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Nine Lives: My time as the MI6's top spy inside al-Qaeda
As one of al-Qaeda’s most respected bomb-makers, Aimen Dean rubbed shoulders with the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks and swore allegiance to Osama bin Laden. As a double agent at the heart of al-Qaeda’s chemical weapons programme, he foiled attacks on civilians and saved countless lives, brushing with death so often that his handlers began to call him their spy with nine lives. This is the story of how a young Muslim, determined to defend his faith, found himself fighting on the wrong side – and his fateful decision to work undercover for his sworn enemy. From the killing fields of Bosnia to the training camps of Afghanistan, from running money and equipment in Britain to dodging barrel bombs in Syria, we discover what life is like inside the global jihad, and what it will take to stop it once and for all.
528 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 12, 2018
389 people are currently reading
2511 people want to read
About the author
Aimen Dean
2 books19 followersAimen Dean now consults on security and counter-terrorism for governments and the private sector.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 133 reviews
November 2, 2018
This is an incredibly deep and detailed look into Al Qaeda and Jihad. I am struck by the fact that Christians say that there is only one God, but that the God of the Old Testament was a jealous vengeful God but theirs is a peaceful loving one. If there's only one God, he's the same, otherwise he's invented.
But the Jihadi Muslims and their sympathisers, says the author, who is a religious Muslim, it seems go one step further, they say that their God hates everyone who isn't a Muslim and that justifies Jihad, murder and terrorism. Not only that but He hates all Muslims who don't believe as they do (7thC fundamentalism is key here). The God of ISIS particularly is delighted with torture, pain and beheadings says the author. And there is only one God? Eternal and unchanging, or man-made?
Please don't troll me and say that Muslims are peaceful, Jews are peaceful, Christians are peaceful, yes all of us normal, average, going to work every day type of people are. I'm talking about this book, and what the author says about Jihadis.
The book is brilliant beyond even the best 10 star book I've read this year. It won't get a Goodreads Award, those will go to self-published silly romances, fantasies and the occasional readable story, but they will not hold up against this book of sheer genius. Written by a man with a great moral sense, who isn't a saint, but he went with what he believed even at great personal risk (there is a fatwa against him) and became a double agent and thereby saved all of us from atrocities of a scale and worse that 9-11. (Al Qaeda, the author says, regretted not including weapons of mass destruction in the planes that struck the Twin Towers.)
I'm rereading the book right away. I want to write a proper review, and I did make notes, but it needs even closer attention than I gave it.
I wish I could give the author 10 pure gold stars for my admiration at his courage and the work he did that has helped save all of us. I am in awe of him.
Notes on Pepsi and Coca Cola
But the Jihadi Muslims and their sympathisers, says the author, who is a religious Muslim, it seems go one step further, they say that their God hates everyone who isn't a Muslim and that justifies Jihad, murder and terrorism. Not only that but He hates all Muslims who don't believe as they do (7thC fundamentalism is key here). The God of ISIS particularly is delighted with torture, pain and beheadings says the author. And there is only one God? Eternal and unchanging, or man-made?
Please don't troll me and say that Muslims are peaceful, Jews are peaceful, Christians are peaceful, yes all of us normal, average, going to work every day type of people are. I'm talking about this book, and what the author says about Jihadis.
The book is brilliant beyond even the best 10 star book I've read this year. It won't get a Goodreads Award, those will go to self-published silly romances, fantasies and the occasional readable story, but they will not hold up against this book of sheer genius. Written by a man with a great moral sense, who isn't a saint, but he went with what he believed even at great personal risk (there is a fatwa against him) and became a double agent and thereby saved all of us from atrocities of a scale and worse that 9-11. (Al Qaeda, the author says, regretted not including weapons of mass destruction in the planes that struck the Twin Towers.)
I'm rereading the book right away. I want to write a proper review, and I did make notes, but it needs even closer attention than I gave it.
I wish I could give the author 10 pure gold stars for my admiration at his courage and the work he did that has helped save all of us. I am in awe of him.
Notes on Pepsi and Coca Cola
December 23, 2018
I reread the book and thought if it quite differently from my first review. If any/all of this is true, it is the astounding story of a very ignorant Saudi Arabian who actually believed he would be rewarded by having virgins at his disposal in heaven if he only died in Jihad, a war against the West and everything it stood for.
He joined Al Qaeda and became a bomb-maker. He says of 9/11 that the planners were just sorry they didn't include weapons of mass destruction (ie germ or chemical warfare) on the planes.
Eventually he educates himself through books that were unavailable and would not in any case have been allowed in Saudi Arabia about the realities of the world and horrified by how his bombs might be used (he is a bit icky about killing women and children and about - but not so much - the large number of animals he has had to torture and kill as he learns his trade) and becomes a turncoat for the British.
At the end of his career as a double agent he becomes an anti-terrorist adviser for China.
I don't believe or not believe it. He's a real braggart about all his exploits and superlative intelligence and ability to be better than anyone else but they don't know it. That makes him sound very dislikeable and arrogant but he's neither of these things, he's a very engaging author indeed. But whether he is to be believed or just great at telling stories, that I don't know.
He joined Al Qaeda and became a bomb-maker. He says of 9/11 that the planners were just sorry they didn't include weapons of mass destruction (ie germ or chemical warfare) on the planes.
Eventually he educates himself through books that were unavailable and would not in any case have been allowed in Saudi Arabia about the realities of the world and horrified by how his bombs might be used (he is a bit icky about killing women and children and about - but not so much - the large number of animals he has had to torture and kill as he learns his trade) and becomes a turncoat for the British.
At the end of his career as a double agent he becomes an anti-terrorist adviser for China.
I don't believe or not believe it. He's a real braggart about all his exploits and superlative intelligence and ability to be better than anyone else but they don't know it. That makes him sound very dislikeable and arrogant but he's neither of these things, he's a very engaging author indeed. But whether he is to be believed or just great at telling stories, that I don't know.
August 20, 2024
This is the quite amazing story of a jihadist and active member of Al-Qaeda who defected and who, around the turn of the century, became an agent for British intelligence. Aimen Dean (not his original name) was a Bahraini citizen brought up in Saudi Arabia. He had just turned 16 when he went as a fighter to Bosnia, motivated to defend his fellow Muslims in their war against the Bosnian Serbs. Later he joined Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. In 1998 he returned to Bahrain for medical treatment but was arrested by the local security forces. During his interrogation he admitted his involvement with Al-Qaeda and said he was willing to work with Western Intelligence services. The British were his preferred choice.
I couldn’t help wondering about his motivation. He claims he was upset at the civilian casualties caused by the suicide bombings of the US embassies in Nairobi and Dar-es-Salaam in 1998. Twelve Americans were killed, but so were 212 local people. He also says he was disturbed by attempts by Al-Qaeda to develop chemical weapons, a programme in which he was actively involved. Ultimately, we have only his explanation for his change of heart, but the information he provided to MI6 seems to have prevented several subsequent terror plots. He provides some interesting descriptions of what was happening in London around the turn of the century, a period when jihadists from all over the world flocked to the city “knowing that arrest was unlikely so long as they did not announce plans to bomb Piccadilly Circus.”
I found this a slightly uneven account, but at its best it provides some fascinating insights into the workings of Al-Qaeda, and the outlook of those who join. As a young boy, the author liked watching the cartoon show The Smurfs, only be told by an instructor that “The Smurfs are a Western plot to destroy the fabric of our society, to destroy morality in our children and respect for their parents.” In Bosnia, he sees several of his comrades killed in a battle and comments “The wounds of many of the dead were horrific, but I was struck by the serene expressions on their faces. Truly they were in paradise.” According to this book, many jihadists are “deeply interested in the meaning of dreams ... regarding them as messages from God” and Islamic prophecies about the arrival of the Mahdi and “the end of days” are “central to al-Qaeda’s ideological foundation.” He realises these things seem very strange to people (like me) brought up within the milieu of western secularism, but adds that this difference in outlook leads westerners to “study jihadi movements through the prism of their own assumptions, believing that such groups will weigh risks and benefits and act rationally.”
The author believes that Al-Qaeda, and especially ISIS, have perverted the message of Islam. “An intolerant, hectoring minority takes the quiet majority hostage, tries to bully and threaten them into submission.” That’s certainly not a problem unique to Islam, although there may be differences in degree.
The author explains that his identity as a double agent was inadvertently compromised by a book published by an American journalist, Ron Suskind, which contained enough information for Al-Qaeda to identify him as an informant. It’s suggested that Suskind may have got his information via leaks from Dick Cheney’s office.
In the last chapter the author discusses future threats, and suggests possible solutions to undermining Islamist extremism. I agreed with some of his comments about the threats, for example the danger that Islamists and far-right terrorists will feed off each other, but I found his suggested solutions little more than vague hopes. In truth, the last chapter left me feeling a bit depressed about the future.
