Mohamedou Ould Slahi

Mohamedou Ould Slahi is a Mauritanian man who practices Islam. He originally is from a relatively poor background, but was the recipient of scholarship to study at the university level in Germany. He was the first in his family to attend university. He trained in electrical engineering, and held jobs in both Germany and Canada. Despite living and working in the West for years, Slahi remained a practicing Muslim. During his university years, in 1991, he participated in an insurgency in Afghanistan against the communist government, an effort that had U.S. support.

Slahi comes under suspicion because of his affiliation with a Canadian mosque where the Millennium Plot bomber, Ahmed Ressam, also practiced. Unfortunately for Slahi, he remains under suspicion of the U.S. government for his multiple questionable associations and, it seems, simply by virtue of moving in certain circles: He is multilingual, has...