SAUDI ARABIA: A Christian Arab who was held captive by al-Qaeda militants in Saudi Arabia said yesterday he lied to them about his faith and praised their battle against the West, to save his life.
Mr Nizar Hajazeen, a Jordanian software businessman who was at the Tower Hotel in the Oasis residential compound during the 25-hour drama in Khobar, said the militants lectured him about Islam and their aim to liberate Saudi Arabia from "infidels and crusaders".
Mr Hajazeen (32) had tried to call a taxi to go to work on Saturday but the phone lines were jumbled.
"I went to the room of a Jordanian colleague. Someone banged violently on the door. We opened and there were two men, one with a machinegun, another with a revolver." Both were in their 20s. "They asked us if we were Arab or Westerners. We told them: 'We're Arab'.
"One then asked if I was a Christian or a Muslim. I told him we were Muslims and showed him my colleague's Koran as proof. I told him we supported them and that we were against America and Europe. I had to say that."
They told him and his colleague to stay in the room, and left.
"We stayed locked in our room. One of us was hiding in the shower, another one was hiding in the bathtub," he said, adding that from time to time they sneaked back into the bedroom to watch the news on television.
Before commandos freed them on Sunday, security guards called his mobile to ask him to check if the militants had rigged his floor with explosives. He found nothing.
Making his way to freedom he saw the bodies of four Indians and an Italian cook. "They had been shot dead."