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High school buddies followed similar path to jihad

By WTOP Staff

AMY FORLITI
Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The two high school buddies loved to shoot hoops and crack jokes with their friends. They both converted to Islam in early adulthood. And both were recruited by terror groups to leave the United States and die for jihadist causes.

It wasn’t immediately clear how Douglas McAuthur McCain and Troy Kastigar were drawn into radicalism after their initial conversion to the Muslim faith or whether they might have influenced one another along the way. But the two best friends went down similar paths and met the same end.

Both young men attended Robbinsdale Cooper High School in the Minneapolis suburb of New Hope. Kastigar was in the class of 1999, though he left school in February of that year without a diploma, according to school records. McCain went to Robbinsdale from 1997 to 1999, before transferring to nearby Armstrong High School. He did not graduate either.

Address records show McCain lived at Kastigar’s house for a period from 2000 to 2001, although that could not be independently verified.

“They were really funny guys. They were goofy. They were just always laughing, hanging out together, joking around. They were just nice,” said Alicia Adams, a former classmate who was friends with both McCain and Kastigar in high school.

There was nothing in their background or behavior to “make you think they would become an extremist or a killer or anything of the sort,” she said Thursday. People who knew the pair were “trying to wrap all of our heads around it.”

U.S. officials confirmed this week that the 33-year-old McCain was killed in Syria while fighting with the Islamic State group. Officials have said that Kastigar was killed in Somalia in September 2009 while fighting with the terror group al-Shabab.

The U.S. State Department said Wednesday it was looking into reports that a second American fighting with the Islamic State group had been killed in Syria.

Anders Folk, a former federal prosecutor who handled the al-Shabab cases in Minnesota, said it’s noteworthy that two converts with no familial ties to Syria or Somalia latched on to the most extreme interpretation of Islam.

“The fact that two guys from the Midwest, from Minnesota, could both be recruited by different terrorist organizations in different foreign countries shows how effective the rhetoric is at converting certain people to the cause,” Folk said. “It also shows that the message isn’t about where you go or what country you go to, but the message is about joining the fight. And that message is resonating with young men in America.”

Both young men had minor criminal records, including charges of disorderly conduct, traffic violations and instances in which they gave false names to police officers.

The two friends were not into organized sports, but both loved basketball — McCain’s favorite team was his hometown Chicago Bulls — and the teens were always playing at neighborhood parks and at the Y, Adams said.

Neither Kastigar nor McCain converted to Islam while in high school, Adams said. McCain’s Twitter feed included a May 14 post that said he “reverted to Islam 10 years ago” and called it the best thing to happen to him.

Adams said she had kept in touch with McCain over Facebook and through phone calls, and she last spoke with him within the past year, when he was living in San Diego. She said he was doing work in a mosque there, had traveled to Europe and had hopes of being a rapper.

McCain loved learning about Islam and “sharing his newfound faith” with anyone who would listen, but he was not radical and was respectful of others’ beliefs, Adams said.

“He was just now a Muslim,” she said. “There was nothing at all that would make me think that this would be where he would end up.”

Kastigar, who went by the nickname Abdirahman, left Minneapolis in November 2008. A 2011 report by the GOP House Homeland Security committee says he was killed in Somalia in September 2009. He was 28.

In August of last year, al-Shabab released a video that featured Kastigar and other Minnesota men. In the nearly 40-minute video, Kastigar compared his experiences in Somalia to being in an amusement park.

“If you guys only knew how much fun we have over here — this is the real Disneyland,” he said. “You need to come here and join us and take pleasure in this fun.”

The video also showed Kastigar’s shrouded corpse.

Kastigar’s mother, Julie, did not come to the door when visited Wednesday by an Associated Press reporter, and she declined to comment on Thursday. In an interview with the New York Daily News, she described both young men as “sort of searching.”

“I think both of them had a really strong desire to be needed and (be) of value,” the paper quoted her as saying.

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Associated Press Writer Brian Bakst in Minneapolis and AP news researcher Rhonda Shafner in New York contributed to this report.

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Follow Amy Forliti on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/amyforliti

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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