Amin Shetawi and his best friend, Nabil Abidi used to go out for drinks and occasionally did drugs together.  They even dreamed about one day travelling to Italy. His friend Abidi, however, was no angel — in fact he stole money and sold drugs.  He had a long criminal record in which he was classified as ‘dangerous’ by the interior ministry.

Amin Shetawi and his best friend, Nabil Abidi used to go out for drinks and occasionally did drugs together.  They even dreamed about one day travelling to Italy. His friend Abidi, however, was no angel — in fact he stole money and sold drugs.  He had a long criminal record in which he was classified as ‘dangerous’ by the interior ministry.

But Abidi had far more brewing beneath his ‘bad boy’ surface. “After finishing his last prison sentence,” remembered Sheawi, “Abidi changed completely.  He became religious, grew a beard and associated with religious people. Although we remained friends, our interests became different.”

Abidi’s metamorphosis grew more extreme and soon he spoke about fighting jihad in Syria and Iraq, and fatwas promoting Sharia law and the killing of senior police officers, whom Abidi described as “tyrants.”

Then one day Abidi told his his family that he was going to work in Libya.

When they saw him again, on Facebook, Abidi was proudly holding two severed heads in his hands. Abidi’s fame grew after he was featured in an IS video on the internet in which he sarcastically asked Iraqi soldiers to blow out their cheeks and then slapped them across the face.

Shortly afterwards, he phoned his family and informed them that he joined IS to take part in the ongoing war in Syria in which, according to intelligence reports, Tunisians account for the majority of foreign fighters.

A weak child sought strength

Abidi’s uncle, Ezzeddin Jatli said Abidi’s family was shocked when it learned that Abidi traveled to Syria to wage jihad. They could not believe that a once sickly child turned into a murderous slaughterer.

Abidi had been very weak as a child and he was frequently ill. He had also been born with poor eyesight. His mother died when he was young and his father was absent.  Abidi eventually dropped out of high school. 

No one knows what happened to Abidi.  His uncle said that no one has heard from him since he went to Syria.  Even Tunisian security forces cannot say if he is dead or alive. 

Hundreds of Tunisians fighting alongside terrorist groups have died in bloody battlefields in Syria and Iraq, especially since international air campaigns have joined the war against IS.