Beverly Anne Giesbrecht (August 26, 1953 – 2010) was a western convert to Islam who created the controversial website Jihad Unspun.[1] Giesbrecht was a media consultant and website designer, prior to her conversion and her creation of Jihad Unspun. She is reported to have become interested in Islam following al Qaeda's attacks on September 11, 2001.
Beverly Anne Giesbrecht | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 26, 1953 |
| Died | 2010 (aged 56–57) |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Other names |
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| Occupation(s) | media consultant, publisher, website designer |
| Known for | A convert to Islam, who traveled to a war zone to support muslim women, where she died in captivity after being kidnapped by jihadists |
In 2008. she moved to the Afghanistan region, where she continued to operate Jihad Unspun.[1] In spite of being generally sympathetic to the Taliban, she was captured and held for ransom. She sent pleading letters and videos to Canada, warning that her captors would kill her if their ransom demands weren't met.[2] She died of hepatitis after years of captivity.[3]
Giesbrecht was kidnapped in October 2008.[4] On November 3, 2008, CBC News reported that her most recent online video contained an appeal for donations to leave the region; as the war had become more active, and she felt it was no longer safe for her to stay there.
Her friend, Glen Cooper, was the primary contact when she was in captivity. The Globe and Mail reported in March 2011 that after months of no contact, following months of declining health, he accepted that she had died in captivity.[3]
In 2012, two years after her death, CBC News quoted RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson's first comments on the case. Curt Petrovich, the journalist who questioned Paulson, recorded him stating "there was some ambiguity as to whether the kidnap was a legitimate kidnap or not".[5]
In 2016, an episode of CBC News's series Firsthand recounted her story.[1][6] Although some sources speculated that she was not a sincere convert to Islam, and that her website was a false flag operation, the CBC's interviews with her friends in Canada portrayed her as sincere and motivated by humanitarian motives.[7][8][9]
References
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"The Woman Who Joined the Taliban". Firsthand (TV series). 2015-10-22. Archived from the original on 2016-12-03. Retrieved 2017-02-28.
This film sets out to investigate the strange circumstances surrounding Beverley's kidnapping amidst Islamic fundamentalism, shifting allegiances and political intrigue in the lawless tribal territories on the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
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"The Woman Who Joined the Taliban: My memories of Bev". Firsthand (TV series). 2015-10-22. Archived from the original on 2016-04-25. Retrieved 2017-02-28.
The first phone call came four weeks later. She was crying on the phone, while a bunch of men were laughing in the background. Their demands were outrageous, and it was impossible to negotiate with them. Then came the videos on TV. At first I didn't recognize her. She had aged 30 years, and looked utterly dejected. This was not the Bev I knew. She used to be a warrior in the news business, but now I was looking at a beaten puppy.
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Mark Hume (2011-03-17). "Old friend gives up hope for captive Canadian in Pakistan". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 2016-09-20. Retrieved 2017-03-01.
"I have long feared it, but I finally accepted her demise only a few weeks ago," said Mr. Cooper, who for years has served as a spokesman in Canada for Ms. Giesbrecht, an old friend of his.
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"B.C. freelancer made 'urgent appeal' to exit Pakistan before kidnapping". CBC News. 2008-11-03. Retrieved 2017-02-28.
A B.C. woman gathering video material for a documentary in northern Pakistan had pleaded for help to leave the "war zone" last month before she was kidnapped in a tribal region.
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Curt Petrovich (2012-04-24). "RCMP not convinced Canadian was kidnapped by Taliban: Commissioner offers first comments about case". CBC News. Retrieved 2017-02-28.
RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson sounded surprised when CBC News asked him about the case on Parliament Hill Monday.
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Jesilou Tongio (2015-10-22). "The Woman Who Joined the Taliban". Firsthand (TV series). Archived from the original on 2016-09-06. Retrieved 2017-02-28.
Her extraordinary story is told in The Woman Who Joined the Taliban — a documentary that tries to make sense of how Giesbrecht took on a quest for salvation in Islamic jihad, and then fell into a hell of captivity at the hands of the Taliban.
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Beverly Anne Giesbrecht (2003-08-21). "Assalamualeikum Enver, May this letter reach you in the best of health and Imaan". Jihad Unspun. Archived from the original on 2016-08-15. Retrieved 2017-02-28.
Although it grieves me a great deal to say this, the CIA accusations stem from Muslims, my very brothers and sisters. The first rumors were started by Azzam Publications and Maktabah Al Ansar, both who know exactly who I am as we have had business dealings early on.
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"Azzam claims Jihadunspun is a fake". Islamwatch. 2002-11-06. Archived from the original on 2002-12-06. Retrieved 2017-03-01.
Following this second, direct attack on our credibility and integrity, and JUS [jihd unspun]'s statement that Waaqiah.Com is now the home of Britain's controversial Azzam Publications, which has led to our Azzam.com domain being taken down by authorities following this statement (it remains down as this statement goes to press), we had no choice but to issue a statement and warn the Muslims about what Jihadunspun is really about.
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"The Web as al-Qaida's safety net". Chicago Tribune. 2003-03-28. Archived from the original on 2016-03-06. Retrieved 2017-03-02.
They speculate that Jihad Unspun, an English-language site that appears to promote terror, may be a CIA creation, designed to find out who visits or orders videos glorifying bin Laden.