Alienation of Akram Masud...an American Jihadist (ePub)

This is the story of Akram Mohammad Musad and his dream that became a nightmare. Akram, relocated at age 16 from Egypt to the Washington DC area by a family tragedy, embraces American culture and the 'American Dream' by jumping through the hoops of hard work and college. He hopes to get a good job, success and money, and maybe someday a wife. After college, trivial jobs and brief periods of happiness are his only rewards. He shares his dreams with Judith, his Jewish 'sort of' girl friend. Finally, he finds his dream job only to have 9/11 and America's own prejudice extinguish the dream. He loses his job because he is Muslim and born in Egypt. Alienated and angry at the US, he is recruited by an al Qaeda agent at his mosque in Washington DC. In just a few months Akram goes from living his American dream to participating in jihad.

Akram's story is fiction but is based upon the time line and details of the actual anthrax event, named Amerithrax by the Department of Justice. Just days after 9/11, unknown persons mailed at least five letters laced with anthrax spores to news media offices and two US Senators at the Hart Office building in Washington DC. Seventeen people became sick and five died from exposure to the anthrax spores. Millions of dollars were spent removing the anthrax spores from offices and postal facilities and investigating the attack. To date, the FBI has failed to find, charge or convict those responsible.

This is a story about how this might have happened.