An Australian professor, who converted to Islam during his three-year captivity under Taliban rule between 2016 and 2019, passed away at the age of 54.
Jibra’il Omar (previously known as Timothy Weeks) passed away in Afghanistan after a prolonged battle with cancer, Taliban spokesperson of the interim interior ministry Abdul Mateen Qani announced on Wednesday, January 8.
“Unfortunately, Australian lecturer Timothy Weeks currently named Jibra’il Omar has passed away of cancer. He had been suffering from the concern for a long time,” the Afghan interior ministry said in a statement.
“Jibra’il Omar worked as an English teacher in Kabul. He was very fond of Afghanistan and the Islamic Emirate, and based on that, he considered it best to live in Kabul,” the statement further read.
Timothy Weeks was an Australian professor who along with an American colleague Kevin was kidnapped by the Taliban in 2016 while returning from work.
They were long-time captives under the Taliban for over 3 years until the US retrieved them back in 2019 in an exchange programme involving three Taliban leaders.
Anas Haqqani, a senior member of the Taliban involved in the exchange deal, expressed gratitude to Weeks, saying, the two were brothers in faith.
“Though Timothy Weeks and I came into this world in different times and distant places, fate brought us together at a crossroads where my death became his, my life intertwined with his, and his freedom became mine; together, we crossed through those red lights,” Haqqani said in his X as a tribute to Weeks.
Timothy Weeks
It is alleged that during his time in captivity, Weeks, who was an evangelist, started reading several religious books provided by the Taliban and reportedly converted to Islam in his second year of captivity. He changed his name to Jibra’il Omar and updated his Australian passport with the new name.
His family has always maintained Weeks was going through “Stockholm’s syndrome”, which is defined as a psychological response that occurs when someone is held captive or abused, and they develop positive feelings towards their captors or abusers.
However, in an interview with SBS Dateline, Weeks admitted he had converted to Islam in 2018. “You may think the Taliban supported me in this decision but they were not supportive at all,” he was quoted by SBS Dateline.
In another interview with Anadolu Agency, Weeks said he doesn’t mind the backlash he faces due to his religious decision. “I do face them but that’s okay. Even my family isn’t happy with this decision but I’m happy with it,” Anadolu Agency quoted Weeks.
In 2022, Weeks returned to Kabul. Taliban “warmly welcomed” him to the country.
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