Adam Serwer explains why some young Western Muslims find al-Qaeda’s narrative so appealing:
Americans were rattled out of their holiday routine last year when they learned that a 23-year-old Nigerian citizen named Umar Abdulmutallab snuck a bomb in his underwear onto an Amsterdam flight bound for Detroit. Thankfully, Abdulmutallab proved to be a hapless terrorist — instead of blowing up the plane, he set himself on fire, charring his skin with third-degree burns as the other passengers subdued him.
Abdulmutallab has a typical — if surprising — background for a terrorist. His father, Alhaji Umaru Mutallab, is one of the richest men in Africa. Abdulmutallab attended the British School in Lome, Togo, and then traveled to London to study engineering and business finance at University College.
