English version of longread about the jihad and the death of two teenage friends from Maastricht in Syria and Iraq

1. THE LAST JOURNEY
Feb 19, 2015 @ 17:00 PM
In September 2014, two 19-year-old students from Maastricht, the most southern town
in the Netherlands, go on jihad. Within three months, they will be dead. One of them
blows himself up in a suicide attack in Iraq, the other one dies in a battle between
Islamic State (IS) and the troops of Syrian president Assad. This is the story of the
radicalization, jihad and death of two friends from Limburg.
By Johan van de Beek and Claire van Dyck
It's early 2013. The 18-year-old Sultan Berzel visits the El Fath mosque in Maastricht. He
wants to be a hafiz, someone who knows all 6236 verses of the Koran by heart. This is
not very unusual. The Prophet himself has said that "one, who memorizes the Koran and

2. thereby accepts the commands and prohibitions of Allah, will be accepted by Allah in
Jannah (Paradise).''
Sultan also wants to lead the prayer (salat). Whether he actually learns the Koran by
heart in the period remaining to his departure for the caliphate in the weekend of
September 13, 2014, is questionable. The salat is successful. There is a smart phone
video of him, made in the mosque in Maastricht. Dressed in a djellaba he prays in Arabic.
In that mosque, the piety of the young, frail-looking Sultan has certainly been noticed in
2013, but not seen as a possible step towards radicalization. Management and imam are
happy that Sultan is off the streets. This interpretation, however, is disputed by a source
in the Muslim community in Limburg who informs us that Sultan caused grave concerns.
''They talked to him for hours, but he would not listen.''
The radicalization of Sultan Berzel (of Moroccan origin) takes barely a year. For his friend
Azad*, a boy of Iraqi-Kurdish origin who by mid-2014 starts visiting the mosque in
Maastricht alongside schoolmate Sultan, it takes less time. In three months Azad
changes from a cheerful but serious student bookkeeping who likes girls and going out,
into a jihadist. Crucial in the radicalization of both boys are horror movies posted online
by Islamic State. Beheadings, dead babies, children with severed limbs, raped women.
Crimes committed by the army of Assad against its own people. This visual horror is
mixed with heroic and smooth propaganda videos of Islamic State in which young
Muslims and Muslim women in the West are called upon to come to end injustice and
help build the caliphate where Muslims can live according to the teachings of the prophet.
In Maastricht Sultan and Azad are part of a small group of young people who have put
themselves on this one-sided information diet. They do not read newspapers and do not
follow current affairs. All official (Dutch) media are distrusted. The ‘real truth' is passed
along in living rooms, through social networks and via contacts with recruiters. These
recruiters pick the most impressionable candidates for jihad out of a crowd during, for
example, lectures at the mosque. These recruiters are not representatives of the mosque
itself, but visitors with a hidden agenda.
Family members of Azad speak of ‘crying wolves' that lure youngsters into jihad. "They
bark, but do not bite themselves. They say that it is the duty of every Muslim to help
brothers in Syria. But ultimately they don't go themselves. Only Sultan and Azad went on
jihad. The wolves stayed behind. Some of them said that they had drunk alcohol and
were not pure enough to go.''
It's not only in the mosque that Sultan's behavior stands out, but also at school. The
story that he destroys a cartoon of the Prophet during a class trip to an exhibition in The
Hague is well known in Maastricht. But there is more. This silent Travel and Tourism-
student, who is always friendly and personable, begins putting Arabic texts over his
papers that his teachers can't decipher. He asks if he can pray in school. Initially he does
this in silence, in the classroom. Later he is referred to a prayer room in the school. A
curb is imposed: he may pray before or after a lesson, not during. Eventually, teachers
organize a meeting on how to deal with Sultan who refuses to shake hands with women.
He also refuses to take lessons from a female teacher. After the destruction of the
cartoon, he is suspended for at least three months. The school will only talk in general
terms about the case. It remains unclear whether Sultan has been reported to authorities
on suspicion of radicalization. Sultan explains his suspension, in the words of his father
(in an interview with local TV-station L1), with the familiar exclusion-argument: "Daddy,

