Farouk1986

Ah, the Internet!

It's a window into the soul.

Like so many of today's notorious figures, the Flight 253 terrorist left a slimy e-trail.

Online postings made by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab the guy with the explosive underwear, reveal some of Farouk's deep thoughts.

Using the screen name "Farouk1986" and posting on the Islamic forum www.gawaher.com, Abdulmutallab expresses his wish to find himself.

What better way than to blow up people?

From the Associated Press:

Farouk1986 says he is from Nigeria, the home nation of the man who allegedly tried to bring down the Detroit-bound flight. And the suspect's father says Abdulmutallab broke off ties with the family.

Those posts, beginning in 2005, show a teenager looking for a new life outside his boarding school and wealthy Nigerian family.

Most of all, they paint a portrait of someone who seems lost and needs someone to hear him.

The postings seem hastily written and are replete with spelling and grammar errors. In one, on Jan 28. 2005, he wrote: "i am in a situation where i do not have a friend, i have no one to speak too, no one to consult, no one to support me and i feel depressed and lonely. i do not know what to do."

The posts were made to an Islamic bulletin board called Gawaher, which literally translates from Arabic as "gems" or "jewels," but can also be read as "essence" or "spirit."

Poor baby. Poor lonely mixed-up kid.

GIVE ME A BREAK!

He wanted to kill innocents. He wanted to blow up a plane.

From the Christian Science Monitor, here's more of what Abdulmutallab / "Farouk 1986" wrote:

Mr. Abdulmutallab is believed to have posted hundreds of messages on the Islamic Forum website, www.gawahar.com, under the handle “farouk1986,” on topics ranging from European soccer leagues to being lonely.

“When I first came here, I thought I was the only lonely soul,” Farouk1986 wrote on Jan. 29, 2005.

“But after, I realized that almost every good Muslim gets lonely at some point,” he continues. “This I believe is because really there are many Muslims but most are just Muslims by name who do not practice the deen earnestly, leaving the few good Muslims alone. So it’s a test we have to strive and go through for the sake of Allah.”

Other posts from the same period are more carefree and reflect the common concerns of his peers. Farouk1986 wrote passionately about English soccer teams like Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal, and Liverpool. Like many young adults, he was concerned with preparing for university studies. He said he hoped to study engineering at Stanford University in California, and that he believed he had the grades – straight As – to gain admission. He was less pleased with his SAT scores, but thought they would be good enough.

“I tried the SAT. It was a disaster!!!” he wrote in 2005. “I didn't practice well and I got 1200. Although I checked the prospectuses, and my SAT grades are in bound with the accepted grade boundary in Caltech, Stanford and Berkeley, so I didn't bother doing more SAT tests.”

Farouk1986 also mentioned that he wouldn’t need a scholarship to attend university, perhaps a reference to his family’s wealth. Abdulmutallab’s father is a wealthy Nigerian banker, who alerted US authorities to his son’s increasingly militant views.

Farouk1986 also responded to others’ posts to offer advice on topics ranging from soccer stadiums to traveling to the Egyptian pyramids. To a fellow student thinking about changing his course of study, he wrote: “I don’t know exactly the situation, but the last thing you want to do is start business information systems and find it hard as well or realize you don’t like it.”

Apparently, this lonely "good" Muslim found meaning in Islamic extremism and death and carrying explosives in his underwear.

In addition to "Farouk1986," there was posting by "Farouk" on the website.

An anonymous user who identified himself as simply Farouk posted in the counseling section of the forum’s website, though there’s no way of knowing if this is the same person as “farouk1986.” One undated posting by this Farouk reads: “I won’t go into too much details about me [sic] fantasy, but basically they are jihad fantasies [sic]. I imagine how the great jihad will take place, how the Muslims will win insha Allah and rule the whole world, and establish the greatest empire once again!!!”

When asked by another user if they are “fantastical dreams” or plans, Farouk replied: “I don't know about you but for me, I believe insha Allah I will realize my goals and dreams, by the power and might of Allah, out of his mercy, if it is best. … You just pray for me Okay. Pray for me hard.”

I suppose when Abdulmutallab gets his day in court, and I'm sure Obama will make sure that he does, his legal team will use the "sad, mixed-up kid crying out for help" defense.

Will the jury go easy him?

Maybe.

Maybe all Abdulmutallab needs is a good art therapy rehabilitation program.