André Poulin
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André Poulin (born 1990—August 8, 2013),[1] known by his nom de guerre Abu Muslim al-Kanadi[2] (Arabic: أبو مسلم الكندي, lit. 'Abu Muslim the Canadian'), was a Canadian Islamic convert and Islamic State militant who left Canada to Syria in late 2012 to fight the Ba'athist regime.[3]
André Poulin | |
|---|---|
André Poulin (left) on a scooter in Aleppo with Abdul al-Hazra (right) | |
| Nickname | Abu Muslim al-Kanadi |
| Born | 1990 |
| Died | August 8, 2013 (aged 22–23) |
| Allegiance | |
| Service years | 2012—2013 |
| Conflicts | |
Life
Poulin was born in Timmins, Ontario, Canada, in 1990. He worked as a local street janitor and earned approximately 2,000 Canadian dollars per month before converting to Islam in 2008.[4] Before converting, Poulin showed interest in both communism and anarchism.[5] After he followed a strict interpretation of Islam which radicalized him. He read The Anarchist Cookbook to learn about explosives, became violent towards people he knew, and had an affair with a married woman also threatening her husband for not being religious enough which earned him a couple weeks in jail.[6] After his incarceration, Poulin spent significant time online, during which he made threats to bomb a local gas station.[7]
Militancy
In late 2012 Poulin left Canada for Syria to join with the Katibat al-Muhajireen (Brigade of the Emigrants),[8][9] at the same time Mohammed Emwazi joined ISIS.[10] During Poulin's time in Syria, Poulin recruited 5 other Canadians to join ISIS. Poulin had met the recruits in 2011 and radicalized over the next few years, though 3 of his recruits were rescued by their families before crossing into Syria from Lebanon the rest stayed to join ISIS.[11] After Poulin arrived in Syria he married a woman, who then got pregnant before she passed.[12]
Death
Poulin participated in the siege of Menagh Air Base against both Free Syrian Army militants and Ba'athist soldiers.[13] During this siege, on August 8, 2013, Poulin joined other militants in an attempt to seize the air base during the offensive. This caused him to be hit by a rocket-propelled grenade and subsequently be killed.[14]
After death
Approximately a year after Poulin's death on July 2014, the Islamic State's official media-wing al-Hayat Media Center produced a video entitled "The Chosen Few of Different Lands" which is 11-minutes long showing Poulin (shown under the alias Abu Muslim) making statements to potential recruits on how he was a regular Canadian and that they can join ISIS.[15] Poulin stated that ISIS needed more than just fighters for the so-called mujahideen and ISIS needs engineers, doctors, et cetera.[16] The video was professionally edited and included stock footage from North America, such as clips from official Alberta tourism videos.[17]