3. now you can see that we are not welcome here. '' When he goes to Syria in September
2014, he has been written out of the student register at the school.
The father and mother of Sultan Berzel also notice changes during the time that Sultan is
not at school. He will, if he is not in the mosque, spend his days in his room, reading the
Koran or surfing the internet. The bed disappears from his bedroom. He sleeps on a
prayer mat and starts fasting every other day. That seems extreme. But for Sultan and
especially the world in which he lives now, it's logical. There are things in Islam that are
obligatory for all Muslims, such as Ramadan. What Sultan does is Al-Mustahab (also
called Al-Mandoob) which means 'highly recommended'. No Muslim needs to do
additional fasting, but you earn extra 'points' when you do. Fasting every other day also
refers directly to a quote from the Prophet in which he proclaims this way of fasting by
Dawood (David) as 'best'. Sultan is preparing for jihad and this is one of the ways of
'cleaning' himself. He wants to be purer and better than anyone around him. One day he
destroys the bankcards of his mother with scissors. He explains that a bank account is
haram (forbidden) because it is linked with interest (riba). Interest received or provision
is prohibited under strict interpretations of the doctrine.
Everything indicates that Sultan, explains Islam-expert Anne Dijk, has found ‘instant
identity'. The cutting of the bankcards means three things: the absolute denial of interest
and western banking, denying parental authority and demonstrating that he is a better
Muslim than his parents. Going against authority and choosing the moral high ground is,
according to Dijk, a red flag. She stresses that most young people who become
radicalized, miss a real theological basis. They make use of a 'cut and paste' Islam:
cherry picked fatwa’s and hadiths from the internet that fit their particular situation.
Their religion is not a spiritual journey that can last a lifetime, but an emotion-based
100-meter dash that can easily jump the border between piety and extremism. Dijk
describes the two main characteristics of radicalism: the willingness to use violence and
the appropriation of the right to engage in takfir. That means excommunicating other
Muslims because they are not serious enough in their beliefs.
What young people like Sultan need is a counter-narrative. But who is qualified for that?
Specific knowledge about Islam is needed to ensure that a counter-narrative is effective.
But almost all players in the field - parents, family, teachers, street workers, youth

4. coaches or police – lack expertise. This raises the question if the whole counter-
radicalization program now implemented by municipalities with a large Muslim population
– a radicalization officer in town hall who acts upon signals from street workers, school,
and police - is not doomed to fail. An internal memo from the police about ways to detect
early radicalization signs, mentions beard growth among men and wearing niqab or
burqa by women. Sultan had no beard. He was too young. Aïcha, a former classmate of
Sultan who fled Syria at the end of last year, cycled in niqab trough the
Wittevrouwenveld-neighbourhood of Maastricht. Who held talks with her about her choice
of clothing or her motives? And what should Sultan have done more to get noticed?
A quote from the police manual: "In interviews with and questioning of persons with
jihadist or radical Islamic background, some knowledge of Islam and Jihadism is
necessary.'' Some knowledge? The manual refers to an Islam for Dummies-list with
terms like Allah (=God) and Ali (=cousin of the Prophet). Relevant references to websites
like ontdekislam.nu, forums.marokko.nl or a mandatory reading list are missing. Even for
people who are equipped to engage in discussion, like the family of Azad, it is difficult to
penetrate the brain of someone who has travelled a certain distance on the radicalization
line and has reached a point where logic no longer matters. "I've talked to some of these
Moroccan boys in Maastricht. I asked them: if you are so concerned with faith and purity,
why don't you go to Morocco? Why don't you start your missionary work there? They
have whores, nightclubs, drugs and alcohol in abundance there. But they do not want to
hear that. They need to go Syria. ''
Oliver Roy, a French Islam expert, describes the lure of a modern culture of violence in
which someone who was a nobody yesterday is a hero today, even it means being a
negative hero. From zero to hero. That's how Anne Dijk and imam Muhammad Cheppih
call the phenomenon of young people who believe they are destined to play minor roles
in Dutch society, can be giants in Syria. No wonder that, according to research from Roy,
extremely violent films like Brian de Palma's Scarface are popular in jihadist
environments. "It's the fantasy of omnipotence, a pop culture. Want to go to battle with
Evil driving an SUV? Plus money and women as extras? Do you want to be a King? Come
to Syria!''.
Sultan also wants to go to Syria. To give humanitarian aid, he tells his parents at home.
His friend Azad shows first interest in Islam in the summer of 2014. He starts visiting the
mosque with Sultan. A good thing thinks the family of Azad. It fits the image of the
sweet, caring guy that Azad is. Azad studies and also holds a job at a restaurant where
he does the dishes but also helps to cook. He is always on time. Punctual. Azad, just like
Sultan, does not fit the often painted picture of the 'excluded' young man who can’t
participate in society and, therefore, starts to radicalize.
Azad suddenly has new friends, especially of Moroccan origin. At home, this is viewed
with some suspicion. What is he thinking? Azad expresses his sympathy for Islamic
State. This leads to intense discussions about Islam at home. About good and evil. About
IS. Azad's father has studied the Koran at the University of Baghdad during Saddam
Hussein-times. But Azad does not recognize his father's authority anymore. A week
before departure, he creates a new Facebook account under a fictitious name starting
with ‘Abu' (father), another sign that he considers himself a jihadist. He is forced to erase
the account. But before that a family member sends all his ‘friends’ on Facebook a
message that they must stop spreading their poison. That Azad is actually planning to

