Germaine Maurice Lindsay (23 September 1985 – 7 July 2005), also known as Abdullah Shaheed Jamal, was a British terrorist who acted as one of the four Islamist suicide bombers who detonated bombs on three trains on the London Underground and a bus in central London during the 7 July 2005 London bombings, killing 52 people plus themselves, and injuring more than 700. Lindsay detonated the bomb that killed himself and 26 other people on a train travelling on the Piccadilly line between King's Cross St Pancras and Russell Square tube stations.
Germaine Lindsay | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Germaine Maurice Lindsay 23 September 1985 Jamaica |
| Died | 7 July 2005 (aged 19) London, England |
| Cause of death | Suicide bombing |
| Other names | Abdullah Shaheed Jamal |
| Spouse | |
Biography
edit
Lindsay was born in Jamaica; after moving to Britain at age five, he lived in Dalton, West Yorkshire, where he attended Rawthorpe Junior School and Rawthorpe High School.[2] He subsequently moved to Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire.
Lindsay had converted to Islam shortly after his mother, Maryam McCleod Ismaiyl, converted to the faith in 2001 and encouraged him to do the same.[3][4] He worked part-time as a carpet fitter and supplemented his income by selling covers for mobile phones at a local market.[4]
In October 2002, Lindsay married a 29-year-old woman from Kinnitty, County Offaly, Ireland, in a traditional Islamic religious ceremony,[5] which had no legal recognition in the UK.[6][7] Because she objected to Lindsay's wish to take a second wife, he divorced her eight days later to marry Samantha Lewthwaite on 30 October.[5][8] Lewthwaite, a native of County Down, Northern Ireland, had converted to Islam at the age of 17 after moving to Aylesbury. Lewthwaite lived with him and gave birth to their second child two months after his death.
Abdullah el-Faisal, an imam convicted of attempting to incite sectarian murders in 2003, later claimed to have been close to Lindsay.[9][10]
Wife
editLindsay's wife, Samantha Lewthwaite, denied his involvement until authorities produced forensic evidence to confirm his identity.[11] She later said she abhorred the attacks and that her husband's mind had been poisoned by "radicals".[12]
By 2015, she had been accused of causing the deaths of more than 400 people as the right hand of the al-Shabaab leader Ahmad Umar.[13] Now dubbed the 'White Widow', Lewthwaite is an alleged member of the Somalia-based radical Islamic militant group Al-Shabaab.[14]
Involvement in London bombings
editLindsay detonated his bomb, killing 25 people including himself, on a train travelling between King's Cross St Pancras and Russell Square stations.[15]
Attempted house arson
editOn 22 July 2005, police and fire services were called to Lindsay's home in Aylesbury after neighbours reported a strong smell of petrol coming from it. It was suspected to be a retaliatory arson attack on the empty property.[16] Later it was revealed in the local press that Lindsay's wife and son were living under "police protection" and would not be returning home. In December 2005, two 17-year-olds were convicted at Aylesbury Crown Court of arson in circumstances where they were reckless as to whether the life of another person would be endangered and each sentenced to 18 months youth detention with a training order.[17]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Image of bombers' deadly journey, BBC News, 17 July 2005, accessed 3 December 2006.
- ^ Sapsted, David and Duncan Gardham. "Lost years of the 'nice boy' who killed 25". The Daily Telegraph, 16 July 2005.
- ^ Bird, Steve; Pierre, Leslie (22 July 2005). "Bomber's mother prays for victims". The Times. London. p. 13.
- ^ a b Gillan, Audrey; Cobain, Ian; Muir, Hugh (16 July 2005). "Jamaican-born convert to Islam 'coordinated fellow bombers'". The Guardian. London. p. 4.
- ^ a b "Tube bomber's bizarre eight-day marriage". West Yorkshire News. 14 August 2007. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
- ^ Divya Talwar (BBC Asian Network) (3 February 2010), Wedding trouble as UK Muslim marriages not recognised, BBC News, British Broadcasting Corporation, archived from the original on 29 November 2014, retrieved 8 July 2015
- ^ Cambridge Family Law Practice (Marchant-Daisley, Varty, Moghadas, Bethel and Ashton) (8 May 2013), Islamic marriage and divorce, archived from the original on 14 July 2015, retrieved 8 July 2015
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Profile: Germaine Lindsay". BBC News. 2 March 2011.
- ^ Sandford, Daniel (20 June 2008). "Hate preacher 'knew 7/7 bomber'". BBC News. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
- ^ "Hate preaching cleric jailed". BBC News. 7 March 2003. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
- ^ "New Muslim at 15, a bombing suspect at 19" International Herald Tribune 18 July 2005.
- ^ "Widow of bomber 'abhors' attack" BBC News, 23 September 2005
- ^ "White Widow 'has killed 400 people' as key figure in al-Shabaab". The Telegraph. 18 May 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
- ^ "Samantha Lewthwaite: Is 'White Widow' behind Kenya mall attack?". The Christian Science Monitor. 23 September 2013. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
- ^ "Image of bombers' deadly journey". BBC News. 17 July 2005. Retrieved 3 March 2007.
- ^ "Attempted arson at bomber's house", BBC News. 22 July 2005.
- ^ "Arsonists locked up for attack on home". Huddersfield Daily Examiner. 6 December 2005.
External links
edit- "Blue Watch relive the bomb hell inside carriage 346A" by Mark Townsend, The Observer, 9 October 2005
- Profile of Germaine Lindsay
- Profile of Radical Jamaican-born Cleric Sheikh Abdullah al-Faisal al-Jamaikee published by the Jamestown Foundation in Washington, DC
- "Fourth bomber's name disclosed" (Accessed 15 July 2005) BBC News
- "Market town may hold clues to fourth suspect" (Accessed 15 July 2005) Financial Times
- Russell Square explosion