A good read, but I think my next one will need to be something a bit lighter.
I couldn’t help wondering about his motivation. He claims he was upset at the civilian casualties caused by the suicide bombings of the US embassies in Nairobi and Dar-es-Salaam in 1998. Twelve Americans were killed, but so were 212 local people. He also says he was disturbed by attempts by Al-Qaeda to develop chemical weapons, a programme in which he was actively involved. Ultimately, we have only his explanation for his change of heart, but the information he provided to MI6 seems to have prevented several subsequent terror plots. He provides some interesting descriptions of what was happening in London around the turn of the century, a period when jihadists from all over the world flocked to the city “knowing that arrest was unlikely so long as they did not announce plans to bomb Piccadilly Circus.”
I found this a slightly uneven account, but at its best it provides some fascinating insights into the workings of Al-Qaeda, and the outlook of those who join. As a young boy, the author liked watching the cartoon show The Smurfs, only be told by an instructor that “The Smurfs are a Western plot to destroy the fabric of our society, to destroy morality in our children and respect for their parents.” In Bosnia, he sees several of his comrades killed in a battle and comments “The wounds of many of the dead were horrific, but I was struck by the serene expressions on their faces. Truly they were in paradise.” According to this book, many jihadists are “deeply interested in the meaning of dreams ... regarding them as messages from God” and Islamic prophecies about the arrival of the Mahdi and “the end of days” are “central to al-Qaeda’s ideological foundation.” He realises these things seem very strange to people (like me) brought up within the milieu of western secularism, but adds that this difference in outlook leads westerners to “study jihadi movements through the prism of their own assumptions, believing that such groups will weigh risks and benefits and act rationally.”
The author believes that Al-Qaeda, and especially ISIS, have perverted the message of Islam. “An intolerant, hectoring minority takes the quiet majority hostage, tries to bully and threaten them into submission.” That’s certainly not a problem unique to Islam, although there may be differences in degree.
The author explains that his identity as a double agent was inadvertently compromised by a book published by an American journalist, Ron Suskind, which contained enough information for Al-Qaeda to identify him as an informant. It’s suggested that Suskind may have got his information via leaks from Dick Cheney’s office.
In the last chapter the author discusses future threats, and suggests possible solutions to undermining Islamist extremism. I agreed with some of his comments about the threats, for example the danger that Islamists and far-right terrorists will feed off each other, but I found his suggested solutions little more than vague hopes. In truth, the last chapter left me feeling a bit depressed about the future.
A good read, but I think my next one will need to be something a bit lighter.
July 2, 2018
At the offset it’s important to note that Nine Lives is a non-fiction account of one of the few spies Western intelligence has had at the heart of al-Qaeda. As such it gives a rare glimpse into the intelligence world, but more than that, this book gives an intuitive insight into al-Qaeda and jihad more broadly (including its latest incarnation, ISIS) and is in my opinion one of the best titles so far on the subject.
Aimen Dean is that rarest of people. A jihadi, an al-Qaeda member who rose through the ranks of that organisation to become, while not one of the leaders or upper tiers, a highly respected and influential figure. Then came disillusion and the fateful decision to turn against his former comrades-in-arms. Some in that situation might have just gone home, others might have struck out alone, perhaps joining a rival jihadist group. But Dean chose another path altogether. Through accident, serendipity, and courage of convictions, he chose to spy for Britain’s intelligence service, MI6
The author started his journey in Bosnia. The Russian occupation of Afghanistan had drawn to a close, the jihad there having attracted thousands of Muslims from around the globe and radicalised a generation. In the years afterwards, those who had gone to fight either returned home or looked for fresh battles, while those coming of age who had missed the conflict, dreamed of glory. The massacre of Bosnia’s Muslims by the Serbs provided them with a fresh outlet and Dean, now sixteen, was determined not to miss it. He travelled to the Balkan battlefield dreaming of martyrdom and while disappointed not to be granted his wish, he did see combat.
But Bosnia also was where the first seed of doubt was planted. In one battle the jihadists captured a large number of Serb militia. There was debate as to what to do with them. In a sickening foretaste of ISIS atrocities to come decades later, the decision was made to behead them. This was done brutally and with relish. Dean refused to participate but was greatly disturbed by the bloodlust he saw in fellow fighters he considered friends.
While Dean was shaken by these events, he remained a committed jihadi and in years to come would travel to Afghanistan where he eventually joined Bin Laden. It was here though that his doubts concerning Jihad finally came into stark relief. The 1998 embassy bombings killed 224 people (213 in Nairobi and 11 in Dar es Salaam) while injuring over 4000 (4000 in Nairobi and 85 in Dar es Salaam). The vast majority of the casualties were ordinary Kenyan and Tanzanian citizens going about their business, a large proportion of whom were Muslim. Yet in the al Qaeda training camps the news was met with celebration the casualties dismissed as not proper Muslims. The bombings had been planned to coincide with Friday prayers, so according to al Qaeda’s logic, any Muslims caught up in the conflagration had turned their back on God.
Sickened by what he saw, Dean travelled abroad on the pretext of needing medical treatment. Detained at the airport in Bahrain, he first came to the attention of the Bahraini intelligence services, and finally, that of MI6 where he was persuaded to spy.
This book was written in conjunction with Paul Cruickshank and Tim Lister, respected journalists who helped Morten Storm, another al Qaeda militant who spied for the West, write his memoir, Agent Storm. At The outset of Nine Lives they assure the reader that they’ve verified much of Aimen Dean’s story with their sources in the intelligence world. This is a good thing because the revelations within these pages are eye-opening.
In the reviews of this book in the press, much attention has been given to the revelation that the ban on passengers carrying laptops onto certain flights in the Middle East was due to intelligence that Hamayan Tariq, a car mechanic from Dudley, and now master bomb maker for al Qaeda, had invented a technique for disguising bombs as laptop batteries. While interesting, to my mind there are starker disclosures than this within this title’s pages.
One of these is the author’s knowledge of al Qaeda’s efforts in chemical warfare. Aimen Dean was deeply involved in al-Qaeda’s chemical weapons programme when in the Afghan training camps (he was working for MI6 at this point and they asked him to continue with this work so that he could inform the intelligence services as to al-Qaeda’s progress). In particular, he describes how al-Qaeda succeeded with hydrogen cyanide and cyanogen chloride. They developed a crude but effective dispersal system, the mubtakkar. This was to be used in a 2003 plot against the New York subway that was called off by Ayman Zawahiri (then al-Qaeda’s number two). This device has never been used but it has come close to being so on a number of occasions and the author fears it is only a matter of time.
The biggest disclosures in this title however aren’t so much “big ticket items” – attacks thwarted, plots uncovered, etc – but an insight into the jihadi mindset. As someone educated and yet deeply imbued in jihadism, Dean shows how the logic of al-Qaeda, and later ISIS, is deeply rooted in perverted interpretations of the Quran and Hadith. This is an important revelation, because some of ISIS’s destructive, and seemingly self-defeating behaviour, can be explained once this is understood. Another aspect I found eye-opening is how accepted and normalised fighting jihad has become. In families such as Dean’s - normal, well-to-do Middle Eastern families - a family member’s decision to travel to Syria to fight is a perfectly acceptable life-choice, even something to be proud. Again, this is something we in the West ignore at our peril.
Nine Lives is an incredibly enlightening read and one that a book review cannot really do justice. Post-9/11, and now with ISIS on the rampage, bookshelves groan under the weight of titles analysing these events. I have read a fair few myself. I have to say that this is far and away one of the best and written by someone with real, first hand understanding of the phenomenon.
Aimen Dean is that rarest of people. A jihadi, an al-Qaeda member who rose through the ranks of that organisation to become, while not one of the leaders or upper tiers, a highly respected and influential figure. Then came disillusion and the fateful decision to turn against his former comrades-in-arms. Some in that situation might have just gone home, others might have struck out alone, perhaps joining a rival jihadist group. But Dean chose another path altogether. Through accident, serendipity, and courage of convictions, he chose to spy for Britain’s intelligence service, MI6
The author started his journey in Bosnia. The Russian occupation of Afghanistan had drawn to a close, the jihad there having attracted thousands of Muslims from around the globe and radicalised a generation. In the years afterwards, those who had gone to fight either returned home or looked for fresh battles, while those coming of age who had missed the conflict, dreamed of glory. The massacre of Bosnia’s Muslims by the Serbs provided them with a fresh outlet and Dean, now sixteen, was determined not to miss it. He travelled to the Balkan battlefield dreaming of martyrdom and while disappointed not to be granted his wish, he did see combat.
