London - It was no ordinary job application – but then it wasn’t exactly an ordinary job.
Osama bin Laden drew up a recruitment form for aspiring jihadists that asked them who the terror group could call “in case you became a martyr”.
Tucked among the usual human resources questions about age and marital status, the Al Qaeda leader left a space to be filled with the name of someone who could be contacted if an applicant died while waging jihad.
The form also asked candidates if they had any military training and added: “Do you wish to execute a suicide operation?”
The form was among 400 files made public on Wednesday, four years after they were found by US Navy Seal special forces on May 2, 2011, when they stormed Bin Laden’s hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan, and shot him dead.
They give a fascinating insight into his character and show how he pontificated on everything from his son’s wedding to climate change. But the most surprising of all is the job application, which shows even Al Qaeda was burdened with red tape.
At the top of each page is a watermarked “company title and slogan” that says “The Security Committee – al-Qa’ida Organization: O ye people of faith, be vigilant”.
Candidates are asked to be truthful and “please write clearly and legibly”, ideally in Arabic. The first section deals with the kind of details familiar to any job applicant, such as home address, profession, and hobbies – and whether they have any chronic or hereditary diseases.
It also asks them the date of their arrival in the “land of jihad” and how well they know the Qur’an.
Al Qaeda wanted to know how many passports applicants had – forged or legitimate – and whether they had any associates who travelled to the West.
Among the desirable skills highlighted on the form are expertise in chemistry and communications.
The form asks those with a career as a terrorist in mind: “What objectives would you like to accomplish on your jihad path?” The final question is: “Who should we contact in case you became a martyr?”
The documents were made public by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in the US, which labelled them “Bin Laden’s Bookshelf”. It said the White House had asked for them to be released due to “increasing public demand” to see them. Other documents show his objection to the formation of an Islamic state. Writing before IS was formed to create a so-called caliphate, he urged his followers to reject any such ideas.
He also found time to write about the need to tackle climate change, which he saw as a threat to the Muslim world. Many of the files are about his family, which included four wives and 20 children.
At times he seems more like an exasperated human resources manager than the leader of a terrorist organisation, expressing concern that young recruits lacked the patience for the war ahead.
In one memo he said they should be monitored at Al Qaeda safe houses in Pakistan before being sent to fight, adding: “Any person who displays boredom, does not finish the tasks assigned to him and gets mad quickly, we have to remove him from external work.”
Adopting a managerial tone, Bin Laden says Al Qaeda needs a “better planning and development department” to succeed. He added: “We should not overlook is the science of administration.”
Daily Mail