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What's in the Internet videos posted by Tamerlan Tsarnaev?

The videos do not show ties to any specific group, but do hint at a deeper yearning in the alleged Boston Marathon bomber for a heroic jihadi persona.

Among the videos聽Tamerlan Tsarnaev聽apparently posted on YouTube is a one-minute and 39-second clip of a chameleon on a tabletop, described by a tagline in Russian as 鈥渙ne of the signs of Allah.鈥

As an Islamic supplication to God is sung in Arabic, hands place different pairs of sunglasses beside the chameleon to make it change color. 鈥淭here is no God but you, and we have not worshiped you as we should!鈥 The chameleon turns pink. 鈥淧raise to God, alone in your sovereignty!鈥 It turns aquamarine.

It鈥檚 unclear what drove Mr. Tsarnaev allegedly to bomb the Boston marathon with his younger brother, Dzhokhar, and it鈥檚 too late to ask him; he was killed in a shootout with police. But investigators hope his Internet habits might shed light on who he was 鈥 and who he became.

The YouTube channel under his name is a puzzle. Popular songs in Russian and dance-trance music are interspersed with videos about Chechnya 鈥 where his family origins lie 鈥 Islam, and the concept of聽jihad聽as Islamic holy war. But rather than indicate direct links to a specific group, the videos seem to hint at a deeper yearning for a heroic聽jihadi聽persona.

That would fit with reports that the Tsarnaevs followed the teachings of Anwar al-Awlaki, an American Al Qaeda propagandist who was killed in Yemen by a US drone strike in 2011, say analysts. Mr. Awlaki specialized in simple rhetoric and avoided ideological hair-splitting to focus on armed struggle.

Jihadi crooner

Tamerlan Tsarnaev grew up in Kyrgyzstan and the Russian聽republic聽of Dagestan. But the family feared the repercussions of fighting in neighboring Chechnya and moved to the US, seeking asylum. Tamerlan arrived in 2004.聽He was reportedly unhappy in the US and recently became more religious.

Nothing indicates the marathon bombing was linked to Chechnya鈥檚聽jihad-tinged campaign for independence. But interest in Chechnya may have聽exposed聽Tsarnaev to jihadist thinking, says Dr. Gary Bunt, a specialist in online Islam at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David.

鈥淐hechen Islamic radical groups have always had a strong presence online,鈥 he says. 鈥淚鈥檓 not suggesting that鈥檚 part of the cause. But radical language and ideas could have been engendered by looking at some of that content.鈥

The YouTube channel suggests that kind of cross-pollination. One video is a song about jihad by Timur Mucuraev, a popular Chechen singer. Two videos posted under the heading 鈥淭errorism鈥 have been removed 鈥 it鈥檚 not clear by whom 鈥 but according to The Washington Post they concerned a Dagestani聽jihadi聽named Gadzhimurad Dolgatov who was killed in December.

English and Russian videos聽

Tamerlan鈥檚 Internet surfing apparently went beyond Chechnya. The YouTube channel has Russian and English-language videos, plus a few in Arabic with Russian subtitles, that address questions of Islamic piety from a conservative perspective.

One video condemns Sufism, or Islamic mysticism. Another trumpets female modesty. As a slideshow plays of women in gowns and face-veils, a man鈥檚 voice speaking English with an American accent gives context:

鈥淲oman in the street look in the mirror, she looking to be sure she has the best style, she looks good, she can attract a man,鈥 the voice says. But a Muslim woman uses the mirror to 鈥渕ake sure she鈥檚 dressed appropriately 鈥 that she鈥檚 covered to please Allah [the glorious and exalted].鈥

Then there鈥檚 Sheikh Feiz聽Muhammad, an Australian preacher. In a video elsewhere on the net he attacks Harry Potter. In this one he lectures an audience on the importance of following not only the Quran, but the聽sunnah, or personal example of the prophet Mohamed.

