Al Qaeda recruits were asked bizarre questions: Osama bin Laden's documents

Washington: Under Osama bin Laden's command, prospective al-Qaeda recruits had to fill up an application form which contained normal HR questions to bizarre queries like, "Do you wish to execute a suicide operation?".

Among the documents found at Osama's Abbottabad compound in Pakistan was a job application for people interested in joining al-Qaeda.

The three pages of questions shows al-Qaeda, in its vision of itself as a disciplined network of committed militants.

The job application quizzes hopeful jihadists on their career history, foreign language skills among the many usual HR questions that it poses which one would find in a form for joining a company.

But it also has eerie queries that could only be part of the terror organisation's questionnaire.

The last page of the three-page questionnaire probably sets the wannabees apart from the jihadists. It asks, "Do you wish to execute a suicide operation?" and "Who should we contact in case you become a martyr?".

The employment application also asks "How much of the Quran have you memorised?", "Which shaykhs do you listen to?" and "Do any of your family or friends work with the government?".

The application for joining al-Qaeda was one of several documents declassified on Wednesday.

Each page of the application has a watermark that reads as follows, "The Security Committee - al-Qaeda Organization" "O ye people of faith, be vigilant".

It also asks those filling the form to refrain from sharing "the information you provide on the application with each other".

Giving an interesting insight into the terror network's working and strategy, the application form also asks the applicants to "list the countries to which you have travelled and the purpose of the trip(s)".

In another interesting query, the application asks, "How many trips have you taken to Pakistan and for what reasons?".

"Do you know anyone who travels to Western countries?" one question asks the applicant while another one queries, "What is your favourite material: science or literature?".

The employment fill-out form was among the several items of now-declassified material, allowing an insight into the final years of the world's most wanted man.

The papers give a fascinating insight into Osama's character and show that he deliberated on everything from his son's forthcoming wedding to Pentagon reports.