Press in Gennevilliers, suburban Paris, France. With thousands of young Europeans joining the ranks of radical Islamists in Syria, some people have stepped forward to offer to deter them. But most governments and groups trying to prevent the exodus of vulnerable youths are cautious about accepting such services _ since the volunteers were once radicals themselves. AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere

PARIS— He learned warfare in an al-Qaida training camp, did time at Guantanamo and more time in a French prison. With such a resume, Mourad Benchellali may seem an unlikely youth counsellor — but he is telling his story to young Europeans, warning them against the lure of jihad.

The 33-year-old Frenchman is one of a small number of Europeans presenting their jihadi past as an example for others not to follow. Many see men like him as a powerful tool to deter youth from heading to Syria — while Western governments are wary of them.

Benchellali meets with young audiences at least once a week in France, Belgium and Switzerland to persuade them of the folly of flying off to join the Islamic State or other groups waging holy war in Syria and Iraq.

“There are kids who are tempted, who’ve been approached,” Benchellali told The Associated Press. “They come to listen, they are curious and the fact that I’m a former Guantanamo (prisoner), that speaks to them. ... I give them tools to understand.”

A practicing Muslim, Benchellali above all strives to take the glamour out of jihad.