Those who disregard the聽sunnah聽鈥渁re not Muslims, even though they claim to be Muslims,鈥 he warns. His argument is the kind of argument often used by extremists to justify attacks in Muslim countries. For most Muslims, by contrast, questioning another鈥檚 faith is strictly forbidden.

Sheikh Feiz鈥檚 video appears under the heading 鈥淟ikes.鈥 So does 鈥淭he Ultimate Muhamed Al-Luhaidan Video,鈥 which shows men praying in a mosque while English text cites the Battle of Uhud in 625 AD to illustrate the value of martyrdom.聽The prophet Mohammed led his followers from Mecca, his home city, to Medina. But a Meccan army聽pursued them there聽and nearly wiped them out 鈥 a test of their faith, says the video.

鈥淭hink not of those killed in the way of Allah as dead. Nay, they are alive, with their Lord, and they have provision,"聽say聽the video captions.

Similarly, the English language-video 鈥淭he Emergence of Prophecy: the Black flags from Khorasan鈥 depicts a prophetic tradition of an unstoppable Muslim army surging out of central Asia.

鈥淭he prophet said, 鈥榃hen you see the black flags coming from the direction of Khorasan, you will join their army鈥,鈥 begins the narration, to scenes of horsemen pounding over desert. Next the men are holding AK-47鈥檚 over their heads as they ford a stream. 鈥淭hat army has already started its march.鈥

Awlaki's discourse

Those scenes of struggle and solidarity align with Awlaki鈥檚 discourse, say analysts. As a recruiter for Al Qaeda, his goal was broad appeal. And as a native English-speaker, he was well-suited to reaching a global audience.

Awlaki 鈥渄idn鈥檛 focus on the sectarian dimension of belief,鈥 says Rashad Ali, a researcher with CENTRI, a counter-terrorism consultancy in London, and former member of the international Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir. 鈥淩ather, he sought a middle ground to frame his ideology without drawing attention to the heresy presented by terrorism, which goes against tradition.鈥

础飞濒补办颈听颈苍蹿濒耻别苍肠别诲听Maj. Nidal Hasan, a US Army officer who shot dead 13 fellow soldiers at Fort Hood, in Texas, in 2009. Faisal Shahzad, who tried to set off a car bomb in New York鈥檚 Times Square in 2010, also cited Awlaki as an inspiration. 聽

Awlaki鈥檚 message apparently reached the Tsarnaevs, too. Dzhokhar told FBI investigators they were influenced by聽his teachings聽and learned to make pressure-cooker bombs from聽Inspire, an Al Qaeda magazine Awlaki was involved with, according to ABC News.

鈥淗is material, his sermons, are still obtainable online,鈥 says Dr. Bunt. 鈥淭he same is true of聽Inspire聽magazine.鈥

Trance and dance

The YouTube channel could offer a glimpse into Tsarnaev鈥檚 state of聽mind. But it also presents oddities, incongruencies, and unanswered questions.

Alongside Timur Mucuraev鈥檚 song about聽jihad聽are 鈥淰ocal Trance Pure Essence V. 13鈥 and 鈥淭rance and Dance Mix 2012.鈥 There are also two goofy songs by Russian singer Vasya Oblomov; one video shows him drinking vodka, the other shows Russian police in awkward situations.

So far everything suggests the Tsarnaevs acted alone. But while ideas and information can be found online, most聽jihadis聽鈥渉ave some sort of guidance, be it tactical, organizational, or simply moral support,鈥 says Mr. Ali, citing his own observations and the 2011 book 鈥淭he Al Qaeda Factor.鈥

The YouTube channel was created last August, and only 15聽different聽videos appear to have been uploaded and seven 鈥渓iked.鈥 But why an aspiring bomber might have left even a few digital footprints is a mystery.

Moreover, 鈥渋f he only started this account last year, he must have been active online before then,鈥 says Bunt. 鈥淚f there鈥檚 a digital footprint out there it鈥檚 going to be on laptops and servers.鈥

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