But Bosnia also was where the first seed of doubt was planted. In one battle the jihadists captured a large number of Serb militia. There was debate as to what to do with them. In a sickening foretaste of ISIS atrocities to come decades later, the decision was made to behead them. This was done brutally and with relish. Dean refused to participate but was greatly disturbed by the bloodlust he saw in fellow fighters he considered friends.
While Dean was shaken by these events, he remained a committed jihadi and in years to come would travel to Afghanistan where he eventually joined Bin Laden. It was here though that his doubts concerning Jihad finally came into stark relief. The 1998 embassy bombings killed 224 people (213 in Nairobi and 11 in Dar es Salaam) while injuring over 4000 (4000 in Nairobi and 85 in Dar es Salaam). The vast majority of the casualties were ordinary Kenyan and Tanzanian citizens going about their business, a large proportion of whom were Muslim. Yet in the al Qaeda training camps the news was met with celebration the casualties dismissed as not proper Muslims. The bombings had been planned to coincide with Friday prayers, so according to al Qaeda’s logic, any Muslims caught up in the conflagration had turned their back on God.
Sickened by what he saw, Dean travelled abroad on the pretext of needing medical treatment. Detained at the airport in Bahrain, he first came to the attention of the Bahraini intelligence services, and finally, that of MI6 where he was persuaded to spy.
This book was written in conjunction with Paul Cruickshank and Tim Lister, respected journalists who helped Morten Storm, another al Qaeda militant who spied for the West, write his memoir, Agent Storm. At The outset of Nine Lives they assure the reader that they’ve verified much of Aimen Dean’s story with their sources in the intelligence world. This is a good thing because the revelations within these pages are eye-opening.
In the reviews of this book in the press, much attention has been given to the revelation that the ban on passengers carrying laptops onto certain flights in the Middle East was due to intelligence that Hamayan Tariq, a car mechanic from Dudley, and now master bomb maker for al Qaeda, had invented a technique for disguising bombs as laptop batteries. While interesting, to my mind there are starker disclosures than this within this title’s pages.
One of these is the author’s knowledge of al Qaeda’s efforts in chemical warfare. Aimen Dean was deeply involved in al-Qaeda’s chemical weapons programme when in the Afghan training camps (he was working for MI6 at this point and they asked him to continue with this work so that he could inform the intelligence services as to al-Qaeda’s progress). In particular, he describes how al-Qaeda succeeded with hydrogen cyanide and cyanogen chloride. They developed a crude but effective dispersal system, the mubtakkar. This was to be used in a 2003 plot against the New York subway that was called off by Ayman Zawahiri (then al-Qaeda’s number two). This device has never been used but it has come close to being so on a number of occasions and the author fears it is only a matter of time.
The biggest disclosures in this title however aren’t so much “big ticket items” – attacks thwarted, plots uncovered, etc – but an insight into the jihadi mindset. As someone educated and yet deeply imbued in jihadism, Dean shows how the logic of al-Qaeda, and later ISIS, is deeply rooted in perverted interpretations of the Quran and Hadith. This is an important revelation, because some of ISIS’s destructive, and seemingly self-defeating behaviour, can be explained once this is understood. Another aspect I found eye-opening is how accepted and normalised fighting jihad has become. In families such as Dean’s - normal, well-to-do Middle Eastern families - a family member’s decision to travel to Syria to fight is a perfectly acceptable life-choice, even something to be proud. Again, this is something we in the West ignore at our peril.
Nine Lives is an incredibly enlightening read and one that a book review cannot really do justice. Post-9/11, and now with ISIS on the rampage, bookshelves groan under the weight of titles analysing these events. I have read a fair few myself. I have to say that this is far and away one of the best and written by someone with real, first hand understanding of the phenomenon.
May 31, 2019
In search of a formula for a popular Autobiography of a Disillusioned Ex-Jihadi
1- There is an Arab currently living in a western country, with a secret past.
2- After years of fighting his existential crisis, he now wants to reveal the truth to the world. The truth which has never been spoken before. The truth which will set him and everyone free.
3- He narrates his story in a non-linear thrilling style. Linear narrative is so boring and mundane. So he starts by informing the reader that terrorists are planning to kill him, maybe he would be killed before this book got published.. So read it carefully , you are reading the true words of soon to be dead man.
4- It all started Years ago , he had a happy childhood in a geographically doomed region of middle east. Circumstances forced this brilliant and righteous person to be indoctrinated by an extremist ideology. He wanted to bring islamic revolution against the tyranny and oppression of a new world order.
5- He fled to the war zone and fought against kafirs, but never killed or harmed any one. Everyone beside him was killing , beheading, torturing , looting and plundering. He was so good at heart that he was heartbroken at the plight and pain of his enemies.
6- In the war zone he met soon to be world famous jihadis and expertly noted their characteristic and personality traits ( Just in case he need to write about them someday).
7- Slight disillusionment didn't forced him to abandon his ideals, so he fled to another war zone. But instead of fighting he raised cats and played beach volley ball there.
8- Disappointing at lack of action, fled to the mother of all war zones ( Afghanistan) to get the best training in chemical explosives. In his free time he used to raise cats and meet all famous jihadi leaders.
9- He joined Al-Qaida by personally meeting Osama bin laden.
10- Even with Al-qaida he never hurt anybody. Although he was an expert in chemical explosives he never made a bomb for any suicide mission.
11- He had a deep knowledge of islamic theology and jihadi literature but his reasons for leaving jihadi life were emotional . He felt the wrongness of jihadi arguments from inside his heart. No intellectual argument convince him to kill fellow human being.
12- The reason for his disillusionment was indiscriminate killing of civilian muslims and non-muslims by Al-Qaida and jihadis.
13- Before disillusionment he was carefully collecting valuable inside information ( Just in case someone in MI6 may contact him in the future :) )
14- Claimed to have vague knowledge of every major terrorist attack in western country.
15- Accidently came in contact with MI6 years before 9/11, they were amazingly good intentioned people who always keep their words, act according to constitution, believe in justice and peace, help people on humanitarian grounds, believe in solution by peaceful means blaw blaw blwa.....
16- He decided to become a double agent only to fight terrorism , injustice and making the world a better place.
17- Found solace in the knowledge that his father was also an undercover agent for british years ago..
18- Became the most valuable asset for good intentioned western spy agencies..
Well it doesn't bother me the least whether anything in this book was factual or not. I am interested in what narrative reveals. To quote Derrida " There is nothing outside of the text"...
I am curious why narrative is revealing everything humane and good about the author, never mentioning any atrocity or harm done by him or any spy agency. He claimed to have deep knowledge of islamic theology and jihadi literature but talk like a lay man on these issues... Never mentioned the intellectual work and arguments of islamic scholars working on counter narrative against terrorism. Although he claimed to know all major jihadi's but his description of their personalities is very ordinary and superficial. An insider knowledge should not be coloured by already prevailing simplified perceptions. Interestingly he never talk like someone born and raised in an rich Arab culture. His perceptions, knowledge, and values are so westernized. May be he wanted the intended readers to feel affinity with him.
Beside many shortcomings, the book is an interesting read.
1- There is an Arab currently living in a western country, with a secret past.
2- After years of fighting his existential crisis, he now wants to reveal the truth to the world. The truth which has never been spoken before. The truth which will set him and everyone free.
3- He narrates his story in a non-linear thrilling style. Linear narrative is so boring and mundane. So he starts by informing the reader that terrorists are planning to kill him, maybe he would be killed before this book got published.. So read it carefully , you are reading the true words of soon to be dead man.
4- It all started Years ago , he had a happy childhood in a geographically doomed region of middle east. Circumstances forced this brilliant and righteous person to be indoctrinated by an extremist ideology. He wanted to bring islamic revolution against the tyranny and oppression of a new world order.
5- He fled to the war zone and fought against kafirs, but never killed or harmed any one. Everyone beside him was killing , beheading, torturing , looting and plundering. He was so good at heart that he was heartbroken at the plight and pain of his enemies.
6- In the war zone he met soon to be world famous jihadis and expertly noted their characteristic and personality traits ( Just in case he need to write about them someday).
7- Slight disillusionment didn't forced him to abandon his ideals, so he fled to another war zone. But instead of fighting he raised cats and played beach volley ball there.
8- Disappointing at lack of action, fled to the mother of all war zones ( Afghanistan) to get the best training in chemical explosives. In his free time he used to raise cats and meet all famous jihadi leaders.
9- He joined Al-Qaida by personally meeting Osama bin laden.
10- Even with Al-qaida he never hurt anybody. Although he was an expert in chemical explosives he never made a bomb for any suicide mission.
11- He had a deep knowledge of islamic theology and jihadi literature but his reasons for leaving jihadi life were emotional . He felt the wrongness of jihadi arguments from inside his heart. No intellectual argument convince him to kill fellow human being.
