A Jihadist's Tale

Ra'ed began to show a deepening interest in religion. He took to praying five times a day and listening to Koranic verses on the radio. His family says he rarely discussed politics, but a friend told TIME Ra'ed became radically opposed to U.S. policies toward the Muslim world while still in the U.S. and later talked about going to Iraq. A neighbor, Nassib Jazzar, 32, recalls that a few months ago, Ra'ed criticized the U.S. occupation of Iraq. "He felt that the Arabs didn't have honor and freedom," says Jazzar. "Then he said, 'We the Arabs are no good. We allow others to come and occupy us.'" Mansour believes that Ra'ed also felt guilt over his father's financial problems, which came to a head in late 2004 when a bank threatened to seize the family's possessions.

Last November, Ra'ed made an Islamic pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia but claimed that it was also a job search. A month later, he returned to Amman showing no outward signs of transformation. In January he abruptly informed his father that he was departing again for Saudi Arabia. Jordanian authorities have told Mansour that after leaving Jordan on Jan. 27, his son crossed into Syria, the favorite route for Iraq-bound jihadists. Throughout February, Ra'ed called home several times but seemed careful to avoid his father. He told his brother he had found a good job and that his living quarters were uncomfortable but he planned to change them. He vowed to make enough money so he and his brother could afford to get married.

Ra'ed phoned home for the last time, catching Ahmed on his cell phone, around the time of the Hilla bombing on Feb. 28--though the family's accounts of the precise date are unclear. Besides being particularly affectionate, Ra'ed said nothing to indicate his life was about to end. On March 3, Ahmed received the call telling him Ra'ed was a martyr. The caller read Ra'ed's last will and testament. Four days later, there was another call, to Mansour, who says he was invited, "Allah willing," to visit Ra'ed's tomb near the Iraqi city of Mosul. The Banna clan ran an obituary in the newspaper Ad Dustour announcing that Ra'ed had "won martyrdom in the land of Iraq" and "died in the name of God."

Today Ra'ed's father denies that the family favors jihadist attacks in Iraq, insisting that in line with Muslim custom he calls his son a martyr simply because he was killed in a foreign land. Had he known what Ra'ed was up to, he says, he would have blocked his son's plans to leave the country and informed the police to keep an eye on him. Mansour says he would not be surprised if Ra'ed showed up at the door someday, as if his disappearance were some mistake or just a bad dream. But like so many others, the Bannas may never know exactly how they lost Ra'ed to the jihad. "The calls stopped," says Ahmed. "Ra'ed doesn't phone us anymore." --With reporting by Christopher Allbritton/Baghdad and Saad Hattar/Amman