Editing John Walker Lindh (section)

==Youth, conversion, and travels==
Lindh was born in [[Washington, D.C.]], to Marilyn Walker and Frank R. Lindh, as the middle of three children in the family.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.peterbcollins.com/2013/06/26/the-real-story-of-john-philip-walker-lindh-the-american-taliban-as-told-by-his-father-frank-lindh/|title=The Real Story of John Philip Walker Lindh – 'The American Taliban' – as Told by His Father, Frank Lindh|publisher=The Peter Collins Show|date=June 26, 2013|access-date=December 10, 2017|archive-date=December 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171210123716/https://www.peterbcollins.com/2013/06/26/the-real-story-of-john-philip-walker-lindh-the-american-taliban-as-told-by-his-father-frank-lindh/|url-status=live}}</ref> He was named "John" after [[John Lennon]], who was [[Murder of John Lennon|murdered]] two months before Lindh's birth.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/la-120401walker-story.html|title=American Taliban Took Odd Route|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=December 4, 2001|last1=Alonso-Zalvidar|first1=Ricardo|last2=Glionna|first2=John M.|access-date=December 10, 2017|archive-date=December 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171210123658/http://www.latimes.com/la-120401walker-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> He was [[Baptism|baptized]] a [[Catholic Church in the United States|Catholic]],<ref name="Guardian200110711">{{cite news|title=America's 'Detainee 001'|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jul/10/john-walker-lindh-american-taliban-father|work=[[The Guardian]]|author=Frank Lindh|date=July 10, 2011|access-date=July 11, 2011|archive-date=May 24, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190524115719/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jul/10/john-walker-lindh-american-taliban-father|url-status=live}}</ref> and grew up in [[Silver Spring, Maryland]]. When he was 10 years old, his family moved to [[San Anselmo, California]].<ref name=time /> Lindh suffered from an [[intestinal]] disorder as a child. At age 14, his health improved. He enrolled at [[Redwood High School (Larkspur, California)|Redwood High School]] as a freshman. He then transferred to Tamiscal High School in the [[Tamalpais Union High School District]], an alternative school offering self-directed, individualized study programs. While there, he studied world culture, including [[Sunni Islam]] and the Middle East.<ref name=time />

Lindh dropped out of the school and eventually earned an equivalent of a high school diploma by passing the [[California High School Proficiency Exam]] at age 16. As an adolescent, Lindh participated in [[IRC]] chatrooms with the IRC nickname Mujahid. He became a devoted fan of [[hip-hop music]] and engaged in extensive discussions on [[Usenet]] [[Usenet newsgroup|newsgroups]], sometimes pretending to be an African-American rapper who would criticize others for "acting black".<ref>{{cite news|last=Best|first=James|title=Black Like Me: John Walker Lindh's hip-hop daze|url=https://www.eastbayexpress.com/eastbay/black-like-me/Content?oid=1071455|access-date=October 26, 2010|newspaper=East Bay Express|date=September 3, 2003|archive-date=December 17, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191217073332/http://www.eastbayexpress.com/eastbay/black-like-me/Content?oid=1071455|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>[https://groups.google.com/group/alt.true-crime/browse_thread/thread/6bb367aafac35bdb?q=doodoo%40hooked.net John Lindh Usenet Postings] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121108134002/http://groups.google.com/group/alt.true-crime/browse_thread/thread/6bb367aafac35bdb?q=doodoo@hooked.net |date=November 8, 2012 }} ''John Lindh''</ref> [[Spike Lee]]'s film ''[[Malcolm X (1992 film)|Malcolm X]]'' impressed him deeply and sparked his interest in Islam.<ref name="Guardian200110711"/>