12- The reason for his disillusionment was indiscriminate killing of civilian muslims and non-muslims by Al-Qaida and jihadis.
13- Before disillusionment he was carefully collecting valuable inside information ( Just in case someone in MI6 may contact him in the future :) )
14- Claimed to have vague knowledge of every major terrorist attack in western country.
15- Accidently came in contact with MI6 years before 9/11, they were amazingly good intentioned people who always keep their words, act according to constitution, believe in justice and peace, help people on humanitarian grounds, believe in solution by peaceful means blaw blaw blwa.....
16- He decided to become a double agent only to fight terrorism , injustice and making the world a better place.
17- Found solace in the knowledge that his father was also an undercover agent for british years ago..
18- Became the most valuable asset for good intentioned western spy agencies..
Well it doesn't bother me the least whether anything in this book was factual or not. I am interested in what narrative reveals. To quote Derrida " There is nothing outside of the text"...
I am curious why narrative is revealing everything humane and good about the author, never mentioning any atrocity or harm done by him or any spy agency. He claimed to have deep knowledge of islamic theology and jihadi literature but talk like a lay man on these issues... Never mentioned the intellectual work and arguments of islamic scholars working on counter narrative against terrorism. Although he claimed to know all major jihadi's but his description of their personalities is very ordinary and superficial. An insider knowledge should not be coloured by already prevailing simplified perceptions. Interestingly he never talk like someone born and raised in an rich Arab culture. His perceptions, knowledge, and values are so westernized. May be he wanted the intended readers to feel affinity with him.
Beside many shortcomings, the book is an interesting read.
July 22, 2021
Amazing and so is his podcast! Highly recommended listening to the podcast before reading
July 7, 2018
This is a fascinating account of a Muslim jihadi who became a spy for the British. I recommend it for anyone interested in the origins and development of the scourge of radical extremism.
November 26, 2018
Since 9/11 the Middle East has been a focal point for American foreign policy, with much focus devoted to militant groups and their activities. Al-Qaeda because of its role in so many attacks against Americans both on foreign and domestic soil, has garnered a great deal of attention by our intelligence communities and by the public. In an attempt to learn more about this mysterious organization, I requested this book to review. This book more than met my hopes and expectations. The author, a teenager filled with religious fervor and hope, joined al-Qaeda in its quest to reclaim Muslim dominance in the area. Dean, because of his analytic mind and skills, soon became one of the group's premier bomb makes, specializing in chemical weapons. However, over time seeing how many civilians on both sides were being killed needlessly, Dean became disillusioned with al-Qaeda. He then became an agent for British intelligence, providing them with incredible information an all sorts of al-Qaeda activities. His time was cut short as a spy because his cover was compromised, but the United States of course, and most likely someone in Vice President Dick Cheney's office. Remember Valerie Plame? I have never been a fan of Cheney's and the more I learn about him, the more reasons he gives me to feel this way. Regardless, what makes this book even more phenomenal besides these incredible real life spy tales is the author's assessment as to how to eliminate al-Qaeda and similar groups in the middle east - we have had it all wrong of course! I am hopeful that our next president will read this book (it is an accepted fact that Trump does not read) and take some of it to heart. Maybe then we can effectively bring some peace to that region. This is simply an amazing book for us all.
July 22, 2021
4.5 great "Reflections" chapter
March 30, 2020
The biography of the allegedly most important West's spy inside al Qaeda.
I listened to a part of his interview on LBC with Maajid Nawaz a couple of years ago and, as I have never heard a jihadi spy speaking before, I was curious to know more about him and his travails.
The corona lockdown offered me the opportunity to do it, so I bought a copy of his book from Amazon.
There is no independent reference about him on the internet, apart from some interviews and reviews of his two books, so, one cannot assess how much truth it is and how much fabulation.
I bought most of the first part of the story, but as the book progressed, I found more and more discrepancies and unanswered questions regarding his role in the organisation.
After a baptism of fire in Bosnia and a short trip to Philippines, he appears to be semidetached from the organisation – he goes to a training camp in Afghanistan where, apart from some training in explosive handling, a short posting on the front line with the North Alliance before 9/11, some help he gives with religious teaching of young recruits and some dreams reading, he is not involved in any planning of management of the organisation.
Somehow, he gets in contact with many famous terrorists, and he even swears allegiance to Osama bin Laden in a one to one meeting.
Unhappy with the massive civilian casualties resulted from the East African embassies bombings of 1988, he examined the religious justification for jihad, found it a nonsense, and he decided to switch sides, becoming a spy for MI6/MI5.
He comes and goes without creating any suspicions in the high hierarchy. Many of his moves are inexplicable. Even a loose organisation as Al Qaeda appears to be, according to this book, would have asked some serious questions about his behaviour.
Some of his actions are hard to be believed, such as the one where he offers himself to the Taliban as an emissary to the Australian government before the 2000 Olympics, despite having no involvement with the Taliban or having any Australian connections.
Somehow, he is an expert on the “mubtakkar,” a device capable of a toxic gas Al Qaeda terrorists contemplated to use in an attack on New York subways in 2003. Surprisingly, Al Qaeda's deputy leader Al-Zawahiri cancelled the operation because he was concerned that the Americans could legitimize the invasion of Iraq. Two questions came to my mind – why wasn’t he concerned the Americans will invade Afghanistan before al Qaeda launched 9/11 attacks, and why nobody used this magic weapon since.
In another chapter we were told the strategy of having spectacular terrorism acts was to attract American intervention that will provoke a holy war and the end of the world as we know it, but maybe the author did not used a proof reader.
When he relocates to UK, a former terrorist acquittance, who happened to have a notebook in a Bahrain prison containing his phone number, calls him to ask for help in the organisation of a plot in UK.
It feels to me like a plot for a cheap thriller.
By the end I lost the interest and trust in any of his stories. He might be a very important spy but only future, and well researched books on Al Qaeda will clarify it.
I listened to a part of his interview on LBC with Maajid Nawaz a couple of years ago and, as I have never heard a jihadi spy speaking before, I was curious to know more about him and his travails.
The corona lockdown offered me the opportunity to do it, so I bought a copy of his book from Amazon.
There is no independent reference about him on the internet, apart from some interviews and reviews of his two books, so, one cannot assess how much truth it is and how much fabulation.
I bought most of the first part of the story, but as the book progressed, I found more and more discrepancies and unanswered questions regarding his role in the organisation.
After a baptism of fire in Bosnia and a short trip to Philippines, he appears to be semidetached from the organisation – he goes to a training camp in Afghanistan where, apart from some training in explosive handling, a short posting on the front line with the North Alliance before 9/11, some help he gives with religious teaching of young recruits and some dreams reading, he is not involved in any planning of management of the organisation.
Somehow, he gets in contact with many famous terrorists, and he even swears allegiance to Osama bin Laden in a one to one meeting.
Unhappy with the massive civilian casualties resulted from the East African embassies bombings of 1988, he examined the religious justification for jihad, found it a nonsense, and he decided to switch sides, becoming a spy for MI6/MI5.
He comes and goes without creating any suspicions in the high hierarchy. Many of his moves are inexplicable. Even a loose organisation as Al Qaeda appears to be, according to this book, would have asked some serious questions about his behaviour.
Some of his actions are hard to be believed, such as the one where he offers himself to the Taliban as an emissary to the Australian government before the 2000 Olympics, despite having no involvement with the Taliban or having any Australian connections.
Somehow, he is an expert on the “mubtakkar,” a device capable of a toxic gas Al Qaeda terrorists contemplated to use in an attack on New York subways in 2003. Surprisingly, Al Qaeda's deputy leader Al-Zawahiri cancelled the operation because he was concerned that the Americans could legitimize the invasion of Iraq. Two questions came to my mind – why wasn’t he concerned the Americans will invade Afghanistan before al Qaeda launched 9/11 attacks, and why nobody used this magic weapon since.
In another chapter we were told the strategy of having spectacular terrorism acts was to attract American intervention that will provoke a holy war and the end of the world as we know it, but maybe the author did not used a proof reader.
When he relocates to UK, a former terrorist acquittance, who happened to have a notebook in a Bahrain prison containing his phone number, calls him to ask for help in the organisation of a plot in UK.
It feels to me like a plot for a cheap thriller.
By the end I lost the interest and trust in any of his stories. He might be a very important spy but only future, and well researched books on Al Qaeda will clarify it.
September 2, 2025
A lot of pat tillman energy. This book is great.
A blend of a very personal tale of Aimen dean growing up, joining, and becoming theologically disenchanted with his fellow jihadists, as well as a riveting procedural spy tale from one of Al qaeda’s top bomb names.
