mrklixx, the article your quoting from is dated to 2002. the bombing occurred in 1988, 14 years earlier. There would have been ample time for abdelbaset to turn to religion in jail in those 14 years. you will find that his brother is quoted and not abdelbaset himself.
what your news article doesnt mention is whether the intention at the time that he carried out the bombing was a religious one. i am yet to find a single comment where he has admitted that he did it for Allah. in fact, he has denied the charges all along and has only dropped the appeal because he's being released on compassionate grounds.
if he did carry out the acts for Allah, and had been sentenced to life, a true devout muslim terrorist would believe that if he died in jail under the incarceration of the infidels, then he would be made a martyr. there is a classic quote from Ibn Taymiyyah, a muslim scholar who was incarcerated in the 13th century who is widely known throughout the muslim world who made the following quote from his cell.
Quote:
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“What can my enemies possibly do to me? My paradise is in my heart; wherever I go it goes with me, inseparable from me. For me, prison is a place of (religious) retreat; exocution is my opportunity for martyrdom; and exile from my town is but a chance to travel.”
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if abdelbaset is such a good and faithful servant, would it not be better for him to stay in jail and gain the martyrdom that religious terrorists yearn for? if he's on his deathbed, why jeorpodise paradise and all the virgins for 3 months with his family?
sorry, i dont buy your argument. He may well be a muslim, but his actions were the actions of a nationalistic secular muslim under the instructions of his superiors.