When Paul Refsdal, a Norwegian journalist, visited Syria in 2014 and 2015, he embedded himself with Jabhat al-Nusra, the Syrian affiliate of Al Qaeda, the jihadist organization synonymous with Islamic extremism, death and destruction.
Refsdal was canny enough to persuade two suicide bombers to submit to interviews. Both were waiting to blow themselves up. Their mission was to strike military targets linked with the Baathist regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The sacrificial lambs were Abu Qaswara al-Maki, a 32-year-old Saudi citizen, and Lucas Kinney, a 26-year-old British convert known as Abu Basir al-Britani.
The pair are at the centre of Refsdal’s chilling film, Dugma: The Button, which will be screened at the Canadian International Documentary Festival in Toronto on May 4, 5 and 8.
The opening scene sets the tone.
Maki, a burly fellow with a swarthy complexion, shows a new recruit an armoured truck fitted with canisters of explosives. This is the vehicle Maki intends to drive into a Syrian army checkpoint in the near future. “I will send them to hell,” he says with bravado.
Maki, who has been in Syria for the past two years, is convinced that paradise awaits him once he presses the button that sets off the charge. Perversely enough, he has promised to call his father the second he detonates himself into oblivion.
As Refsdal shadows him, Maki watches video clips of his infant daughter, urges his mother to be “modern” and learn how to use Skype and chants his prayers soulfully. Maki seems calm and collected. One would never know he’s preparing himself for the ultimate sacrifice.
Kinney seems just as composed as he discusses “martyrdom operations” and voices a readiness to die for Allah and freedom. “You push the button and you’re in paradise,” he says in a soft, soothing voice.
It’s as simple as that. At least in the minds of jihadists like Kinney.
As he prattles on, Kinney describes a U.S. air raid he witnessed. He then discloses that his wife is pregnant with their first child. In perhaps an unguarded moment, he admits he’s having second thoughts about going through with his suicidal mission.
It’s an astonishing admission. Christian converts to radical Islam like Kinney tend to be totally committed to the cause. But now he’s faltering, torn between love of family and fealty to Jabhat al-Nusra. What will he do?
Refsdal’s film does not offer startling revelations about suicide bombers. We already know they place little value on human life and subscribe to a death cult. But Dugma: The Button adds another layer of understanding to this phenomenon.