Having just read about Pat Tillman, a man who enlisted to fight the other side of the war, the similarities between the two are hard not to see. Both were men with strong world views which they had upon from their own studies. Tillman’s convictions lead him to enlist feeling it was his duty to his country. Ailen’s reading of theological and historical texts led him to embark on a quest for martyrdom and defend global Muslims (leaving SA at age 16!! to fight the Serbs)
For both it feels like they joined out of real conviction derived from a well thought out personal philosophy and realized that most of their fellow militants/soldiers were really just bloodthirsty dickheads. Gotta be a little careful with the analogy, Aimen’s fellow fighters were all true believers in the Martyrdom and prophecy stuff, though I got the feeling that it was more because it was what they were told.
both Tillman and Aimen were disconcerted by what they saw and felt like the higher ups and boots on the ground were losing the plot, and that they were being roped into things which ran counter to the principles which lead them to sign up. For Tillman this was the Iraq war, and for Aimen it was seeing some grotesque beheadings and the targeting of civilians both of which ran counter to scripture.
Both their strong, grounded world views kept them from getting allowed them to break from stuff they didn’t believe in which is I think the most powerful part of this book for me. Once Aimen defected and lived in GB and interacted with people, the whole Jewish Crusader conspiracy and other things believed by radical islamists kinda fall apart on contact.
I really really liked this book. I have a hard time understanding the mentality of jihadists and I think this was a very human look at radicalization, and the being a young middle eastern Muslim trying to deal with insane clerics and the many many bullshit hadiths they brandish and the very confusing array of violent entities. I leave perturbed by the way radical Islam has interacted on a worldwide scale with the Internet. Also it shows me once again that real life spy stories remain 10x more insane than the plots in fiction.
A blend of a very personal tale of Aimen dean growing up, joining, and becoming theologically disenchanted with his fellow jihadists, as well as a riveting procedural spy tale from one of Al qaeda’s top bomb names.
Having just read about Pat Tillman, a man who enlisted to fight the other side of the war, the similarities between the two are hard not to see. Both were men with strong world views which they had upon from their own studies. Tillman’s convictions lead him to enlist feeling it was his duty to his country. Ailen’s reading of theological and historical texts led him to embark on a quest for martyrdom and defend global Muslims (leaving SA at age 16!! to fight the Serbs)
For both it feels like they joined out of real conviction derived from a well thought out personal philosophy and realized that most of their fellow militants/soldiers were really just bloodthirsty dickheads. Gotta be a little careful with the analogy, Aimen’s fellow fighters were all true believers in the Martyrdom and prophecy stuff, though I got the feeling that it was more because it was what they were told.
both Tillman and Aimen were disconcerted by what they saw and felt like the higher ups and boots on the ground were losing the plot, and that they were being roped into things which ran counter to the principles which lead them to sign up. For Tillman this was the Iraq war, and for Aimen it was seeing some grotesque beheadings and the targeting of civilians both of which ran counter to scripture.
Both their strong, grounded world views kept them from getting allowed them to break from stuff they didn’t believe in which is I think the most powerful part of this book for me. Once Aimen defected and lived in GB and interacted with people, the whole Jewish Crusader conspiracy and other things believed by radical islamists kinda fall apart on contact.
I really really liked this book. I have a hard time understanding the mentality of jihadists and I think this was a very human look at radicalization, and the being a young middle eastern Muslim trying to deal with insane clerics and the many many bullshit hadiths they brandish and the very confusing array of violent entities. I leave perturbed by the way radical Islam has interacted on a worldwide scale with the Internet. Also it shows me once again that real life spy stories remain 10x more insane than the plots in fiction.
May 26, 2022
https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/nine-lives-my-time-as-mi6s-top-spy-inside-al-qaeda-by-aimen-dean/
Very interesting book, supposedly by a former jihadist who became a British agent within al-Qaeda; I’m sorry to start on a note of scepticism, but this is clearly a very tightly managed narrative, and in fact rather than pretend that he wrote the entire thing himself, his ghost-writers emerge from behind the veil in the afterword.
Even bearing in mind how closely the story has been crafted, it’s a very interesting tale; the author, who grew up between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, went to Bosnia as a teenage foreign fighters supporting (more or less) the Sarajevo government in the early 1990s, and graduated to the Philippines and then Pakistan and Afghanistan, before becoming sickened by the sheer nastiness of jihadism and turning himself in to the British – who promptly sent him back to serve as an asset within the system, where he continued until his cover was blown by a leak from Dick Cheney’s office.
Clearly the purpose of the narrative is twofold: to persuade potential jihadist recruits that there’s really not much in it for them, the rewards both spiritual and earthly being rather poor; and to persuade the wider global intelligence community that the British have still got what it takes. I’m largely in agreement with both propositions; given when and where I grew up, I am not a big fan of terrorism, and my sense is that British intelligence has been less badly hollowed out by the “reforms” of this century than the FCDO. At the same time, I am alert to being manipulated by the book’s authors.
The most interesting thing that I took from the book is just how limited the inner circle of international jihadist leadership is. The author keeps running up against the same people, sometimes many years apart; the core number of human resources is small, and has a tendency to become smaller through enemy action and deliberate self-sacrifice. This is the big difference with my own homeland, where political violence had wider and deeper roots on both sides of the community, and self-sacrifice was largely limited to prison protests. (Some people like to forget that the biggest terrorism campaign in Europe since the Second World War was waged by Christians against other Christians.)
Anyway, even with the caveats above, I found this well worth reading.
Very interesting book, supposedly by a former jihadist who became a British agent within al-Qaeda; I’m sorry to start on a note of scepticism, but this is clearly a very tightly managed narrative, and in fact rather than pretend that he wrote the entire thing himself, his ghost-writers emerge from behind the veil in the afterword.
Even bearing in mind how closely the story has been crafted, it’s a very interesting tale; the author, who grew up between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, went to Bosnia as a teenage foreign fighters supporting (more or less) the Sarajevo government in the early 1990s, and graduated to the Philippines and then Pakistan and Afghanistan, before becoming sickened by the sheer nastiness of jihadism and turning himself in to the British – who promptly sent him back to serve as an asset within the system, where he continued until his cover was blown by a leak from Dick Cheney’s office.
Clearly the purpose of the narrative is twofold: to persuade potential jihadist recruits that there’s really not much in it for them, the rewards both spiritual and earthly being rather poor; and to persuade the wider global intelligence community that the British have still got what it takes. I’m largely in agreement with both propositions; given when and where I grew up, I am not a big fan of terrorism, and my sense is that British intelligence has been less badly hollowed out by the “reforms” of this century than the FCDO. At the same time, I am alert to being manipulated by the book’s authors.
The most interesting thing that I took from the book is just how limited the inner circle of international jihadist leadership is. The author keeps running up against the same people, sometimes many years apart; the core number of human resources is small, and has a tendency to become smaller through enemy action and deliberate self-sacrifice. This is the big difference with my own homeland, where political violence had wider and deeper roots on both sides of the community, and self-sacrifice was largely limited to prison protests. (Some people like to forget that the biggest terrorism campaign in Europe since the Second World War was waged by Christians against other Christians.)
Anyway, even with the caveats above, I found this well worth reading.
December 26, 2024
A rare book about an aspiring teenage poet from Bahrain seeking martyrdom defending muslims under attack in Bosnia, who later swears allegiance to Osama bin Laden, before – plagued by doubts – “undermining” the offensive jihad by becoming MI6’s top spy inside Al-Qeda. That is, until the White House and a US journalist blunder and blow his cover and career.
Cats are said to have nine lives, and so the book evolves in nine intriguing chapters to give a biography of Aimean Dean (nickname the “cat”) before, during, and after working as a high-profile spy for British Intelligence. The cat is first fascinated by defensive jiihad and, lured by promises of a heavenly live, seeks a worthy martyrdom in Bosnia fighting atrocious Serbs. But entrance to an eternal live of bottomless honey and milk is yet to be denied. Meanwhile inefficient progress on the next muslim front in the Philippine jungle and quality time with psychopaths in the Hindu Kush sow seeds of doubts about recent life choices. After Al-Qeda embarks on suicide missions involving civilians, the cat decides to trade his old live as a prolific bomb maker for a new one as one of MI6’s most valuable asset in counter-terrorism. He finds comfort in a quote from Imam Ali: “Loyalty to the treacherous is treachery in the eyes of God. The betrayal of the treacherous is loyalty in the eyes of God.“ With that turnaround, the reader is taken on an exciting journey to learn about Al-Qeda’s inner workings, the character and motivations of their allegiance, intelligence services, and a personal peak into the Aimen’s mental state while informing on former compatriots. No words can probably do justice to how he must have felt while being in the remote mountains, far away from any possible rescue mission, with a constant fear that he may be identified as a spy. He also describes how lonely he often felt and how powerless, especially after jihad gained momentum following the catastrophic US-led “war for civilization” in the Middle East. Through Aimen’s lens we also gat a sense of why many Muslims in the West join the offensive jihad, coarsely described as second generation immigrants trying to find roots, confidence and identity in a violent ideology.