5. leave for the caliphate is not considered a real possibility. A Kurd joining Islamic State?
Unthinkable.
In retrospect, it is clear how Azad and Sultan have been ‘turned'. Confidence in the
Netherlands, in society and the media, is constantly undermined by the ‘crying wolves'. It
is a continuous process of brainwashing. The double standards of the West versus the
Middle East, the Palestinian issue (the Gaza War of 2014) and other geopolitical
developments are - rightly or wrongly - also used as arguments to fuel suspicion and
anger against Dutch/Western society. Eventually, all ties between victim and family and
reality are cut. Azad starts going to lectures, Arabic lessons and Koran lessons for Muslim
youth in Maastricht. Unlike Sultan, he does not speak Arabic. Quietly they prepare
themselves for departure. Little by little underwear and T-shirts are smuggled from home
to an unknown address. On the day of their departure, they take the passports from the
parental homes. They also have about two thousand Euros saved to travel and spend. On
Saturday September 13 both boys close the front doors of their homes for the last time
behind them. There is some anecdotal evidence that they travel to nearby Brunssum to
visit the local mosque there where they have been before. Acquaintances see them in the
Wittevrouwenveld-neighbourhood and the train station in Maastricht that day. They both
carry suitcases.
It is also a fact they there is a go-between with whom they correspond via social media
and Whatsapp. Before they take a plane to Istanbul, the intermediary gives them a
phone number that they must call after arrival in Turkey. Later investigations will show
that Sultan and Azad have had serious contacts with ‘brothers' in The Hague and
Rotterdam. They were also regular visitors of the radical Islamic website dewarereligie.nl
(True Religion), allied to fighters in Syria. That website has been offline since the
administrator and a regular columnist have been arrested on suspicion of recruiting
jihadists.
Panic strikes at the home of the family of Azad on Sunday, September 14th. It is clear
that Azad has not come home. His passport is not in the drawer where all the ID's of the
family are stored. The police are alerted. A relative of Azad visits the Berzel family house.
Where is Sultan, he asks. With friends, is the answer. Which friends? Just friends, says
the mother of Sultan.
Azad's family tries to contact the boy on the phone. His phone is also traced. The trail
leads to Rotterdam, near a mosque. The police and family will take a look there, but the
boys are not found. Suddenly there are messages on WhatsApp, signed with ‘greetings
Azad'. This tells the family that messages are not from Azad because he never signs his
messages. It is clear that 'someone' has taken his phone. A relative of Sultan sends him
a message that the police are informed of his disappearance. That way the family of
Sultan actually warns him to be careful and not get caught.
And then they are gone.
The parents of Sultan find a farewell note under his prayer mat: "If you read this, I'm in
Syria ''. In Turkey, the boys call the number they were given in The Netherlands by the
go-between. They are picked up by a van that takes them across the border with Syria.
During that week both of them call. ''We have arrived’’, says Azad, calling from a phone
with a Turkish number. "Dad, I'm in Raqqa", says Sultan in his phone call.

