Australian professor Timothy Weeks (Gabriel Omar), who endured three-and-a-half years of incarceration in the Afghan Taliban and then converted to Islam, now wants to return to Afghanistan to work on educating children and women.
Timothy Weeks was abducted by the Taliban in 2016 along with another professor, Kevin King, outside the American University in Kabul, and was released in November 2019 under a peace negotiation agreement between the Afghan Taliban and the US government.
Timothy Weeks converted to Islam in 2018 during the Taliban's captivity and changed his name to Gabriel Omar.
He was the second Westerner to enter the realm of Islam in Taliban captivity, preceded in 2001 by the conversion of British journalist Evan Ridley to Islam.
The Taliban released Jibril Omar in November 2019 in exchange for talks with the US government and the release of three key Taliban leaders, including Anas Haqqani.
Professor Jibril Omar, who endured almost three-and-a-half years of Afghan Taliban captivity and then his hospitality and sympathy, now wants to return to Afghanistan.
In an exclusive interview with BBC Urdu, Jibril Omar expressed his desire to go to Afghanistan and work on the education of children and women there.
According to Jibril Omar, he is neither Afghan nor part of the Taliban, but he wants to go there and work on the education of children and women with the permission and cooperation of the current Afghan Taliban government.
He hoped that the current government of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan would allow him to work there as a representative of an educational welfare organization.
He also told the story of the torture inflicted on him by the Taliban in captivity and said that in the beginning he was subjected to a lot of torture but then the Taliban befriended him and treated him with great hospitality.
Jibril Omar said that when relations between him and the Taliban improved, he asked the Taliban for some books to read, and they gave him other religious books, including the English translation of the Qur'an, and from there he became influenced by Islam.
He acknowledged that the Western world was suffering from Islamophobia and that Islam was linked to terrorism.
Gabriel Omar said that when he arrived in Australia after being released from Taliban captivity and people there found out that he had converted to Islam, he was spat on, called a dog and used inappropriate language.
He acknowledged that their conversion to Islam was based on "religious hatred and ridicule", which is a criminal offense under Australian law.
