Christopher Paul

Christopher Paul (aka Paul Kenyatta Laws, Abdulmalek Kenyatta) is an American al-Qaeda militant, who has pleaded guilty to acts of terrorism. He is currently serving a 15-year prison term arising from those charges. Early life Born Paul Kenyatta Laws, he changed his name to Alex Karagezyan in 1989, but then to Christopher Paul in 1994. Additional names have included Abdul Malek. Paul is an American citizen, resident of the Columbus, Ohio, area, where he was born. He grew up in suburban Worthington, Ohio. He attended Thomas Worthington High School. He then became a student at Columbus State Community College from 1988 to 1990. It was during this period that he converted to Islam, changing his name to Abdulmalek Kenyatta. From 1990 and 1994, he was taking training at an al-Qaeda camp in Afghanistan learning hand-to-hand combat and the use of weapons including rocket-propelled grenades. He also traveled to a number of countries, including Croatia, Austria, and Slovenia, before returning to Columbus in 1994 and changing his name to Christopher Paul. Paul took classes at Columbus State for another 4 years, and was granted an associate degree in 1998. He attended the Omar Ibnelkhattab Mosque at 580 Riverview Dr. in Columbus.