Ahmed Khadr
Ahmed Saïd Khadr (Arabic: أحمد سعيد خضر; March 1, 1948 – October 2, 2003) was an Egyptian-Canadian philanthropist with alleged ties to al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan. His activity in Afghanistan began in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, and he has been described as having had ties to a number of militants within the Afghan mujahideen, including Saudi militant Osama bin Laden. Khadr was accused by Canada and the United States of being a "senior associate" and financier of al-Qaeda in Afghanistan.[1][2]
Ahmed Khadr
October 2, 2003 (aged 55)
Shot and killed by Pakistani security forces
Abu Abdurahman al-Kanadi
- Egypt
- Canada
Alleged ties to Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan
7 (see Khadr family)
During this period, Khadr worked with a number of charitable non-governmental organizations that served Afghan refugees and set up agricultural projects.[3] He set up two orphanages for children whose parents had been killed over the course of the decade-long Soviet–Afghan War. He funded the construction of Makkah Mukarama Hospital in Afghanistan with his own savings,[4][5][6] as well as seven medical clinics in the Afghan refugee camps of Pakistan.[7]
Due to his prominent regional role, Khadr helped negotiate compromises among rival Afghan warlords, power brokers, and leaders in order to establish peace in the region.[8][9] The Canadian government had considered him to be the locally highest-ranking member of al-Qaeda.[10] In 1999, the United Kingdom added Khadr's name to a list of al-Qaeda members compiled with the United Nations.[11]
Shortly after the American-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, two of Khadr's sons were captured separately by American troops in 2002. They were later detained at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba. Aged 15 at the time of his capture, Omar Khadr was among the youngest detainees at the camp, and the last citizen of a Western country (Canada) to be held there. Omar accepted a plea deal (which he later recanted) and pleaded guilty to charges of war crimes in October 2010; he was repatriated to Canada in 2012 to serve the remainder of his sentence and was released on bail in 2015.
On October 2, 2003, Khadr was killed by Pakistani security forces during a gunfight with al-Qaeda and Taliban militants near the Afghanistan–Pakistan border. Following his death, his family members moved back to Canada, where they remain today.[8]
Early life[edit]
He was born in Egypt in 1948 to Mohamed Zaki Khadr and Munira Osman.[12] Raised in Shubra El-Kheima, Khadr was a shy child with a speech impediment. He frequently stayed at the house of his much older half-brother Ahmed Fouad.[12] When Fouad left for the United States in the early 1970s, Khadr asked his father if he could follow – but was forbidden. Planning the move behind his father's back, Khadr moved to Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 1975 at the age of 27.[12]
After a few months in Montreal, Khadr moved to Toronto. He was accepted at the University of Ottawa to study Computer Programming. In Ottawa he met Qasem Mahmud, the founder of Camp Al-Mu-Mee-Neen in Creemore, Ontario. Khadr volunteered to help at the camp. There he met Maha el-Samnah, a Palestinian immigrant and volunteer. She was impressed by his calmness and thought he was a good listener. Mahmud later described their meeting as "love at first sight".[12]
Career[edit]
The following year, Khadr was offered a position at the Gulf Polytechnique University in Bahrain, where he hoped to become a professor.[12] According to a biography published by al-Qaeda in 2008, he did not like living in Canada, so he accepted the position.[14]
In 1982, Maha gave birth to Abdurahman, their third son. Disappointed to find Western influences in Bahrain, Khadr became interested in the struggle of Afghans as a result of the Soviet invasion. He wanted to help the Muslim widows and orphans in Afghanistan.[12]
Through 1983 and 1984, the family lived in Bahrain while the children were in school. During the summer holidays, Khadr traveled to Pakistan. His wife took the three children to Scarborough, Canada, where they lived with her parents.[12] Khadr told friends that he had no intentions of helping to fight the Soviets, only of helping the victims of the invasion.[12]