[From article]
He was a quiet whiz kid at the top of his class in Israel, who overcame tough odds in this minority Arab village to become a star medical student and hospital intern.
Could Othman Abu al-Qiyan have been radicalized by Israel's conflict with the Palestinians - or something else?
No one can quite explain what happened and why, but in his community in Israel's southern Negev desert, where many even serve in the Israeli army, his sudden transformation into a jihadi killed in Syria fighting for the Islamic State group is treated as a dark and dangerous mystery.
In three years of war in Syria, dozens of educated and seemingly progressive Muslims from Western countries have been lured to what they perceive to be a heroic jihadi battle against President Bashar Assad.
Could Othman Abu al-Qiyan have been radicalized by Israel's conflict with the Palestinians - or something else?
No one can quite explain what happened and why, but in his community in Israel's southern Negev desert, where many even serve in the Israeli army, his sudden transformation into a jihadi killed in Syria fighting for the Islamic State group is treated as a dark and dangerous mystery.
In three years of war in Syria, dozens of educated and seemingly progressive Muslims from Western countries have been lured to what they perceive to be a heroic jihadi battle against President Bashar Assad.
[. . .]
"They have no idea why he went there and how he did it. They invested a lot of money in him, they taught him and made a doctor out of him and they were waiting to reap the benefits. And this person showed no signs, he did not tell anybody, he went on a normal trip."
[. . .]
Several family members said all they knew is that he left for what he said was a vacation in Turkey with a cousin. They said Abu al-Qiyan later called them from Syria, telling them where he left his belongings and saying he would meet them next in paradise.
[. . .]
Yousef Abu Jaffer, the Western-educated treasurer of the Hura municipality, said there was "something there" that was attracting seemingly successful youngsters to trade in a life of promise for a suicidal quest in the name of religion.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_ISRAEL_ISLAMIC_STATE?SITE=WIMIL&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Oct 22, 6:37 AM EDT
Death of promising doctor who mysteriously turned jihadi shocks Israel
By ARON HELLER
Associated Press
Oct 22, 6:37 AM EDT
Death of promising doctor who mysteriously turned jihadi shocks Israel
By ARON HELLER
Associated Press
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