Doubtless, I enjoyed reading this book, not least because it provides insights and reflections that are otherwise difficult if not impossible to obtain. I highly recommend reading it.
Cats are said to have nine lives, and so the book evolves in nine intriguing chapters to give a biography of Aimean Dean (nickname the “cat”) before, during, and after working as a high-profile spy for British Intelligence. The cat is first fascinated by defensive jiihad and, lured by promises of a heavenly live, seeks a worthy martyrdom in Bosnia fighting atrocious Serbs. But entrance to an eternal live of bottomless honey and milk is yet to be denied. Meanwhile inefficient progress on the next muslim front in the Philippine jungle and quality time with psychopaths in the Hindu Kush sow seeds of doubts about recent life choices. After Al-Qeda embarks on suicide missions involving civilians, the cat decides to trade his old live as a prolific bomb maker for a new one as one of MI6’s most valuable asset in counter-terrorism. He finds comfort in a quote from Imam Ali: “Loyalty to the treacherous is treachery in the eyes of God. The betrayal of the treacherous is loyalty in the eyes of God.“ With that turnaround, the reader is taken on an exciting journey to learn about Al-Qeda’s inner workings, the character and motivations of their allegiance, intelligence services, and a personal peak into the Aimen’s mental state while informing on former compatriots. No words can probably do justice to how he must have felt while being in the remote mountains, far away from any possible rescue mission, with a constant fear that he may be identified as a spy. He also describes how lonely he often felt and how powerless, especially after jihad gained momentum following the catastrophic US-led “war for civilization” in the Middle East. Through Aimen’s lens we also gat a sense of why many Muslims in the West join the offensive jihad, coarsely described as second generation immigrants trying to find roots, confidence and identity in a violent ideology.
Doubtless, I enjoyed reading this book, not least because it provides insights and reflections that are otherwise difficult if not impossible to obtain. I highly recommend reading it.
May 24, 2020
Great book about jihadi movement narrated from the perspective of the UK's Top Spy in Al-Qaeda. The author masterfully tells the story of his youth by carefully unravelling the complexity that surrounds contemporary geopolitics of the Middle East. The book has many first person accounts and should be like a textbook for anyone interested in the topic. Worth every minute of my time and I was astonished about relatively lack of popular attention to this masterpiece.
June 11, 2022
Fascinating inside look at radical Islam from a former Al Qaeda double agent who took his oath of allegiance in front of Bin Laden. Way more than just a memoir, it is also does a good job illuminating the origins and objectives of Al Qaeda and ISIS.
July 7, 2024
Eye opening tell-all about the Smurfs. While his crippling addiction to Diet Coke is very relatable, I can’t back joining Al-Queda.
July 3, 2021
"Soon after I was recruited by British intelligence, one of my colleagues joked that I should be called the ‘cat’ – as I appeared to have nine lives. I have used up every one of those lives fighting on both sides of this generational struggle, neither of which can claim a monopoly on decency or righteousness."
I am generally a fan of accounts of real-life sagas, so I put this one on my list as soon as I came across it. Thankfully, the writing here did not disappoint. The above quote references the book's title.
Author Aimen Dean (born Ali Al Durrani) is a former member of al-Qaeda. In 1998, he joined the Secret Intelligence Service and became an MI6 spy.
Aimen Dean:
The writing here is well done. This story is told in an engaging manner, and the book is very readable. Points for this, as there is nothing I dislike more in the books I read than rambling, incoherent narratives, and flat, lackluster writing.
The scope of the book is outlined in the introduction, as well as some disclaimers about the veracity of the writings. There was also a well-written prologue here, that set the tone for the rest of the writing that was to follow. The author talks about his early life; writing that both of his parents died young.
The story here follows the life of author Aimen Dean. Dean became attracted to a fundamentalist interpretation of Islam and eventually became a jihadist. He traveled to Bosnia, and then the Philippines to fight the jihad with fellow Muslims.
Much of the writing here covers the concept of jihad. Often misinterpreted by many in the west, jihad provides the theoretical underpinnings of modern terrorism. Wars of jihadist conquest are a large part of why most of the Middle East and North Africa are Islamic today.
Jihad means struggle. Broken into two broad conceptual categorizations; the "greater" jihad is the struggle to remain a pious observer of the faith, and the struggle against one's bodily temptations. The "lesser" jihad is the forwarding of Islamic political aims through the pen, the spoken word, the sword, or money.
The first cracks in his extremist beliefs occurred after he got to Bosnia, and witnessed much barbaric beheading and other shocking savagery committed by the Islamic jihadists there. He writes [WARNING: GRAPHIC]:
The book also talks about many prominent jihadis, who Dean personally met with and knew. Among the figures Dean recounts in these pages include:
• Khalid Sheikh Mohammed
• Ramzi Yousef
• Osama bin Laden
• Abu Hamza
• Abu Hafs al-Masri
• Abu Musab al-Zarqawi
• Anwar al-Awlaki
Dean writes that he experienced an existential crisis after the August 1998 truck bombings of the US embassy in Nairobi, Kenya. He became upset about the large number of innocent people that had been killed in the bombings, and began to question his jihadist ideology, as well as the narrative being fed to him by other jihadists.
He writes that he supported the jihad against American imperialism, but did not want to kill other Muslims while doing so.
As mentioned; Dean would eventually go undercover for the British intelligence service MI6 in 1998. The information he would provide to them was of great value. He writes:
*****************************
Nine Lives was a decent telling of an incredible story.
I would recommend it to anyone interested.
4 stars.
I am generally a fan of accounts of real-life sagas, so I put this one on my list as soon as I came across it. Thankfully, the writing here did not disappoint. The above quote references the book's title.
Author Aimen Dean (born Ali Al Durrani) is a former member of al-Qaeda. In 1998, he joined the Secret Intelligence Service and became an MI6 spy.
Aimen Dean:
The writing here is well done. This story is told in an engaging manner, and the book is very readable. Points for this, as there is nothing I dislike more in the books I read than rambling, incoherent narratives, and flat, lackluster writing.
The scope of the book is outlined in the introduction, as well as some disclaimers about the veracity of the writings. There was also a well-written prologue here, that set the tone for the rest of the writing that was to follow. The author talks about his early life; writing that both of his parents died young.
The story here follows the life of author Aimen Dean. Dean became attracted to a fundamentalist interpretation of Islam and eventually became a jihadist. He traveled to Bosnia, and then the Philippines to fight the jihad with fellow Muslims.
Much of the writing here covers the concept of jihad. Often misinterpreted by many in the west, jihad provides the theoretical underpinnings of modern terrorism. Wars of jihadist conquest are a large part of why most of the Middle East and North Africa are Islamic today.
Jihad means struggle. Broken into two broad conceptual categorizations; the "greater" jihad is the struggle to remain a pious observer of the faith, and the struggle against one's bodily temptations. The "lesser" jihad is the forwarding of Islamic political aims through the pen, the spoken word, the sword, or money.
The first cracks in his extremist beliefs occurred after he got to Bosnia, and witnessed much barbaric beheading and other shocking savagery committed by the Islamic jihadists there. He writes [WARNING: GRAPHIC]:
"I was asked to participate in what happened next but could not bring myself to do so. As the first prisoners were brought in front of us in a clearing alongside the camp and crudely beheaded, I approached a young Saudi fighter from the town of Taif that I had befriended.
‘Abu Dujana,’ I said, ‘do you think if the Prophet was here he would agree with this form of execution?’ I asked him.
‘He beheaded people in Medina,’ he said.
‘But Islamic law dictated executions should be done with a swift strike to the back of the neck. Call it a merciful dispatch. Not like this. We are becoming like them.’
He shrugged and turned away amid the primal screams of the victims.
Some of the condemned men were wearing jeans and casual clothing rather than military uniforms. One of our commanders said they were Chetnik spies and collaborators. But looking back now, it is possible some were civilians. Khalid wanted to see them all tortured and beheaded. And that’s what happened. During the course of several days, our brigade put to death more than one hundred prisoners.** They were paraded, told to admit to crimes and executed in batches, while several of our fighters recorded the scene with camcorders.23 There was nothing surgical about the executions: axes, knives and even chainsaws were used. Some prisoners were crudely beheaded, their heads kicked across the dust. Many looked terrified as they were forced to witness the killings. Others were defiant to the last, saying they would rape Muslim women again if given the chance. One was foolish enough to claim he was a magician and could not be killed. His head was placed on a concrete block, and another block was dropped on it.