Although his parents did not divorce until 1999, their marriage was in serious trouble throughout Lindh's adolescence. His father often left their Marin residence for extended periods to live in San Francisco with a male lover.<ref name="YaleJournal">{{cite journal|last=Backer|first=Larry|year=2005|title=Emasuclated Men, Effeminate Law in the United States, Zimbabwe and Malaysia |journal=Yale Journal of Law and Feminism |publisher=Yale|volume=17|issue=1|pages=8–9|ssrn=618863}}</ref><ref name="AEI">{{cite news|date=March 1, 2002|title=Liberal Parents, Lost Children|publisher=American Enterprise Institute|page=7|url= |access-date=}}</ref> Frank Lindh said he and Marilyn had been separated since 1997.<ref name="GQ">{{cite web|url=https://www.gq.com/news-politics/newsmakers/200903/john-walker-lindh-afghanistan-captured-taliban|title=Can John Walker Lindh Go Home Now?|last=Rico|first=John|date=April 2009|website=GQ Magazine|page=2|access-date=November 15, 2009|archive-date=June 14, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100614070341/http://www.gq.com/news-politics/newsmakers/200903/john-walker-lindh-afghanistan-captured-taliban|url-status=live}}</ref> Also in 1997, at the age of 16, Lindh [[Religious conversion|converted]] to Islam. He began regularly attending mosques in [[Mill Valley, California|Mill Valley]] and later in nearby San Francisco.<ref name="Time20011209">{{cite magazine|title=The Taliban Next Door|url=https://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,187564,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011209224257/http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,187564,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 9, 2001|magazine=Time|author=Josh Tyrangiel|date=December 9, 2001|access-date=May 26, 2008|author-link=Josh Tyrangiel}}</ref>

In 1998, Lindh traveled to Yemen and stayed for about 10 months to learn Arabic so that he could read the [[Qur'an]] in its original language. He returned to the United States in 1999, living with his family for about eight months. Lindh returned to Yemen in February 2000 and left for Pakistan to study at a ''[[madrasa]]''. While abroad, Lindh exchanged numerous emails with his family. In one, his father told him about the [[USS Cole bombing|USS ''Cole'' bombing]], to which Lindh replied that the American naval destroyers being in the Yemen harbor had been an act of war, and that the bombing was justified. His father told ''[[Newsweek]]'': "This raised my concerns, but my days of molding him were over."<ref>{{citation|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2001/12/16/a-long-strange-trip-to-the-taliban.html |first=Evan |last=Thomas |author-link=Evan Thomas |title=A Long, Strange Trip to the Taliban |journal=[[Newsweek]] |date=December 16, 2001 |access-date=May 7, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120507012524/http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2001/12/16/a-long-strange-trip-to-the-taliban.html |archive-date=May 7, 2012}}</ref>

At the age of 20, Lindh decided to travel to Afghanistan to fight for the Afghan [[Taliban]] government forces against [[Northern Alliance]] fighters.<ref name="now">{{cite web|url=https://www.democracynow.org/2009/7/31/exclusive_john_walker_lindhs_parents_discuss|title=John Walker Lindh's Parents Discuss Their Son's Story|date=July 31, 2009|work=[[Democracy Now!]]|access-date=March 22, 2010|archive-date=May 17, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190517065441/https://www.democracynow.org/2009/7/31/exclusive_john_walker_lindhs_parents_discuss|url-status=live}}</ref> His parents said that he was moved by stories of atrocities allegedly perpetrated by the Northern Alliance army against civilians. He traveled to Afghanistan in May 2001.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.esquire.com/features/ESQ0706JLINDH_106|title=Innocent|first=Tom|last=Junod|date=July 1, 2006|work=[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]]|access-date=January 30, 2010|author-link=Tom Junod|archive-date=July 10, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140710004943/http://www.esquire.com/features/ESQ0706JLINDH_106|url-status=live}}</ref> Tony West, his lawyer, explained it as follows: "One of the first things he told Army interrogators when they questioned him on December 3, 2001, was that after [[9/11]] happened, he wanted to leave the front lines but could not for fear of his life. John never wanted to be in a position where he was opposing the United States (and never thought he would be), and in fact he never opposed any American military."<ref>{{cite news|first=Tony|last=West|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/liveonline/02/politics/west071802.htm|title=John Walker Lindh's plea with Tony West, Defense Attorney and Co-counsel|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=July 18, 2002|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305031238/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/liveonline/02/politics/west071802.htm |archive-date=March 5, 2016 }}</ref>