Aukai Collins

Who is Aukai Collins?

Aukai Collins, born on February 13, 1974, also known as Aqil Collins, is an American of Irish descent who converted to Islam and fought with Islamic Chechen irregulars of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria. He was wounded in combat with elements of a Russian Spetsnaz unit from which he subsequently lost his leg.

He then, among other things, went on to work as a deep cover intelligence operative for the FBI.

His exploits, which included contacts with Al Qaeda leading operatives, are described in the autobiographical book My Jihad: One American's Journey Through the World of Usama Bin Laden—as a Covert Operative for the American Government. Although he is sometimes referred to as Hawaiian American, he is Caucasian and was born in the continental United States, having moved to Hawaii for a period in his youth.

In this book he distinguishes between the Chechen armed terror against the Russian army, which he regards as justified according to Islam, and terrorism in Al Qaeda style, which he regards as contrary to Islam.

He also claimed that he warned the bureau long before 9/11 that Hani Hanjour, one of the September 11th hijackers, was using a Phoenix flight school as his training ground for terrorism. The FBI emphatically denied that Collins provided any information to the FBI about Hani Hanjour prior to 9/11 but admitted that Collins did have some dealings with bureau operatives.