6. After the departure of the two Onno Hoes, mayor of Maastricht says "we do not have
signals that there is a larger group of potential Jihadists. We will investigate if there are
more radical Muslims in the network of the two from Maastricht’’. If this investigation has
lead anywhere is unclear. Police refuse to comment.
Meanwhile, in Maastricht, the mother of Sultan seems to be preparing the return of her
son. Sultan, she says to a social worker, is not accepted by IS for battle due to flatfeet.
There is intense contact between Sultan and his parents. He calls at least twice a week.
Azad calls infrequently. It appears that his phone often has no network-connection at the
places where he is. Apparently his phone is also confiscated at periods. Via information
that Sultan sends home, the family of Azad learns that the two friends are no longer
together. Probably the fate of Sultan is already determined. He is too frail for combat. For
a while, he seems to have the task to recruit new fighters in The Netherlands. That can
be distilled from messages he sends to acquaintances. There are voic e messages in
which he praises IS. "The bodies of the mujahedeen (jihad fighters) smell of musk. The
bodies of the Peshmerga (Kurdish fighters) stink’’, he says.
Azad, a strong and muscular boy is sent to a training camp in Syria. In conversations
with his family in Maastricht, he says little about what he does or where he is. Do not
worry, he says again and again. He is not here to fight, he adds. He urges his family not
to believe what the Western media say. He has not seen atrocities by IS or beheadings,
he claims. But he has seen much suffering among civilians, he says. Later his family
learns that he actually takes part in combat actions. There are a few heated discussions
on the phone. Azad rationalizes by saying that things done by the Assad army are ten
times worse than what IS does. It is clear that he is not only trained to fight but is also
ideologically schooled. He does not want to come home. In one of t hese emotional
disputes with a family member Kobani comes up. Kobani, the Syrian city on the border
with Turkey, has almost been overrun by IS. Parts of the city are fiercely defended by
Kurds. Azad is convinced that IS will take the city because God is on their side. His family
is convinced that the Kurds - backed by the West – will prevail. A bet is made. "If IS
wins, I'll come to you. But if they lose, you must come back''. IS is defeated in Kobani in
January 2015. Too late for Azad who has been dead for over a month.
On November 12, 2014 Sultan blows himself up in front of a police station in Baghdad.
He reportedly kills eleven people, including police officers. Dozens of bystanders are
injured. A total of 23 people die after a car bomb also explodes.
On December 20, 2014 the family of Azad tries to make contact. The telephone is
answered by a comrade who says Azad lies injured in a hospital. The family wants to talk
to Azad. The comrade admits that Azad shortly after surgery on his injuries succumbed.
The injuries were caused by heavy shelling of the military airbase in the city of Deir ez-
Zor.
Azad's family is torn by grief. But there is also gratitude that their son has not followed
the path of Sultan. A suicide attack with innocent victims would have been unbearable.
As far as they know, Azad has not killed anyone. There is something else. Something
very substantial. There is relief that Azad died on the front line, as a soldier. And that he
was not killed by shelling of his ‘own' Peshmerga, but by the army of Assad. "If he had to
die, better to die by fire of the Assad army than by a suicide attack on innocent
policemen. ''

7. There are mixed signals from the Berzel family. When it is confirmed that the boy using
the nom de guerre Abu Abdullah Al Hollandi is Sultan, his father speaks of him as "a
green bird in Paradise''. That means martyr. That statement causes resentment on social
media in the Netherlands. Stating that your son is in paradise also means that you
believe in the terrorist ideology of 'reward' which is behind it.
On December 30, 2014 IS puts a video testament of Sultan online. The father reaffirms
that his son is in paradise and thanks Allah. Later he states that he regrets the deaths of
innocents. Female friends visit the mother of Sultan. Not to condole her with the loss of
her son - that equates to approve the deed - but to comfort her with her grief as a
mother. It is in one of these meetings that the parents of Sultan clearly demonstrate
their sympathy for IS.
The family of Azad feels not only grief but also anger. Anger over those in Maastricht and
elsewhere who have poisoned the mind of Azad. They don't seek revenge. Revenge is
inconsistent with their faith, their Islam.
Very recently they have had contact with a comrade of Azad by phone. Why is there no
photo of the grave? There is nothing. No location. No grave number. Azad is buried.
That’s all they know. Buried. Somewhere in Raqqa.
Someday they'll go there to find him.
The family hopes that authorities will focus on agitators, recruiters, hate preachers and
evil imams. That's why they told their story. Maybe it will prevent another boy from
taking a similar trip to death.
That's what they hope for.
(* the name of Azad is fictitious at the request of the family)
(Translated from the story ‘Reis naar de dood’, first published in Dutch
newspapers Dagblad De Limburger & Limburgs Dagblad on Feb 7, 2015)