A FORMER Guantanamo Bay guard has revealed how he turned from a beer-swilling American soldier into a devout Muslim after being inspired by the Midland men dubbed the Tipton Taliban.
Terry Holdbrooks, who grew up in Arizona, says he renounced his life of heavy metal music and tattoos for Islam after seeing Shafiq Rasul, Asif Iqbal and Ruhal Ahmed deal with their two-year incarceration at the Cuban terror camp.
The close friends from the Black Country town were tortured and interrogated at Camp X-Ray after being snatched by rebel Afghan forces and handed over to US troops.
They were among the first men to be locked up without a trial at the notorious camp in 2002 and became known as the Tipton Taliban. They were finally released without charge after being denied answers and representation for their alleged crimes.
Holdbrooks, who has now changed his name to Mustafa Abdullah, recounted watching the trio put aside their plight to laugh and joke during their nightmare behind bars.
He said: The Tipton Trio were always playing tricks on the guards and the interrogators. I had all the freedoms they didnt, but I was a slave to what the army wanted me to do.
Holdbrooks was just 19 when he was posted to the makeshift jail at a US naval base on Cuba. He claims to have been converted to Islam at a midnight ceremony by a mentor, who was not one of the three Tipton men.
After leaving the army in 2004, he now claims to be a strict practising Muslim. His transformation will be revealed in full in a memoir called Traitor to be published next spring.
Mr Rasul, now aged 32, and 28-year-olds Mr Iqbal and Mr Ahmed had travelled to Pakistan for Mr Iqbals wedding in September 2001 before their nightmare began.
They crossed into Afghanistan the following month, intending to buy food and medical supplies for villagers as the prospect of another war in the troubled nation loomed.
But as the danger of their situation became apparent, the mens attempt to escape failed when they were caught in shelling. They were treated as prisoners by the local militia and ended up being handed over to American special forces.
After being flown to Camp X-Ray hey were quizzed by FBI and MI5 officials up to 200 times each.
Claims were made the three men had been filmed in the background of a video featuring a meeting of al Qaeda head Osama bin Laden and Mohamed Atta, the leader of the 9/11 hijackers shot in August 2000.
Mr Rasul was, in fact, working in a branch of the electronics store Currys, and was enrolled at the University of Central England.
March 2004 finally brought an end to the ordeal of Mr Rasul, Mr Iqbal and Mr Ahmed but they have since faced a long struggle to rebuild their lives. The Sunday Mercury tried to contact all three men but they were unavailable to comment.
Oct 11 2009 by Edward Chadwick, Sunday Mercury
Terry Holdbrooks, who grew up in Arizona, says he renounced his life of heavy metal music and tattoos for Islam after seeing Shafiq Rasul, Asif Iqbal and Ruhal Ahmed deal with their two-year incarceration at the Cuban terror camp.
The close friends from the Black Country town were tortured and interrogated at Camp X-Ray after being snatched by rebel Afghan forces and handed over to US troops.
They were among the first men to be locked up without a trial at the notorious camp in 2002 and became known as the Tipton Taliban. They were finally released without charge after being denied answers and representation for their alleged crimes.
Holdbrooks, who has now changed his name to Mustafa Abdullah, recounted watching the trio put aside their plight to laugh and joke during their nightmare behind bars.
He said: The Tipton Trio were always playing tricks on the guards and the interrogators. I had all the freedoms they didnt, but I was a slave to what the army wanted me to do.
Holdbrooks was just 19 when he was posted to the makeshift jail at a US naval base on Cuba. He claims to have been converted to Islam at a midnight ceremony by a mentor, who was not one of the three Tipton men.
After leaving the army in 2004, he now claims to be a strict practising Muslim. His transformation will be revealed in full in a memoir called Traitor to be published next spring.
Mr Rasul, now aged 32, and 28-year-olds Mr Iqbal and Mr Ahmed had travelled to Pakistan for Mr Iqbals wedding in September 2001 before their nightmare began.
They crossed into Afghanistan the following month, intending to buy food and medical supplies for villagers as the prospect of another war in the troubled nation loomed.
But as the danger of their situation became apparent, the mens attempt to escape failed when they were caught in shelling. They were treated as prisoners by the local militia and ended up being handed over to American special forces.
After being flown to Camp X-Ray hey were quizzed by FBI and MI5 officials up to 200 times each.
Claims were made the three men had been filmed in the background of a video featuring a meeting of al Qaeda head Osama bin Laden and Mohamed Atta, the leader of the 9/11 hijackers shot in August 2000.
Mr Rasul was, in fact, working in a branch of the electronics store Currys, and was enrolled at the University of Central England.
March 2004 finally brought an end to the ordeal of Mr Rasul, Mr Iqbal and Mr Ahmed but they have since faced a long struggle to rebuild their lives. The Sunday Mercury tried to contact all three men but they were unavailable to comment.
Oct 11 2009 by Edward Chadwick, Sunday Mercury
