There are rich jihadists too

In past years, many TV viewers have rightfully noted how Law & Order on NBC has a very farfetched view of crime in NYC because of how it features a lot of [white] criminals of wealthy backgrounds much of the time, yet does little to seriously depict criminals of poorer status in its so-called stories ripped from the headlines.

On the other hand, it seems that some very naive fools have a view of jihadists as just poor and oppressed, which is also far from reality. As this article in the UK Independent (via Michelle Malkin) tells, the Nigerian terrorist Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab was actually from a very wealthy background:

Abdulmutallab, 23, had lived a gilded life, and, for the three years he studied in London, he stayed in a £2m flat. He was from a very different background to many of the other al-Qa'ida recruits who opt for martyrdom.

[...]

Abdulmutallab's father, Umaru, is the former economics minister of Nigeria. He retired earlier this month as the chairman of the First Bank of Nigeria but is still on the boards of several of Nigeria's biggest firms, including Jaiz International, a holding company for the Islamic Bank. The 70-year-old, who was also educated in London, holds the Commander of the Order of the Niger as well as the Italian Order of Merit.

So why do a lot of allegedly informed journalists try to perpetuate the myth of terrorists as solely poor and oppressed? Worse though is if they justify and apologize for these vile characters regardless of their income status. Being poverty stricken is no excuse for violently preying on innocents, rich or poor.

Update: Robert Spencer writes on Front Page Magazine about US security's failure to prevent Abdulmutallab from flying on the plane even though he was on a terror-watch-list. And Daniel Pipes also chimes in. And Debbie Schlussel writes about two terrorists released from Gitmo who were masterminds behind the attack plot, and has some more info to consider here and here.