Several dozen had been executed by the time it was Khalid’s turn. His eyes had a glazed, demented expression that I found deeply disturbing. He dragged a prisoner onto the bloodied earth, forced him to the ground and, crouching over him, began sawing at his neck with a serrated hunting knife.
Khalid had always viewed the world in a binary way. If he was going to fight the enemies of Islam, he was not going to be inhibited about it. In his view the Prophet had prescribed such forms of execution; there was no debate. After decapitating the man, Khalid kicked away his head in contempt. I turned around and left..."
The book also talks about many prominent jihadis, who Dean personally met with and knew. Among the figures Dean recounts in these pages include:
• Khalid Sheikh Mohammed
• Ramzi Yousef
• Osama bin Laden
• Abu Hamza
• Abu Hafs al-Masri
• Abu Musab al-Zarqawi
• Anwar al-Awlaki
Dean writes that he experienced an existential crisis after the August 1998 truck bombings of the US embassy in Nairobi, Kenya. He became upset about the large number of innocent people that had been killed in the bombings, and began to question his jihadist ideology, as well as the narrative being fed to him by other jihadists.
He writes that he supported the jihad against American imperialism, but did not want to kill other Muslims while doing so.
As mentioned; Dean would eventually go undercover for the British intelligence service MI6 in 1998. The information he would provide to them was of great value. He writes:
"In the course of five hectic months, I had provided British intelligence with a manual of jihad unrivalled in its detail. I was told some time later that the services regarded my information as gold dust as they grappled with a new threat on which they had little solid information and within which they had precisely zero sources.
While the Americans were ratcheting up their surveillance of al- Qaeda by ‘national technical means’ (in other words electronic eavesdropping) the British were much stronger in human intelligence. What I provided added a great deal to the very basic picture of al-Qaeda they had. My information was ending up – regularly – at Number 10 Downing Street. And much of it was being passed on to the American cousins (suitably amended to try to keep the source protected) where on occasion it was included in the president’s daily intelligence briefing."
*****************************
Nine Lives was a decent telling of an incredible story.
I would recommend it to anyone interested.
4 stars.
August 19, 2018
While one has to take it all with a grain of salt, especially his tuned-for-consultancy-contracts policy recommendations, this does give an interesting perspective on radical Islam and on how Al Qaeda developed and works.
March 27, 2019
Wery well written autobiography of a turn coat al-Qaeda chemist that became a MI6 spy. This is is at the same time a first hand account about the inner workings of a al-Qaeda terrorist sell, on modern spying and a history of modern Jihadism.
Dean writes very well and this book went almost like a novel. But still the details are confirmed by the editors and what i know about the topic.
Because the writer is a British-Bahrain, he is very critical of US foreign policy and says directly that the Americans created the conditions for the rise of al-Qaeda and ISIS. In this aspect this book was surprisingly left-wing. I was expecting that a British spy would be a right wing war hack, but this is almost a anti-war testament about the evils of imperialism.
Dean writes very well and this book went almost like a novel. But still the details are confirmed by the editors and what i know about the topic.
Because the writer is a British-Bahrain, he is very critical of US foreign policy and says directly that the Americans created the conditions for the rise of al-Qaeda and ISIS. In this aspect this book was surprisingly left-wing. I was expecting that a British spy would be a right wing war hack, but this is almost a anti-war testament about the evils of imperialism.
September 25, 2018
An excellent autobiographical book that provides insightful information about modern Muslim extremism as well as the precarious nature of espionage. His intimate associations give a perspective that could not be more unique - this is someone who went through a terrible but ultimately transcendent personal struggle. He emerges from a violent world as a changed and scarred man, but allows that experience to broaden his view rather than let it descend into a ideology of hatred. The closing meditations on justice and ethics are certainly heartening for anyone dismayed at the proliferation of conflict in the Middle East - Change must come from within the system, rather than without.
October 10, 2024
A fascinating account of Aimen Dean’s time as MI5/6’s most useful source within al-Qaeda. Offers an insight into the time before 9/11, as well as showing clearly the motivations behind jihad for many people around the world. Also highlights the many failures of the Western response, some of which continue to this day.
October 17, 2018
A very interesting book. "Dean" (an assumed name for obvious reasons) is a a highly intelligent middle class Bahraini raised in Saudi Arabia who in the religious fervour and turmoil of a childhood cut short by the early deaths of his parents went o Bosnia at 16 to fight for fellow Muslims. His photographic memory that had enabled him to memorise the Koran at 12 made him pick up battlefield skills, firing mortars, reading maps etc quickly. After making contacts in Bosnia he went to Azerbaijan and the Phillipines (to fight with the local Islamic group in Mindinao who are hilariously acronymed MILF) where hepicks up more experience and contacts. It's jarring how easy it was to travel about as a young jihadi in the late nineties from one hotspot to another by commerical aircraft. He ends up in Pakistan and eventually Afghnaistan where he meets Bin Laden twice and swears an oath of jihad (or something similar, technically it maybe something different) to the Al Quaeda leader himself. It's intersting to hear the rival views of other leaders in the group, another prominent cleric is highly critical of OBL for being based in Afghanistan and ruining the chances of the Taleban making a success of the place becasue of his terrorist jihad. It's notable how many leaders the bookish author talks to who are either disdainful of, or troubled by, the many ignorant and/or psycopathic fellow jihadis who are there becasue their own personal issues. The Western convert jihadis are often the worst becasue they are converts who have screwed up their lives and seeking a casue and to atone. These people leave the author unsettled but ot is the Kenya bombngs by AQ that really trouble him, as a scholar and raised in a rounded - if conservative -Muslim tradition he is distressed by the murder of innocent civilians and studiously researchs the various (spurious) fatwas cited by scholars to justify the killings. A medical problem forces him to return for medical treatment in Qatar where he is picked up by the security forces who then proudly pass him along to the British, where he has chosen to go rather than the French or - God forbid - the Americans. He doesnt know why he cooses the British "maybe it was spy movies" he muses and he certainly seems quite an anglophile. YOu can't help thinking that the posh MI6 handlers who take him over are playing their role to the hilt. He loves London, the mixture of people, the tolerance of the British. He supplies useful information on his bomb making teacher in Afhghanistan as well as other good information and is then asked to infiltrate the "Londonistan" Islamic scene which is thriving thanks to the UKs traditional liberal approach to free speech. With his sterling credentials he is respected and becomes part of the scene. He is bemused by the readical clerics like Abu Hamza who have very narrow blinkered views of Islam and are preaching to alienated young men, he says they are even worse than Wahabis.
Interesting that his career as a spy gets shortened - almost certainly - by VP Cheney's amateur intelligence shop run out of the WH as reported in Ron Suskinds The One Percent Doctrine (which Iread at the time, was a bit obsessed with him, he was interviewed on Democracy Now a bit back in the day. Another reason to hate Cheney.
Fascinating that after going private he was employed by the Chinese SS to report on the native Uyghur threat. He implores them to use honey to buy off the militants rather than force which is grumpily dismissed by the old timer Party man as he hands over an envelope stuffed full of $25,000 cash for the author to spend at Duty Free in Macau. The svelte young SS handler rolls her eyes at the old boy and tells him that the old party guys stick together and run things their way.
Misc: disconcerting to have the Al Quaeda and Isis jihadis always fantasizing about the end of days when Jesus Christ would return and lead the Holy armies to liberate Jerusalem....I knew Jesus was an important prophet in Islam but didn't realise this bit. Loved how his wife threatened to make him wear a hijab if he ever tried to make her wear one during her wedding speech. Many of the hard core surrounding Bin Laden were Egyptians and viewed with skepticism by the Gulf Arabs.
Memorable book.
Interesting that his career as a spy gets shortened - almost certainly - by VP Cheney's amateur intelligence shop run out of the WH as reported in Ron Suskinds The One Percent Doctrine (which Iread at the time, was a bit obsessed with him, he was interviewed on Democracy Now a bit back in the day. Another reason to hate Cheney.
Fascinating that after going private he was employed by the Chinese SS to report on the native Uyghur threat. He implores them to use honey to buy off the militants rather than force which is grumpily dismissed by the old timer Party man as he hands over an envelope stuffed full of $25,000 cash for the author to spend at Duty Free in Macau. The svelte young SS handler rolls her eyes at the old boy and tells him that the old party guys stick together and run things their way.
Misc: disconcerting to have the Al Quaeda and Isis jihadis always fantasizing about the end of days when Jesus Christ would return and lead the Holy armies to liberate Jerusalem....I knew Jesus was an important prophet in Islam but didn't realise this bit. Loved how his wife threatened to make him wear a hijab if he ever tried to make her wear one during her wedding speech. Many of the hard core surrounding Bin Laden were Egyptians and viewed with skepticism by the Gulf Arabs.
Memorable book.
February 24, 2021
A great book, fantastically well written.
Really compliments his ‘Conflicted’ podcast as well.
Feel like I understand today’s world, and many of its recent political/ cultural frictions, better now for having read this book. In particular this book helped me start to build a basic understanding of the Middle East.
His life story as a Jihadi fighter turn British spy, is just mind blowing. Aimen Dean is a perfect example of how one individual can complete turn around their direction in life and make a massively positive contribution to the world.
His personal story helps you understand the huge number of different factions and religious interpretations that lead the world to states of war and terrorism and also how much of the conflicts of the Middle East are proxy wars started by the West.
I highly recommend reading this book.
Really compliments his ‘Conflicted’ podcast as well.
Feel like I understand today’s world, and many of its recent political/ cultural frictions, better now for having read this book. In particular this book helped me start to build a basic understanding of the Middle East.
His life story as a Jihadi fighter turn British spy, is just mind blowing. Aimen Dean is a perfect example of how one individual can complete turn around their direction in life and make a massively positive contribution to the world.
His personal story helps you understand the huge number of different factions and religious interpretations that lead the world to states of war and terrorism and also how much of the conflicts of the Middle East are proxy wars started by the West.
I highly recommend reading this book.
February 2, 2024
I was going to write a longer review about NINE LIVES by Aimen Dean but think it would be better for readers to discover the richness of this amazing book as they read it. It was written in 2018 and is even more pertinent now.
Aimen Dean was born in Bahrain and grew up in Saudi Arabia. The youngest of six brothers, his father died when he was four years old and his mother died when he was 13. After his mother’s death, he turned to religion to find meaning for his life. He was an excellent student.
By the time he was 20, he was involved in extremist terrorist organizations. In the process, he worked for Al-Qaeda on explosives and poisons.
After a few years, he began to realize that these extremist groups were turning against against other Muslims whose religious beliefs and actions differed from their own. Osama bin Ladan, for example, had a little concern about the number of civilians killed in his operations nor the number of his followers who died carrying them out. It wasn’t what he had learned about Islam.
Based on his actions, concerns, and information as well as his contacts, he was recruited by Britain’s MI6 where he was able to collect and pass on valuable information about the plans and activities of several terrorist organizations.
His career ended when he was outed by American journalist Ron Suskind with information he likely received from Scooter Libby, a member of Vice President Dick Cheney’s staff. While his name wasn’t used, members members of Al-Qaeda were able to figure out who he was.
In IN NINE LIVES, Dean explores the reasons people, primarily young men, get involved in these operations and why they are so angry with the West. Much of it involves what they’re taught about what it means to be a true Muslim, furthering their religion, martyrdom, and being rewarded in heaven.
The very important final chapter provides suggestions about how to change these beliefs and actions within the Muslim community.
Aimen Dean was born in Bahrain and grew up in Saudi Arabia. The youngest of six brothers, his father died when he was four years old and his mother died when he was 13. After his mother’s death, he turned to religion to find meaning for his life. He was an excellent student.
By the time he was 20, he was involved in extremist terrorist organizations. In the process, he worked for Al-Qaeda on explosives and poisons.
After a few years, he began to realize that these extremist groups were turning against against other Muslims whose religious beliefs and actions differed from their own. Osama bin Ladan, for example, had a little concern about the number of civilians killed in his operations nor the number of his followers who died carrying them out. It wasn’t what he had learned about Islam.
Based on his actions, concerns, and information as well as his contacts, he was recruited by Britain’s MI6 where he was able to collect and pass on valuable information about the plans and activities of several terrorist organizations.
His career ended when he was outed by American journalist Ron Suskind with information he likely received from Scooter Libby, a member of Vice President Dick Cheney’s staff. While his name wasn’t used, members members of Al-Qaeda were able to figure out who he was.
In IN NINE LIVES, Dean explores the reasons people, primarily young men, get involved in these operations and why they are so angry with the West. Much of it involves what they’re taught about what it means to be a true Muslim, furthering their religion, martyrdom, and being rewarded in heaven.
The very important final chapter provides suggestions about how to change these beliefs and actions within the Muslim community.
December 25, 2024
Definitely one of the most interesting books I read this year!
'Dean', a young Bahraini man raised in Saudi Arabia joins the Jihad and travels through several conflict zones fighting for what he believes in at the time. He interacts with many high ranking Muslim terrorism leaders and becomes a leading and well known bomb maker.
Later in his journey, he turns into a spy for British Intelligence until his name is leaked.
It is a very interesting book, giving a great insight on the mindset of a young man joining the jihad!
'Dean', a young Bahraini man raised in Saudi Arabia joins the Jihad and travels through several conflict zones fighting for what he believes in at the time. He interacts with many high ranking Muslim terrorism leaders and becomes a leading and well known bomb maker.
Later in his journey, he turns into a spy for British Intelligence until his name is leaked.
It is a very interesting book, giving a great insight on the mindset of a young man joining the jihad!
May 13, 2020
A blistering non-fiction account charting a life lived in the centre of a geopolitical hurricane involving battles between liberal democracies, despotic states and fundamentalist religion, manipulative interpretations of ideology, clumsy and disastrous Western foreign policy, and an internal struggle to do the right thing for one's faith.
Aimen Dean leads you through his experiences starting as an impressionable Bahraini-born, Saudi-raised Arab who became a jihadi for what he believed were the right reasons, but was later disturbed by the horrors his religion was being stretched to justify, and consequently agreed to spend years working with the British intelligence services as of the few spies the West had within al-Qaeda. For each chapter in his unique and dangerous journey, he offers insights into the social, ideological, cultural and political context that gave rise to al-Qaeda's power, beginning from the cradles of international jihad in Bosnia and Afghanistan in the 1990s, through to the fundamentalist factions, offshoots and nightmares that have developed in modern-day Syria and Iraq.
He exposes the psychology of jihadis as both vulnerable and disillusioned individuals and as disturbingly dark and reprehensible strategists who use dubious Machiavellian interpretations of the Qur'an, the hadith and its prophecies to meet their political ends, and gives the reader a nuanced, in-depth understanding of the evolution of jihad, the efforts and shortcomings of the intelligence and security services, and the triggers that led to events still haunting societies around the world today, both Arab and Western, Muslim and non-Muslim.
The book covers a vast range of events and issues over three decades, and deftly bridges both the global/political and the personal/intimate sides of this struggle for identity and freedom. I would highly recommend it to anyone seeking to become better informed about the context surrounding major modern conflicts, islamophobia, religious fundamentalism and international politics.
Aimen Dean leads you through his experiences starting as an impressionable Bahraini-born, Saudi-raised Arab who became a jihadi for what he believed were the right reasons, but was later disturbed by the horrors his religion was being stretched to justify, and consequently agreed to spend years working with the British intelligence services as of the few spies the West had within al-Qaeda. For each chapter in his unique and dangerous journey, he offers insights into the social, ideological, cultural and political context that gave rise to al-Qaeda's power, beginning from the cradles of international jihad in Bosnia and Afghanistan in the 1990s, through to the fundamentalist factions, offshoots and nightmares that have developed in modern-day Syria and Iraq.
He exposes the psychology of jihadis as both vulnerable and disillusioned individuals and as disturbingly dark and reprehensible strategists who use dubious Machiavellian interpretations of the Qur'an, the hadith and its prophecies to meet their political ends, and gives the reader a nuanced, in-depth understanding of the evolution of jihad, the efforts and shortcomings of the intelligence and security services, and the triggers that led to events still haunting societies around the world today, both Arab and Western, Muslim and non-Muslim.
The book covers a vast range of events and issues over three decades, and deftly bridges both the global/political and the personal/intimate sides of this struggle for identity and freedom. I would highly recommend it to anyone seeking to become better informed about the context surrounding major modern conflicts, islamophobia, religious fundamentalism and international politics.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 15, 2025
Eh it’s alright, 3.5/5 - interesting takes and insights on terrorism and such, definitely an important issue to be educated on.
I thought there were some plot holes and the author definitely left out some negative things he did… no way he casually went up the ranks at Al-Queada at such a young age….
I thought there were some plot holes and the author definitely left out some negative things he did… no way he casually went up the ranks at Al-Queada at such a young age….
Read
August 15, 2020DID NOT FINISH.
Will definitely come back to this but thought this was going to be more of an exploration of his life. Feel as though this could be a lot shorter as I found myself getting a little lost 😭
Will definitely come back to this but thought this was going to be more of an exploration of his life. Feel as though this could be a lot shorter as I found myself getting a little lost 😭
December 1, 2018
4.5 stars.
June 22, 2019
I'd give this six stars if I could. It's blinking amazing.
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